--You will be visiting the pediatrician a lot more than you think, especially in the first few months of your baby's life. Narrow down your list to offices on your insurance provider's list within 15 minutes' drive (or less).

--Ask your OB, GP, and friends (or even strangers) with kids for referrals. See if there is a local mom's group or online parents network you can join and get the inside scoop. Don't reinvent the wheel -- there are hundreds of local parents who have already done the research on this!

--Try to interview at least 3 pediatricians in person while you are still pregnant. Most will have some sort of protocol for this (a prenatal consultation, sometimes free, sometimes for a fee). After your baby is born, it is much harder: running errands with a newborn is very stressful, and the doctors are more likely just to schedule a real appointment than an interview. If you decide not to stick with that office, you will need to have all the records transferred. My son's vaccination schedule was moved 3 times and he almost received the same shots twice!

--Investigate the practice's after-hours policies: what happens if your child gets an earache on the weekend or an eye infection in the evening? Hopefully there is an efficient and thorough system in place (i.e., advice nurse available who can page a doctor from the office if necessary).

--Find out whether you are likely to receive consistent care. For example, one doctor I visited said, "Your child will probably see all of the doctors here eventually!" And, "If you see another doctor when I'm on vacation, be sure to remind me what happened, because we don't communicate about that." That same office had a complex phone tree instead of a person answering their main phone line. I wasn't convinced that the staff would remember Charlie and provide personalized care. In contrast, at the office I am with now, the staff know us well on the phone or in person, and the doctor even administers shots personally (rather than the nurse).

What should you look for in a pediatrician? In my opinion, the most important thing is sympathy and a matching philosophy, NOT the technical stuff that the pregnancy books tell you to ask about (i.e., where did you get your degree, do you have a separate waiting room for sick kids, etc.) Here is the best advice I can come up with, after having tried out 4 or 5 pediatricians, ranging from awful to fantastic:

--I hate to say it, but I think it's just better to have a female pediatrician who is a parent herself. A lot of the issues that will come up are about YOU: i.e., how the baby's sleep patterns are affecting you, whether you think he is eating enough, how you feel about antibiotics, etc. You will get more empathy from another mother, and you will need it.

--You can assume that however the doctor comes across in your first meeting will be a good predictor of his or her personality. At my first visit with Dr. A, he stood by the open door looking at my son, then wandered off without explanation. At subsequent meetings, he never communicated with me about the tests or vaccinations he planned to order. In contrast, Dr. B generously stayed after the office was closed to meet with me. Thereafter, she always gave me as much time as I needed and never rushed an appointment.

--Present the doctor with specific sample scenarios. For example:

*What if my baby doesn't gain enough weight in the first few weeks?
*What would you advise if I told you my baby was still waking up every 2 hours at 5 months of age?
*What if my baby suddenly refused to accept a bottle?
*Do you recommend a specific schedule for introducing solid foods?

See if the doctor gives you a clear and multifaceted answer (i.e., "There are several things you could do. The advantage of starting with rice cereal is that it provides iron supplementation, but it can cause constipation in some babies. Alternately . . ." etc.) Be wary if they provide a vague answer ("Oh, yes, we'll discuss all that") or an over-simplified answer ("You should always start with rice cereal.")

--Try to see where the doctor stands on "political" issues like the family bed, homeopathy, sleep training, formula, vaccination schedules, etc. to make sure they are on the same page as you are. You need to be able to trust the advice this person gives you, so you need to start with a common set of assumptions.