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Re: UO Thursday
This is probably isn't unpopular, but I think the state of maternity coverage as far as insurance and leave in the US I see ridiculous! I know a few states have made steps to be more supportive of mothers/fathers after having a baby but the vast majority are crappy. I work for a major health system that makes it impossible to have paid time off after baby. I will be able to take barely 6 weeks paid, but only by completely clearing out all of my sick/vacation time. I was hoping to take longer than that for leave but will have to pay for my insurance out of pocket which is $900 a pay check (we get paid every two weeks). I'm looking at basically needing to have $10-12,000 in savings just to afford a longer maternity leave. It just seems crazy to me!
The other thing I'd say that makes kids expensive is unexpected health costs. You might get lucky and never pay for anything other than co-pays on your well visits, or you might end up with a kid with chronic diseases/disorders, disabilities, major accidents, etc. Even with decent insurance you end up paying a LOT for this stuff. I'd consider ourselves on the lucky side, but this past year our son has needed a lot of mental health treatment and it has added up fast, even the parts of it covered by insurance. Not including our time (a huge expense), we have spent a couple thousand dollars in just 8 months. But this was all just a reminder to me that some people have it so much worse in this category. (Also, this mental health expense is still so much less than daycare.)
I totally agree with your opinion that people make too big of a deal of their due dates, especially if they are overdue and when the weren't 100% on when they ovulated. If you don't know your ovulation date, you can't freak out that you are 2 days overdue, no matter how regular your cycle is.
So I return to the issue of things like health costs, because no one will help you shoulder that burden, give it as a birthday/Xmas gift, etc. Your uncle isn't going to say, "happy birthday, kiddo! I bought you half a therapy session for your birthday! Enjoy!"
In my mind I would love a big house, like a mansion! Reality is we literally do not have enough furniture/items to fill a 3 bedroom apartment. Sooo if a mansion came with a few million for me to decorate, sure!
Dude. Babies are expensive. Kids are expensive. Even if you breastfeed you make leak and have to wear pads all the time. Kids need diaper cream and they get sick. They also grow out of clothes like .5 seconds after you bought them. Also life insurance, dental insurance, what if your kid needs glasses? Eventually there will be school supplies. Are you going to start a college fund?
I think it is more obnoxious to scoff at people that say "kids are so expensive!" It's just true.
After I get tenure at my institution (in 3ish years), I will make it my personal mission to try to get a better leave policy at my work place. They do have paid leave but it's still really crappy and kind of nonsensical for our particular positions. (We're professors and the leave is just for a few weeks, that might fall at a random time during a semester of teaching--I don't know what they do in terms of who is supposed to teach your classes during this time. There is no leave granted if you have a summer baby, even though summer is a time most professors work full-time on research, grant proposals, and similar endeavors that are required for the job. This part is unclear and I'm going to ask about it next week, but if you forgo salary to take FMLA, it probably counts against "service to the institution," time, which means you're behind on earning other rewards/milestones such as tenure, sabbaticals, etc.)
DS1 7/24/15
DS2 5/7/17
DS1 7/24/15
DS2 5/7/17
I have learned that I prefer a medium-sized house on a larger lot. We just purchased an 1800 sqft home on .59 acres... our backyard is HUGE. Super excited! Plus, we will be doing renovations to "open" the floorplan up a bit and add a master suite with bathroom & closet. We were previously in a 3200 sqft home with a small backyard. Definitely too much house, I mean we hardly went into some of the rooms it was so big!
Family leave is a joke in the US! I'm lucky in that my employer allows 1 month off before EDD and up to 6 months after. Only 4 months of it is partially covered by disability pay from the state and the remaining is covered by my sick and vacation time.
Like some have stated, I have been a little oblivious on the gender-sided stuff as I usually go with the flow. But I did purchase lots of "neutral" colored items because too much of one color (blue in our case) is no bueno. I even purchased "girly" colored lifefactory bottles since we got 20 of them (lol).
DS1 7/24/15
DS2 5/7/17
@MamaMiller my due date has changed at every appointment that I have gone to for this kiddo. My doctor hasn't made a big deal about it, but has made a verbal comment about the change each time. I don't think that he has "really" changed it. To me personally, it's a little frustrating because I would like to get a consistent date and I don't remember this happening with DD at all.
My UO is that I've been all of these posts all day and keep trying to come up with an UO, but I can't.
DS1 7/24/15
DS2 5/7/17
B born 7/15/13, C born 3/2/15, #3 on the way May '17
I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been up linked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond! I’m new wave, but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hot-wired, heat seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice activated and bio-degradable. I interface with my database, my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive and from time to time I’m radioactive.
B born 7/15/13, C born 3/2/15, #3 on the way May '17
I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been up linked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond! I’m new wave, but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hot-wired, heat seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice activated and bio-degradable. I interface with my database, my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive and from time to time I’m radioactive.
ETA: I'm thinking of a lane ending on the highway, not for construction, if that makes any difference. We have a few mile stretch of an extra lane that ends and everyone waits and often ends up in the shoulder attempting to merge.
1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
Btw, this only applies if traffic is backed up/slow! If both lanes are going close to the speed limit you should merge as soon as you safely can. FYI.
B born 7/15/13, C born 3/2/15, #3 on the way May '17
I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been up linked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond! I’m new wave, but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hot-wired, heat seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice activated and bio-degradable. I interface with my database, my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive and from time to time I’m radioactive.
1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor