Hellobee

When I was pregnant with LeLe, I read a million articles about how to choose a pediatrician. I printed off the little questionnaires and brought them with me to interview potential doctors. Our choices were limited as there are really only two practices where we live, so we interviewed a couple of doctors at each practice. We ended up with a really awesome pediatrician, and I really like the rest of the providers too, so I guess I did this right, but really it is a bit of a guess and check process.

The first step was to read about what to look for. Mr. Cereal and I sat down and decided what traits and features were most important for us at a practice. For me, I wanted it to be close, I wanted there to be weekend hours, and I wanted someone who would work with me and my child instead of just telling us what to do. Most importantly, I wanted a doctor who wasn’t going to poo poo me if I had fears. Mr. Cereal was concerned about availability of appointments and he wanted to make sure that we were getting someone who was younger and could be our pediatrician for a long time.

The list of questions I had was ridiculously long, so we narrowed it down to about 5 or 6 questions that we thought were most important. I actually took notes during the interviews with each provider, and then later on Mr. Cereal and I used those notes to make a final decision.

What is your child rearing philosophy? This was important to me because I wanted to do more of an attachment approach, but some pediatricians balk at this and that would have been a deal breaker for me. This also covered immunizations, bed-sharing, and other hot topic items that we had opinions on.

Are you available in the event of an emergency? For me, having to go to an unfamiliar doctor in the case of an emergency was not very appealing, so this ended up being important to us.

Will you be available via email for questions? One of my other parent friends recommended finding out about this because sometimes you have a question that is not urgent, and could easily be addressed via email rather than a phone call or an in-person visit.

Will you be our primary doctor, or will we get shifted around to multiple providers? I really feel like seeing the same person for routine visits is important to maintain consistency, so this was pretty important to me.

Are you supportive of long-term breastfeeding? I had intended to breastfeed for as long as possible with LeLe and I wanted to be sure that the pediatrician we chose supported that decision.

And for our last “question”, we assessed the overall environment. Is the office welcoming? Are the receptionists friendly and easy to work with? Are the nurses friendly? Are there separate waiting rooms for sick and healthy children? What is the proximity to the hospital? Are there other services on site, or will we have to go to another site for x-rays, blood draws, etc.?  

I set up interviews with two providers at two different practices, one being newer and bigger, and one at an older facility with fewer providers. The two providers at the larger practice had both been practicing for a number of years, and the two at the smaller practice were fairly new. We interviewed the two at the larger practice first, and we both really liked one of them. The facility was really nice, but kind of far away from our house and from the hospital so a potential transfer would be by ambulance and could take some time. They had a separate waiting area for sick kids and for healthy kids, which was nice. The receptionist was friendly, and the nurse we met was too. Overall, the visit was really nice and we both walked away feeling good about going there.

The smaller facility was located right next to the hospital and had 6 providers. We interviewed two providers who worked as a team, which is how they assign you a provider at this practice. Each provider works three days a week, so if you need to get in for a random appointment, you can get in to see a provider you are comfortable with. Both pediatricians were extremely nice and one in particular, I really connected with. The receptionist was super nice and welcoming and the nurse was amazing and spent about ten minutes chatting with us while we waited for the doctors to come in. The only real downside was that the actual facility was not amazing, it shared a waiting room with an immediate care unit and there was no designated area for sick vs healthy kids. The visit definitely exceeded our expectations, so we decided to chat about our visits and make a decision that evening.

After a lot of talking and back and forth, we finally decided on the smaller practice with the team doctors. I had such a good connection with the pediatrician we met with, and her partner doctor was also incredible. The location was ideal and they had all the other parameters we had discussed. I knew for sure that I had made the right decision when I actually gave birth. The hospital I delivered in has on staff pediatricians who are just there to treat newborns and any children that are admitted to the hospital. Because of this, I was not expecting to see our pediatrician until two days after birth, when we had an appointment scheduled. But the day after I gave birth, our pediatrician came over to the hospital to meet LeLe and say congratulations. It meant a lot to me and really left a lasting impression.

I am continually impressed with how great this office is and how much I like the providers. They were very helpful and sympathetic when Little Bug was going through his reflux and tongue tie issues. I have had great interactions with the nurses and other staff there and I am very pleased with our decision.

Choosing a provider for your child or children can be pretty intimidating, and in some cases, your initial choice can turn out to be wrong. Don’t be afraid to switch providers if you are having issues with your current provider. Make sure that you do some research, and ask your other parent friends who they recommend.