When to Look for a Pediatrician

I agree to start looking now. I am fortunate like the other mom who posted and am using my childhood pediatrician. I never heard of your ob suggesting one...interesting.

Hi B.,
If you are planning to attend a Newborn Prep class at your hospital it is very likely that the attending local pediatricians office will do a presentation during the class. I chose a local pediatrician who was recommended to me by a friend. Most pediatrician offices have multiple doctors but you can choose one that you like the best and stick with him/her and see that same doctor for all the babies well visits.

You have every right to visit the offices you are considering using and ask them every question you can think of. One thing my ped has is a nurses line that you can call with routine/non-emergency questions and that is extremely helpful. It's also imperative that your pediatrician has 2 different waiting rooms, one for sick and one for well children. I'm guessing that most peds have that feature now.

I wish you lots of luck.

B.-

Start looking now. You want to look at all your options. You may want to meet the doctors and sit down with them to discuss you expectations. You want to be ready for when the baby is born (in case it comes early). My doctor was there checking out my little one the morning after I gave birth and was there every day until we were released. I just happen to live in the same area that I grew up and am using the same doctor's office I used growing up. Make sure they are affiliated with a good children's hospital. And ask around for recommendations.

Congrats and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! I am a first time mom and my son is now 6 months old. Enjoy your pregnancy and the remainder of your free time! Once she's here your life will be turned upside down and your time will no longer be your own... that being said, the reward is tenfold and nothing compares to the love and joy you experience with your baby!
I asked around to friends and family as to who they used for pediatricians. I also did alot of research online. Once I narrowed it down to 4 offices, I saw who our insurance covered. I then wrote down a list of questions and topics that were important to me, and called the offices to set up appts. to meet the doctors and see the offices. Alot of my questions were answered over the phone, but every office was prepared to schedule me with a consult to meet the docs. I didn't have my meetings until I was 36 weeks along bc I was on bedrest, but you can even call now and make your appts.
Know what is important to you and what you are looking for in a pediatrician. For instance, my husband and I have strong beliefs on vaccinations and wanted to find a pediatrician who would support our beliefs and concerns. I also asked about the waiting area and if there were seperate sides for sick children and regular well visits, I asked about their hours, if they were open on holidays, if my child would be able to see the same doc for all well visits, if I had questions in the beginning (bc I am a new mom and knew I would be calling ALOT) would I be able to talk to a doc, or if I left a mess., how soon would the call be returned... the list goes on:) Just thought I'd give you some ideas on things you might want to think about. It was also important to me that the pediatrician we chose was affiliated with the hospital I was giving birth in and if necessary would use down the road for my child. The pediatrician we chose was affiliated with our hospital and did exams on my baby the day he was born and days following until we were discharged to go home. This is great, bc when you bring them in for their one week visit, the doctor already knows your baby and will be able to compare them to their first couple of days to see if they are thriving or if they seem different.
Hope this was helpful, and again, goodluck!

Hi! My little girl is 26 months now and I think I called around maybe 2-3 months before hand. I did go and meet with one of the offices but to be honest, I dont know if you need to do this. They say you should interview them but #1, most offices have more than one doctor attending and to me, it was a waste of time! Some office charge you if you want to interview one of their doctors, too!
The office I interviewed I actually went with them and stayed with them for about 12 months and ended up switching to a new practice which I didnt interview and really like them.
To me, I would make sure they have at least one day where they take evening appts and make sure they have sick/emergency appts and ask what their procedures are for taking phone calls during off hourse (i.e at night if you have an emergency) and also if they do have sick visits, do they squeeze you in even if they are booked. Things like that. Good luck!
K.

Look around now. Ask to sit down with the doctor and interview them. These people are going to give you medical direction for your child when he/she is sick. Then it may be too hard to focus on his/her philosophy as you will be concerned with your child's discomfort.

Ask those questions now when you can focus on the potential situation with a clear mind. Also, when you are 35+ weeks, the last thing you will want to do is drive all over the place to talk to these people.

Talk to your family and friends. Let them talk about the docs. Remember, the devil is in the details.

You can wait until closer to when your baby is born. Take the recommendations (and if you have several ask the parents what they did or didn't like about the practice) and give the office a call and make sure that they are 1. taking new patients, 2. that they take your health insurance (very, very important) and 3. find out to what hospital they have admitting priviledges. My pediatrician's office was 1 of 2 practices that came in to the hospital and did daily well baby check ups and talked to me in the hospital. That was really nice because my son (6 months) had problems latching on (took him 4 days to get the hang of it!), so they worked with me in addition to the lactation consultant and scheduled appointments for me before the normal 1 week check up. He also had an unexpected, but not life threatening, birth defect, so it was nice to be able to be followed by the same practice who knew his history.

no normally your ob/gyn may know someone to refer you to. most times the doctor who sees your baby in the hospital may like to have your business and will tell you to make an appointment with them to see the baby by the time the baby is a week old. relax and do not worry about it, you have many other things do before she arrives.