Thanking the advertisers and some requests

Very special thanks to our advertisers! (Why I say "our" when it's really just me is beyond me.)

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Read MSNBC.com to see how your marriage stacks up to the marriages of the people who went on camera with them. I love advertisers who promotoe voyeurism...

FireHouse Dog is a movie about a dog who fights fires and rides a skateboard. 'Nuff said. I trust you'll be there opening weekend, as I will.

Now, Gretchen has a request. She'd like to know how to go about finding a pediatrician when you 1) are new to the area and don't know other parents yet, 2) work full-time, 3) have a list of 20 doctors that are on your plan, 4) have a 2-year-old who takes a long time to warm up to people and even longer to warm up to doctors, and 5) have no babysitter so you'll have to take your shy toddler along on all the visits to meet the doctors. Alternately, if anyone can just suggest a great doctor in Cleveland, that might be even more helpful to her (but less helpful to the greater knowledge base).

Also, just so you know, if you use pocket diapers (they're a kind of cloth diaper) and are looking for super-thin, super-absorbant stuffers, the Trader Joe's super dish towels (made of viscose) sold in a 2-pack work really well. Go figure.

Comments

[Ricki Widlak]

My sister-in-law, Marilee Gallagher, is a pediatrician in Cleveland. She is a sensible, matter of fact, very caring woman who is the type that other women always like. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Case Western Reserve. Please email me!

[Kate]

I think this is the situation that other toddler parents that you run into (on weekends at the park, library, grocery store) would be very responsive to and you'd get names (hopefully on your list). You'd have to get out there and be sort of bold about going up to people with similar-age kids, but I know that I'd be totally willing to help someone in your situation.

If you are worried about philosophical parenting issues along with medical and you tend towards AP/crunchy you might want to call a Cleveland La Leche contact for a recommendation.

But I think your restraints might also help you whittle down your list. Who has late or early hours and can meet with you at 7:30am or 6pm? When you take your 2 year old, who is really great with the toddler and with you?

Good luck!

[bridget]

i do love bamboo fabric, but it's the pandas you have to watch out for, not the koalas. They eat eucalyptus.

[Tanya]

East side of Cleveland or West side? I'm on the east (Heights). My baby is only 5 months but we like our pediatrician a lot. Email me if you like. Other than either interviewing the doctors or trying to ask parents at places you might frequent I have no brilliant ideas.

[hedra]

My general advice is to start with the hours that you can live with. No point finding a doc you love if you can never make their hours.

So filter on hours (and location) first.

Second, filter on typical wait times. The office staff will know if they tend to be double or triple booked.

Then, if possible, do a phone interview. That might not be possible, though, and sometimes you'd end up interviewing the staff instead, which may be misleading. But at that point your list should be managable.

Oh, and I'd take the kids to the interview, anyway - how would I know if there's a DEFINITE mismatch (doctor who is told child is slow to warm up gets up in their face loudly or is cold/distant, etc.), unless the child is there? Some docs are great with adults, rotten with kids, even the ones who specialize in pediatrics.

I'll also ditto calling any group or organization that is on your general planet (LLL, Nursing Mothers, etc.) and asking them.

And last tip, my dad's favorite - call the pathology lab at the nearest hospital that the doc is likely to have priviledges at. The pathologists tend to know which doctors hone in on tricky diagnoses fast, and which are shooting in the dark. A good diagnostician is REALLY useful, especially with kids. Just ask to talk to one of the pahologists who works with pediatrics labs, and ask them if there's a doctor amongst the ones you have your list whittled down to who they'd recommend over the others, or any they'd suggest you generally steer clear of... Nurses are generally not willing to give direct advice on the doctors to see or not see (professional issue), but pathologists are more likely (in my dad's experience) to pass on their opinion.

Good luck!

[Maria]

When we were moving from one city to another and had to switch doctors, our son's ped told us to call the hospitals with nurses and ask them to recommend area pediatrians. She said they know the good and bad doctors and are sometimes willing to make recs. Although, I like hedra's idea of asking the pathologists too.

Does Cleveland have a list serve for parents? The town I used to live in had fantastic on-line resources for parents, including a very active list serve. People were always more than willing to give their advice re docs.

Good luck!

[ValleyGal]

What about your (and your husband/partner's) co-workers? I've always asked (or had my husband ask) the person in the office who seems the most likely to be choosy about doctors and followed their recommendations. Even if they don't live in your part of town, they probably know someone who does. And, they're likely to have your insurance, so they'll know which offices accept that insurance and are easy to deal with (some offices prefer certain insurers over others and can be a pain if you have insurance they accept, but don't like). Or, if you moved in-state, your pediatrician in your old town may know someone in your new town...

P.S. I think bringing the shy toddler along is a good thing. You need to know which doctors will be capable of handling your child appropriately and find one that will be gently respectful of your child's boundaries and needs.

[Lisa]

Is there a local mothers' club that you could join and ask for advice? When we moved last year, I found my daughter's pediatrician by searching the local club's online discussion forum. Or, since you work full time, maybe there are other mothers at work that you could ask? Finally, since so many practices have websites these days, you could search the names on your list and see what turns up. Besides indicating office locations and hours, a site can sometimes give you a good sense of a doctor's philosophy. You may be able to whittle the twenty names down to ten or five just by doing this. Best of luck.

[Evelyn]

We just moved and here's what we did:
Our son was seeing a specialist in NY, who recommended a specialist he personally knows here in FL. The specialist and his nurse practicioner recommended or pediatrician. A mommy who lives across the street from us just happens to use that pedi and loves him! Also, I found a "natural birth" friendly practice of OBGYNs and Midwives for myself and asked them to recommend someone.

[Serena]

Just agreeing with the parent email list/forum idea - we have a local one here and there are always posts going out about doctor recommendations (for kids and adults) - it is actually for the town next to mine, so I would search yahoo (or other) groups for a couple of town names nearby. It has been super helpful for many ideas/advice and it is nice to have a virtual network of parents.

[Summer]

I think it's fairly easy to whittle a list of doctors down fast, just by calling the office. Did a human answer the phone in a reasonable amount of time? Yes? That doctor stays on the list. No? Cross that one off, you don't need to deal with voice mail when your kid spikes a fever. Or ever, really.

I am of the opinion that a doctor's office staff matters as much, if not more, than the doctor him/herself. If you can't get your phone call answered, if you can't get an appointment quickly, if the office staff is unhelpful or rude, then it doesn't much matter how great the doctor is, because the front office controls your access to the doctor.

The other thing I found, when I was working my way through a long list of potential pediatricians, was that the majority of them weren't taking new patients. I think I started with a list of 12 or 15, and after eliminating all the doctors who weren't taking new patients or who didn't answer or return my call, I wound up with... one. Luckily I liked her!

[Jennie]

I had no idea how to 'interview' a pediatrician before my son was born, but here is some of the advice I got.

Start with OB/GYNs and ask for their recommendations.
Narrow the list by insurance, location, office size, and philosophy. A good question to ask is whether or not they have an on-site lab (if you have a sick child, can they do lab work at the visit, or do you need to drive to another location for tests), do they have a phone line you can call with questions and for advice and is it free or do they charge you, how many patients do they have per pediatrician and do they have a limit on this number (this will give you an idea about how difficult it will be to get an appointment, how long you may have to wait to be seen, and how much time they will spend with you per visit).

You can always get recommendations from parents at your workplace, daycare provider, parks, Target, or post a question describing the type of doctor you're looking for on craigslist.com or a similar forum.

[beth]

I grew up in the Cleveland area and went to Isabel Guadiz, who's still practicing. She's absolutely fantastic. She's on the west side at (old) Columbia and Lorain, and has a practice with another, younger doctor who also seems very good (Heidi something, I think). Her office might be able to give some advice on the 20 doctors listed, too - I'd certainly trust anything they could tell you.

[luolin]

I'm in the middle of looking for a pediatrician, so all this is helpful. I just found out that the one I have the most recommendations for only meets potential parents of patients at the practice's "meet the parents" nights, and both of the ones before my due date conflict with my schedule. sigh.

I asked at a LLL meeting, and they told me "we can't make recommendations officially--but ask some of us individually after the meeting is over," so I don't know if it will work to call an LLL office.

[Gretchen]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, folks. I'm very anxious to narrow this down to one or two practices before I do the visits/interviews, since any negative experiences my daughter has with prospective doctors are just going to make her more afraid of the whole thing.

Beth - thanks for the recommendation - they were actually on my list of places to check.

Other Cleveland folks - We're on the west side (Olmsted Twp. near North Olmsted) so I've limited the search to west side practices within 30 minutes or so of our new house. If there are any other suggestions from that area, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for all your suggestions - I'll let you know how much of a horror show this turns out to be ;)

[Melinda]

Hi Gretchen,

We're in the Heights too so our doc wouldn't be much help. I'd suggest joining http://www.apcleveland.com/ and asking on there. Mamas from all over NEO are on there and are very kind.

[Sarah]

When I was pregnant, I asked my OB for pediatrician recommendations, and he was surprisingly very willing to offer a few, including the pediatrician he took his own children to.

If you don't have any established doctors to ask for recs, then check to see if a bunch of the pediatricians are all in the same location and ask a member of the office staff for a recommendation (!). I did that out of desperation when I had to choose an OB and had no idea who I should pick. I confessed my quandary to the receptionist, and she confided in me that one of them was really nice and that her sister used him and thought he was great. I went with him and yes, he turned out great. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe it's a good way to find the good docs in a practice!

[Kathy B.]

I would like to hear back from some of the people who came to you with problems-- what advice they took, what worked for them, what did not.

[Mandy]

I was able to eliminate a few doctors based upon the conversations I had with the person answering the phone.

When I found an office (3rd or 4th on the list) that said "why don't you come in for a new mom visit, you can meet the doctor and his nurse and ask as many questions as you want" I was intrigued.

I was pregnant at the time and able to ask a lot of questions and feel like I got to know the dr. The best part has been that he's exactly how he presented himself that day, and since then my husband and I have switched to him as well. Taking the toddler along sounds like a good idea to me - what's important during that first interview is not necessarily that he take to the dr right away, but that you get a chance to see how the doctor acts in response to the child. The warmup can come later.

[Jen_nifer]

Comment on the bamboo towels - I was a houseguest with friends who had received bamboo towels as a wedding gift. They are indeed incredibly soft, and absorbent. Unfortunately, they take forever to dry. When she washed them it took two dryer cycles, and to dry them on a towel rack (after normal use) took at full 24 hours.

[generic viagra]

If you don't have any established doctors to ask for recs, then check to see if a bunch of the pediatricians are all in the same location and ask a member of the office staff for a recommendation (!). I did that out of desperation when I had to choose an OB and had no idea who I should pick. I confessed my quandary to the receptionist, and she confided in me that one of them was really nice and that her sister used him and thought he was great. I went with him and yes, he turned out great. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe it's a good way to find the good docs in a practice!