Finding a Baby Doctor

When the pediatrician rolled into the "Newborn Seminar" on Rollerblades, Bill and I immediately knew we had chosen the right doctor's office. Dr. B is old enough that he's been in practice for more than 10 years, but young enough that we were able to imagine how much fun our son or daughter will have going to see him for years to come. Think about how much more you would've liked your doctor if he had skated into the room to give you that needle!

He went through a PowerPoint presentation explaining everything we should expect from the baby after the birth (from birth marks to misshapen heads) and some of the basic care steps. For example, he defines a fever as 100.4 degrees. And always call his office with questions, no matter what because he'll give you a better answer than your neighbor or your mother-in-law, and he might just save you a trip to the emergency room. (Or he'll tell you to get there right away.) And the office staff members make sure that sick children are separated from well children in the waiting room as a measure to prevent the spread of any illnesses and germs, which is one of those questions they tell you to ask about when interviewing pediatricians.

He also said that, while breast milk is best for babies, he recommends "feeding them," and will support parents whether they breast feed or bottle feed. That's kind of my theory on it as well, so I liked that.

So we'll give his name at the hospital when we go to deliver, and he (or another of the doctors in the practice) will check up on the baby each day we're in the hospital, and then again two or three days after delivery.

We also got a little tour of the office, and then he had to leave to pick up his son a soccer game. He hopped in his little Porshe and drove away.

We just loved him and the office. The only thing he lost any points for was that, when he rolled into the room, he was carrying an Eagles mug, so you know for sure now that we'll be dressing little Baby Pavlou in Giants/Mets/Devils gear before each well visit!