Guest Post: Cheryl- Classes

 Upcoming Birth Boot Camp Classes with Cheryl Amelang:
www.darlingbirth.com

 Classes with  Ashlea Bruno:www.anindulgentbirth.com

The cost classes are $295 with a non-refundable $50 deposit required.  The balance of $245 is due on at the first.  The cost of the class includes the full-color field manual, Breastfeeding: the Ultimate MRE  DVD, weekly emails with additional reading, and a Birth Boot Camp tote bag for all your class goodies!

6 Ways You Can Afford A Childbirth Class

I often hear pregnant couples say they can't afford a childbirth class. They have doctor bills to pay, nurseries to decorate, and carseats to buy, a childbirth class is just not in the budget and why do they need it anyway? Women have been having babies for forever, what is there to know? Well, there's LOTS to know and you DO need it! Birth Boot Camp is a 10 week, comprehensive and up-to-date class that truly prepares couples for a natural childbirth and the postpartum period. Preparation is important. Here are 6 ways you CAN afford a childbirth class.

1. Learn how to keep costs down. Interventions cost money. Insurance coverage varies from policy to policy and may not fully cover all the extras, so keeping them to a minimum can benefit the bottom line. Avoiding unnecessary interventions also helps the course of labor and is beneficial to you and your baby. If interventions do become necessary, we teach you how to navigate your choices, risks vs benefits, and informed consent so you can feel confident that the best decisions were made for you and your baby. We also teach relaxation exercises and other pain management techniques that can greatly reduce your need or desire for pain medication during your labor. Saving money and making healthy decisions at every turn! Win!
   
   
2. Carefully choose your birth place. We give you the 411 on all of your birth place choices and the pros & cons of each. We talk about the medical & midwifery models of care, and the Mother-Friendly initiative. We discuss how your insurance can affect your choices and how to make decisions based on your needs, desires, and budget.
   
   
3. Stay healthy. We teach the benefits of nutrition and exercise during pregnancy, helping you to stay low risk. We give you a practical and easy to follow diet rich in a variety of whole foods. We also have an awesome exercise program to help prepare your body for labor and ease many discomforts of pregnancy. Staying healthy and low risks decreases your chances of needing costly tests and interventions. Again, keeping more money in your pocket for those cute cloth diapers you've been eyeballing!
   
   
4. Your wedding coordinator cost way more! In the same way your wedding coordinator knows the ropes of the wedding world and helped you prepare for your big day, your childbirth educator knows the ropes of the birth world and can help you prepare for the birth day of your baby. It is important to start building your network and she can help you make the connections you'll need for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She can hook you up with natural friendly care providers, midwives, chiropractors, doulas, lactation consultants, La Leche League, and other resources in your community. Connecting with professionals can help you get the personalized care you need which can help you save money and/or avoid costly mistakes.  Your educator is a valuable resource to you.   It is also fun to connect with other couples in your class who are in the same boat as you!
   
   
5. One stop shopping. There is a lot that goes into preparing for birth and parenthood and there are lots of classes available to help you get ready. Birthing, breastfeeding, newborn care, cloth diapering, exercise, baby wearing, daddy prep, etc, etc. One could easily spend a several hundred dollars here and there attending these classes and it would be totally worth the expense but why not get it all in one class AND save money? Birth Boot Camp offers all of the above PLUS some in one series. Couples also receive a 3 hour breastfeeding DVD so you have something to reference over and over again throughout your breastfeeding career. You are fully prepared for labor, birth, and caring for a newborn (as much a new parent can be, anyway!)
   
   
6. Be creative!  If after all this classes still seem out of the budget then get creative. Some teachers will offer payment plans or even bartering part of the cost of class. Offer your services to her! There is one teacher who opens up one more spot in a full class and offers a discount on the "back row seats."  It's not the prime spot in class but the discount is easy on the wallet.  I encourage you to talk to your local instructor, be creative and see what you can work out!

Education is the key to having a great birth! Birth Boot Camp classes are a great way to get everything you need to be prepared and help you save money along the way. You CAN afford classes!

Happy budgeting!

Cheryl

www.darlingbirth.com

Pain in the thumb

Wanna know THE most pain I experienced in regard to having a baby???? It was AFTER I got home with the baby....

Yes, its a thing and its legit...too legit to quit.

oh it sounds innocent enough....

But every time I picked up my sweet new bundle of joy it felt like my thumb would dislocate, my tendons would sever and light themselves on fire and hot lava was working its way down from my wrist to my elbow... my hand and arm would be rendered useless until I could rock my wrist back and forth to pop everything back in place.

Thankfully it was only my left arm/hand/wrist/thumb and it only happened when I picked up my baby or used my hand in ANY WAY!!!

There were so many times I thought I was gonna actually drop my sweet baby boy.

So of course I looked it up on the internet....and found something that said there's nothing really you can do for it, ice it, take an anti-inflammatory, get a brace.... and that 90% of the time it goes away in a year....A  Y E A R....freakin' A.

So then I got this awesome thumb splint that looked like a bowling glove....so yes, everyone made fun of me... "Goin bowling today?" "When's the tournament?"....

"They" say its from simply picking up your baby and not being used to doing that....I say that's a crock-o-crap! I think it was from the port they put in my hand at the hospital...because its only my in left hand in the exact spot where they jabbed that thing in my hand. I even have a scar there! and 16 months later it doesn't feel like the nightmare I described above, but it still aches & cracks and pops every day...it aint been right since.

Here are 5 ways to ease the pain, pshahhh......just go get the bowling glove splint

~Kellie

Health Insurance Stuff

I dont know a lot about a lot, but I do know a little about a little....

I though I'd write a little post on what I know about Health Insurance, and maybe it will help someone save some money somehow...someday...somewhere....maybe...but probably not....because health insurance is a honey-badger...It dont give a $%&! (If you haven't seen the honey-badger video on you-tube then you are missing out on some laughs...*foul language warning though*)

While working at a Doctors office I learned about insurance....I hate Health Insurance, it seems like they always have an excuse not to pay or delay paying...It is a necessary evil though and I am lucky to have it.

Its just so confusing!! The terminology "allowables, out of pocket,  deductables" and the always awesome "based on medical necessity"...which gets them out of paying a lot of charges and in turn YOU get to pay them!

Now, each health insurance plan is different and benefits are different...so I'm attempting a sort of "blanket" post. Good luck to me.

Your health insurance company has a panel of Doctors or possibly just one Doctor they pay to review your medical bills to see if the procedure and/or charge you accrued was really necessary for you.....Yes, this person who doesn't know you, who wasn't there... can say if you really needed something or not...just by looking at your paperwork! These Doctors are usually known to be sell-outs in their profession by saying another Doctors decision wasn't really necessary.  And to no surprise they are usually pretty skimpy and try to save the insurance company as much money as possible.

So if you see a lot of "based on medical necessity" wording in your health care benefits description then you could be facing a lot of charges when that hospital bill comes!  "Based on medical necessity" is almost always deemed NOT medically necessary, FYI.  That motrin you took a day after birthing a human...not medically necessary...that will be $30 please... that was what my hospital charged PER pill, how do I know???...because I asked and then politely declined....and a family member smuggled some in our room later. 

I asked one of the nurses to please take off orders of any "extra's" for me, like motrin, nipple cream...and whatever else that was just a fringe benefit....just know that if they offer you something they WILL charge your insurance for it and if you have crappy insurance it will not be covered and you will be responsible for the charges. 

Dont be afraid to ask the nurse about the price of anything...having a baby is expensive! So what if you look like a cheap skate....you don't know these people!

Other terms to know: 

Deductible- the amount you have to pay before **a portion of** your health benefits kick in.
example: after a $2,000 deductible your insurance covers 80%, you are still responsible for the other 20% until your "out of pocket" is met.

Out of pocket- the amount of money you still have to shell out (after you've paid the deductible) before your health insurance covers 100% of the charges.

So, if you have a $2,000 "deductible" and a $2,000 "Out of Pocket", you will pay $4,000 and then the insurance will cover the rest....unless you see the dreaded "not medically necessary" on your bill...most likely you will have to pay for all those charges as well.

You will also receive charges on your baby...the baby usually has their own deductible and out of pocket as well.  For example, if your baby stays in the nursery instead of with you, you can get charged for that. I'm sure each hospital is different though so ask a nurse.  

Also, you can usually take home the nasal aspirator and other goodies that your baby has used, but again...ask a nurse.

Oh and when you go into labor if you go to the hospital too early they will charge you for that as well...one mom said "they'll charge you for that tiny visit of getting checked, haha, I went in for about 45 minutes earlier in day when I went into labor and even with my (great) insurance I had to pay $350!!!!

Hopefully something in this post will help you out! If you have any corrections to this post or some insight for other things to think about to save money please leave a comment! Share your wisdom! ~Kellie