Getting the most out of our health insurance

So prior to my delivery, I read my health insurance policy on everything maternity.

I wanted to know exactly what I was get myself committed to!

And for the most part I am glad I did- 

I was able to know exactly what new little Collin was going to cost us and also find out some of the perks of my insurance.  Fortantely, I switched insurances with the New Year from Joe's crappy insurance to my awesome federal employee insurance which is 500times better than Joe's- 

defined by the fact that I do not have to pay for much out of pocket.

Some of the perks I found out about with respects to breastfeeding is free milk storage bags- 

150 of them to be exact every 2 month. 

I literally called up my insurance, gave them my info and they stated it will be in the mail in 7 business days- 

if only everything in life were this easy!

This is awesome especially since I am pumping.  I already have about 25 full bags in the freezer so the bags will come in handy and can be another expense that I do not have to worry about!

One less thing to worry about paying for!

Also my insurance reimburses me for my pump rental for 1 month- 

WAHOO!

However, these things would not happen automatically, I had to call them which was not hard and go thru the process which took all of 10 minutes.  

I felt it was worth the time as it will save me 70$ for the pump rental and 20$ + a month in bags- as I am freezing at least 1 6-8 ounce bag a day now.

Time= Money!

What did you find your insurance covered?

The midwife surrenders to Breastfeeding

Let me start by saying this was one of the hardest decisions I had to make as a new mom.  

I wanted to breastfeed, but it was not in the cards for us.

It started after my difficult delivery, my milk was late to come in because of all the blood I had lost and I could barely sit up to nurse Collin.  The lactation consultant saw us in the hospital and helped with a nipple shield which was slowly starting to work.  Collin was a lazy eater so thankfully, I rented an industrial pump from the hospital and besides trying to breastfeed, I was also pumping.   I had multiple appointments with the lactation consultants who stated I was doing everything right from stimulating him, to help keeping him awake, etc.   Collin was slowly starting to get interested in breastfeeding when I got readmitted into the hospital.  

This is when Joe and I went into survival mode-
I pumped and my parents brought the breast milk home for Joe.
With my parents helping us the pacifier also came into play since i could not sooth with nursing- especially his wubbanub which we now refer to as nubba.

So when I got home from the hospital, I took it easy for a day because the blood pressure medication made me feel a little weak and the fact that the magnesium was slowly getting out of my system.
So last week I spent Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday trying to get Collin back on the breast.  This turned into screaming matches- not my idea of fun, especially since Collin really does not scream.  He cries when he is hungry and that is about it.
But I tried for days all the tricks that lactation consults had told me with no success.
Three to four days of bottle feeding exclusively had turned him and there was no going back.
He was a lazy eater before and an even more lazy now.  
Tuesday afternoon I will admit that I lost it.  

I called Joe at work in tears after trying for an hour and not even getting him to latch once!  

This is when I made the decision that while I want to breastfeed to promote bonding- Collin and I could have our bonding in other ways because as of Wednesday I was going to be pumping and giving Collin breast milk in bottle form.
Fortunately, my milk has now come in and is plenty.  

This was a hard decision but the right one for me.  

I was dealt these cards, and does it stink- yes- but he is still getting breast milk and I am more sane for making this decision as it was stressing me out to no end-
which Collin probably could sense.  

Besides as my midwife friend reminds me....
"Pumping is breastfeeding!"
Thanks Jen for being the voice of reason.

So here is to my little "milk man" who is already drinking 30 ounces a day and growing like crazy!

My Birth Story- The Saga Continues

So I came home late Friday evening, and Saturday I woke up to my legs being even more swollen.

We took Collin to the Peditricans and I did not have a single pair of shoes that my feet would fit into- it was so embarassing.  My parents came over that evening to make us dinner so Joe and I could take it a little easy.  My father brought his blood pressure cuff over so I checked my blood pressure a couple times-  NOT GOOD!

I started getting headaches which continued on Sunday.

My pressures were alot higher than when I was in the hospital.

So on Monday per Joe and my parents orders I called the midwives office.

Th instructed bedrest for 24 hours and then they would follow up on Tuesday and decide if I needed to come back into the hospital.  Just for the record do you know how hard bed rest is with a new baby!!

So Monday I was on strict bed rest, not my idea of fun and I was checking my pressures- still terrible!  Headaches still continued.  

When I called my midwife Tuesday morning I knew what the answer was going to be- they wanted me to go to the ER to be evaluated to see if I needed to be readmitted.

Joe had to drive me and the ER at Loudoun Hospital and it was packed.  

I made Joe go wait in the main lobby because I did not want Collin anywhere close to the ER.
My mom ended up showing up and taking Collin home which I was happy with because it took us 4 1/2 hours in the waiting room before we were called back to the ER.  Then once called back they did labs and check blood pressure- which were bad.  

The labs actually got worse!  

The ER doctor told me they discussed my case with the OB physician and they were going to admit me to the ICU for Magnesium prophylasis to help decrease my chances of seizing since my labs and pressures were bad.  

I cried!!  And cried.....
"Do you know what it is like to separate a new mother from her baby!"

It was 10 pm on Tuesday night before I got to the ICU.
This is when Joe realized how sick I was- as they wheeled me into the ICU I was the only young person and I was the only patient that was not on a ventilator.  
I remember looking at him and tell him
"Joe I am sick" and I think for the first time he got it!


At that point I sent Joe home to be with Collin and to take him breast milk- fortunately the nurses were great and got me a pump the minute I got into the ER.  I was in the IUC Tuesday night, all Wednesday and the early part of Thursday morning.
The magnesium sulfate makes you feel like crap!
I had hot flashes and could not even move.

My parents and Joe took turns visiting so they could take the breast milk home to Collin.  

Thank God my milk came in as it gave me something to concentrate on.  

Wednesday evening my pressures were not getting any better on the magnesium.  

The nurse informed me that they might not be letting me go home on Thursday-
 that they might want to keep me until Friday.  

I lost it- crying!
I thought they were going to sedate me!

Of course I was by myself and called Joe and at home.  He did not know what to do-
thank god for my parents help.  

They turned off the Magnesium around 1 am on Thursday morning and placed me on blood pressure medication.  I was moved to a step down unit so they could continue to monitor me.
As soon as the nurses changed shift at 7 am, I requested to be discharged home on blood pressure medication and requested to see the OB.  The OB came in by 8 am and agree that my labs again had stabilized and the blood pressures had come down on the blood pressure medication and she did not see the need to keep me another night as I had a newborn at home which was not helping my blood pressure in the hospital- finally the voice of reason!!

She told me at 8:35 am I could go home and I called the nurse in to find out what needed to be done to get me out of here.  My dad came at 10 am to pick me up as Joe was home with Collin and I did not want him to have to drive back to the hospital with him.  

By 11:20 I was home.

It has never been so good to be home!

I had my follow up appointment this week for my blood pressures and they are doing great- to the point that they want me to watch to make sure it is not dropping it to low- if it is I am suppose to stop the medication, and if not I will see the midwife at my 6 weeks postpartum appointment at which time they will try to stop it.  
I have lost all of my water weight and have ankles again which is amazing!!!

After having the easiest pregnancy in the world, I can now say that I did not have an easy delivery or an easy postpartum period.  But that being said thru out the labor I just told myself he was going to come how he wanted to come and I think this helped me relax and ultimately let me have the vaginal delivery that I really wanted.  Now it is not the way I would have picked it but that is life.  

My postpartum period reminds me how lucky Collin is to have such a great father, who just picked Collin up and "ran with it!"  I am lucky to have such a great husband and Collin such an amazing dad!  

Thank you for all the thoughts over the last couple of weeks, the texts to help keep my spirits up, the food that so many people dropped by to help us survive, to my parents for being on call 24/7 for the first week.  We are so lucky to have everyone home safe and sound!  

My Birth Story - Part 2

After my epidural, my midwife let me sleep for a couple hours, and when she next checked me the balloon was ready to come out and I was 5-6.  Great I was thinking- but I also knew that I was not in real labor yet.  She decided to break my water, to help the process along.  My cervix had been manually dilated so we still needed to get me in labor, so the nurse continue to up the pitocin while I slept!

After 3 hours Paula checked me again and I was still 5-6, I will be honest in saying I was bummed.  She decided to put in an Internal Pressure Catheter so they could play with the pitocin more.  She told me not to worry and to go back to sleep.  So at 8 pm she came to check me again and I remember looking at Joe and tell him-  "If I have not changed, we need to be mentally prepared for a Cesarean Section."  He asked if I was ok with this and I answered in true Zen Laura facing- "It is what it is, he is going to come the way he wants to."  So I almost cried when she said I was 9 cm and +1 station.  I was so happy.  She stated she would give me another hour and then hopefully we would start pushing.  So at 0930 I was fully dilated and ready to push.  However, at this point my contractions were only 7 minutes and I was on the maximum dose of pitocin so they could not get my contractions any closer together.  But Joe figured it out- I pushed about 15 sets and he was here!!!!

March 6, 2013 at 1149

7 pounds 10.2 ounces- which Paula's first comment was "Where did you hide him?"

20 1/2 inches long

PERFECT!!!

I started crying as soon as Paula put him my chest.  The emotions are nothing that I can ever describe.  Joe and I were crying and so happy.  

Of course he grabbed my finger which just melted my heart!!!

Joe cut the cord and we bonded with Collin.

This is actually when the fun started.  

I started hemorrhaging - aka bleeding large amounts.  

Paula started giving me different medications to help my uterus clamp down, starting pushing fluids.  I of course knew what was going on but I think Joe was a little clueless.  It lasted about 15 + minutes, with a blood loss of 1000ml.  I can honestly say I felt terrible, I could not sit up, I felt faint- not fun.

At this point, I could not even hold Collin, so Joe went with him when he received his bath and Vitamin K injections.

After the bleeding was under control, we were able to get a picture of Collin and Paula, my awesome midwife.  Both Joe and I were amazed by how calm she was and also how she was so informative of the plan in her head.  Joe and I have no doubt that if I had delivered with a doctor, I would have had a Cesarean Section- after 33 hours + in labor, only a midwife delivery. 

We called our parents around 2 am in the morning once the bleeding had stopped, Collin had received his bath, we had had some bonding time, etc.  

We moved to the postpartum room around 3 am.  Because I had lost so much blood they placed a foley and made me stay in bed for at least 12 hour which was not fun.  The next morning, I looked like the marsh mellow puff woman because of the Pre- Eclampsia and all of the medications/fluids they had to give me because of the blood loss.  They kept monitoring my Pre- eclampsia labs and my blood count, and went back and forth about giving me a blood transfusion.  In the end they decided a blood transfusion was not necessary unless I really wanted one.  

After two days my pressures were ok and my labs were stable- not getting worse.

So they sent me home.  

If I only knew that I would be back in a couple days....

My birth story! Part 1

As a midwife, I truly believe in telling your birth story.  I often encourage patients to write theirs down so they can read for years to come.  After all, delivering a baby is a unique amazing experience.

So taking the advice I give to my patients.... Here is my story.

Because my birth story continued over the span of a week and a half, I decided to divide it into multiple posts.

My story really started about a week before Collin's arrival.  I started having really bad headaches and swelling of my feet.  I of course knew that swelling was normal but the headaches were bad and I was getting one every day.  So I started checking my blood pressures at work, and the were slightly elevated 130-140/80-90.  I did not really worry too much about it because I just figured I was stressed at work.  However, Friday March 1st I decided to come home early after my head was pounding. My provider's office was already closed for the afternoon so I just took it easy for that weekend- celebrating Joe's birthday with my family on Saturday and a small little surprise party on Sunday.  I continued to monitor my pressures and they were still high and the headaches continued.

So Monday I had off and had a wonderful lunch with one of my friends, after I went to Cvs to pick something up and checked my pressure, which was normal.  I decided I was just making to much of it and everything was fine.  Tuesday I headed in to work with another headache, this time it was so bad I wanted to hit my head against the wall.  I had my nurse check my pressures and they continued to be elevated, so I decided it was time to call my midwife.  I knew what they answer was going to be- they wanted me to go to Labor and Delivery to get my blood pressures check and to get some lab work to make sure I did not have Pre- eclampsia. I paged Joe at work on his birthday and told him I was going to the hospital, he immediately flipped out and told me he would meet me there.  I told him it was not necessary as I was sure they were just going to send me home, but he insisted.

So I arrived to the Loudoun Birthing Inn around 1120 on March 5th and was immediately placed on the monitor and had blood pressures obtained which were 140/80-90s.  They drew labs and Joe finally got there while I was waiting for them.  My head was still throbbing at this point, and Tylenol was not helping.  We had to wait about 30 minutes for the labs to get back and Margie, the midwife on that day, walked in and said "Your having a baby!"  I immediately starting balling stating he was no ready and neither was I.  Margie then told  me how bad my blood work was - low platelets, elevated liver enzymes, elevated Uric Acid and I knew that their would be no arguing as it was evident that I have mild Pre- eclampsia.    I was going to need to be induced today whether I was ready or not!

So Joe went home to get some stuff while they worked on admitting me.  My cervix was doing nothing at this point so they started off with cervadil which they placed at 4 pm.  Joe stopped and got dinner at Panera and they let me eat and we celebrated Joe's birthday in the hospital with cupcakes I had made that he brought from home. Everyone was calling him to wish him a Happy Birthday, most of the calls he choose to ignore as he did not want to lie about what was going on, and I was not ready for people to know we were in the hospital as I knew this was going to be a long run.

Margie wrote for me to have some ambien so I could try to get some sleep while the cervadil was in place, as it is placed for 12 hours to help thin out your cervix and get it ready for labor.   Ambien + Laura = bad!  I basically got really sick, and started seeing things.  Not fun especially when the contractions started.  The cervadil came out at 4 am at which point I was contracting ever 2 to 5 minutes.  The contraction were mild but uncomfortable.  They started pitocin on me at 6 am so the contractioms were getting stronger and more uncomfortable.

Paula releaved Margie at 10 am and decided to place a cooks balloon in to help maunual dilated my cervix while also being on pitocin.  This is basically a balloon they put into your cervix that they blow up.  This was the most painful thing I have ever felt especially since  the pitocin was going at the same time. I was in tears, and that is when my midwife recommend I get an epidural.  At this point I had been up for 28 hours straight and being induced for over 16 hours, so I caved.

It was the best decision I have ever made, the anesthesiologist who was my new friend had my epidural in in less than 2 minutes- it was amazing......

Up next-  to cut or not.....

What is in a name?

The two things Joe and I did not share during our pregnancy were 

1) The Due Date and 

2) The Name.

We decided to not share the due date as it really was just an estimate of when he was going to come and if he went past his due date- we did not want people calling every 5 minutes.  I was of the of the mind set he was going to come when he wants to come- if only I knew that I would have to be induced a week early due to Pre- Eclampsia/HELLP.  

The other thing we decided not to share was the name. 

 We basically had a girls name and a boys name picked out before our 20 week ultrasound.

I knew it was going to be a boy, while everyone else thought it was going to be a girl- I was right.  

For the most part we really did not have that much debate about the name.   

We both loved the name Collin as it was Joe's middle name and also his grandfather's name, who from what I heard was the sweetest man every.  

Naming a boy after two kind men was a no brainer- particularly because I loved the name Collin.  

We went back and forth on whether we should spell it with 1 "L" or 2 but went with two as this was the way both Joe's grandfather name was spelled and also Joe's middle name.  

Of note according to the IRS website- Collin was number 184 last year for boy names.  

This was another plus as I did not want a trendy or top 10 name.  

I want him to be unique but not crazy unique.

When it came to the middle name, again really no discussion.  

Since Collin would now be a third generation "Hecker" name, 

I only felt it fitting that Collin take a middle name that would be a third generation "Oliveria" name.    David is both my father's name and my brother's middle name. 

 I love the fact of passing a family name on but changing it your own little way.  

For example, I knew that a "Junior" was not an option.

But three generations of "Collin's" on the Hecker side and three generations of "David's" on the Oliveria side-  

It was perfect.  

Did I also mention he was born in March also number 3... 

Yes I love numbers and three is also a prime number.

So welcome Collin David =0)

Happy St Patty's Day

Thankfully my girlfriend purchased Collin a St Patty's Day outfit and Joe's mother made some booties!

Joe refused to buy one as he did not want to Jinx me as my due date was March 12 and if I went a week late I would have not been induced until tomorrow.

So Happy St Patty's Day from Collin...