Pediatrician Schmediatrician

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Being fairly new to the area that I live, and not having any new "mom" friends around me, I was completely starting from square one with the search for a pediatrician. I have one friend with nieces who lives near us, so I asked her sisters for a recommendation. My mother-in-law also asked around our neighborhood and what did I get? Conflicting recommendations. Of course.

Friend's Sister: "We go to Place A they are THE BEST, but just to warn you, I WOULDN'T go to Place B, I've heard terrible things about them!"

Neighbor: "OH! We go to Place B, and I can't recommend them enough! We LOVE Place B, they're fabulous!" 

Hmmmm.... so is Place B fabulous or terrible? I made consultation appointments at both places to get a feel for them ourselves. We liked them both for different reasons, and had apprehensions about both for also, different reasons.

So I called a different pediatrician with a perfect location near our house, and right next door to Chris's office. I asked to set up a consultation and their response to me?

"We come highly recommended....we don't "do" consultations for new parents." 

Well gee, how helpful and considerate of you. If the middle finger could be given through the phone, I would have done it in this instance. I actually know someone who's pregnant right now that had the same exact experience when she called them. We both were so turned off by their response they were immediately crossed off the list, which was a shame because they would have been perfect for us.

So Chris and I consulted with a 3rd place that was recommended by my OB, and in the end, that's who we went with. He had good credentials, seemed very nice when we met him in person, and was only a 5 minute drive from our house and also from Chris's office...which to me, was HUGE, especially in the first year when we will be there so often.

Our only complaint was that we didn't "love" the look of the office - it's very small and could use a little bit of a makeover, but at the end of the day we are there for the doctor, not the paint color. We like him, and if for some reason we feel compelled to change at some point, it's easy enough to switch over to a new doctor. People do it all the time.

Natalie got her first shots on Friday at her 6 week check-up. It was horrible and she cried her first set of actual tears while she was there. I know this is the first of many very difficult doctor appointments not only for her, but for us as well!

Calm before the storm, before her appointment
Leaving the appointment, after her shots
Did you have a hard time picking a pediatrician? Do these doctor appointments get easier or harder?

Comments

  1. It's so hard to see your baby hurting when they get their shots. Or stitches. ;-) Isn't it weird how their pain becomes your pain? I can't say if it gets better or worse.

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  2. Because Dylan's in the military we go to the base hospital and see whatever pediatrician is available. We have two options when it comes to Tricare and we can change our option and go off base to a pediatrician of our choosing but it's easier to just go the base hospital. It can be a pain not knowing who we'll see because each person has a different opinion BUT we've really liked every one we've seen so far. James had his first round of shots yesterday and it was hard watching that but not as hard as it was watching him have blood drawn from his arm at 13 days old. I think next time will be easier because we'll be more prepared but I may not have them do as many vaccines that time around.

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    1. oh my gosh, I can't imagine how hard that must have been! My friend tells me they draw blood again when they are one year and that it's awful. OMG I can't take it. I'm so glad you've liked everyone you've seen so far!

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  3. We actually didn't interview any pediatricians before Hunter was born. We figured we would use the same doctor that my sister-in-law takes our nieces and nephew too. She loves him and I trust her opinion. I figured that was better than just going in blind and trying out someone that I knew nothing about. So after Hunter was born we just called the office to set up his first visit and we really liked the doctor from the moment we met him. He's very laidback and has a great way of easing any first time parent fears and anxieties. The doctor that delivered Hunter also delivered one of my nieces (my SIL also goes to the same practice) so we've really kept things in the family! We've ended up seeing two of the other doctors in the practice for sick visits when our main doctor wasn't available and really liked both of them as well so we are very happy with the practice.

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    1. so glad you like your practice! That's so nice you had your sister in law to use as a reference!

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  4. Gosh, it must be so hard to see your child in pain while getting shots. I'm glad you found a doctor you like. I can't believe what that one place told you. How arrogant!

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    1. def. arrogant...and therefore, def. not for us!

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  5. It hard to watch Natalie to be in pain :(
    If you are having trouble finding a dr for Natalie...
    Go to www.healthgrade.com
    And search for a dr in your area....

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  6. Aw poor Natalie! Our Jack has needed blood work for jaundice and belirubin since he was born. I think its harder for me than him. Ive cried everyday. We were lucky to get really great reviews from a lot of our mommy friends for our pediatrician. We've been there a bunch already and we are really pleased so far!!!! Oh and Jack has the same snow suit! They are little polar bears

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    1. man the blood work must be rough!! Hope all the hard stuff is over with now.

      yay for the snowsuit..it's soooo big on Natalie, but I don't want to get her a newborn one, she'll grow right out of it!

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  7. Oh my, I'm way over in Australia but somehow our daughters managed to wear almost identical outfits to their 6 week needles! Liv looked so teeny and sad in her little fluffy suit! Wow, that seems like so long ago, she's almost ready for her 4 month ones now :(

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  8. Aww!! She's so cute, even when she's upset about getting shots. A friend of mine who is the first to have a baby in that circle of friends found other new moms on Meetup, and said that was a good way to meet other new moms.

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