Wow, this is boring

Our lil' alien at 20 weeks gestation. Hoping the next pics are a bit, um, cuter... :)

I had my first mammogram last year. I will continue to have them. The chance of death from an undetected tumor scares me a helluva lot more than the chance of getting a 'false positive' and having more tests.... My 2 cents.

I heard back from Cat Tail Farms in Webberville. They are a sanctuary for FeLV positive cats, and they have a place for Vincent! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!
I just need to have him neutered, and they can take him in.
I am so relieved! I was so worried about what we were going to do about this sweet lil guy!
Here's some cute pics Pete took.

We are finally moved into the new place, bed, cats and all. Pete worked his butt off to get it done! Thanks for the help Nancy, Jon, Beth and Em.

Elizabeth Leach (Dec 2 1924-Oct 14 2009)

Rest in Peace, Aunt Betty. You were one of the best people it has been my privilege to know. We will all miss you so very much.

I would like to remind you all to get both flu shots this winter. If you don't care if you get sick, ask yourself if the kids with asthma, the eldery shoppers in line at Walmart, or the pregnant woman by you in the restaurant care if THEY get sick.

The point in preventing the spread is NOT just to keep YOU from getting sick, it is to protect those who are vulnerable from getting sick, too!!

Don't be that selfish, please.

(YES, it's safe! Your chances of side effects are a billion times smaller than your chances of flu complications!!!!!)

We took their advice, and contacted a midwife who works through a local Drs office. She had availability, and when we interviewed her, we both liked her. So we will be forced in to a model of care the insurance company wants, and will have to use a hospital, something we really didn't want, but at least we will be able to see the same person for every visit, and she will be the one delivering the baby. I guess that's better than just skipping it, and delivering in the emergency room....

We had not intended to live there, we wanted to buy something closer to Pete's work (in Grand Rapids) but of course can't do that 'til at least one house sells! Moving out of this house to that one, then to a 3rd new place seemed like a pointless step. But now there will be 3 of us... The house we live in now is a bit bigger in sq feet, but the layout is restrictive. Only 2 real bedrooms, and one bathroom. The other is a 2 story Colonial, with 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, and a full finished basement. It also has a bigger yard, and a really nice deck. Plus, (and maybe best); after a major flood disaster a couple years ago it was completely rebuilt from the basement floor up. EVERYthing in it is new from the drywall, to flooring, to fixtures (except the water heater, which we need to replace before we move in). AND it has a dishwasher, which I can't wait to use. :)

We are assuming it still won't sell for sometime to come, so now it kinda makes sense to go there. (If it sells, we will happily move on, for sure). We will likely list Pete's house for sale as well, but have kicked around the idea of renting it to a friend as well. Or maybe both, heh...

We took a big car load of stuff over there today, including most of the baby stuff we've gathered. We put what we had in the baby's room, and I think it's going to be cute. And purple, of course. Pete's Aunt and Uncle have offered us the essentially unused baby stuff they have, including a crib, changing table, stroller, highchair, etc. They bought it all new when their daughter had kids because they live several states away and it was more practical to have a 2nd set up than to try to transport essentials when they visited. Of course it then was hardly touched, and the kids are too big for it now. Sweet. Free stuff ROCKS!

So sorry, Tigers. I know you always lose when we come to your games, but we are still going to attend... You'll just have to work harder to win your other games, right?

A VERY VERY HAPPY 40TH TO MY FAVORITE TWIN SIS NANCY!!!!

I'll take 20 if you take the other 20!!!

Had an ultrasound today to determine the gestational age as accurately as possible. It was pretty cool cause we got to hear the heartbeat again, and got to see it beating! The baby was really active, waving its arms and legs around for most of the scan. The tech determined we are at 11 weeks.

And we got pictures!!

Please ignore this entry, Nancy is checking something. Move on to my other post.

We had our first visit at the Birthing Center today. It was a 2 hr appointment, where we covered not only medical history but a lot of personal history as well. During the exam part of the visit, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was pretty cool. :)

I know there are friends and family who don't understand why we prefer this place (which is not fully covered by insurance) to a ob/gyn practice (which is covered) so I'll try to explain a little (lot) bit.

My whole adult life, pregnancy has seemed to me like my worst nightmare come true. If you know me, you know how I feel about drs, needles, hospitals, and the medical community in general. I don't like them, I don't trust them, and I never feel more stress than when I am forced to seek their intervention. The past 20 months of dealing with my various health problems have been the most stress filled of my life.

The standard of medical care thru an ob/gyn in this area involves signing up with a 'practice'. That means perhaps having a specific dr assigned as your primary, but does not guarantee that is who you will see. You are required to be shuffled amongst the various members of the practice (the smallest we've found being 4-5 people)in order to 'meet them all'. You don't know who you will see, and you don't know who will be delivering the baby when you have it. You take the luck of the draw of whoever happens to be on call when you go into labor. It might be someone you've seen only once before!

Visits mean a drs office, in an exam room on an exam table, and more often than not is basically having such things as vitals taken by a nurse, and being sent on your way unless there is a problem. You may not even actually see the dr! It's basically mostly impersonal and assembly line care. Your pregnancy is handled as a medical condition to be treated as such.

Labor and after care care is handled in a hospital, among nurses and other people you have also never seen before in, again, an impersonal and assembly line manner. You have some control in your 'birth plan', but almost everything that happens to you is done is within the hospital's 'policy and procedure' style. You then spend 1-3 days as an inpatient in the hospital, and go home with not much more than a follow up appointment or 2 in a few weeks.

Being pregnant and having the baby is the MOST personal and intimate thing I will ever do with my body. It is also the most natural thing I will ever do. It's what my body is designed for, not a medical condition.

The birthing center is designed to feel like a home. You are assigned to a nurse-midwife, who is a fully educated and degreed professional, with no less than a masters degree in childbirth. Each visit is in a comfortable, homey room. Our visit today was done around the kitchen table (with one of the staff members sharing her lunch with me!), with the exam happening on a comfy, quilt covered bed in one of the bedrooms.

Visits are no less than an hour, each and every time. All necessary medical issues are covered and, in addition, your emotional, spiritual (if desired) and social needs are discussed and addressed. You always see the same midwife, and get to know the small staff well. It's like going to a good friend's house, or even to your mom's house. Already our midwife feels like a friend, and I expect that relationship to continue to grow over the next several months. She is genuinely interested in us as people and in how this baby will affect our lives, not just in my temp and blood pressure. Baring any unforeseen incidents, she will be the one delivering our baby.

You are free to do anything you want while in labor. Bring the family in for a home-cooked meal in the kitchen if you want, heh! You can spend your labor inside or outside in the garden, curled up in bed, in the whirlpool tub, or laying on a couch in the family room. You can give birth as is currently traditional in this area (lying back on a bed, head up), or you can stay in the tub, squat on the floor, sit on a birthing stool, lay back on a giant yoga ball, whatever strikes your fancy, or feels the most comfortable to you at any given moment. YOU are fully in charge of how and where you give birth. (Not saying I plan on any of those, but who knows!)

So, you receive all the same prenatal medical care you would in an ob/gyn practice, and most of it we can submit to our insurance and be reimbursed for.

BUT, also included (and not generally part of your ob/gyn package) are: hour long visits focused on my health and emotional well being, a full course of birthing classes, parenting classes, a prenatal and post natal massage, access to a full library of childbirth and parenting books and resources, labor (from the moment it starts, not just once you reach a predetermined point) all medical and other supplies for the labor and birth, the company and assistance of your midwife or doula if transfer to a hospital becomes necessary for any reason, all post natal care and use of the center til you are ready to go home, breastfeeding classes and assistance, several at home follow up visits, daily support phone calls in the first weeks after birth, follow up medical checks, and continuing education and parenting classes, forever if you want. You are also welcome at all parties, gatherings, play groups and so on for as long as you wish to be part of the community. And like I said, this is all included. (about half the cost of which we will receive back from the insurance people).

These things are available in some manner in other places, but are all up to you to find and sign up for, are taught by and attended with strangers, and most are at your additional expense, as well.

The average basic cost of labor/delivery going thru an ob/gyn and hospital in this area is anywhere from $12,000 up. This is the amount your insurance company expects to pay.

The cost of using the birthing center is $3800, for everything mentioned above.

Why the insurance company won't pay for it baffles me. (Michigan law requires them to pay for prenatal and postnatal care, but they don't have to pay for labor or delivery because of a loophole they take full advantage of, obviously. They won't pay unless it's in a hospital on their list)

Since we will be reimbursed for all the medical care, the remaining costs (and the benefits received for it), just seem so very worth it to me.

The only problem is that we have to pay everything up-front, and submit the bills to our insurance later. I am not currently working, which has curtailed our available discretionary cash. They offer payment plans, but it's still a lot of money in a short period of time. We are desperately hoping to be able to make the payments, and not be forced by the stupid insurance company into care that would, like I said, be my worst nightmare!!

I tried to give the best overview of the differences that I could. The emotions involved are so complex I may not have explained everything fully or clearly. Please, if you have any questions or want something clarified, let me know!

Ted Kennedy is gone. Holy crap, who's gonna stand up for us now.

Rest in peace. We will miss you.

Nancy has managed to get our 40th birthday off, so consider yourself officially invited to join us for dinner on Sunday Sept 6th in Lansing. The when and where is not final yet, but we will let you know soon. Let us know if you can make it!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Jackie!!

(I don't have a pic to post cause this is not my computer, sorry!)

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