I Am Grateful For Insurance (last updated 7/4/09)

I am slowly making my way out from under the pile of medical bills. To make a long story short, I am very grateful for insurance.

But short stories are boring, so let's have some fun with this! How much did it cost to get Matthew here safe and sound? I'll be updating this post periodically as I slowly pay more bills, so be sure to check back!

Date	Service	Billed	I Owe
9-29-08	Blood Work (HCG)	$110.00	$5.13
10-09-08	Prenatal Survey (Blood Work)	$364.60	$55.82
10-15-08	Blood Work (GD Test)	$95.00	$14.08
10-22-08	Pathology (Chemical PAPP-A)	$102.00	$0.75
10-22-08	Radiology Service	$188.00	$11.34
10-22-08	Radiology Service	$187.00	$9.49
10-22-08	Ultrasound	$134.00	$43.38
10-22-08	Nuchal Measurement	$156.00	$9.24
11/28/08	EKG Monitoring	$2475.00	$116.05
12/10/08	EKG Monitoring	$675.00	$31.65
3-02-09	Pen Needles	$135.00	$13.50
3/20/09	Ultrasound	$90.00	$5.04
3-26-09	Biophysical Profile	$106.00	$6.01
3-26-09	Pharmacy	$34.75	$2.15
3-26-09	Ultrasound	$596.00	$18.81
3-26-09	Labor & Delivery	$243.43	$15.09
3-27-09	Ultrasound	$306.00	$9.91
3-27-09	Labor & Delivery	$317.77	$19.70
3-31-09	Ultrasound	$90.00	$5.04
3-31-09	Lab/Chemistry	$19.00	$0.44
3-31-09	Ultrasound	$341.00	$8.48
3-31-09	Labor & Delivery	$233.99	$14.50
4-02-09	Ultrasound	$214.00	$8.52
4-06-09	Biophysical Profile	$106.00	$6.01
4-07-09	ER Services & Pulse Oximetry	$549.00	$20.84
4-07-09	CT Angiography	$269.00	$15.13
4-07-09	Chest X-ray	$30.00	$1.70
4-07-09	Extremity Study	$96.00	$4.24
4-07-09	Anesthesia Services	$975.00	$64.20
4-08-09	Pain Management Services	$130.00	$4.53

Best Laid Plans

I tackled my desk today. Long story short, "the papers" are taking over my life. Whatever is left of my life, since little Matthew Jayden takes over most of it.

But I digress...

In this pile of paper was one piece of paper that Michael and I had jotted down "our plans" for the basement. It was the end of March at the time, and we knew that time was running out before the arrival of our baby, so we thought a time line might help us stay on track.

The plan:
Finish Sheet Rock - April 4th
Taping / Mudding - April 11th
Painting - April 18th
Carpet Installed - Week of April 20th

What happened:
April 7th: Matthew's Birth

... and nothing has been accomplished since!

*** DISCLAIMER ***
In reality, many things have been accomplished. My Michael has been a very busy man! For one, he completed Matthew's nursery, and he has also planted our garden. In addition he has cooked many a meal, helped clean up around here, helped take care of Matthew, helped take care of the girls, and helped take care of me. This post IS NOT meant to be taken as nagging... Michael knows (or should know) that I am content with the progress of the basement. I just thought it was funny that we made this wonderful schedule just a few days before Matthew's birth... we had no idea what was in store for us!

One Little Update

I'll keep it brief:

We are all alive and doing well (all things considered).

Matthew will be blessed next week.

7 more days of school.

The End.

Oh, HI!

I am still here. Life with a newborn is busy and good. I have started to edit the random posts I have started and saved but not posted, so hopefully over the next few days, his blog will be more-or-less "up to date" - including some long-awaited pictures.

I know, I know... I suck. I haven't even gotten his birth announcements printed, even though I designed the darn thing well over 2-months ago. So um, yeah.

Just know that all is well... I may be sleep-deprived, but I am still alive. And happy.

Craziness!

Things have been really crazy here... so here are a few quick updates:

Matthew and I are still in the hospital. We might be released tomorrow. We might not. Hopefully we will find out earlier rather than later.

Wednesday was a complete fiasco as far as pain management was concerned. Basically my nurse neglected to give me any pain medications (because I didn't ask for them), nor did she mention that they were available to me. I was under the impression that I had been receiving them all along with the many, many other medications I was required to take, and it made sense, because, well, the pain wasn't that bad. But all of a sudden, everything hit the fan, and well... let's just say that Wednesday night through Thursday morning was NOT a good experience.

Today was much, much, better for pain management. But Matthew is looking a bit jaundiced, so he is spending quite a bit of time "working on his tan" under the pretty blue lights.

He has also been struggling with feeding recently. Mostly because he won't wake up which is probably because of the jaundice. It's a vicious cycle: Jaundice makes him sleepy. Being sleepy makes it hard for him to nurse. Not nursing means he doesn't get enough to eat. No food, makes the kidneys job harder, plus there's nothing to help "clean out the system." Can't clean out the system, more jaundice. Jaundice makes him sleepy... and so it goes.

So I now have a breast pump. When I am attached to it, I feel like a cow. It is very similar (LOL) to one of those automatic milking machines that cows use. I've used a manual breast pump before, and I like it. But this one is pretty darn impressive. It's pretty quiet, pretty fast, can pump single breast or dual, doesn't really hurt... and I bet it's pretty darn expensive. They told me that I have good insurance... um, I hope so! But if it helps me get my milk supply up and working well, then I guess it's worth it!

I'm going to try to feed Matthew one more time, then get another round of IV antibiotics at midnight, and then I am going to bed!

Sweet dreams!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Matthew has arrived!

Check out Matthew's Blog for a few small details. I will be adding more later.

What a surprise!

Clothes...

I went shopping today in hopes of finding a new shirt that I would feel comfortable (and dare I say cute?) in. Not much luck.

I did, however, find Easter dresses for the girls. They coordinate, but they are not exactly the same. Which is a good thing for Rebecca as she seems to be stuck with the same dress for about 5 years (you know, because she gets one, wears it until she outgrows it, and then inherits the one her sister outgrew).

So now I wonder if I should give you a sneak preview, or make you wait a few more weeks. Hmmm...

I Really Don't Want To Be One Of Those People...

... you know, one of those people that have to be on national television with people coming in to clean and declutter their house because they've been hoarding stuff for years and years and years.

Yeah, it's another post about how much stuff I have. I know, I'm obsessed.

But seriously, if you could see how much stuff we have thrown away or given away, you would be floored at how much stuff is still left.

It's frightening, I tell you! Frightening!

I am in the process of cleaning my house in honor of Dubby's visit. And let's face it, I'm doing a bit of crazy nesting too. There is NO WAY my house will be clean before she gets here, but she'll have a clean room to sleep in AND a clean bathroom. That certainly counts for something.

Oh! And she might even get a few home-cooked meals. It's the least I can do...