Physical stuff: I had a PT appointment a week ago that didn't help my hip/leg/back right away, but I did start to feel better a day or two later. I felt reasonably okay for a couple of days, but then all of a sudden, it got so much worse. Worse like, I was crawling up the stairs. Couldn't put weight on my right leg at all. Basically a hot mess. So I bought a cane. What else can I do? I still have a child who needs my attention and care. But the absurdity of it all does not escape me. The cane is helping me get around without so much pain, but it's also giving that joint some rest so that it hopefully won't hurt as much when it comes time to labor. That is my biggest concern because a huge part of my pain management strategy involves moving freely. Anyway, this is me–29 years going on 80. Just call me tripod.
Emotional stuff: I'm not sure this really counts as emotional, but frustration is an emotion, so I'm going with it. I spent hours this week on the phone trying to track down a hospital grade breast pump that would be covered by insurance. What a complete racket. With the new health care legislation, insurance companies are now required to cover breast pumps. Hooray! Sort of. I don't know how other health insurance companies are interpreting this law, but United Healthcare requires that the pump be purchased or rented through a medical provider. The problem is, they can't tell me any medical providers who deal with breast pumps except for one in New York that won't send out the pump until baby is a week old, and it's some pump I've never heard of. Which, obviously does not work for a low-supply mama who needs the pump to stimulate supply from day one. I called dozens of hospitals and "durable medical equipment" stores, and none of them are renting or selling breast pumps. Regular pharmacies, Babies R Us, private lactation consultants, and hospital pharmacies are the most common breast pump rental places, and none of them count as medical providers. I finally found a Walgreens Home Health nearby that rents them and is considered a medical provider, but the whole thing is crazy. Why should insurance care where the pump comes from? Oh, and get this, it costs $65-75 dollars/month to rent a pump in my area. Insurance will cover up to $900 a MONTH for breast pump rentals as long as it's from the right provider. They will even cover the purchase of a hospital grade pump 100% (like $1,500 on average). But if you try to get $75 for a pump rental from a pharmacy or LC, they won't cover it. I have a feeling this may not be over, as I need to submit the cost for reimbursement, but if they try to argue with me about it, heads will roll. Word to the wise: whenever an insurance agent gives you good news on the phone, always get the conversation's reference number.
Birth prep/prenatal: Baby was measuring 38 weeks yesterday (at 38.6), so her size is good. Probably on the small-ish size like Penny was. Head is down and very low, and my midwife thinks there is a hand or shoulder up with the head. Funny because Penny was a compound presentation also. This may explain some of the crazy pain that is going on with me. It amazes me how midwives can feel every little body part just by placing their hands on a pregnant belly. She was like "here's a foot, and another foot, and here's a hand, and a leg, and the head is here." It blows me away. I expressed my concerns about my hip pain interfering with labor, and she said that it will probably ease as contractions start and baby shifts. Fingers crossed.
Labor: On New Year's Eve, I started having contractions again at about 9:30pm. I tried to sleep for awhile, but at 12:30am, I decided to get up and start moving since it was getting too hard to sleep. We had planned to put our Christmas decorations away on New Year's Day, but I thought if I'm in labor, I better get it put away now! So from 12:30-1:30am, I undecorated the tree and gathered all of the Christmas stuff to a central location. I felt a little bit like the Grinch taking down Christmas in the middle of the night. After I moved around for a bit, the contractions slowed and then stopped, so I went back to bed. Josh hauled everything up to the attic in the morning, but it was an interesting way to end the Christmas season. I don't know what is up with this baby and laboring. With Penny, I was suddenly in labor and then I had her that day. I never had any real birth contractions before the day she was born. With this baby, I've been in labor 3 times now for several hours! Probably like 12-14 hours altogether, and only at night. How am I supposed to know when it's the real deal? A little worried about that, but I have faith that it will all go smoothly and I will know when to call.
Oh yeah, baby stats:
Total weight gained: +30. I seem to have stagnated here.
Total waist gain +12" Same, even though I think it looks bigger.
Baby size: mini watermelon. Ha. Mini. Right.
I can't tell you how much time I spend trying to find out how to get certain things covered and which providers will be covered. With my employer I had United Health Care. I had pulmonary rehab that they paid all but 7 claims for. The provider was putting me in collection and I hate to get the state involved who ordered them to pay the claims. So frustrating! Good luck with the breast pump. Keep watching to see when the new baby makes her appearance.
ReplyDelete