Is There a Doctor in the House?

I think most people have done it: made big ticket purchases only to find out afterwards that we grossly overpaid. For some of us (by that I mean me), it happened when we bought our first car. For others (hopefully not), it was when we bought a home. Some of you may still have TVs or car stereos that y'all can't figure out why y'all are still paying on them. Unfortunately, some of you are still paying on a wedding from several years back (if you live in Hollywood, you may be paying this, your divorce lawyer, and child support all at the same time).

The upside of this is that many of you will make these things learning experiences, things you vow not to repeat. Others of you, I dare say, have simply started a pattern. Either way, nobody likes to commit money or time to something that turns out to be less than acceptable.

This is the fear I carry with me as we search for a pediatrician. I recall when we purchased our first car. I remember how I felt (scared), how I acted (naive), how prepared I was (hardly), my shrewdness (hahahaha), and my knowledge in the area (besides knowing what wheels were ...). This is pretty much what I'm feeling now. I don't know anything about pediatricians. Until earlier this week, I didn't know where one was within 10 miles of me. So, without shame, I present to the world how Tim & I came up with our list of 12 finalists (out of the 35 near us and taking our insurance) which will be narrowed down to 3 this weekend:
1. We knocked off anyone farther than 15 miles away.
2. If you graduated before I was born ('79), I apologize, but you won't be our pediatrician (we want somebody with the latest training in medicine).
3. If you graduated after 2001, you also are disqualified for the exact opposite of the reason listed above. Some experience is good, too, you know?
4. If you didn't go to school in the United States, though Tim hates to admit it, he'd prefer someone who did.
5. We selected only those affiliated with a children's hospital.
6. Finally, this weekend we're going to do drive-bys of all the facilities left. If the office is shabby or the lobby dirty, we won't bother interviewing the pediatrician at all.

Sure, some of you will take issue with our list, but the truth is, we're doing the best we can. To be more honest, there are some disqualifying factors brewing in my mind that I'm ashamed to admit to. For instance, I don't care if my doctor is a male or female, but for some reason, I kind of hope that the doctor we select will be a female if we have a baby girl. I can't pinpoint quite yet why that is, but it is (I'll shuffle to the back of the classroom now). I think there are other things that even Tim is quietly calculating.

So, I conclude with this: if any of you have any suggestions on how to narrow the list or what questions we should ask in the interview process, please let us know. Otherwise, we may end up resorting to less than academic methods (blondes v. brunettes?).