The Official New Mom Thread

[llij]

Alice28 - Your mom is too funny! She sounds like a hoot!

 

[Alice28]

Jill! $1500 a month! OUCH. Obviously JP is worth every dime, but I hope your insurance company will reverse their decision, esp now with the cleft palate issue that could also hamper his breathing. to you & here's hoping for some more sleep for you as well.

OK, I am NOW OFFICIALLY DRAGGING MY BUTT AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!

 

[llij]

Thanks, Alice28! You're right with the OUCH for the $1,500! I hate to complain since I would pay whatever I could to ensure his health. Thankfully, we have 3 doctors who wrote up an appeal for John Paul.

This is also the same insurance company who rejected payment for my D&C since they said I went and used an "out of network" doctor. Huh? My doctor (OB) is in network and they all saw me throughout my pregnancy. They paid for the pregnancy and delivery but not the D&C? My mom used to work for an insurance company and said it was standard practice to make people jump through hoops to get payment. It is very frustrating and I am ready to write a letter to the state insurance commisioner.

Anyways, I'm off to bed now! Sorry to vent!

Have a great night ladies!

 

[zalansky]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, Hillary and Jill, I will keep you posted on any additional info I find or if anything I try works! We do still swaddle her though she is becoming proficient at "busting out" ( as we call it) - we have not tried white noise yet. I think we may try cereal over the weekend, just a wee bit, and see how it goes. I try to remind myself that someday in the not so distant future, I will be wishing my little girl was still a baby and these sleepless nights will be a fading memory.

Jill, also about the insurance company, I recall you mentioning this in the past but refresh for me....why are they not covering the shots for JP? I find that so upsetting. I was under the impression that health insurance paid for anything medically necessary? I even went to a chiropractor many times and my insurance covered that....so I am distured that an insurance co. would deny a baby needed treatments. It certainly would not hurt to contact the insurance commissioner, I think you should look into that.

Alice - your mom is a hoot for sure! That gave me a chuckle I needed before bed...because I am still peeved about Jill's insurance company!

Off I go to help DH with Cam....she went down at 8pm and here it is 11:00pm and she is up for her first feeding. She'll likely be up again around 3 - 4am. This will be her longest stretch. DH gets up with her at 3am and I get up at 6-7am and let him sleep in. Nite all.

 

[lissawynn]

Happy New Year's Eve to everyone! Jimmy is watching one of his new Blue's Clues dvds, and I'm trying to get my house cleaned up. After a week off work, you'd think my house would be spotless, but cleaning was the last thing I wanted to do. I won't even go into the mounds of laundry that has piled up in my basement. DH decided to go fishing. I could have used some help, but it's just easier not to have to step over him while I'm cleaning.

I have started my 7 layer dip and have my crab draining in the fridge for my crab dip. I'm also going to make Rice Krispy treats so we have something sweet to much on later on. Yesterday my sister and I got lobster tails and shrimp for tonight. A friend and her BF are bringing scallops, so I think we have the seafood covered.

My neck and back are killing me this morning. Jimmy, of course, slept with us last night, and I got pushed around and crawled on all night.

Alice - Your mom sounds like my mom. People just laugh at the stuff that comes out of our mouths. Yes, it may be potty mouth, but it's honest.

Jill - I hope your insurance covers whatever JP needs. My coverage is a mess. When DH and I were trying to get pg, I have fertility testing done. My co. insisted it was "treatment", and after months of hostile phone calls and going back and forth with my drs and the co, I ended up paying over $700 for stuff that should have been covered. I finally got it paid off in April. I vowed not to give them more than $40 a month. I was so angry b/c when Jimmy was born and I had my pay deductions, we really could have used that $$$.

zalansky - I hope you got some sleep!

 

[tkyes]

I am posting without reading, so sorry for not responding to anyone. We are on our way out the door to a bday party.

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year!!! Enjoy your nights!!

Tamie

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

We decided to take Lucas to the doctor this morning after all. Turns out he does have a cold. I was afraid it was croup, but it's just a common cold. We are still going to go to my aunt's tonight for game night, but we'll leave around 10 so Lucas can sleep with his humidifier on.

I have to make garlic bread and bruscetta for tonight which should be interesting. I'm not really good in the kitchen but I thought I'd give this a try.

Alice - your mom is hilarious! If that were my mom, I'd die. She's so not the type to say something like that.

llij - Hope that insurance mess gets straightened out. Sounds like a headache.

zalansky - Good luck with the sleeping. We swaddle also, but he can bust out. Our pack & play came with a nature sounds machine and Lucas loves the crickets.

Thanks for the compliments on Lucas's picture. My dad took it when Lucas was over there last week. See what happens when I'm not around? They put my baby in with the laundry. At least it wasn't the wastebasket. LOL.

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2006!

 

[llij]

Hi Everyone!

John Paul decided that he wanted to get up every two hours last night so both DH and I are exhausted today. Of course, he has been sleeping a lot today. I wonder if he is going through a growth spurt. I think he weighs about 8 1/2 lbs. now so a growth spurt would be good. He is still wearing newborn clothes.

Zalansky - I think that the reason why the insurance company has rejected the vaccine is due to several factors. It is a relatively new vaccine and very expensive. It isn't standard practice to give it out unless recommended by a doctor. In order for it to be covered a baby needs to meet specific criteria which is premature birth, lung issues, muscle issues, compromised immune system, etc. (I hope that I remembered that correctly.) Anways, John's pediatrician felt strongly that he met these criteria and was worried about him getting RSV this winter so she asked that he receive the vaccine. She told us that it would be expensive and asked that we clear it with our insurance company so we can special order the vaccine. My DH looked up our policy coverage and it states that it is 100% covered with no special criteria that needed to be met. He even spoke with two people who confirmed we were covered 100%. Heck I would be happy if they only covered 50%! Imagine our surprise when we get a letter stating that upon further review they are denying it b/c they don't think he meets the special criteria. Ugh. From a business perspective, I think they are just trying to save money which could be understandable, but if John ends up sick and in the hospital it would cost them more in the long run....not to mention that you shouldn't put a price tag on the health of a baby, but I'm not exactly looking at it from that standpoint. I digress....

It is frustrating b/c it is another sub-group within the company that rejected it after another group approved it. We are in a special appeal process which will take a few weeks, but I went ahead and started the process to get him immunized now. We've already lost a month with this headache. Thankfully, the ENT and pediatrician are fighting for us. I trust the doctor that if she feels strongly that he should have it then he should. I forgot to add that I also think the doctor really wants John to have the vaccine b/c I have two school aged children in the household who are constantly exposed to sickness at school. She was very concerned that one of the girls would bring something home and give it to John. My youngest daughter had RSV when she was two months old and she wasn't even a preemie. It was no fun and she had lung issues ever since. I think this was the first year since she was born that she didn't not have pneumonia or bronchitis. It has a been awhile since she has used her inhaler or used a nebulizer machine. (knock on wood)

Sorry to ramble and I hope that this makes sense! I'm sure that I am leaving a bunch out, but my brain is foggy from lack of sleep. Can you tell that this is making me crazy...

Everyone have a nice New Year's Eve! I had made a pot roast in our crock pot last night to eat tonight, but I dropped it all over the floor last night. There was cream of mushroom soup everywhere and all over myself. (My dog loved it.) I burned my hand a little but it is ok today. Needless to say, tonight's dinner is in the trash so we will have to have carry out tonight!

 

[Alice28]

Aw Jill.....I'm feeling so frustrated for you and this insurance debacle. I can't understand why they just won't cover the vaccine that comes with the recommendation of your doctor. I have a feeling that they will eventually cover it, but only after you rack up $5000 or something on your credit card, or however you're going to pay for it. I just will keep this tucked away in my brain for prayer every time it pops in my head, the your insurance will cover it in a timely manner, and expedite any reimbursement they may owe you. Not to mention that John Paul will NOT get RSV or any other illness, and that the girls remain healthy as well.

Oh, and take out food on New Year's Eve is the best anyway. I smirked at the thought of you cleaning up pot roast, because while you were doing that, I was cleaning up my older son's..........................

BARF. EVERYWHERE. I came downstairs last night from vacuuming, and whatever little bug his brother had, he got it too. AFTER he ate 4 slices of DiGiorgno pepperoni pizza. AFTER he ate a Gogurt. AFTER he ate some blue Jell-o I made for his brother. A big trail, all the way from our living room to the bathroom (about 30 feet or so). And he slipped and fell in it. Twice. Oh my God, it was a horror show. And I got to clean it up. I used a whole roll of paper towels, and had to put Molly in her crib so she wouldn't get in it, which she just LOVED. What a night. I put both boys in bed at 9 sharp (we've been a bit lax with bedtime during the break), with a big tupperware 'barf bowl' and they are fine this morning and whining for food I'm nervous to let them eat.

Case in point, 4 year old just stomped off cause I won't let him have a hot dog.

Sounds like everyone will have yummy food tonight! I bought some coconut shrimp at Costco that I'm going to fry. I bought taquitoes and bagel bites for the kiddoes. Mom is bringing fondue fixings with bread and veggies to dip in it. Yummy!

Anyway, heard from DH and he's packing everything up and is getting ready to go!

Oh, and one more thing about my mom- what makes it so funny that she said that, esp to someone who doesn't know her as well as I do, is that she's one of those quiet types. Very professional (if you recall, she was a L and D nurse manager, has her MS in nursing, blah-blah-blah), very well-spoken, doesn't come off as snobby really, but not that type to have a potty mouth. So when she said that, my girlfriends were just floored, and then screaming with laughter. I knew she was capable of saying something like that, but not in front of other people necessarily. It was a good laugh for a bittersweet moment. (No DH there).

 

[llij]

Alice28, Yea, that your husband is packing up and getting ready to go!

Also, hugs to you for your boys being sick. I tell ya, nothing is worse than cleaning up BARF. Ick. I remember when Meagan caught a stomach bug and started to barf.....all over me. Poor little thing. I always think that there is nothing worse than throwing up. Ick.

though about your son wanting a hot dog! I'm glad to hear that they aren't barfing anymore though!

Take care!

 

[Hillbeans]

Ugh - Alice! Not only was the barfing bad enough, but to slip and fall in it??? LOL - so gross! I bet you never thought you'd be doing some of the things you do now that you have kids.

Jill - Sorry to hear that you're paying $1500 per shot for John Paul, but if I were in your position, i'd do the same exact thing. Nothing at this stage is more important than the health of your baby. I've also heard about that awful practice where they deny a specialist's coverage from the hospital that is in your network. I'll keep little John Paul in my thoughts. Maybe I missed a post, but did you tell us when his surgery is going to be?

Loretta/Zalansky - last night Liam slept for a 5 1/2 hour stretch and today took a 3 hour nap. Maybe things are starting to turn around, we'll see. Let us know how it goes with the cereal, and have fun at your NYE dinner tonight!

SL - love the pic of Lucas in the laundry basket - oh, I put your coupons in the mail yesterday!

I thought i'd share my bad parenting story - I was upstairs folding laundry, and left Liam alone with Kevin downstairs. Well, Kevin thought it'd be fun to stick a pair of sunglasses up Liam's nose (the pointy long part). I heard a scream from the baby, then Kevin started crying!!!! What a scene. Luckilly the sunglasses were my husbands and they were thick at the bottom so he couldn't get them up his nose very far, but we had a long talk about treating Liam with respect and that he's a person with feelings. Just when I think I can leave them alone together for a second......thank goodness no one was hurt and we've learned the lesson not to stick things up your nose. I worry about what could have happened if he really jammed it up there far - scary.

Have a very safe and happy New Years everyone. We're going to our friend's house for our annual party with the kids.

 

[Alice28]

OK- I realize I'm turning this into the Alice28 thread, but DH called awhile ago and we got to talk for a half hour! The longest we've talked in ages. It was awesome and I can't believe that starting tomorrow, I can see, "I get to see my husband NEXT WEEK!" I think my ticker is off- I won't see him until late Wednesday night the 11th. We'll spend the night in Olympia, WA and then he will likely get a pass for the holiday weekend to come home and then go back up to Ft Lewis to continue his outprocessing for 4 days. I'm so excited I could just squeal!

And PS about my son's 'incident' THANK GOD FOR PERGO FLOORS. I would have DIED had we had carpeting downstairs....AT least I could just scoop it all up and mop really fast, light a candle to remove the scent and be done with it.

 

[llij]

Hillbeans - That is so great that Liam slept 5 1/2 hours! Did you do anything different? I've been trying to read about stretching feedings out and I recently read about dream feedings. I'm not sure what it is. Have you heard of it? Last night's every two hours made me a little insane.

You also are not a bad parent for the sunglass incident. If you only knew what my dd's have done to each other over the years! I remember when Meagan tried dragging Katie by her feet as an infant. She once tried to drag her off our bed by her feet. Thankfully, Kevin now knows not to put things up noses. I don't think my kids learned that for awhile.

John Paul's surgery will take place anytime between 6 and 9 months of age. We go back to the specialists when he is 5 months old for another evaluation and to schedule the surgery. Thankfully, he will only need one surgery to repair the cleft and insert ear tubes. Some babies require multiple surgeries so we are very fortunate.

Alice28 - I'm visually trying to imagine barf on carpeting. Yuck! Yes, you are lucky it was on the pergo floors. As far as your husband coming home.....next week will be here before you know it! How exciting!

 

[bellacam]

Happy New Year to all the mommies and babies!!!!

Alice - I am so excited for you and your family to get Dh home soon.

Jill - Hang in there.

Zalansky - We just kept getting bigger blankets to swaddle Aidan in. My sister finally finished a quilt for him that is the perfect size and he just can't get out of it.

Hope all the sick mommies and babies are feeling better. Aidan and I are finally over that nasty bug/cold. Aidan does have conjunctivitis, though. DH is now the only one still sick with the bug/cold.

I do have a ?. Lets just say my "friend" who has been out of town for about 15 months showed up today. Is it normal for her to be this "mean" and have so much "luggage"? I am talking cramping and bleeding like right after my c-section. Aidan has an appointment with our FP Tuesday, but I figured you all may have had the same thing.

 

[llij]

Bellacam - In answer to your question about your "friend", mine came a few weeks back and boy was it "mean". I was surprised it paid a visit so soon after the baby. The doctor told me not to expect it for a little while. Anyways, it was as bad as the recovery from the c-section. Not sure if that is normal, but it sounds like we went through the same thing.

HAPPY NEW YEARS to everyone!

 

[joats]

Jill: If the insurance does deny the shots, appeal it even if you have to do more than one appeal. I cannot believe that they would not cover them.
Alice: Sorry to hear of the barf-a-thon. ICK!!
Bellacam: My first was awful!! I thought for sure it would be less. It was very much like my c-section recovery. The next one though was definitely not as bad.
Hillbeans: Ouch! Poor Liam. Unfortunately, I'm sure it will be the first of many sibling incidents. DH and his older sister still talk about the time they played "mountain climber" with his younger sister. They had a rope and she was climbing the stairs as they held the rope at the top of the stairs. Then DH and older let go and younger went tumbling down the stairs....EEK!!!
SL: Hope Lucas is feeling better and you had fun at game night.
Lissawyn & Tykes: Hope your NYE gatherings are going well.

DH and I were going to get take-out for tonight, but it began snowing this afternoon and never let up. I so wanted Mexican, but not enough to send DH out in the bad weather. So, here we are on NYE both of us on our computers. When I finish up here I think we will watch a DVD.

I think we are going to buy new car seats tomorrow at BRUS. I'm thinking I'll get an Evenflow Triumph. It got just as good reviews as the Britax and did even better on the crash testing then Britax did (according to Consumer Reports). But I'll make my decision once I can see the plushness, etc. of both brands.

Hope you are all having a great NYE!! Happy New Year!!

 

[zalansky]

As anticipated, we are already home and ready to watch the ball drop. I am actually ready for bed! I did have 2 glasses of champagne so I am a little tipsy...that's alot for me these days. I won't try and post now, no drinking and posting for me. But, I will post a picture of DH and I that our friends took of us tonight. HAPPY NEW YEAR to my internet buddies!!!

 

[T16GEM]

Happy new year ladies!

Ours was a peaceful one! We went to a friends house, he still lives with his parents and his Mom put out the most fabulous food for the evening, it was really nice to go out and see other people for a change of scenery - it was so weird too, I was in their lounge taking Shelby's snow suit etc off and a guy from where I work wandered in - it turned out that he and his wife have been friends with our friends for 15 years! What a small world we live in! It was nice to see him and catch up on some work gossip, apparently things aren't too nice there at the moment so all the more reason for me to get my business off the ground before I HAVE to go back!

Jill - I hope everything works out with little John Paul, he is such a sweetie I will send some PD your way! Also dream feeding is something that The Baby Whisperer ( I can't remember her name at the moment though) talks about - basically you are supposed to take your baby from the crib - without waking them and feed them again without waking them. Apparently if they are asleep and they feel the teat of the bottle on their bottom lip then they start off sucking and then b/c they are asleep they don't need to be burped. Sounds great in theory but I have rarely got it to work! We tried when Shelby was little and got no where - she has to be really tired before she sleeps through her bottle - she is so good at going back to sleep after feeds anyway so I don't worry too much about that. I think if you do a search on Amazon for The Baby Whisperer the books will come up.

Bellacam - I got a visit from my "friend" this week and can I just say that I was shocked at how awful it was - honestly I didn't have that much loss after I had given birth! And the cramping......... I guess it must be normal if Jill and Joats had the same tho? I also was surprised that it came so soon after having Shelby, my Doctor told me that it could be months oh well!

Zalansky - You and your DH make a lovely couple! It doesn't take much for me to get tipsy nowadays either! I usually don't drink at all though as I am usually driving - I prefer it that way so it's no big deal. I'm glad you had a nice evening out.

Hillbeans - Thanks for the advice on the bogie sucker! If I can't get hold of one here I would be very grateful to take you up on your offer. I didn't see one in the hospital as I don't think they used one on her. I think that was b/c they rushed her off to the NICU. Poor Liam! At least Kevin understands now that he shoudn't stick things up noses! I remember my brother when he was little sticking a pebble up his nose and having to go to ER for them to remove it as it was rammed so darn far up there!


Alice - Your story about the barf is awful! I don't think I could cope with that!! I hope that everyone in your house is well for when your DH comes home -- not long to go now, I bet it was so nice to talk with him on the phone.

 

[llij]

Happy New Year!

I was so tired last night that DH and I were in bed by 9:00. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. and lo and behold there was a baby sleeping next to us. He missed his 11:00 feed and my DH fell asleep with the baby laying in between us. It surprised me as I didn't expect to see JP. We fed him at 1:00 and then again at 4:30 so he did manage to stretch his feedings last night. I actually feel somewhat human today!

Gems - Thanks for the information on dream feedings! I kept reading about it, but wasn't quite sure what it was. Sounds like you had a good NYE and too funny about running into someone from your work. It definitely is a small world. I hope that your business gets off the ground so that you don't have to go back to work. It is no fun to work in an environment that is stressful.

Zalansky - What a great picture of you and your DH! You guys are a cute couple and you look amazing!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful NYE! Ours was quiet which was so nice. Today we are off to visit some old college friends which should be a lot of fun! We went to WDW with this group in 2003 and we had a blast. They were talking about going back in 2006, but I'm afraid we will have to bow out of that trip.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Alice28]

Loretta- OMG- you look fantastic! Really & truly! You and your DH make a very attractive couple!

Gems- trust me, when it's your kid, even though it's disgusting, you will be able to handle cleaning up the mess. It's just something different when it's your own. Same with diapers- when I would babysit my best friend's son, I just thought his diapers were the GROSSEST thing ever, yet didn't mind my kid's poopies.

Jill- glad you got a smidge more sleep.

I was in bed by 12:00 last night. My parents left at 10 to get home before the drunks got on the road. We pigged out on shrimp, fondue and veggies. I must say, this coconut shrimp I bought at Costco was so much like the kind at the restaurants, it quenched my craving to go to Red Lobster again this week! And it was only $12 for a box of 45!

My younger son now has diarrhea. Thank god he's potty trained now. Last time he had it, he was not. Ew. I guess the bug has traveled down his GI tract. Yet another Sunday we will be not going to church. We haven't been since the last weekend in Sept! It's just so hard getting it together in the mornings for me. And our church is across town, so it makes for a whole morning. I will get it together again when DH is home.