I had my consult with the Maternal Fetal specialist, on the 19th.
First she was super nice, I was super aprehensive after meeting her partner in the hospital 49 days before that, I was not a fan of him. Post on the MFM from Andrew's birth.
She unlike him was very thorough. The consult was not done in an exam room, but a room with 2 round table & about 6 chairs. She saw me within about 5 minutes arriving, she asked if I had my placenta report yet. I told her no, that last I knew it was not back & her office told me not to worry about it that they would get it. She said be back in 10 minutes, she was going to find it before we talked. Apparently in this hospitals "paperless" system, the report on paper, was waiting in some scanning area to be made paperless. The report had been back for about 2 weeks, just waiting to be scanned. Ugghh
She discussed their are 4 main causes for early birth. Placenta Abruption, Infection, Incompenent Cervix, and the 4th I didn't catch, cuz it didn't peak awareness. So we crossed out placenta abruption as an option, because we know that didn't happen. So we were down to Infection & Incompetent Cervix. My placenta report showed that it was seriously infected. She discussed how long it had been since my water broke and I delivered. She said that was long enough to get infected, but not as serious as it was. She asked if I had not been feeling well the week before. I told her I was fine. She is leaning on the side that Infection was my main cause for my early birth. (stillbirth). She wrote down the name of the doctor who didn't perfom an ultrasound on me, when I went to the hospital for the first time, when my water broke , but he said it didn't. She said ALWAYS, ALWAYS, if you have doubts demand an ultrasound. I said the guy seemed competent. She said you know your body. I said lesson learned. She said imcompetent cervix, is a slim possibility, but not a likely culprit.
Her plan of action, she wants bacterial cultures run for the region, to be sure I got rid of all infections. She said it is best not to "try to achieve" until we know that all is clear. She said she recommends at least a 3 month wait after a birth or pregnancy, so that your body can replenish it's iron supply. If / when we achieve another pregnancy, more testing and more frequent ultrasounds, early in pregnancy, and regular starting at 12 weeks - 20 weeks. (weekly) to confirm I don't have an incompetent cervix. We talked a bit about a circlage for an incompetent cervix (the treatment for incompetent cervix) I explained that I could not afford to, knowingly, be off work on bed rest for (potentially) 6 months. She said for most people, she recommends 2/3 days off when the circlage is placed on the cervix, becuase you are admitted for surgery, requiring a spinal , time off for rest after it. Then you will be monitored afterwards to see that work is not causing stress on the cervix. She would most likely recommend nothing strenuous. In most cases if you are on "bedrest" it just means not standing & not doing anything around the house.. So I could possibly work on a laptop at home. It would not be destined to lying flat on your back for 24 hours a day. She also recommends checking progesterone levels more frequently & more often than just the first couple of weeks. She saw that mine were checked consistenly the first 2 weeks, but not thereafter. She said she would do it every couple of weeks the next one.
What I find interesting after meeting with her, is she "assumed" I had IVF/or an IUI done, because of how long I had infertility and my age. She was not familiar with NaPro.
I feel optimisic after talking with her, that this was just an unfortunate accident.
I also see a lot of doctor visits with an future pregnancies...
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Randoms
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Power
You don't think about it much til it's gone. Not getting much done on my to do list, because of the bad storms & the lack of power. So I'm going to cut up the treats, I made for the bake sale at work and call it a night.
**Update** we've been without power for 14 hours now. I slept about 4 hours last night, between the howling wind, the hum of generators, and random text messages. Our power might be back on tonight at midnight, is the estimate, but with 250K people out of power in our area, my thought is unlikely that it will be back tonight. I am still waiting to hear if church has power for CCD tonight, if not.. when I get home, I'm building a fire.
Update #2 --Power restoration is going to take a couple of days. My clothes for the reception that I am flying out of town on Thursday for, are captive in the dry cleaners who is also out of power!! I have ingredients for 2 desserts, that I won't be able to make now, for Wednesday's bake sale at work. Getting used to curly hair now, the results of no hairdryer.
How did they do this before electricity.
**Update** we've been without power for 14 hours now. I slept about 4 hours last night, between the howling wind, the hum of generators, and random text messages. Our power might be back on tonight at midnight, is the estimate, but with 250K people out of power in our area, my thought is unlikely that it will be back tonight. I am still waiting to hear if church has power for CCD tonight, if not.. when I get home, I'm building a fire.
Update #2 --Power restoration is going to take a couple of days. My clothes for the reception that I am flying out of town on Thursday for, are captive in the dry cleaners who is also out of power!! I have ingredients for 2 desserts, that I won't be able to make now, for Wednesday's bake sale at work. Getting used to curly hair now, the results of no hairdryer.
How did they do this before electricity.
13 days.
Uggghhhhhhhhh
Most people would be happy, not me. I'm stressing about all the things I need to accomplish in the last 13 days of work, and on 2 of those days I have doctor appointments. So yeah more like 11 days of work left for the year.
In 3 quick days. I leave for Massachusetts ( Cape) for vacation/visit family/party/rest. If you are out that way, let me know.. maybe we can meet up for coffee or something.
So back to the harried life.
I have a list a mile long, to get done before I leave. The rain today, is not helping, elminates about 2 things that I can't complete. That leaves Packing!! Ugghh.
I have a bunch of crazy stuff to get done (try to ) for work. Both places ( the paid gig & the hubby gig). Spending my Sunday in the office trying to knock a few things out.. Then later going to head out to the store to return a couple of things & hopefully pick up a couple of last minute gifts.
Praying, Peace, Calm & Happiness for everyone today.
Most people would be happy, not me. I'm stressing about all the things I need to accomplish in the last 13 days of work, and on 2 of those days I have doctor appointments. So yeah more like 11 days of work left for the year.
In 3 quick days. I leave for Massachusetts ( Cape) for vacation/visit family/party/rest. If you are out that way, let me know.. maybe we can meet up for coffee or something.
So back to the harried life.
I have a list a mile long, to get done before I leave. The rain today, is not helping, elminates about 2 things that I can't complete. That leaves Packing!! Ugghh.
I have a bunch of crazy stuff to get done (try to ) for work. Both places ( the paid gig & the hubby gig). Spending my Sunday in the office trying to knock a few things out.. Then later going to head out to the store to return a couple of things & hopefully pick up a couple of last minute gifts.
Praying, Peace, Calm & Happiness for everyone today.
Friday, November 15, 2013
MFM Consult
I was able to get a consult with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor this coming Tuesday.
The nurse was super nice & said she would get all my records/charts from my OB office, and not to worry about anything, except for showing up.
I read up, the .oogle ratings on this MFM, she seems nicer than the guy I saw in the hospital a month ago. She floats between 4 hospitals. Can you say highl demand. I was lucky to get in within a week.
My doctors theory is I have an incompent cervix on top of my IF issues of not ovulating on my own. I'm hoping she just backs that up & doesn't come up with any more issues.
Prayers are appreciated on the appointment day.
The nurse was super nice & said she would get all my records/charts from my OB office, and not to worry about anything, except for showing up.
I read up, the .oogle ratings on this MFM, she seems nicer than the guy I saw in the hospital a month ago. She floats between 4 hospitals. Can you say highl demand. I was lucky to get in within a week.
My doctors theory is I have an incompent cervix on top of my IF issues of not ovulating on my own. I'm hoping she just backs that up & doesn't come up with any more issues.
Prayers are appreciated on the appointment day.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Have you ever noticed
When I got my new Tahoe 5 years ago, it seemed like EVERY car I saw on the road, was another Tahoe. I guess I had blinders on before that. I thought I had purchased something very unusual and then BAM it's everywhere.. Well so it seemed, or maybe my eyes were more open to seeing other vehicles like mine.
So where are you going with this!
Well my eyes have been more OPEN in the last month or so, to people experiencing the same things I have recently been through i.e. miscarriages/stillborn. It hurts every time I read or hear of someone going through that pain. It seems like everyday another lady is getting devastating news like their child has no heartbeat, or they are going into labor too early, or they start spotting.
I have been trying to re-read "After Miscarriage" by Karen Edmisten to know how I can help others going thru this, and to help in healing myself.
Although I don't want every page I turn or blog I read to be another sad discovery of somone's loss, it's the unfortunate reality to some women. I have to say it, but I wish they would spend as much money on finding a cure for miscarriage, as they spend on birth control research.
From the book of blessing;
For those who trust in God,
in the pain of sorrow, there is consolation,
in the face of despair there is hope,
in the midst of death there is life.
Amen.
So where are you going with this!
Well my eyes have been more OPEN in the last month or so, to people experiencing the same things I have recently been through i.e. miscarriages/stillborn. It hurts every time I read or hear of someone going through that pain. It seems like everyday another lady is getting devastating news like their child has no heartbeat, or they are going into labor too early, or they start spotting.
I have been trying to re-read "After Miscarriage" by Karen Edmisten to know how I can help others going thru this, and to help in healing myself.
Although I don't want every page I turn or blog I read to be another sad discovery of somone's loss, it's the unfortunate reality to some women. I have to say it, but I wish they would spend as much money on finding a cure for miscarriage, as they spend on birth control research.
From the book of blessing;
For those who trust in God,
in the pain of sorrow, there is consolation,
in the face of despair there is hope,
in the midst of death there is life.
Amen.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Reach for the Sky
You can't reach for the skies, if your hands are full of yesterday's junk.
So many things come to mind when reading this quote. First thing that comes to mind, after I read this, going to confession. Getting rid of that excess baggage.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
# I Stand with Thomas Peters.
If you haven't heard about the injuries sustained to Thomas Peters please take a moment to check his blog out, and his road to recovery.
If you don't know Peter, he is the blogger The American Papist. He & his wife Natalie were only married 3 short months before his swimming accident happened this summer. They are a true testament to living your marriage vows of " in sickness and in health".
On November 14th, I hope you can take a moment to visit their blog. If you are inclined say a prayer for them, and if you are able, make a donation to help with his therapy & recovery. So they can focus on that, and not worrying about medical bills.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Testimony
We had a grown up night out on Friday night.. You know the kind where you get all dressed up. We went to the annual fundraising dinner for our local pregnancy center. We go most years, this is center hubs parents started many many years ago. They have some auction items to wander about, and then during dinner they have someone give a testimonial.
I have to say this year, we were very moved.
This young gentelman got up, he was dressed very nice, in his neatly pressed blue shirt. He got up and introduced himself, the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't connect it, yet. He starts by saying he thinks he's pretty much a typical 27 year old. Lazy, doesn't like the thought of his parents knowing what is right/wrong, selfish, and partier. He went on to say, he had a lovely girlfriend, whom he shared his bed with. She came to him one day & said I'm pregnant, but they hadn't been dating long, them both being self-absrobed, wanted to get rid of "it' so they could get back to their selfish ways. So he had looked up an abortion clinic, then he remembered it was 1/4 mile from his dad's business on the busy road. They made the appointment for this particular day, programmed the address in his GPS, and got off the freeway & followed the GPS. (God's Pilot System) . The GPS said go left, but he thought it was Right, but went the left anyways. He came upon the bright pink sign "problem pregnancy" and they turned in. They came in & were greeted, he & the girlfriend were split up & both asked some questions, about 10 minutes later, the nurse came & got him & brought him in & congratulated him, and showed him his baby on the ultrasound machine. In his head he thought what kind of abortion clinic congratulates me for wanting to abort my child. In the next couple of minutes they receive a gift for their child, a hand knit blanket. Then they start talking to them, they are not at the abortion clinic, they are at the "center". Then he realizes this is the place his dad makes regular donations to!
They leave about an hour later. Still not convinced that they want to have the baby, but deep emotions about aborting too. He said the selfish reasons he wanted to abort, was he was ashamed to tell his family, mom, dad, etc. for fear of being a "failure" or embarassment. He hadn't talked to his dad in several months, so he was getting the courage to go talk to his dad & mom. When he talks to his mom, she tells him, that son, you really don't have 2 brothers, you have 3, but I was in your same shoes & chose to abort it, and she told him she regrets it every day of her life. It took him some time, but he talked to his dad. He came back to the center 2 weeks later, to let them know that because his GPS took him the wrong way, he landed on their doorstep, but thankful it did, they were going to be keeping the baby. He left us in a cliff hanger. He got back up a couple of minutes later to tell us, that his girlfriend is 21 weeks pregnant, and they are not finding out what it is, to keep it a surprise. His parents both came to the dinner to support him & the girlfriend. So many people came up during the evening to give them hugs, and words of encouragement.
This young man, looks like many 27 year old men that you might encounter. It just reinforced that abortion minded people, do not fit a certain demographic, race, ethnicity, or social status. It hit this crowd, that this gentleman, could have been their son or grandson.
I have to say this year, we were very moved.
This young gentelman got up, he was dressed very nice, in his neatly pressed blue shirt. He got up and introduced himself, the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't connect it, yet. He starts by saying he thinks he's pretty much a typical 27 year old. Lazy, doesn't like the thought of his parents knowing what is right/wrong, selfish, and partier. He went on to say, he had a lovely girlfriend, whom he shared his bed with. She came to him one day & said I'm pregnant, but they hadn't been dating long, them both being self-absrobed, wanted to get rid of "it' so they could get back to their selfish ways. So he had looked up an abortion clinic, then he remembered it was 1/4 mile from his dad's business on the busy road. They made the appointment for this particular day, programmed the address in his GPS, and got off the freeway & followed the GPS. (God's Pilot System) . The GPS said go left, but he thought it was Right, but went the left anyways. He came upon the bright pink sign "problem pregnancy" and they turned in. They came in & were greeted, he & the girlfriend were split up & both asked some questions, about 10 minutes later, the nurse came & got him & brought him in & congratulated him, and showed him his baby on the ultrasound machine. In his head he thought what kind of abortion clinic congratulates me for wanting to abort my child. In the next couple of minutes they receive a gift for their child, a hand knit blanket. Then they start talking to them, they are not at the abortion clinic, they are at the "center". Then he realizes this is the place his dad makes regular donations to!
They leave about an hour later. Still not convinced that they want to have the baby, but deep emotions about aborting too. He said the selfish reasons he wanted to abort, was he was ashamed to tell his family, mom, dad, etc. for fear of being a "failure" or embarassment. He hadn't talked to his dad in several months, so he was getting the courage to go talk to his dad & mom. When he talks to his mom, she tells him, that son, you really don't have 2 brothers, you have 3, but I was in your same shoes & chose to abort it, and she told him she regrets it every day of her life. It took him some time, but he talked to his dad. He came back to the center 2 weeks later, to let them know that because his GPS took him the wrong way, he landed on their doorstep, but thankful it did, they were going to be keeping the baby. He left us in a cliff hanger. He got back up a couple of minutes later to tell us, that his girlfriend is 21 weeks pregnant, and they are not finding out what it is, to keep it a surprise. His parents both came to the dinner to support him & the girlfriend. So many people came up during the evening to give them hugs, and words of encouragement.
This young man, looks like many 27 year old men that you might encounter. It just reinforced that abortion minded people, do not fit a certain demographic, race, ethnicity, or social status. It hit this crowd, that this gentleman, could have been their son or grandson.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Charting
Does anyone have any recommendations for a charting app. Creighton friendly. Thanks in advance.
Doctor Follow up.
We had our 6 week follow up with our OBGYN today. We were to go over all the tests results run after the stillbirth of our son Andrew.
To sum it up simply we do not have any concrete causes for his early birth.
What we do know is Genetically he was boy with the correct # of chromosomes.
All the blood work on me came back with nothing wrong; no blood clotting, no crazy blood disorders, he was able to come back & tell me that at some time in my lifetime I had something ( that sounds like Mono ) but as long as I don't have it while I'm pregnant it's ok.
Testing on the placenta was not back yet.. he was bummed that it was super slow too. We are happy we did not have a placental abruption. Which is another common cause for stillborn. If a placental abruption happens, it is almost 99.9% fatal to the baby, because the baby looses his lifeline to mom.
The placenta tests may key us into infection of the baby or infection in me.
We won't have an explanation of why my water broke early.. & I think we have accepted that fact.
** to clarify** with my son Andrew's birth, my amniotic sac completely ruptured, at his gestation(21 weeks) it was not repairable, and he was not matured enough to survive outside the womb. Had it been a pinhole type leak/or a slow leak, I could have been put on bedrest, fluids, and they can in most cases repair themselves.
Our doc has consulted with two other doctors and they want me to have a consult w/ the local Maternal/Fetal doctor, for a pre-conception consultation, to make sure they are not missing anything. I am awaiting a call from their office to schedule an appointment.
I need to start charting ( yeah I'm on CD3 ) yeah AF arrived already.. I was kinda hoping she might stay away for a while. Considering I had Lochia bleeding for 3 weeks. then milk tried to come in, now this.. I just want a break ! Charting to determine if I ovulate on my own.
He asked if we can avoid TTC for the next 60 days..
He talked with us about how we are emotionally doing. like did we name him, did we have a funeral, etc. He was happy that we were doing well emotionally. He was very appreciative that we sent him a Thank you" for St. Luke's feast day. He said what I wrote him in the card, tells him that WE are doing better than most.
We talked about what a Next Time scenario might look like. Simply.. Lots of Ultrasounds! He said we could have them almost weekly if it makes us feel better. ( probably wont' cuz i'll go broke doing that ) He said as soon as we find out we are pregnant, we can come in immediately for one(which his office has never let me do, they always made me wait) and for sure from 12-20 we will be weekly . The theory is I have a incompetent cervix, which with weekly monitoring will show us when it gets shorter and then at that point, I will get a circlage ( little stitch as he likes to say ) to keep it closed. *Insert my research, could lead to bed rest, or time off of work. We have to talk & decide if this is how we see our pregnancy going & if we can physically, emotionally, financially afford me to be laid up potentionally for 4-5 months.
We had a long talk about the Maternal Fetal specialist we saw in the clinic the day Andrew was born. I asked if there was someone else we could see. He asked why, he was the "best'. I said well in our book, when he offers us an Abortion as his best form of care, that's not who we want caring for us. He asked us to recount the conversation w/ him & both my husband & I said recalled that his exact words were, to best handle this we can take you up for an Abortion right now & you can be on your way home later. My doctor was shocked. He said this doc doesn't do selective reductions, or reductions for genetic abornmalities. We both said, the ultrasound tech was even shocked & turned away too. We both said, this guy never told us our child was still alive & still had a heart beat, but we both know that would be the only reason for him to mention abortion. I told our doctor, that this haunts me still, that this 'expert' wanted us to choose to let him kill our son. Thankfully we know better & told him absolutely no. I had my chart in hand, when I went to see this specialist, & I read the first page of my chart. In big bold letters it said : HYPNOBIRTHING Patient and PRO-LIFE. So why this guy suggested this as the "best" care will boggle my mind for days. My doctor deeply apologized for the specialists lack of sensitivity & proper use of medical terminology. Needless to say, we are seeing a different MF specialist for our pre-conception consult.
This lead to a discussion about the medical terminology used by the doctors. Our doctors wanted us to be prepared for other people that might care for us & them not using pro-life friendly medical terminology. He said in medical world the patient friendly word is miscarriage, but in medical land it is called an abortion; wheter spontanious , missed, or elective. I said yes we know that, but willingly killing our living child was not appropriate, nor acceptable to us. He again apologized.
So another question we had was who would be our care provider if we get pregnant again, our doc said as long as things progress "normally" we would continue w/ him. He could do the circlage if necessary. The only reason I would have to see the MF specialist is if I develop gestational diabetes, develop pre-eclampsia or go into labor early. Our docs hospital does not have a NICU, so we can' t deliver a preemie there.
I go back in 2 months to look at charts, see if i've ovulated & discuss medications.
Thanks for all your prayers. I do feel our appointment went well, we got ample time to ask all our questions & discuss all our concerns.
To sum it up simply we do not have any concrete causes for his early birth.
What we do know is Genetically he was boy with the correct # of chromosomes.
All the blood work on me came back with nothing wrong; no blood clotting, no crazy blood disorders, he was able to come back & tell me that at some time in my lifetime I had something ( that sounds like Mono ) but as long as I don't have it while I'm pregnant it's ok.
Testing on the placenta was not back yet.. he was bummed that it was super slow too. We are happy we did not have a placental abruption. Which is another common cause for stillborn. If a placental abruption happens, it is almost 99.9% fatal to the baby, because the baby looses his lifeline to mom.
The placenta tests may key us into infection of the baby or infection in me.
We won't have an explanation of why my water broke early.. & I think we have accepted that fact.
** to clarify** with my son Andrew's birth, my amniotic sac completely ruptured, at his gestation(21 weeks) it was not repairable, and he was not matured enough to survive outside the womb. Had it been a pinhole type leak/or a slow leak, I could have been put on bedrest, fluids, and they can in most cases repair themselves.
Our doc has consulted with two other doctors and they want me to have a consult w/ the local Maternal/Fetal doctor, for a pre-conception consultation, to make sure they are not missing anything. I am awaiting a call from their office to schedule an appointment.
I need to start charting ( yeah I'm on CD3 ) yeah AF arrived already.. I was kinda hoping she might stay away for a while. Considering I had Lochia bleeding for 3 weeks. then milk tried to come in, now this.. I just want a break ! Charting to determine if I ovulate on my own.
He asked if we can avoid TTC for the next 60 days..
He talked with us about how we are emotionally doing. like did we name him, did we have a funeral, etc. He was happy that we were doing well emotionally. He was very appreciative that we sent him a Thank you" for St. Luke's feast day. He said what I wrote him in the card, tells him that WE are doing better than most.
We talked about what a Next Time scenario might look like. Simply.. Lots of Ultrasounds! He said we could have them almost weekly if it makes us feel better. ( probably wont' cuz i'll go broke doing that ) He said as soon as we find out we are pregnant, we can come in immediately for one(which his office has never let me do, they always made me wait) and for sure from 12-20 we will be weekly . The theory is I have a incompetent cervix, which with weekly monitoring will show us when it gets shorter and then at that point, I will get a circlage ( little stitch as he likes to say ) to keep it closed. *Insert my research, could lead to bed rest, or time off of work. We have to talk & decide if this is how we see our pregnancy going & if we can physically, emotionally, financially afford me to be laid up potentionally for 4-5 months.
We had a long talk about the Maternal Fetal specialist we saw in the clinic the day Andrew was born. I asked if there was someone else we could see. He asked why, he was the "best'. I said well in our book, when he offers us an Abortion as his best form of care, that's not who we want caring for us. He asked us to recount the conversation w/ him & both my husband & I said recalled that his exact words were, to best handle this we can take you up for an Abortion right now & you can be on your way home later. My doctor was shocked. He said this doc doesn't do selective reductions, or reductions for genetic abornmalities. We both said, the ultrasound tech was even shocked & turned away too. We both said, this guy never told us our child was still alive & still had a heart beat, but we both know that would be the only reason for him to mention abortion. I told our doctor, that this haunts me still, that this 'expert' wanted us to choose to let him kill our son. Thankfully we know better & told him absolutely no. I had my chart in hand, when I went to see this specialist, & I read the first page of my chart. In big bold letters it said : HYPNOBIRTHING Patient and PRO-LIFE. So why this guy suggested this as the "best" care will boggle my mind for days. My doctor deeply apologized for the specialists lack of sensitivity & proper use of medical terminology. Needless to say, we are seeing a different MF specialist for our pre-conception consult.
This lead to a discussion about the medical terminology used by the doctors. Our doctors wanted us to be prepared for other people that might care for us & them not using pro-life friendly medical terminology. He said in medical world the patient friendly word is miscarriage, but in medical land it is called an abortion; wheter spontanious , missed, or elective. I said yes we know that, but willingly killing our living child was not appropriate, nor acceptable to us. He again apologized.
So another question we had was who would be our care provider if we get pregnant again, our doc said as long as things progress "normally" we would continue w/ him. He could do the circlage if necessary. The only reason I would have to see the MF specialist is if I develop gestational diabetes, develop pre-eclampsia or go into labor early. Our docs hospital does not have a NICU, so we can' t deliver a preemie there.
I go back in 2 months to look at charts, see if i've ovulated & discuss medications.
Thanks for all your prayers. I do feel our appointment went well, we got ample time to ask all our questions & discuss all our concerns.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Healthcare
We had meetings yesterday at work to find out about our new & improved healthcare plans. Please note the sarcasim !. Nothing about it is improved, while all of it is new.
The 2 negatives hitting us with the healhcare changes.
Obama & the primary shareholder of our company. IEP.
Both I am convinced do not care a single thing about us, nor our families. So according to our new plan, a family in their book is 2-4 people. So if your family is larger than 4 people you have to pay a surcharge, and basically pay for the entire policy for that person. A nice younger gentleman with I believe 3 kids.. raises his hand and asks: So are you saying the company is against "families". The nice catholic director of benefits who is making this presentation, says, my hands are tied! With our new "shareholder" owner/ and congress, it has made it very difficult, that's all he had to say. I heard someone joking today, well I gotta get rid of 2 of my kids, cuz I can't afford to cover them all. Sad! Sad! Sad!
The only good that came out of this meeting for me; feeling not totally screwed. Our executives that make big money, have to pay 100% of their healthcare costs. We now have a sliding scale based on your salary, determining what % of your healthcare premium you pay.
We ALL now have large deductibles to meet before anything is covered at 80%, including prescriptions. Thankfully my husbands $700 a month medication is covered under a " prevenative plan " but my metformin is the only thing covered of what I take daily. So they go thru & estimate out some scenarios to inform you how much you might expect to pay. So for a natural (non surgical) maternity /delivery we are looking at $2700. Not looking forward to all the new expenses with no pay raise.
Anyone else have any woes from the "improvements" to our healthcare system.
The 2 negatives hitting us with the healhcare changes.
Obama & the primary shareholder of our company. IEP.
Both I am convinced do not care a single thing about us, nor our families. So according to our new plan, a family in their book is 2-4 people. So if your family is larger than 4 people you have to pay a surcharge, and basically pay for the entire policy for that person. A nice younger gentleman with I believe 3 kids.. raises his hand and asks: So are you saying the company is against "families". The nice catholic director of benefits who is making this presentation, says, my hands are tied! With our new "shareholder" owner/ and congress, it has made it very difficult, that's all he had to say. I heard someone joking today, well I gotta get rid of 2 of my kids, cuz I can't afford to cover them all. Sad! Sad! Sad!
The only good that came out of this meeting for me; feeling not totally screwed. Our executives that make big money, have to pay 100% of their healthcare costs. We now have a sliding scale based on your salary, determining what % of your healthcare premium you pay.
We ALL now have large deductibles to meet before anything is covered at 80%, including prescriptions. Thankfully my husbands $700 a month medication is covered under a " prevenative plan " but my metformin is the only thing covered of what I take daily. So they go thru & estimate out some scenarios to inform you how much you might expect to pay. So for a natural (non surgical) maternity /delivery we are looking at $2700. Not looking forward to all the new expenses with no pay raise.
Anyone else have any woes from the "improvements" to our healthcare system.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
5 Favorites
1. They are finally bottling this stuff.. My sister who lives out east doesn't live near any of the restaurants & would have us pick up the packets of sauce & mail her some, or bring them when we came. Now it will be nice to buy a bottle of the stuff. I got an e-mail today w/ a coupon too..
2. Cherry Syrup with Cherry Pancakes from Cherry Republic.
3. Good wine for this time of year.. Witches Brew.. Serve warm -it's a spiced wine.
4. We just got a cheesecake factory in our state. Had !! to make a trip to the mall.. well for a piece of cheesecake.. This is what I had. Cheesecake & chocolate cake.. 30th anniversary cheesecake is what they called it. Very delicious!!
5. Taco Dip with some Corn Tortillas, it's the go to ticket this week for a quick dinner.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
A Sign
When I see a penny on the ground, I think of my Grandpa(s)
They both had an eye for finding shiny things. Grandpa R was scolded one time by my Grandma for stopping in the middle of a busy intersection while crossing the road, because there were a couple of pennies on the ground. Grandpa B would always say if you find 25 pennies you get a quarter. Grandpa B always marked projects with a coin from that year. The cement foundations for various projects around his house all have coins imbedded in the cement. Grandpa B would do questions for the kids at family gatherings, and if you go the answer right you got a shiny quarter,this was big money back then, or we picked up apples in his yard for each apple you got a penny, we were cheap labor now that you look back at it. So many kids now dismiss the value of coins, they want the "paper" stuff.
So yesterday coming out of the bullseye store, I spotted a copper penny on the ground circa 1977. Yes being offspring of my grandpa, I stopped in the road to pick it up. See really it's just a penny, not much you can get with one of them, but a few and you can get maybe a bubble gum or something.
I didn't stop because I needed the penny, I stopped because I see it as a sign that my Grandpa's want me to take a moment. Think about them, say a prayer, take a deep breath. If I had been rushing I probably would have never noticed it. Remember the good times. How many things do we overlook because we are too busy?
The other sign I often see is the number 12 : 23 . Sometimes it's just the 23 by itself. This sign is from my dad. Most of the time it's on the clock. For a long time after my dad's departure. I woke up at 12:23 AM .. for no reason. I see 12 : 23 on receipts, on times for various things. Transaction numbers at work, I see it in addresses. I know my dad is with me when I see 12:23 or 23. I take the time to slow down when I see his signs. What kind of signs do you see everyday?
They both had an eye for finding shiny things. Grandpa R was scolded one time by my Grandma for stopping in the middle of a busy intersection while crossing the road, because there were a couple of pennies on the ground. Grandpa B would always say if you find 25 pennies you get a quarter. Grandpa B always marked projects with a coin from that year. The cement foundations for various projects around his house all have coins imbedded in the cement. Grandpa B would do questions for the kids at family gatherings, and if you go the answer right you got a shiny quarter,this was big money back then, or we picked up apples in his yard for each apple you got a penny, we were cheap labor now that you look back at it. So many kids now dismiss the value of coins, they want the "paper" stuff.
So yesterday coming out of the bullseye store, I spotted a copper penny on the ground circa 1977. Yes being offspring of my grandpa, I stopped in the road to pick it up. See really it's just a penny, not much you can get with one of them, but a few and you can get maybe a bubble gum or something.
I didn't stop because I needed the penny, I stopped because I see it as a sign that my Grandpa's want me to take a moment. Think about them, say a prayer, take a deep breath. If I had been rushing I probably would have never noticed it. Remember the good times. How many things do we overlook because we are too busy?
The other sign I often see is the number 12 : 23 . Sometimes it's just the 23 by itself. This sign is from my dad. Most of the time it's on the clock. For a long time after my dad's departure. I woke up at 12:23 AM .. for no reason. I see 12 : 23 on receipts, on times for various things. Transaction numbers at work, I see it in addresses. I know my dad is with me when I see 12:23 or 23. I take the time to slow down when I see his signs. What kind of signs do you see everyday?
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Roaming Roman's
So the church we have been attending is closing in January, dang priest shortage. We have always gone to smaller-ish parishes, not the giant mega-parishes the archdiocese prefers. So we have started to shop what's in the area. I went to the parish that our diocese thinks is a fit for us.. (their idea of merging is to merge parishes that "blend" well ).
First impression, I thought I had entered a bar when I walked into this place. It was soo loud! Then I thought, maybe I arrived at the wrong time, but then again, why would it be so loud in church. From what I gather, they encourage people to talk it up before mass, instead of spending time in quiet prayer before mass starts. (?#$!%?? ) Really loud, like I thought I walked into a bar. Then it was BANG, baptism mass. ( not mentioned anywhere ). Me personally I would have chosen another mass. Cuz of happenings lately, not really what I wanted to see at mass.
Another negative for me, the number of people who show up to mass like they just went for a run, or were on their way to the zoo. People dressed in jeans, sweats, hoodies. All well to-do people. One of the godparents of the children being baptized was wearing jeans. Not cool in my book. Then the number of people who came in late.. Like after the homily late. The number of people who left church when the clock ticked 1 hour. ( mass was about an hour & 15 minutes because of the baptism). I realize these aren't things the "parish" can control, but sometimes messages from the pulpit are necessary, which apparently doesn't occur here.
We will try another mass time ( this place has 7 masses a weekend ) The various masses I've been told, draw different crowds.
First impression, I thought I had entered a bar when I walked into this place. It was soo loud! Then I thought, maybe I arrived at the wrong time, but then again, why would it be so loud in church. From what I gather, they encourage people to talk it up before mass, instead of spending time in quiet prayer before mass starts. (?#$!%?? ) Really loud, like I thought I walked into a bar. Then it was BANG, baptism mass. ( not mentioned anywhere ). Me personally I would have chosen another mass. Cuz of happenings lately, not really what I wanted to see at mass.
Another negative for me, the number of people who show up to mass like they just went for a run, or were on their way to the zoo. People dressed in jeans, sweats, hoodies. All well to-do people. One of the godparents of the children being baptized was wearing jeans. Not cool in my book. Then the number of people who came in late.. Like after the homily late. The number of people who left church when the clock ticked 1 hour. ( mass was about an hour & 15 minutes because of the baptism). I realize these aren't things the "parish" can control, but sometimes messages from the pulpit are necessary, which apparently doesn't occur here.
We will try another mass time ( this place has 7 masses a weekend ) The various masses I've been told, draw different crowds.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Blessed.
Got to hear another great homily from Fr. Paul tonight, for the Feast of All Saints !
It started something like this.. how does less make us blessed.
He often talks about how our society has too much. We can all do with a little less.
Tonight his talk posed a bunch of scenarios.
A young girl asked to go work at a soup kitchen for her birthday instead of a big party.
A girl in high school chooses to dress modestly instead of dress like the popular crowd.
A couple who have been married for a while chose to work on their marriage & vows, instead of throw them out the door, because of a rough patch.
A woman of advanced age, is limited to a wheelchair, has not much to look forward to anymore, but she fervently prays everyday for all her children/grandchildren.
Then he said, why do most greeting cards for loss/death, mention blessed.
When people are consoling others over a loss, mention somewhere in the conversation ...blessed.
What correlation does a Saint being called Blessed ______ .... and in everyday life considering Blessed to mean loss, or doing with less.
What can you do with out, or less of .... to be Blessed.(or more Saintly)
You ask how can someone who has lost a loved one be Blessed? They are blessed, because they know their loved one has reached the Eternal gates of Heaven, a place we all long to be.
It started something like this.. how does less make us blessed.
He often talks about how our society has too much. We can all do with a little less.
Tonight his talk posed a bunch of scenarios.
A young girl asked to go work at a soup kitchen for her birthday instead of a big party.
A girl in high school chooses to dress modestly instead of dress like the popular crowd.
A couple who have been married for a while chose to work on their marriage & vows, instead of throw them out the door, because of a rough patch.
A woman of advanced age, is limited to a wheelchair, has not much to look forward to anymore, but she fervently prays everyday for all her children/grandchildren.
Then he said, why do most greeting cards for loss/death, mention blessed.
When people are consoling others over a loss, mention somewhere in the conversation ...blessed.
What correlation does a Saint being called Blessed ______ .... and in everyday life considering Blessed to mean loss, or doing with less.
What can you do with out, or less of .... to be Blessed.(or more Saintly)
You ask how can someone who has lost a loved one be Blessed? They are blessed, because they know their loved one has reached the Eternal gates of Heaven, a place we all long to be.
Adopt-a-Blogger
Adopt-a-Blogger
It is an honor to be chosen for the month of November, my husband and I deeply appreciate all the prayers that will be coming our way this month.
The short story(stats) of our Infertility issues. I have PCOS & Mild Endo. I have had many procedures, taken all sorts of meds/vitamin, and made diet changes. But still infertility was still something we didn't think we had. We were in denial.
Our whole infertility story
Our Son Andrew's Still Birth Story
Our Son Sammy's miscarriage
Story and experiences in our family with Adoption and Adoption Part 2
Our journey has been long, we have endured many speedbumps, but we haven't given up hope. Although after Sammy then Andrew, it can be hard to jump back into TTC. After each loss, it is hard to know when is the right time to begin trying or continue waiting. My husband and I both will advance to the next age bracket next year, and it will probably mark the end of our TTC journey.
It is many women's dream to have and hold their baby, I am thankful that I got to experience birth and hold my son Andrew, even though he was not breathing. I just pray that God is satisfied with the Saints I have created for him, and that he gives me one more that I can keep on Earth for a longer period of time.
What we ask prayers for:
Decisions on our next "plan" and our meeting with our doctors on November 8th.
Are our hearts ready again?
Do we TTC again ?
Are we content with being a family of 2?
We ask your prayers for all women who face difficult decisions in their pregnancy.
Lord God, my desire for a child grows stronger every day. Cradle me in your love and calm all my anxieties. I look to you for insight so I can do my part in making my dream of parenthood a reality. Stir in my heart the desire to follow your will in all my decisions. Give me the courage to trust your guiding presence. Help me, Lord, to prepare myself for the day on which I might be blessed with an earthly child. Deepen my trust in your plan for our family. Amen
Thank you for praying for us.
Kristen & Mr. Lucky
Our Infertility Story
My husband & I were married 7 years ago, after 5 months being married, we started seeing a OBGYN who was NaPro trained. Our initial concerns were, really long cycles, like 40-50 days, and hey we were newly married, we were engaging in lots of honeymoon action, but yet there were no positive pregnancy tests arriving. She moved out of state after 2 visits with her, which was like 5 months. The only thing we learned from her, was I didn't ovulate on my own & I had PCOS. So we were befuddled & spent more time trying and being ignorant that there was an infertility issue. After about another year, we started the search again for a new doctor.
We found a pro-life OBGYN, who we are still with, Dr. G! Trusting that highly respected doctor #1 did a lot of blood work ups (her office, wouldn't release any files) we started on Clomid and he gave me a blank paper chart to keep track of my cycles. So after a month, we went back & he was confused and I was confused as to what he wanted on the chart? He 'respects' all forms of NFP, but didn't really specifiy what he wanted on the chart. So the only thing I had done was write in my temps, which was what I was taught in Sympto-thermal classes. So we schedule an appointment for the next month & he says. I want you to watch & record your cervical mucus. Hmmmm. Okay! So the next month I come in, with a bunch of scribbles, and much about nothing. I said there really isn't anything. So this goes on for a couple more months, he wants DH to get a SA to determine if there are any underlying issues with him, that we may not know about. After all that comes back, we're at 8 months into this with him & still not pregnant. By now I have gained a few pounds & he recommends we spend some time getting healthy. So we take about a year off & lose the weight & work on our overall health.
During infertility week in 2010 I discover a great blogger.(TCIE) I start following. I get intrigued by all this NaPro lingo. I start researching Creighton instructors. Nothing close to me! I find someone about 1 1/2 hours away from me, who is in training, in training means, she can only do in person meetings. She feels so bad for telling me that I would have to drive to her every other week for the first chart. We do this, because we know that it's the only way we can get in to see a NaPro doc, who by the way, is 3 1/2 hours away. So we get our 2 cycles of charting in ( which takes 3 1/2 months because of my wonky cycles). We contact the NaPro doctor and find out he is having surgery & will be not available to see patients for 2-3 months. Huge stab to the gut, but we take it in stride & make the appointment in May 2011. The good thing about this appoinment we had all our labs, done the month before so we had real stuff to talk about!. We get the "plan" given to us. We started using NaPro protocols finally which included meds (Femara, Prometrium) vitamins/OTC (B6, Mucinex, Fish Oil, PreNatals, D3) Diet ( no Dairy, Wheat, Sugar). We find out 4 months later that we are pregnant! WOW!.
Not included in our "plan" was a missed miscarriage at 14 weeks, we named our son Samuel(Sammy). The one lesson we learned with Sammy was that I could get pregnant, which I hadn't been able to do for the past 6 years. I went back on the "plan" and conceived about 6 months later. I found out we were having twins, only to find out at our first ultrasound that one passed at 8 weeks. I seemed to be having a normal pregnancy, but after our loss of Sammy, we were extra cautious, and kept our news to primarily ourselves. At 18 weeks we found out we were having a boy (Andrew), we also started birthing classes at this time and told our families. Sadly at 21 weeks, Andrew decided to arrive a wee bit too early. Andrew's Birth story.
After our loss, we were asked to abstain for 6 weeks, we await test results to come back on Andrew & I, and then meet with our doctor(s) to discuss the new "plan".
We found a pro-life OBGYN, who we are still with, Dr. G! Trusting that highly respected doctor #1 did a lot of blood work ups (her office, wouldn't release any files) we started on Clomid and he gave me a blank paper chart to keep track of my cycles. So after a month, we went back & he was confused and I was confused as to what he wanted on the chart? He 'respects' all forms of NFP, but didn't really specifiy what he wanted on the chart. So the only thing I had done was write in my temps, which was what I was taught in Sympto-thermal classes. So we schedule an appointment for the next month & he says. I want you to watch & record your cervical mucus. Hmmmm. Okay! So the next month I come in, with a bunch of scribbles, and much about nothing. I said there really isn't anything. So this goes on for a couple more months, he wants DH to get a SA to determine if there are any underlying issues with him, that we may not know about. After all that comes back, we're at 8 months into this with him & still not pregnant. By now I have gained a few pounds & he recommends we spend some time getting healthy. So we take about a year off & lose the weight & work on our overall health.
During infertility week in 2010 I discover a great blogger.(TCIE) I start following. I get intrigued by all this NaPro lingo. I start researching Creighton instructors. Nothing close to me! I find someone about 1 1/2 hours away from me, who is in training, in training means, she can only do in person meetings. She feels so bad for telling me that I would have to drive to her every other week for the first chart. We do this, because we know that it's the only way we can get in to see a NaPro doc, who by the way, is 3 1/2 hours away. So we get our 2 cycles of charting in ( which takes 3 1/2 months because of my wonky cycles). We contact the NaPro doctor and find out he is having surgery & will be not available to see patients for 2-3 months. Huge stab to the gut, but we take it in stride & make the appointment in May 2011. The good thing about this appoinment we had all our labs, done the month before so we had real stuff to talk about!. We get the "plan" given to us. We started using NaPro protocols finally which included meds (Femara, Prometrium) vitamins/OTC (B6, Mucinex, Fish Oil, PreNatals, D3) Diet ( no Dairy, Wheat, Sugar). We find out 4 months later that we are pregnant! WOW!.
Not included in our "plan" was a missed miscarriage at 14 weeks, we named our son Samuel(Sammy). The one lesson we learned with Sammy was that I could get pregnant, which I hadn't been able to do for the past 6 years. I went back on the "plan" and conceived about 6 months later. I found out we were having twins, only to find out at our first ultrasound that one passed at 8 weeks. I seemed to be having a normal pregnancy, but after our loss of Sammy, we were extra cautious, and kept our news to primarily ourselves. At 18 weeks we found out we were having a boy (Andrew), we also started birthing classes at this time and told our families. Sadly at 21 weeks, Andrew decided to arrive a wee bit too early. Andrew's Birth story.
After our loss, we were asked to abstain for 6 weeks, we await test results to come back on Andrew & I, and then meet with our doctor(s) to discuss the new "plan".
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