New in Denver!- I Need a Couple of Advices

Dr. Christtee Offerdahl - ###-###-####
4600 Hale Parkway, Ste. 400
Denver CO 80200

10 friends of mine and I go to see her - she is PHENOMENAL!! I used to live in Wash Park, delivered at Rose Hospital - close by and a great facility, with high risk delivery capabilities (if necessary.) I moved away and still drive a distance to come see her for my annual - she is truly a great doctor and a great person. Her whole group is great. Good luck - I miss Wash park!!

I can't say enough about PSL in Denver. I also had Dr Breeden as my Dr and loved the convienence of his office to the hospital and his staff. www.kusa.com has alot of info on moms like me and I have found that macoroni kid.com is helpful in keeping me up to date on happenings in the area. I live in Lakewood 20 min from downtown but they have things all over the city. Safe travels you will love Denver!

Rose Hospital, Presbyterian/St. Lukes or St. Joseph's Hospital all have excellent maternal and fetal healthcare units. Univ of Colorado Hospital is not longer in denver - it's in Aurora, a large suburb to the east of Denver. Ditto for Children's Hospital - now in Aurora - and it also is for high risk deliveries only.

to find a good licensed childcare in Colorado, go to www.corra.org - it is a referral and resource list for Colorado.

wonderful places around Denver for kids- Children's Museum, Downtown Aquarium, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Wildlife Experience.

Welcome to Denver!

Welcome to Denver!!
"close to Wash park" doesn't mean a lot to people who live here. It can mean just about anywhere, depending on your opinion of where Wash Park is. I live in Platt park, 4 blocks from the actual Wash Park... and close to me is a Goddard School for day care. It's too new (a few months old) for a reputation, but Goddard Schools in general have a great reputation. If you are going to live in Platt Park, there is the actual Platt Park and most moms and nannies are there with their kids before and after lunch - it's a good way to met locals. The same happens at Wash Park in the kids playground on Mississippi.
If you are closer to downtown, there is a montessori school called the Bergamo Academy that sounds interesting to me, bt I have not actually checked it out yet.
Also depending on location there is the story hour at the Decker (Platt Park) library or the downtown main branch - you can check that out online.
Personally I have not had good luck with any mom groups - organized or not.

Good luck!!

Oh - forgot about a doctor - I delivered my last at Rose hospital & I am pregnant now and plan to deliver there again - it's fine. Nothing special. I am going to Dr. Zarlengo who I like a lot - he is also right near Rose hospital. I think The U of C hospital is in Aurora, but I could be wrong about that - I don't think that is a do-able commute for me personally.

DenverMommies.com just opened. I would suggest joining them!

Hi M.,

Washington Park is a great, family oriented neighborhood, equipped with a very large park to play with your little one in, including a couple large ponds with geese and a decent garden, as well as a pool.

I can not say specifically but I know that there are several day care facilities as well as excellent schools in the neighborhood!

As far as Hospitals, Childrens Hospital is about 10. max 15 minutes away and Porter Hospital is also about 10 minutes away. If I had to choose, I would go for Children's.

Also know that there is a bit of a difference in food prep out here compared to Chicago due to the higher altitude, and thin dry air. Thus, please contact me when you get here, as I am a high altitude food specialist and it would be my pleasure to share some experiential tips with you!

Enjoy the journey, and have no worries, all will be good for grand beginning to a new year!

R./The Muffin Lady
www.themuffinlady.com

Pres/St Lukes Dr Weatherwax. Stay away from Rose Medical center big scare with Hep C there.

I really think you should consider staying home with your little guy. He will adjust to preschool when the time comes. If you have the opportunity to be home with him, take it! He will have enough new things without a new day care.

Welcome to Denver! I live in West Wash Park and LOVE it!! Everyone above did a great job mentioning all the fun things to do around here. Colorado is generally really nice weather so take advantage of the cool parks around here.

My son goes to Denver Christian and they have a 3 year old program that my son is in now and next year my younger son will be in! We love it!! I have also heard wonderful things about Washington Park early learning center.

My OB is Dr. Forschner. Dr. Breedman is his partner and I love them both! Dr. Forschner has delivered both my boys (via c section) and will be delivering my third this April. They are out of PSL. It's about 10 minutes from where I live. Hope you settle in alright!!

Midtown OBGYN! Love them... you deliver at Rose or St Josephs. I had both my girls at St. Joes... it is wonderful and I prefer it over Rose. Mainly because of the people, but also they have maternity triage area. That was important for me because we had to drive a bit to get to the hospital. Basically what that is, is they check you in and see how far along you are. If you aren't far enough, instead of sending you home they have a wing at the hospital that you stay and work on getting your labor up to speed. As it turned out I didn't need to use it, since both girls came very fast.
Also while prego with #1 I had my appendix act up at 7 weeks and had to have it removed! Scary stuff, but they took wonderful care of me- both the hospital and Midtown. At least 2 docs came to see me in my room the following days!
My doc is Dr. Brarta, but 2 other gals ended up delivering my girls. I can't remember either of their names off hand. You think I would, since they are only 1 and 2 years old lol.
But really every doc I have seen there was amazing! They have a new office and it is just wonderful. Nearly everything is done on site. Even ultrasounds...
I see a few others have mentioned them. They are the best! I would call in and just see who you get. I don't think you can go wrong.

I can't help with childcare advice. I am SAHM... lots of luck!

I delivered at St Joes with both and had great experiences with the large number of people I had to work with given our birthing situations. Wash Park is fairly close to lots of great walking areas for kids. My daughter is three and a half and attends Fisher Early Learning Center at DU. I believe they have some Tues/Thurs openings at the day care for kids that age. You would want to check with them sooner rather than later if you are interested in that as they are pretty highly in demand. I would say that if your son is used to preschool continuing that in some capacity will be important to both of you

I know I am pretty late in answering this but wanted to be sure you checked out Midtown OB/Gyn office. I see Dr. Zarlengo whom I love and have been going to for 24 years. I am on baby #4 due now and he has delivered all of my babies at Rose Medical Center which is right next door to University and I have had perfect experiences there. You can even get a special suite with a chef and all if you want (it costs extra out of pocket but pretty fun). Dr. Z's office has 6 doctors to choose from so you can try each of them if you want. I of course am partial to Dr. Zarlengo but I also like Dr. Christee Ofardahl in that office.

You will like the Wash Park Area, you close to a great Denver Park that you and your son can enjoy. As far as daycare, I have no input there so good luck and enjoy Denver!

I agree with Nora.... Dr. Christtee Offerdahl, is wonderful!! The name of her practice is Midtown OBGYN. They have about 4 or 5 great doctors here, and they all deliver at Rose Medical Center. I can't say enough great things about Rose... I had both of my kids there and would go back in a heartbeat. My original doctor was Lynn Barta (from Midtown) but when I went into labor, Dr. Zarlegno was on call and he delivered my daughter. Dr. Offerdahl came into check on us the next day and they both had us laughing. Wonderful people and great practice!!

Midtown OBGYN
4600 Hale Parkway, Ste. 400
Denver CO 80200
###-###-####

Also, you will find plenty to do with your son around the Wash Park area. Good luck and enjoy the time with him while you can!!

EDIT TO ADD: Looks like the Moms recommending Midtown have kiddos YOUNGER than my oldest, so they have been there more recently than I have. It also looks like it may not be 12+ doctors anymore. All of the doctors named in Alicia's email are very nice. END EDIT : )

I delivered son #3 (via repeat C-Section) at Lutherans. It was an older facility but the doctors & nurses were SOOOO nice. I loved it. I used a practice called "Westside Women's Care" for son #3 and liked it a lot but that would be pretty far from where you will be living.

I had Dr. Offerdahl for my 1st baby and I liked her too - but EVERYONE wants her so she can be HARD to get into see. I wasn't thrilled with Midtown. A lot of doctors in the practice talked about C-Sections as if I had a hidden zipper. And with a big practice like Midtown, odds of YOUR doctor delivering your baby are low.

I delivered son #1 at St. Joe's. They ALSO seemed to think I had a hidden zipper. I think the birthing center would be very nice for a "normal" delivery, but I wouldn't know - as they kept me on a gurney in an observation room for HOURS. If you are pretty secure that things will be quick and smooth, it will be lovely. Otherwise...look around.

I suggest that, if you don't fall in love with the 1st doctor you see, that you try someone else. Also, Rose had a great rep in the past but I have heard otherwise in recent years. Find out which hospitals your insurance will cover, visit them, see which you like best....

As for the rest, Wash Park is VERY walkable and will be a FUN place to have a family. You won't be too far from the zoo, Natural History Museum, or Botanic Gardens either. It's a very neighborly area, so I suggest that you spend a week or two "settling in" before you decide about a school/day care for your son. Your neighbors WILL talk to you and you WILL get local advice.

Welcome to Colorado! It is a WONDERFUL place to live!