Monday, December 28, 2009
Well My Little one
I am starting to enter the home stretch, the last quarter of this marathon. I only have a 11 weeks to go, which compared to having 29 behind me is a very small number. I am starting to realize the reality of it all and getting excited to hold this baby inside me. She is very different. Instead of kicks and turns I also feel this strange bubbling sometimes. Its like she is giving me raspberries from the inside! Its really funny. The typical ailments are started a lot earlier though. It makes me a little nervous about how I am going to feel at the very end of this pregnancy, but what can I do?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Finally, a Midwife!
Blogging should be a joyful thing, so I suppose that’s why we’ve spared our readers from the latest unpleasantness. As some of you know, Aimee had been hoping to have a different birthing experience than the “Don’t push, the Doctor isn’t here yet!” method. Yeah, that is what happened with Eva. The OB’s were great otherwise, just a little lacking in the area of timeliness. That, and Aimee and I believe there are many problems with the whole system of healthcare as it relates to birth in our country today. So to increase her level of care and decrease her chances for interventions and C-Sections, we began searching for a midwife.
Over the course of several weeks, we asked around, checked many web sites, made lots of phone calls to local midwives, and spent entirely too much time on the phone, and on hold, with our insurance company. After all this legwork my initial concerns materialized: Our insurance wasn’t going to cover it. The reason? Credentials. We were told our plan covered midwives at the same rate as OB doctors which obviously got our hopes up, but then later found out that is only if the midwife is a CM, APN (certified midwife and advanced practice nurse.) That sounds fine until you realize that there are no advanced practice nurses that have their own practice – they all work under a doctor. And of course, if they work under a doctor, the doctor won’t let them deliver babies at people’s homes on the side. The result? We basically can’t have a home birth with a midwife and have the insurance cover any of it. A nice little catch-22 they have going in their favor.
Thankfully we found a midwife we really like and Aimee has switched her care from the OB. Ultimately this will still cost us more than it would than if it were covered by insurance, but we feel strongly enough about it to justify the cost. Aimee had her first appointment today and enjoyed it so much more than the OB, and it makes me happy when my wife is happy. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for the situation and for a healthy and safe delivery in our own home for baby #2.
Over the course of several weeks, we asked around, checked many web sites, made lots of phone calls to local midwives, and spent entirely too much time on the phone, and on hold, with our insurance company. After all this legwork my initial concerns materialized: Our insurance wasn’t going to cover it. The reason? Credentials. We were told our plan covered midwives at the same rate as OB doctors which obviously got our hopes up, but then later found out that is only if the midwife is a CM, APN (certified midwife and advanced practice nurse.) That sounds fine until you realize that there are no advanced practice nurses that have their own practice – they all work under a doctor. And of course, if they work under a doctor, the doctor won’t let them deliver babies at people’s homes on the side. The result? We basically can’t have a home birth with a midwife and have the insurance cover any of it. A nice little catch-22 they have going in their favor.
Thankfully we found a midwife we really like and Aimee has switched her care from the OB. Ultimately this will still cost us more than it would than if it were covered by insurance, but we feel strongly enough about it to justify the cost. Aimee had her first appointment today and enjoyed it so much more than the OB, and it makes me happy when my wife is happy. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for the situation and for a healthy and safe delivery in our own home for baby #2.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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