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Woo hoo! Lots of ladies up late tonight!
@ClairHuxtable: Hi lady! Pop in whenever you want. Even if you just want to come in and talk about yourself and ask a question and not even respond to anyone else. (Umm.. hi. I've done that plenty of times.) I think I saw somewhere else on here that you will be finding out your baby's gender on Thursday. You should definitely come back here and share with us!!
@T.H.O.U.: You are amazing with all your PTO saved up!! Good for you! My husband doesn't really save up his PTO and it always drives me crazy. (unless he's taking off a day for something I want to do.
)@MrsBeluga: Hooray for a perfect looking ultrasound and for having a little boy!!
@Pirouette: I understand wanting to be there for your work. So I actually was so wrapped up in work that I put off TTC for quite a few years. Having a baby never seemed right before in terms of my career and work load. And then at some point I saw a small window where I thought it was be an okay time, and then it took me two years to get pregnant and then I needed IVF and I was like "f' it" for work. Which is crazy because you would think a person has all this control over timing with IVF and really, I did. But work will ALWAYS be in the way for me. If there was really a time when I could easily take a leave, then it would probably be a permanent leave because I'd be out of a job. Ha! Anyways. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this. Its really helping me make my decision.
@teawithpaloma: Financial at this point is my biggest decision-making factor. And hey - happy birthday to your little girl! I really like family birthday celebrations like you had.
@LCTBQE: Bahahahaha. Driven, responsible and motivated. Yea, I used to be out of necessity. I'm now like "hey.. how much maternity leave can I get? I'll take pennies!" But yes.. money is a big motivating factor. Such a bummer but it is what it is!
@LCTBQE: And I haven't pulled the trigger yet on shopping for maternity clothes. My normal clothes still mostly fit although getting a little tight and small looking. Where did you get your $80 leggings from? I'd like to try those and the target ones.
@AprilFool: Don't want to have too much time on your hands, said me never.
Ha! I'm kidding. I get that. I actually do tend to get antsy so I will need to think it all through. But since I've been pregnant, laying on the couch is my favorite thing to do. 
@AprilFool: That's an awesome ultrasound picture!! Are we supposed to be able to see the private parts? Because I can't tell!!
@OldpuebloJenn: But don't worry about repeating others because I love hearing everyone's thoughts!! So funny about eating food without having to share.
I assume it will be a game time decision. Either I will have to take time off because of some medical reason, or I will just want to take time off, or the project will lure me and co-workers will annoy me and I'll decide to stay. Can't really predict at this point!
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@agold: Yes! DH is always like, lets call in sick today, and I'm like NOO save all the hours! Unless I'm sick enough to be in bed sleeping or on vacation, I try to be at work. To make it from August 15 - January 4 I think I need like 20 weeks. So I'm definitely short some. I'm hoping my mom can cover a week, DH can cover a week or two and then maybe I take a week or two of leave without pay.
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FYI - We broke out a separate thread here if anyone wants to join on this topic:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/august-2016-gear-registries-and-nurseries
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@MrsBeluga: Congrats on your little boy!!!
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@agold: I completely understand about work - I'm exactly the same way, and I eventually realized there were never be a "great" time to take 3 months off, so i just had to make it happen. and once I did, everyone survived without me, and I came back ready to go. It all worked out!
SO I had my 16 week anatomy scan this morning and everything looks good - not shy about proving he was a boy! I got a little nervous because the tech made me do a vaginal u/s after the abdominal because she had some concerns about the placenta and couldn't get good views, but the vaginal confirmed all is ok. They confirmed yet again that they'll want me back frequently as I progress to monitor this guy's size because of my small girl.
Despite all the good news, I'm a bit annoyed today, because I finally got my panorama bill in the mail and it is $1370. The pregnancy hormones in me just wanted to rip it up and scream, but now I need to spend time calling the lab and panorama and maybe my insurance company and my doctor trying to sort out how to deal with this. On top of which, I just got the preclearance for my daughter, who has to have surgery on friday, and my out of pocket costs? Yup, $1370 as well. It's like my unlucky number this week!
I hate insurance driving up medical costs so so much!
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@MrsBeluga: I feel the same way about having a girl! I'm so used to changing boy diapers, and I have no idea about things like leggings and tights and headbands and bows. And girls here seem to have so many shoes! DS has usually one pair that fits that are every day shoes, in the summer he has sandals too.
@agold: Whether I would take 4 weeks disability would depend on how I was feeling. I had mentioned that I got really sick and borderline pre-e at the end of my last pregnancy. It was so bad that I could barely walk, I could barely catch my breath, I couldn't stand in the shower for even 5 minutes. It felt like moving through water. If I felt like that again, I would absolutely stop working. But if I could work, I wouldn't want to be reduced to 55% of my earnings. I like my $$$
. @T.H.O.U.: That's amazing that you can save up PTO! My company is kind of weird and modern with PTO. We have technically "unlimited" PTO, but really you're not supposed to take more than 4 consecutive weeks. And since it's unlimited, you don't accrue it and it doesn't roll over. With STD and company paid leave, I plan to tack on 2 weeks of PTO to get to a 12 week leave. I think more than that will be frowned on, unfortunately.
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Adding my next appointments:
Coffeemom - 3/17 Anatomy
MrsChickpea - 3/18 Anatomy
Silva - 3/22 Anatomy
THOU - 3/24 Anatomy
JoJoGirl - 3/25 Anatomy
Coopsmoma - 3/25 Anatomy
PWNSTAR - 3/30 Anatomy
MrsKerch - 3/31 Anatomy
Pirouette - 4/4 appt
Pirouette - 4/12 20 week Anatomy -
@T.H.O.U.: That's so sweet, though, that your husband wants to call in sick with you at home as well. My husband calls in sick for things like golf.
And that's great you started a new thread!!@Pirouette: That great your anatomy scan went well! Do you get to have another one around 20 weeks? And thanks for mentioning that you also had to have a vaginal ultrasound. I will need to have my placenta looked at also and I certainly prepare differently for abdominal and vaginal ultrasounds.
As for the cost of your panorama test - I had the same shocking bill delivered to me. Is your insurance supposed to cover the cost of your test? @ShootingStar: If I'm feeling as sick as you described, I'll take it without hesitation. But, like you, I like my $$$ too!
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@agold: insurance supposedly paid $2100 already! How much more could they be expected to pay for blood work? I'm just confused because I keep reading stories online of everyone getting massive bills, but they call panorama and they cut the bill substantially. So that's great, but my bill is from a different lab, not panorama directly, so I'm worried that means I'm going to be screwed
supposedly if my insurance had declined to cover it or I didn't have insurance the cost would have been capped at $200. Um, what? I'm being penalized for my insurance paying? Meanwhile, if I was 1.5 months older, supposedly I wouldn't have received a bill at all!
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@Pirouette: Congrats on a good scan! But that is terrible about the testing fee -- I hope you can get someone to bring down the price for you.
@T.H.O.U.: you really are a good PTO saver! I'm trying to save as much as I can now. At the end of every year, we get the option to cash in our remaining PTO for the year or roll it over. Last year, I cashed in about two weeks and rolled over one. Then maybe a week later I found out I was pregnant. I totally would have rolled it all over if I'd known!
@ShootingStar: my husband's work is sort of similar. With no set PTO, it's just kind of like, "Oh hey, can I have this day or week off?" Which sounds nice in theory...but I think he ends up taking less time off than if he knew he had a specific number of weeks. I'm hoping after baby comes he can be home for two weeks, even if he has to work from home the second week. We luckily managed to get our due date in his slowest time at work (between seasons) so that's helpful!
Adding my A/S!
Coffeemom - 3/17 Anatomy
MrsChickpea - 3/18 Anatomy
Silva - 3/22 Anatomy
THOU - 3/24 Anatomy
JoJoGirl - 3/25 Anatomy
Coopsmoma - 3/25 Anatomy
MrsSCB - 3/29 Anatomy
PWNSTAR - 3/30 Anatomy
MrsKerch - 3/31 Anatomy
Pirouette - 4/4 appt
Pirouette - 4/12 20 week Anatomy -
@Pirouette: Being penalized for having insurance...
That's a whole different topic of conversation for a different type of forum. I really hope you can figure it out. When I was initially over billed, it took me two weeks of making calls to get the charge reversed on my credit card. Have you already been charged? you can dispute it on your credit card. .
@MrsSCB: That will be nice if your husband can be home. I was thinking of maybe having my husband take off one week. But I need him to look into whether or not he gets paid. I don't really know if I need him at home, but maybe I'm being super naive. -
@LCTBQE: unpaid mat leave for me too. I'm hoping to imorove that though, the policy is incredibly outdated. I'm lucky that We are big enough to have FMLA but the only way I get paid is unused PTO (if all goes perfectly, I'll have 3 weeks) which we are not allowed to bank or roll over. I'm the first woman in my role to need maternity leave in the history of our company, and our leadership is working to improve employee retention and work/life balance so thinking I may be able to frame some sort of policy improvement from that perspective. I'm keeping an open mind though. May do a HB survey to help me research and formulate my approach.
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@LCTBQE: you know there's someone out there already offering a 3D print of your babe in utero. There's a market for everything!
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@MrsSCB: thanks!
@agold: so i called and they reduced it to $600. which is still a lot, but honestly, it's coming out of my hsa and I didn't feel like calling 3 other people to fight to get it down further. she said there are different versions of panorama and the one my doctor ordered cannot be reduced below that amount, whatever that means. At least I'm over halfway to meeting my out of pocket max and it's only march (trying to be optimistic!)
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@Pirouette: I'm so sorry you got that bill! Your post prompted me to look up mine and mine is $1776. WTF? Looks like I've got some phone calls to make as well.
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@Pirouette: Well $600 is certainly better than $1370, so good job on that. But still.... $600. Would you have taken the test if you knew it would cost $600? Did you call your insurance beforehand to check how much the cost would be?
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@MrsKerch: is this your EOB? or an actual bill? Don't freak out until you get an actual bill, because from what I hear, if your bill is directly from Panorama it will be less than what they report to your insurance!
@agold: I dont know, honestly. My husband probably would have coerced me, because he's a "you can't put a price on knowledge" type of guys. If there's a test out there, he wants me to get it done.
on the other hand, the $ sounds worse than it is when you take the HSA into account. My max OOP on the year is $3500, and once i meet that, everything is covered 100%. I'm already over $2000 on the year after this payment, so basically I'm paying this out of pocket instead of some future ultrasound that will be covered. so basically, in a vacuum, paying $600 for this test seems insane, but with the HSA, it's this bill or the next one! this is only the case since I'm going to certainly meet my OOP max this year.
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@MrsBeluga: Hooray for boy!! That's so exciting. Sorry I missed this yesterday.
@T.H.O.U.: I hoard vacation time, too. And this time around, I have to spend so much of it down just to go out on leave that I will be paid for less of my leave. Boo. So I want to have as much as possible!
@Pirouette: Yay for a great scan. It makes me so angry that insurance is so variable. My feelings are always.....wouldn't they want to cover this test that can predict all sorts of issues that they may not have to cover later if detected early? This and the crappy maternity leave policies in the U.S. make me angry. I'm glad you at least got them to reduce the cost, but damn, still $600?? Boo. And, oh, I hope your DD is ok!
@MrsKerch: Good luck changing the way things work around your office. When I was pregnant with my first, I was the first in a long time at my work, so that was pretty interesting. And, yes, 3D printing for everything! Eek! And I hope you get your bill reduced, too.
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Adding my next appointment:
Coffeemom - 3/17 Anatomy
MrsChickpea - 3/18 Anatomy
Silva - 3/22 Anatomy
THOU - 3/24 Anatomy
JoJoGirl - 3/25 Anatomy
Coopsmoma - 3/25 Anatomy
Pregnantbee - 3/25 appt
MrsSCB - 3/29 Anatomy
PWNSTAR - 3/30 Anatomy
MrsKerch - 3/31 Anatomy
Pirouette - 4/4 appt
Pirouette - 4/12 20 week Anatomy -
And I love this group, but I'm having trouble keeping up with the extra threads created.
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@pregnantbee: I might not keep up with the extra groups.
I'm going to get confused about what sorts of things to talk about here, and what sorts of things to talk about else where.
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@agold: It's actually a little overwhelming, and I'm generally good at keeping up with stuff, especially if I'm on my laptop. It's much hard to flip back and forth and comment on my phone.
Oh, and PSA for those of us debating bras: I finally decided to take out one of my old wireless nursing bras and try it today. Holy cow am I comfortable. The wire had been digging into me, the band was getting too tight (but too loose on a larger setting), and things still weren't staying put. Ugh. But today? Awesome. Not quite as supported as I'd like to be, but comfort wins today.
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@pregnantbee: exactly! Part of me is pissed that i didn't fight harder on the bill - i'm guessing if i got panorama directly involved i might have been better off. but at the same time, the impact on my 2016 OOP costs is 0, so I figured I'd just pay it. Don't get me started on maternity leave!!
And i agree with the too many threads comment. I like the idea of the gold thread, and will try to keep up with it, at least until my gold runs out and i decide whether to renew. but i'd prefer to keep all non-gold content here. I can understand the desire to post things in a more private thread, but I like this thread best
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@pregnantbee: speaking of bras, I'm spilling out of my D cup today. WHAT HAPPENED? I used to be a B. A B!!!!
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@Pirouette: I totally understand wanting to break it up into categories so we can find info. later about gear, etc., but it's hard to keep up, and I feel like I'm very scattered.
Is it too late to contest or just not go through insurance now?
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Here is why I posted the other thread. This thread is WAY too long and hard to search. I know I'm (and I think others) are going to get very confused when it comes time to purchase things, remember what was talked about etc. Someone may not be looking for a stroller now, but in a few weeks they may be and this thread moves 2-3 pages per day. Its nice to break it up. But by all means, you dont have to participate in all the threads. Its just a way to try to organize some of the conversation.
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@Pirouette: PMed you
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@T.H.O.U.: I totally understand the reasoning. I just have a little trouble focusing in more than one place
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@T.H.O.U.: I do understand that. I was looking for the link to the leggings someone mentioned like, yesterday, and couldn't find it!
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@T.H.O.U.: that makes sense! I didn't mean to sound like I was criticizing or anything...I don't care how many threads there are
I was just saying this is going to be my primary check in spot!
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@dcw6411: Pssst, haven't heard from you in a bit. How are you doing/feeling?
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@Pirouette: YAY!! glad the a/s went so well
and major woof about the panorama bill. I still haven't gotten mine and am kind of hoping it never happens... but, I did get a $1500 bill yesterday for anesthesia for my D&C which was SIX MONTHS AGO. my husband is going to call them and make a big stink, but wtf. glad you were able to get it lowered. @agold: these leggings? I am so crazy about them.
http://www.ingridandisabel.com/shop/active/1304-active-legging and I think @mossylane found them for cheaper (albeit with cheaper panel material) at target. dammit I'm looking and sizes S and M are gone everywhere! -
@LCTBQE: omg, I am livid for you! That is just cruel. I hope your husband unloads on the billing department, and if he doesnt, I will!
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@Pirouette: yeah, I hate to make him do the dirty work, but he's SO much better at bullshit like that than I am, and if it's going to save us hundreds, neither of us minds.
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@LCTBQE: I can understand! I hope he prevails
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@LCTBQE: Darn it about that medical bill. I'm so very sorry you have to deal with that. And its great your husband will handle the dirty work of dealing with that bill. You have other things to worry about while growing a baby! And yes! Thank you so much for sharing that link for the leggings. I hope I can find a medium.
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@Pirouette: Yay for a good scan!
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@T.H.O.U.:
@Pirouette:
@MrsSCB:
@agold:Thanks for making me feel so welcome, ladies!
@T.H.O.U.: I am definitely going to find out the sex of the baby. My older LO is a boy. This pregnancy has been different in a number of ways, so it makes me wonder if this baby is a girl (although I have heard of moms having very different pregnancies for the same sex).
@Pirouette:
@MrsSCB: I'm still experiencing more nausea than I expected to (I feel like the nausea had generally passed by this point in my last pregnancy), but I know it could be worse. Generally, I'm feeling okay. Thanks for asking!
@agold: I'll definitely come back and post an update on Thursday!
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@AprilFool: thanks!
@ClairHuxtable: my pregnancies are identical so far, and I figured that meant another girl...nope! a boy this time! can't wait to hear what you're having!
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@pregnantbee: You are so sweet to check in on me! How are you feeling? This thread has gotten so busy. I follow along as much as I am able. I'm hanging in there. Pregnancy wise things are going ok. Bleeding has subsided again so hopefully the whole bleed is disappearing for good! I have been super busy with the kids (DS is turning 2 on Saturday and DD has been so busy with preschool activities)
Emotionally, things have been a bit rough. DH is having a hard time feeling connected to this pregnancy due to all the ups and downs, and the fact that this was just so unplanned. I realize it's been a change for everyone but at 20 weeks I'm starting to feel like he needs to put his big boy pants on and deal with it. I kinda feel like I'm on my own pregnancy island this time and it has started to make me a bit sad. I am so excited to meet this sweet boy, but I feel like I'm the only one. At the moment DH is still seeing this pregnancy as a huge money and lifestyle hit. He is a wonderful man but he is struggling and it's just made me pull back. I posted awhile back about my crazy SIL and she has struck again with my MIL stating she will not be throwing a sprinkle or anything of the sort as she doesn't want to upset SIL. Normally I could care less, I don't enjoy being the center of attention, but it made me so sad this this baby won't be celebrated at all. I am finding myself wishing that I lived near my family, instead of DHs. Emotionally it has just been a rough few weeks.
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I hate insurance driving up medical costs so so much!
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supposedly if my insurance had declined to cover it or I didn't have insurance the cost would have been capped at $200. Um, what? I'm being penalized for my insurance paying? Meanwhile, if I was 1.5 months older, supposedly I wouldn't have received a bill at all!
That's a whole different topic of conversation for a different type of forum. 
and major woof about the panorama bill. I still haven't gotten mine and am kind of hoping it never happens... but, I did get a $1500 bill yesterday for anesthesia for my D&C which was SIX MONTHS AGO. my husband is going to call them and make a big stink, but wtf. glad you were able to get it lowered. 
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