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

Writing a Birth Plan

Did you read Jessica's Guest post yesterday?  Can you believe they didnt bring her baby to her for 4 hours after he was born!?!! Seriously that is just gdfkl#dtrhgdjfhjk$ksjk!!!! All I can do is go berserk on my keyboard...there are no words. Just plain wrong to keep a baby away from a new mom for that long....and ruined any chance she had at breast feeding, which I know she was looking forward to doing.  So it got me thinking about what can a Momma learn from this and how to try to avoid this happening to you..... birth plans.....

FYI-A Birth Bootcamp Class will go into much better detail about what needs to go into a birth plan and they will help you write one... But I will do my best...

Birth plans are very important, multiple scenario birth plans are even more important, especially with the high rate of c-sections we have.... dont forget to include your wishes for just after the baby is born, how your baby is to be handled. Its all about ensuring you and your family get the respect you deserve at such a momentous time in your lives.  When you go into labor bring multiple copies of your Birth Plans to make sure everyone (Doc/ Staff/ Nurses) are on the same page and tape that bad boy on the door of your room so that anyone that comes in knows your wishes....

***Another tip is to print them on colored paper so it doesn't get lost in any paperwork on a desk in the hospital.

*** Birth Plans are not rude or demanding in nature, they are respectful and polite.

***A good plan must be flexible and cover a variety of scenarios.  Things can happen and progress so fast, decisions are made quickly and its good to have something on paper for your husband and Doc to reference if you are unable to communicate effectively (which will likely be the case)

 If you don't think you need one....well, you cant blame anyone but yourself if you are unhappy after its all said and done! 

For my first kiddo I was such a know it all....I was having a homebirth and that was that....I had no need to write a birth plan.....and guess who ended up going to the hospital, this girl <---

You can read my birth story here

But I did have a well educated husband on my side if need be and a verbal birth plan in the form of my lovely Midwife Toni, she knew what I wanted and helped ensure that it happened. Toni made sure I got the pro-natural Doc I wanted, and the staff probably already had an assumption about me (with my attempted home birth & midwife).   I dont know if you've noticed, but I dont mind speaking up and asking questions....that is courtesy of being a flight attendant for 5 yrs...you dont have to be rude, just have to communicate...otherwise how will people know?

I WILL be writing a birth plan for this birth, just in case.  

What if I have to have an emergency C-section tomorrow? I really should have something ready just in case so that the staff knows I want that baby to stay with me as much as possible and that I want to breastfeed....

I found an excellent sample birth plan on this blog.  

Its very nice, respectful and detailed as well. 

** One suggested update is to change the heparin lock to a saline lock which its more commonly referred to now.

Ok, well there you have it....write your birth plans and dare them to take 4 hours to bring your baby to you!

Tomorrow I talk about health insurance coverage and trying to save some money