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@Mrs. Sunshine: That's an awesomely affordable amt! My out of pocket max for me could be up to $2500. Multiply that by three and at worst I could have to pay $7k. That's why I'm praying I keep these twins in full term!
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@marionberry: I almost shouted "no way!" into the phone when she called me! lol really 7k isn't that bad!! And the good news is, you don't seem to be having a lot of the risk factors that come with having twins so hopefully they will stay nice and comfy in there until it's time!
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@Astro Bee: you can upgrade and it's very low cost but there's basically no availability. they prior mulitples and complications, and then it's first come first serve. I shared the whole time with my first, and the first family was really annoying, and then the second family smelled like cigarettes. We got out of the hospital as fast as we could!
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@Astro Bee: Our provincial coverage provides a ward room and my work insurance covers a semi-private. We will pay the additional out of pocket cost for a private room. I figure it will be worth it after just having gone through labour and delivery to have a bit of privacy.
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@SunshineMcC: so sorry to hear you're back in the hospital... at least you're being monitored! keep us posted and i'll be praying babe stays safely inside.
@Astro Bee: you reminded me to call my insurance today so i'm going to do that and find out what's covered. my coverage isn't the best so i imagine private isn't going to be included but worth checking out... when we go on the hospital tour i'll find out about private costs & availability but i have a feeling it's first come first serve. when my sister had her baby she was one of four in the room and one of the families were on their 6th kid so the room was CHAOS and it was horrible.
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@loki: private rooms are really cheap - like 45-90 a night! And most work benefits cover them. The main problem is that they are as available to a person with an uncomplicated vaginal birth as there are unicorns roaming the earth! There's precisely 1 of them at the hospital I am giving birth at, and there's always someone in there worse off than you. The L and D rooms are obviously private though - that would really suck otherwise! Our hospital stays tend to be a lot shorter than in the US too, so the upside is that if you do have to share, it won't be for too long!
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@Rockies11: ya true! luckily it isn't long... one night, max two depending on the time you deliver? i'm willing to pay if they're available but if there's not many, chances are low! i'd rather share a room and have a normal, safe, healthy labour/baby.
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@Rockies11: @loki: I just filled out my hospital form..
Ward rooms - 3-4 patients (covered by OHIP)
Semi-private 2 - $240 per day covered by most private insurance
Private - 1- $295
Private deluxe - $320Most private insurance will cover the cost of a semi private and you can pay the difference.
We also have to buy a mother and baby starter kit for $20.. -
@Banana330: oh expensive(er?) there! and balls to buying a mom and baby starter kit! here it's 2 people rooms or one in a private. There's also a new hospital with all private rooms, but the maternity is basically impossible to get into.
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@Banana330: hm what comes in the starter kit? my friend delivered at the same hospital as i'm delivering at and said she got NOTHING. like no pads, mesh panties, NOTHING. i was shocked.
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@Rockies11: I'm surprised it's so different across Canada.. but maybe i shouldn't be!
@loki: The paperwork says a cord clamp remover, personal hygiene supplies and baby care items. I think they say to bring your own pads, wipes, diapers etc but i'm going on my tour tomorrow so hopefully i'll know more. Ironically I had my D&C at the same hospital in april and they gave me pads/mesh panties for that...
I think the US bees get so much because it all gets charged to their insurance anyway!
If you need to pump while you're there you can buy a pump kit too.
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Wow, I am surprised by all of this regarding cost of private rooms, delivery, and kits. I am feeling really fortunate. My insurance has really good coverage so the entire cost of pregnancy is less than $100 in copays. My hospital also only has private rooms so there is no question on whether I will have one or not. And all of those "kit" things are included too. Diapers, wipes, blankets, hats, toiletries...and they sent us home with extras!
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@Banana330: we get the mesh panties, a peri bottle, diapers, pads, use of a pump, umbilical clampers, and a thing that you use to measure your pee for free in a nice little basket when you get to the recovery room! It is crazy how different it is!
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@Banana330: Yes it's definitely different here. I'm not sure that I know of any rooms that aren't singles and you're right that everything is charged to insurance but we also end up paying a lot of money out of pocket. But I do think from personal experience that if I was in CA and I had the option to pay more for a single room I totally would.
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@NeekieRose: Less than $100 for both the provider and the hospital?! Wow that's great insurance. I owe $200 just for the provider's fee.
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I just called my insurance and I can upgrade to private rooms and put it to my Health Spending Account, which is amazing. Also, breast pumps are covered at 80% up to $300 and the remainder I can also charge to my Health Spending Account. I currently have about $900 in there... so that's awesome.
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@loki: who's your insurance with?
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@Banana330: sunlife. i don't find it to be generally amazing but the health spending account really helps! my husband works for the same company and has the same insurance so mostly everything gets covered at 100% at the end of the day.
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@loki: that is good, I did hear that sunlife will cover pumps etc. I'm manulife and while my coverage is pretty good generally I don't have a HSA.
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@Loki: Wow, that's amazing that you get the pump covered. I know a lot of people who buy and sell used pumps on kijiji/CL, but I read that it's not considered a good idea even if you replaced the tubing and flanges, because only the hospital grade ones are fully sealed, and milk spray can get into the pump itself, leading to mould. Ick! I was going to go that route, but will probably end up eating the cost of a single, electric.
As for the private hospital room, I've been told that it's first-come, first-served, but that our hospital isn't so busy that it's usually full - even though it has the most modern birthing centre in the city, it's not central (very close to us though), doesn't have an NICU (preemies get transferred), and it's predominately french-speaking (not a problem for us).
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@Banana330: Our hospital website lists what to bring, including pads, underwear, diapers, wipes, and baby pjs. No mention anywhere of having to purchase kit. You've reminded me that I need to call to book our tour. I'll ask about the kit when I do.
@Rockeis11: Ugh, your roommates for your first birth sound awful. I hope you have better luck this time around!
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@Astro Bee: Are you planning on pumping much? I can't imagine having only a single pump instead of a double. Pumping *suckksss* and a single would have meant twice the time attached to the pump. If you aren't pumping much, it may not matter but if you are, I would highly recommend getting a double.
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@Neekierose: I've been going back and forth on what will meet my needs. I'll have 10 months of maternity/parental leave and DH will have the other 2 allowed to us in Canada, so LO will have full time care for a year. I mainly want to pump to build up a freezer stash to extend breastfeeding as long as possible, and for when I want DH to take care of LO. I won't be pumping from work when I do go back, so the speed there isn't a concern. I also want to have a pump for when I'm engorged. I have arthritis in my hands, so a manual pump isn't practical. If I didn't have such a long maternity leave it would be a no-brainer, as it would be if someone else were paying for it! A double seems like an unnecessary luxury for my situation. Did you end up pumping a lot? Other second time moms?
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@Astro Bee: I did pump A LOT. But I also went back to work at 12 weeks. Even at home though to build a freezer stash I pumped a decent amount. And for times when I was away from DD (a few weekends here and there) it was really important. I'm not sure what the cost difference is between the single and double, but to me a double is worth it.
I paid an upcharge to get a better pump than what was covered by insurance last time and I am planning on paying even more of an upcharge this time to get the Medela Freestyle.
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@Astro Bee: I had to pump (when I was on leave) for a stash and then pumped nonstop at work for the next 6 months so a double was a necessity. You could probably manage with a single, though I wouldn't recommend it. To pump one breast took anywhere from 15-30 mins for me. To do that with a single could mean sitting there for an hour and your baby is just not going to sit still that long - although you could get a hands free bra to help minimize that.
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@Astro Bee: I was wondering the same thing! With a year off do we really need a double? If it was free it's a no brainier, but is it worth paying extra for? My friend who had a baby in Nov just got a single, she's only used it a handful of times I think, mostly for when she's out of the house or engorged.
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@marionberry: Oh, a handsfree bra was also a lifesaver! I only pumped once or twice without it and couldn't understand how people do that all the time.
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@Marionberry: I would probably get a handsfree bra in either case. We also don't get as big a selection of pumps in Canada. Pretty much only the Medela or Avent brands, I think.
@Banana330: Good to know about your friend. The public health nurse who did ran our baby class even suggested that I could hold off on purchasing one for a few months, and still build up a good stash for later. She also said I could pump on one side while breastfeeding baby, but I'm wondering about the logistics of that: baby's need for fore-milk vs hind-milk, and a noisy gadget working next to baby. It doesn't seem like a good idea.
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@NeekieRose: My friend showed me that as long as you have a fabric/flexible bra on you can just shove both of the flanges in your bra instead of using the hands free bra. It worked great for me. The hands free bra I originally bought never fit. I should try to sell it on HB.
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@Astro Bee: @Banana330: I literally just asked the same question about pumping needs while at home over on the breastfeeding board... the consensus was pretty strong... even if you are a SAHM everyone recommended getting a double electric. That said, my insurance fully covers the cost of a double electric (I think all US insurance companies must now, with obamacare?) but even so a double is probably worth considering...
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@marionberry: @loki: @Mrs. Sunshine: thanks so much for the well wishes. Things are a bit better over here.
The terbutaline worked to stop the contractions at the hospital, so I got to go home last night. They started back up around 2am, and when I went back in this morning to the doctor's office, they were 2-3 minutes apart, which was concerning. My cervix was still closed, which was a good thing, so the doctor presented me with a couple of options. One was to start a different drug (procardia), which is typically used to lower BP, but can also help stop contractions - whereas another was to go home, work from home a few days and try to limit my activity.
Given the potential risks with the procardia (cardiac issues - heart attack, etc.), we decided to start with taking it easy for a few days before starting another medicine. The contractions have really slowed down now to only 3-5/hour which is TONS better, so I'm feeling hopeful about that.
I'm not sure if my company would be on board with me working from home the next 9 weeks, but I'll wait and see if that's even needed. I have another follow-up appt. on Monday.
Has anyone else ever taken procardia or heard anything about it? Anyone else had intense contractions early on that were regular and frequent?
I hope you're all doing well - I need to catch up with what's going on with everyone else!! XO
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@Astro Bee: I had a single for the same reason on Canadian mat leave, and it was totally fine. And I wasn't a good producer or anything, and I still didn't need a double. Ditto for all the other mat leavers I know. Also re: buying used, you can actually clean out the internal body of the pump from mold and milk back up. I was really drunk one night and doing a pump and dump and backed mine up badly, and I just called medela and they walked me through the cleaning process. And thought it was hilarious.
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@NeekieRose: we also only have private rooms and can take whatever we want when we leave...
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@SunshineMcC: My bff was on procardia for preterm labor and preferred it to the terbutaline because it caused less wooziness. She went into preterm labor at 29 weeks exactly, and was on hospital bedrest for 3 days, then home bedrest. She had steady contractions the entire time. They took her off procardia and bedrest at 36 weeks because the benefits outweighed the risks at that point, and then she went to 41w2d and had to be induced!! So pretty much the opposite of what we were expecting. She was dialated to 3 cms the entire time.
ETA: And best wishes to you - it was really stressful going through that with my bff and it wasn't even my pregnancy! Such a worrisome thing, and then just crappy to be uncomfortable from contractions for weeks on end on top of it.
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@Rockies11: so sorry to hear you've been in and out of the hospital with HG, but sounds like your spirits are high and you have a great attitude! My in-laws live in the same town as us, so they'll probably come by the hospital and stop by for visits, but nothing too intense. My parents are out of town and planning to come for a couple days once LO is born, and maybe 1-2 days after we get home. Because DH has 2 weeks off, he and I are going to take a go at things on our own for that time, then my mom is planning to come back and help once he goes back to work. Thanks for sharing about the procardia - despite the risks my doctor shared, I've read lots of positive stories about it online - and it seems somewhat common for ladies to actually go to full term or beyond once they stop it, despite thinking they'd go into labor. And those side effects of the terbutaline was awful - I wouldn't wish that on anyone - I felt like I was having a panic attack. I appreciate your well wishes, thanks so much. It is stressful, but I just want LO to be OK, and to stay in there for awhile. If that means the next 10 weeks aren't what I had in mind, then I'll just have to deal!
@marionberry: so happy that you had a positive outcome in court - that's got to be reassuring. Sorry you had a rough situation at work - I've been there myself, and yes - wonderful to have some time off to look forward to!
Very interesting to hear how things differ in terms of room type, coverage, supplies, etc. Our first labor and delivery class is on Saturday and I'm looking forward to getting some more details. I am 99% sure all the rooms in our hospital are private, but hope to confirm that. I'm planning on getting a double electric pump, as my plan is to go back to work after 4 months and hopefully I'll be pumping then.
I've said it before - but will say again - it's been such a blessing to have you all as friends and support during this journey - means so much to me to know you're here for support, advice, complaining and to listen! XO
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@SunshineMcC: I'm a May mama totally eavesdropping on this thread, but wanted to chime in that I had what sounds like a very similar experience with my first pregnancy. I started having contractions at 20 weeks and finally ended up in the hospital at 28 weeks with contractions coming every 2-3 minutes (but cervix closed). They put me on procardia and bed rest for the next 8 weeks. I didn't notice a difference with the contractions - they kept coming regardless - but my cervix stayed long and closed and FFN tests were always negative. The doctor told me to expect to deliver immediately when I went off the procardia/bed rest at 36 weeks. Nope...after all that he ended up coming just 3 days before my due date. Now I'm pregnant again and contractions started at 14 weeks this time, though they haven't gotten as bad as last time yet (fingers crossed). Basically my doctor says some people just contract for no real reason and it doesn't do anything. They have promised we will do anything possible to avoid bed rest this time (but a big part of that is probably because they know my body did this last time and everything turned out okay). Definitely feel free to message me with any questions!
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Ugh, ladies in on my second cold in three weeks and somehow last might managed to pull a back/rib muscle while sneezing! Now everytime I sneeze I feel like someone is trying to remove a rib. This saline rinse stuff just doesn't cut it!
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@SunshineMcC: Glad it sounds like you and your doctor have a good plan to keep baby in there for the next couple months! Hopefully taking it easy and the new medicine will keep working well!
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@SunshineMcC: sounds like you guys have a good plan and it's promising to read these stories about people who went through the same thing and were able to hold their babes off! hopefully taking it easy helps.
@Banana330: ugh i'm with you. constant colds
i've also been getting brutal migraines... including waking up with one this morning. and tylenol is useless for migraines. i slept in and felt a bit better and now i'm just working from home but still have a headache and want to just lay in bed alllllllllllll day.
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@Astro Bee: I ended up purchasing a double because I will be returning back to work in September and my SO will be taking the balance of the leave. Since I will probably need to pump when I go back to work I just decided to go ahead and purchase it when Babies R Us was having their sale.
@SunshineMcC: I'm sorry you are having all kinds of contractions but at least your Dr. is staying on top of it and has put a plan in place for you. If you do need to work from home I don't really think your company can legally refuse to allow it, especially if the Dr says it is medically necessary. Sending good thoughts your way for a stress free few weeks and the LO to keep cooking
i've also been getting brutal migraines... including waking up with one this morning. and tylenol is useless for migraines. i slept in and felt a bit better and now i'm just working from home but still have a headache and want to just lay in bed alllllllllllll day.
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