I'm looking for a good pediatrician to take my baby to after she is born...any suggestions. Preferably in Lakeland area.

We love the Clark and Daughtrey group. We see Dr. Sandavol in Winter Haven, but have seen her partner Dr.Enlow who is based in Lakeland. They are open seven days a week. So if your child wakes up with a fever and ear ache on a Sunday you get to see a Doctor from your office and it does not cost anymore than a normal office visit. There is not a doctor in the practice we havent seen and we love them all. You stick with your main doctor but with kids getting sick on the weekends we have worked our way through them. The other day my mother called me at work to tell me my 10 month old was sick. I called the office at 9:30am and was seeing the doctor at 10:30am (which was as soon as I could get there from Bartow). When my husband and I went to them for an invterview they were great and answered every question we had and then some.

We like Dr. John Moore at the Watson Clinic South. His grandfather was my father in laws doctor and his father was my hubbys doctor, so it's kinda a cool tradition.

JavaJackie, that is a cool tradition! The south branch for Watson Clinic, is that the one near Harden Blvd?

Although I like a lot of aspects of our current Pediatrician, he is unavailable after hours.

Does anyone have a pediatrician that offers weekend and after hour care they would recommend? And have you utilized it?

I don't know about the lakeland area but i have heard nothing but good things about Dr Kline In winter haven.. which we might switch to here soon!

I take my daughter to Winter Haven pediatrics to see Dr. Sandoval. I think she is a great, very personable doctor. She answers every question that you have and will not let you leave without explaining everything she possibly can to you. I would recommend her to anyone.

Shawn, the Pediatricians at Winter Haven pediatrics can be reched by phone after hours by calling the Winter Haven Hospital and asking for the doctor on call. They will take your name and number and have the pediatrician get back with you very quickly. I have utilized this several times because of my child having Febrile Seizures, which are seizures brought on by high fever.

Krystal, then we need to talk! That is my concern now, Lilly had one on Monday, I posted a topic about it in children's health. It is the scariest thing I have ever gone through! If you can find time, can you go to that topic and tell us a little about your experiences?

We also take my daughter to Dr. John Moore, III at Watson Clinic South. We tried another pediatrician when she was first born, but had problems getting her to return calls, and she seemed to just prescribe the same meds anytime we went in no matter what it was for.

Dr. Moore is great about fitting you in no matter how last minute it may be, and Watson Clinic has limited Saturday hours (if I'm not mistaken) and a pediatrician on call after hours at all times.

My daughter has pretty bad asthma and her immune system is slower developing so she seems to be sick all the time! Dr. Moore and staff have always been wonderful to work with.

I love my daughter's pediatrician. Dr. Sanchez is with Gessler clinic (Winter Haven). The clinic has an after hours number and Sat. hours. One of the best things in my opinion is that Dr. Sanchez gives out her personal pager number. So rather than reaching a service or one of the other 2 doctors when you call after hours you always get your baby's pediatrician. I have only had to call it once but she called back right away. My sister uses the same doctor and she has always called her back within 5 mins.

Hi! Welcome! We take our children to Dr. Ghayal at Watson Clinic South! She is always available and goes above and beyond the call of duty! Our son Austin absolutely adores her and Alina (7mos) just laughs at her smile. I think she is fantastic. Really, everyone at Watson Clinic South is great, but I just connected with Dr. Ghayal. We saw her once when our 1st pediatrician was out of town. Ever since that first meeting, I switched peds and it's been fantastic ever since. She lets you know ahead of time when she'll be taking vacations and is just perfect for us! Ultimately you have to choose someone who "fits" you and most importantly your children. But definitely look into the Pediatricians at Watson Clinic South...they are all great.

My OB doctor is Dr Langley with Watson Clinic, and when I went in for my post op check up I asked him who he recommended, and he said that he and his nurse used Dr Eanet with Watson Clinic. I currently use Dr Silva with Gessler Clinic, but wanted to switch over to Watson Clinic since the rest of my family uses them. When I called for an appt, (my daughter is 8 mos) the nurse was so rude and said he only accepted newborns as new patients. I was really disapointed. Do you know if all of the doctors with Watson Clinic follow this rule?
Thanks, Julie

Julie, Thank you for letting us know that. Doctors’ taking new patients is an aspect we must consider. I am glad you brought it up.

I like my pediatrician, not his hours. The reason I stayed so long with him ultimately is because of his staff. They are super nice and work me in anytime I need it, as long as it is within office hours.

For my husband and me, we have dealt with awful and rude staff to get to great doctors. Sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. Professional courteous office staff is important to me.

Another vote for Dr. Moore, never have a hard time getting in to see him and he is always thorough