April Munchkins 2013- enjoying our wonderful babies!

[doggylover]

I totally understand that it must be horrible.

I would imagine that your school has someone who is in charge of co-ordinating special educational needs. It might be worth phoning the school and asking who the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator...that's what we call them in NI) is, and having a meeting with both them AND the class teacher, and even the principal, so that you can register with them the fact that this needs to be taken seriously and treated sensitively. Definitely speak with the speech therapist and ask her for practical tips you can give to the school. Obviously you shouldn't have to give them that info, but at least then you know they have it, and if they don't put in place any strategies to help Lucas that are needed, you can go back and raise hell because they have all the info.

 

[LittleSpy]

No there are government funded services, but you have to qualify financially and well, I we don't....

I do this time since hubby is a SAHD and has no income and we're now considered a family of four (yes, they count the unborn child as a family member for financially qualifying purposes). I don't know whether to be happy or cry about it, though. The limits for pregnant women are a LOT higher than the regular Medicaid coverage. If I get this promotion, I wont qualify anymore though so for the first year my entire $10k "raise" would go to insurance/hospital/doctor bills.

 

[LittleSpy]

Holy shit (excuse my language) I cannot believe you ladies in the states have to pay so much!!!! I think I just had a minor heart attack! I know we technically do pay for it through taxes, but you guys pay tax as well! It's no wonder some people in the US can't afford to pay for medical treatment!

Needless to say, all my healthcare is totally free. We can choose to go private (my dad offered the other day that if I'm not happy he would pay for me to go private. My brother is an NHS doctor and he went NUTS about the whole thing lol!!) but I don't see any reason why I would. And I can guarantee that it wouldn't be anywhere near $20,000!!

I cant believe this either!!! Its shocking that you have to pay to bring your baby into the world! What would they do if you had no insurance, got pregnant and went into labour? surely they wouldnt leave you on the street??

xx

But also, hospitals can't refuse to see you regardless of your debt to them. So they're going to go after you for the money, but they can't refuse service. If you have nothing they can sue you for (your house, car, bank account, etc) then I think they just write it off and I think the government may help refund some of those losses to the hospital. But basically, they expect you to find a way to pay and if you don't want your credit ruined, you'll find a way (When my bill, combined with my daughter's was almost $3000 after I had made a big payment, they set me up on payment plan of $36/month. It would've taken me forever to pay it off at that rate so I've been paying a lot more than that each month, but it was an option. They do try to work with you to get the money.

 

[maybesoon]

LittleSpy I'm in the same boat. If I am single or legally separated I qualify but with my oh I do not. So I'm on the fence on whether to apply or not. I don't want to get it & then if we get back together get it taken away. So I'm not sure what to do....

 

[LittleSpy]

The US is def not family friendly in that sense. Maybesoon, I'm with you on waiting to be financially stable. My biggest fear was never the actual birth cost, but the cost later. Since we only get between 6-12 week maternity leave (and often unpaid), daycare is a huge expense. Infant daycare in my area is $750/month. After creating our budget, we are expecting around $1000 extra expenses (added to everything we already have). So yes, having a baby in the US has to carefully budgeted. We would love to have number 2 shortly after, but financially it just doesnt make sense right now.
Very frustrating.

I remember growing up in Germany, having all the benefits and social aspects that make life much easier... the downside of course is almost 50% taxes! Not sure how happy that would make me lol

I guess it's never perfect.

And this is why hubby is a SAHD! Infant daycare around here is around $800/month. Just doesn't make sense for hubby to go to work to net $1000/month or less after daycare and gas and taxes and insurance and then to leave our 12 week old with a stranger. We agreed we couldn't do it. So we decided to cut our budget (goodbye cable, goodbye smartphones) and live off my income. It's been rough at times but we're managing. If I can't be with my baby, there is no one else I'd rather her be with than hubby. We're hoping maybe we can switch roles after this one is born but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Steph82]

LittleSpy, OMG that is crazy!! I am very lucky with the insurance my work offers! My co-pay for the delivery is $250 and they have been collecting $50 each visit until the $250 is met (that is a no complication delivery) and then my monthly check up is $20 and my UltraSound co-pay is another $20.

They said that covers the hospital for the 3 days as well.

Am I missing something??

Do you have like really expensive HMO coverage? Some HMOs just charge copays and you're not responsible for a percentage after that. Some make you pay the percentage as well. I know the HMO where I work charges a $250 deductible for a hospital stay... but then they also hold you responsible for paying 15% of that hospital stay. So you may want to look into that. But it really just depends on your insurance plan. You may just have really awesome maternity coverage.

I had PPO coverage so I had annual deductibles to meet and then my insurance paid just 80% of what they deemed was "covered" after that. So I was responsbile for 20% and anything they decided they didn't want to cover.

Yieks...I used to have PPO and remember the co-pays I had

I guess I am just really lucky with my company and the plan they have... $250 is the total co-pay for the year and everything else (even maternity and hospital) is 100% covered. They must be paying a very high amount for each employee monthly, because I only pay $9.71/ per paycheck.

I'm not sure I would have been able to afford a child if I was looking at $20,000.

 

[LittleSpy]

LittleSpy I'm in the same boat. If I am single or legally separated I qualify but with my oh I do not. So I'm on the fence on whether to apply or not. I don't want to get it & then if we get back together get it taken away. So I'm not sure what to do....

See, I wouldn't qualify without hubby, even with 2 kids. I make too much to qualify with just a "family of 3." So it's another reason to keep the bum around.

 

[LittleSpy]

ukgirl -- That teacher sounds horrible! I don't know how I'm going to cope with my kids in school. I'm way over mama-bearish. I'll be beating up kids and teachers alike (because that will set a wonderful example).

 

[ukgirl23]

Thanls doggylover thats a great idea.. he was being seen at a clinic but when he started in reception he statted doing it at school so I think some info has been lost in translation. its just so frustrating.

After reading what some of you ladies have written Im glad for the NHS. They are amazing in my view.

 

[ukgirl23]

Sorry for the spelling lol Im on my phone xx

 

[dan-o]

I'm also glad we only have the worries of paying our tax and national insurance bills rather than medical bills!

Well, and the worry that our income barely covers our outgoings, because I'm a SAHM and entitled to diddly squat. I think most of us in the uk have the same problem unless we qualify for benefits tho. silly system in the UK at the moment, we'd actually be better off living in council accommodation and getting paid by the government for not working at all

 

[Steph82]

On another note ladies.... any experience with breast pumps?? Is it sanitary to buy a used pump and just get new shields and such?

Since I'm going back to work, I'll need to pump some... plus I guess it helps for various times that I leave the baby with OH or my parents.

I know they have those bags that you can use for the freezer... do they fit in any bottle or do certain bottles have certain bags? God, i'm so new at all this...

 

[maybesoon]

Steph.... I'm right there with ya! I did get a great deal on a medela breast pump on Saturday. The girl bought it & never got to use it so she paid $350.00 for it & sold it to me for $90.00!!! My parents neighbor also gave me a Jeep all terrain 3 wheel stroller on Saturday. It's brand new & even has a speaker system you plug your ipod/mp3 player into. I felt like a queen on Saturday with such great baby stuff. I laughed pretty much all day about how my life has turned into being super excited about breast pumps, strollers & baby swings!!!!

 

[Steph82]

Maybe that is awesome!!! Love the 3 wheel stroller...and free is even better

So you can buy the "personal" parts for the pump sepperate? I've heard that the Medela is awesome but very expensive ($369 like you said) but I saw it on ebay for around $100.... I'm a little worried about buying it from someone I don't know but then again.... if I can change all the shields and such, it should be ok, right??

 

[maybesoon]

This lady is actually a friend of my bestfriend. And from what I have been told as long as you change out the tubing & stuff then you will be fine. You can buy most of the stuff you need from just about anywhere like Target, Walmart & baby stores. I'm actually going to buy new tubing for mine just because it was open, but all the rest of the stuff was still in the sealed packets.

 

[Bjs2005]

Morning Ladies!

Wow, I am glad for my insurance now. So far I have only paid $25 out of pocket for my prenatal care. My work pays for my insurance coverage, I only have to pay if I have dependents (DH and eventually baby). I also found out that since Obamacare I am still covered under my parent's insurance until I turn 26, so technically I am covered by other insurances and will have to pay little, if any $$ for this baby. I am lucky in that sense, as baby is due April 5 and I turn 26 on April 7 (but my parents coverage will continue until the end of April). So we shall see but I am glad I have good coverage for now!

As for breast pumps, I hear ya! Maybesoon, that is a great deal! I have been looking at Medela pumps on Amazon, and it's around $260! That is pretty pricey, but I hear Medela is definitely the way to go. I am all new to this stuff, so any advice you other ladies might have is appreciative!

On a side note, I was visiting with my Grandma yesterday and she asked how I was feeling. I told her I was feeling pretty good. She acted surprised and said "Really? You are?" I said "Yes grandma, I'm good. I'm not sick anymore." She turned to me and said "Well, I know about your condition, though..." She cracks me up, she is so concerned about me. I'm just pregnant, not dying! But I know she just cares about how I'm doing and I can't help but love her for that. So now we all joke about "my condition."

 

[LittleSpy]

On another note ladies.... any experience with breast pumps?? Is it sanitary to buy a used pump and just get new shields and such?

Since I'm going back to work, I'll need to pump some... plus I guess it helps for various times that I leave the baby with OH or my parents.

I know they have those bags that you can use for the freezer... do they fit in any bottle or do certain bottles have certain bags? God, i'm so new at all this...

I'm going to tell you after my experience last time I'm renting a pump from the hospital for the first month at least. I bought a used Medela PIS and new tubing/shields. The problem I had with it is that I felt it wasn't as powerful as it should have been. I think it was worn down from being used prior to me having it.

Also, it's known that since Medela is an open pumping system (not closed like a hospital pump or some other brands of electric pumps), it's best not to buy used because there's a chance moisture has gotten into the motor since you won't know how well the person before you dried their tubing before use. IME, moisture does build up in the tubing when you pump. It's not milk, just water condensation. I had 2 sets of tubing and let each set dry between pumping but there were times there was still water in the tubing when I pumped and I had no choice. If moisture has gotten into the motor, there's a chance that mold could be growing and that the pump could spit mold spores into your baby's milk. There's really no way to see or know it's happening. So after knowing that and after my experience with feeling like my used pump was a bit run down last time, I'm renting a pump from the hospital/lactation consultant before deciding how breastfeeding is going and deciding whether I want to go with just a manual or single electric pump (if breastfeeding is going well) or an electric pump (if my baby has breast aversion and refuses to nurse like dd#1 did). I'm aware my situation is different because of my IGT and the supply issues I had. But being pregnant last time, I didn't know any of that was going to happen. It would have been lovely for someone to have talked about their experience so I could have at least prepared myself for that being a possibility. So that's why I keep bringing it up here. I was DEVASTATED about my supply and that my baby wouldn't nurse. It never even entered my mind as a possibility.

 

[LittleSpy]

Morning Ladies!

Wow, I am glad for my insurance now. So far I have only paid $25 out of pocket for my prenatal care. My work pays for my insurance coverage, I only have to pay if I have dependents (DH and eventually baby). I also found out that since Obamacare I am still covered under my parent's insurance until I turn 26, so technically I am covered by 3 insurances and will have to pay little, if any $$ for this baby. I am lucky in that sense, as baby is due April 5 and I turn 26 on April 7 (but my parents coverage will continue until the end of April). So we shall see but I am glad I have good coverage for now!

As for breast pumps, I hear ya! Maybesoon, that is a great deal! I have been looking at Medela pumps on Amazon, and it's around $260! That is pretty pricey, but I hear Medela is definitely the way to go. I am all new to this stuff, so any advice you other ladies might have is appreciative!

On a side note, I was visiting with my Grandma yesterday and she asked how I was feeling. I told her I was feeling pretty good. She acted surprised and said "Really? You are?" I said "Yes grandma, I'm good. I'm not sick anymore." She turned to me and said "Well, I know about your condition, though..." She cracks me up, she is so concerned about me. I'm just pregnant, not dying! But I know she just cares about how I'm doing and I can't help but love her for that. So now we all joke about "my condition."

So... I hate to be the bearer of bad news and I hope this comes across as helpful because that's how I mean it -- but that's against the rules of "Obamacare." If you're even ELIGIBLE for other coverage, your parents can't cover you. So if they're paying for it, they're wasting their money as their insurance isn't going to cover a dime of your health care costs given you are not only eligible for other coverage but are actually covered by it. There may even be penalties associated with it. You may want to fact check that (their HR people should know) but I worked in insurance/benefits when that law passed so I'm pretty sure I'm right. They should really stop wasting their money.

And on the pumps, it's good to buy at Babies R Us with one of their 20% or 25% off coupons. Or Burlington Coat Factory with a 15% off coupon (there are a ton of those coupon in baby magazines - the free ones your OB will probably give you). You can get a new Medela PIS for under $200 those ways.

 

[LittleSpy]

Oh, and a little tip about Medela tubing -- You can call customer service and they'll send you a set of replacement tubes for free! Now, you have to kind of beat around the bush about it. Like your tubes are leaking or defective. And then they may try to charge you but if you say something like "well, I saw it for cheaper somewhere else, nevermind" they'll stop you before you hang up and ask your address and send it to you free. That's what I did.

 

[nimbec]

Hi ladies thankyou for your support I think she is just very old fashioned and has made assumptions about me that are not true! I'm not Posh we both work hard at full time jobs and just about cover bills and enjoy the odd meal out grrrr funny how people judge without knowing you. I'm so down to earth.

Uk glad you are getting some advice

Abd wow ladies that insurance stuff sounds very complicated!! And as Doggylover said we would be far better off on social support over here I have a friend who lives in a council house has rent payed also has 4 kids by 3 diff dads and gets £2000 per month plus extras direct to her account!! That's more than the uk average very good wage!! Frightening!!

Oh you have totally frazzled me on breast pumps I'm now having a research session. Shows how much I know I thought I'd be breast feeding or just part bottle and not need one DOH!