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Try your local tattoo shop. Most of the time they do piercings as well.
My 2 holes in my ears and belly button were all pierced by plastic surgeons. Granted, they were friends of the family, but I also have a friend that got a tattoo from a plastic surgeon. It was the only way his parents would let him. I would guess that if you do your research you will find an MD who would do this for you, for sure. I think it's the safest way, myself.
ETA: My godfather, the plastic surgeon who did my ears, totally had special guns and supplies just for this. I am pretty sure that plastic surgeons do piercings as part of their job. I wouldn't be shy about making an appt just for that.
I'd find a local body piercer--they'll have hollow needles, which are way better for ear piercing (they don't traumatize the tissue the way a piercing gun does, which basically forces the jewelry through the ear).
I had mine done at piercing pagoda and they were fine. The only ones that got infected were the cartilage ones (which are harder to keep for anyone I think). Just make sure you are ready for the upkeep when they are new to keep them clean for her.
I got my 2nd holes done at a Piercing Pagoda at the mall... They were very clean and very quick... I see kids there everyday.
The only other place I can think of are tattoo shops or body piercing places (here we have one called Checkered Past- super expensive however)... both are super clean if you would decide to go that route but I know most moms would probably rather do the mall thing.
As someone who dated a tattoo artist in the past and spent a lot of time in more than one shop I would recommend that you don't bring your toddler to a tattoo shop. They are very clean, but in general they aren't the type of place I would ever bring a toddler. You just never know what you're going to see there.
I would say look for doctors in your area that do it or just go to piercing pagoda. If you take care of them properly you shouldn't have any problems with a earlobe piercing from a place like that.
I had mine done by my doctor when I was 9. I took my little sister to get hers done at a tattoo/piecing place. She said it didn't hurt at all. The guy did a great job.
Ugh, do not go to any mall shop to do them, or anywhere that uses a piercing gun. They pierce by forcing the usually-not-very-sharp earring stud through the skin, which causes a lot of trauma to the tissue. Not to mention that the piercing guns they use cannot be fully sterilized.
Go to a proper piercing shop. They use very sharp, hollow needles which punch that tiny little bit of skin out instead of just blowing through it, thus making actual room for an earring stud to sit in the hole. They probably will not let you use "regular" earrings for the initial holes though; they will most likely use labret studs (like this). They look like a regular earring from the front but the smooth back won't irritate the new piercing or trap bacteria, and they can also be made of titanium, which IMO is the best choice for a first body piercing as you don't know what metals she might be allergic to, and titanium is generally inert in that sense.
If you go to a shop that only does piercings (as opposed to piercings and tattoos) you will be able to avoid much of what @Navy_Wife was referring to when she said "you never know what you're going to see there". Piercing-only shops are much more "calm" than tattoo shops, in my experience.
Read the first myth answer in this article. Google this, too, and you will find a plethora of info on the subject.
I had mine done at a Claire's when I was prob about 10, and mine turned out just fine!
Also, sidebar, and totally just a personal opinion...but props to you for waiting until she started asking for them! :-) I HATE seeing babies getting their ears pierced at the mall. They didn't ask for that, and it still hurts even if they might not remember it later...
Thanks ladies! @FutureMrsBPB - I got mine done at 9 and I always asked my mom why she waited so long but when I had my daughter I just couldn't see myself inflicting pain on her solely for the purpose of being cute.
I'm glad you waited until she was old enough to want and ask for them! I'm going to be weird and disagree with the other posts here - my four ear piercings were all done at Claires with a piercing gun and I had zero problems. Hollowing needles hurt so friggin bad in my experience. Although that may have more to do with the fact that the needle was used on my nose and lip, not my earlobe. But I don't know anyone who's had a problem after getting their ears pierced at the mall, except for one cousin who it turned out had an allergy to the metal the earrings were made of.
Go to a real piercer, the momentary pain doesn't matter nearly as much as the risk of infection. Like PPs have said, guns can never be fully sterilized, not to meantion it's much harder to place the earrings properly.
It seems like common sense to take your baby to a place where piercing is their job, rather than something a 18 year old does between stocking jelly bracelets and glitter earrings.
My mom had mine done when I was a baby at my pediatrician's office. Safest bet! Since your daughter is so young, I think it would give you the most peace of mind to do it at the doctor.
I think I was 10 or 11 when I had mine done at the pediatrician. Next time you have to go in for something routine, just have it done then?
My pediatrician did mine when I was 12 years old or so.
The contraption he used was a single-use thing. Each was individually wrapped and sterile.
I got all of my ear piercings done at either Claire's or the piercing pagodas at the mall (two holes in each ear plus my cartilage in one) and had no problems what-so-ever with any of them.
I also had my belly button done at a tattoo/piercing parlor and had no issues with it either (although obviously couldn't have that done at a pagoda at the mall).
@Jeannine @ Small Chic: I didn't know they did that. That's awesome. Sounds like the best bet to me!
I'm a little surprised at the suggestion to bring a 2 year old to a tattoo/body piercing place. I was scared when I got my tattoo at 21!
When my daughter is old enough, I'm going to go through a doctor's office, even if it costs more.
I got mine done at a store in the mall when I was 7 and I'm pretty certain I was exposed to HepB as a result (since I now have antibodies against it that I wouldn't get just from the vaccination) and can't donate blood.
Thank God my mother had be immunized otherwise I could be looking at a chronic infection.
I had mine done by a plastic surgeon. My dad was paranoid that I'd get AIDS (he's a little crazy), so if I wanted them done that's how I had to do it. It was safe obviously, but they still got infected. I think they wanted to charge $250, but my dad was friends with him so we only had to pay $50.
I didn't even know you could do it at the pediatrician. I would do that.
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My daughter is almost two and a half and doesn't have her ears pierced yet. When she was little I was too scared that she might get an infection and then when she was older I was worried that she would mess with the earrings. She's been asking about having earrings and I think now is a good time.
The problem is that I don't know where to take her to get it done. Claires and places like that are sketchy to me. I've had bad experiences with those places and I don't want my daughter to have to go through that. I once heard that a Dr. can do it but I don't want to make an appointment just for that reason.
Anyone have any advice?