@slaven I'm in the exact same boat right now with choosing homes/townhomes. We'll be moving when I'm 16 weeks and I've been thinking that we will definitely need a 3rd bedroom as a guest room. It seems like adding that third bedroom skyrockets the price though.
@slaven and @ebelknap - we're in the same situation too. We have two kids already, so we're going back and forth between 3 and 4 beds. The apartments/townhomes are nice and have 3 beds, but absolutely none seem to have the 4 that would be ideal. We have to get a single house for that and the prices are ridiculous for that. So annoying.
@mispanda I'm on crinone suppositories because I have genetic low progesterone. I'll be on them until the placenta is formed to prevent MC. To be honest I haven't noticed any side effects from them that aren't just pregnancy symptoms (feeling tired is my main one but I have that anyway). There is some discharge from crinone but not nearly as bad as when I started on endometrin (the RE switched me because I was still spotting on endometrin). I'm very happy to be on them -- with supplementation my P4 is still only 20 so I definitely wouldn't have sustained this pregnancy without them.
Random indeed but can I please just vent how much I HATE show and tell! The kids love that they get to bring toys from home that day but the process of trying to get 20 4/5 year olds to sit and listen to each other is exhausting and tedious at best and all they really want to do is play with their toys from home.....
@DuchessOfCambridge I can't wait to see it! I might go tomorrow by myself since DH is working and he would never go with me. I would take my nieces, but that's a story for another day.
It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most...not where you live, or what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes... There's no dollar sign on a piece of mind, this I've come to know! *ZBB*
@DuchessOfCambridge - I'm so jealous! I want to see it so, so badly! I'm going to take a half day of work next week and take DD out of daycare early to go see it. She freaks out every time the commercial comes on.
Sooo stopped at cvs to get a stool softener with DD in tow, we get to the tummy trouble aisle and she says ok mommy what are your symptoms?? Do you need this big bottle? Holding family size bottle of laxatives and not using her inside voice at all.
@DuchessofCambridge Uggg so jealous. DH is doing a training exercise for the month and has to be in uniform whenever he's outside the house so no movies or date nights for the rest of the month. Older Koreans don't mind the military being here because they remember what it was like during/right after the Korean war but younger Koreans aren't always so accepting and he'll get weird stares. I was Belle for Halloween 3 years in a row in elementary school.
eta: @ebelknap@kissthesky32 thankfully we get to sign a lease early to get a March rent special. The 3 bedroom is only $100 more than the 2 bedroom but the 4 bedroom is a few hundred more than the 3. With this rent special we save $200 a month plus we get our first month rent free. We were looking at houses but they're all old in the area and utilities would be high since it's upstate NY and freezing in winter. We're only going to be there for a year though and if DH gets deployed we're canceling the lease (there's a clause for that) so I can go stay with my ILs.
@DuchessofCambridge - Jealous! I'd love to see that. My husband and I are sneaking away for a movie date tomorrow night but I don't think I can talk him into that, haha. I'll probably have to wait for it to come out on dvd or something. Let us know if you enjoy it!
@slaven We are also renting for a year, which I guess makes pretty much anything tolerable. That's so nice about your rent special! I'm definitely going to ask about any deals like that when we go to look at places next month!
@kissthesky32 Our original plan was a 2 bedroom and since the baby should come in November and we'll be moving again next May we were just going to have a guest room and have the baby in our room for the first 6-7 months. Since we can't go physically look at places though (since we're in Korea) I wasn't sure if a crib would fit in our room. This one has 2 good sized bedrooms and a smaller one so the small one will most likely be the nursery. We currently live in a 420 sqft apartment with our 2 dogs just to save on utilities. Our gas bill was $80 last month for this tiny place (usually around $30) and last August we had a $200 electric bill.
eta: We've only been here a year and we knew it would only be a year so anything is doable for a short amount of time. Totally forgot to make my point about that haha.
We had our 3rd sunny day since October today... so it was heavenly to take the kids outside to play! Sunshine just pushes a reset button I think! I'm in such a great mood now.
@DuchessOfCambridge Enjoy!! we are going on Saturday and ds1 begged to let him and his brother wear their Halloween costumes to the movies, so I said why not We were all beauty and the beast characters for Halloween this year, so I will have Lumiere and the Beast with me when I go (my husband and I will not be going in our Belle and Gaston costumes no matter how much he begs)
They have glycolic, salicylic, malic, and hyarulonic acids. Is a once a week treatment a bad idea? They're supposed to be used once a day but I never do it more than once a week.
As someone who is into to personal finance, I am curious who has done the (not so fun) research into how much their pregnancy/child birth will cost.
I have a high deductible HSA plan. My out of pocket max is $2,500 and my insurance estimates the total bill will be between $2,100 and $2,500 out of pocket. I plan to pay for it through my saved up funds in the HSA, so at least it's like getting a 20% discount (from the pre-tax savings).
@dragonfly87 I'm pretty sure mine's 100% covered as long as I used the hospital that my insurance company uses. I have Tricare Prime which is a military insurance. There is Tricare Standard that gives you more choices but you have copays and such.
@Dragonfly1226 we actually planned #3 when we did bc my H is in the military right now so the health care is amazing! Well, I don't know how "amazing" but basically free, which is great for me! He's getting out early next year so we started trying in November with a hope to have a baby before we have to move (to keep the same hospital and OB, and predictable health care). Each of my births were about $35 at a civilian hospital. Join the military everyone! Cheap births but your spouse just might be gone for 7+ months at a time! ;-)
It probably doesn't feel like it but from what I've heard $2500 max out of pocket is on the cheap side! And that's great that you'll be able to use your HSA!
Oy, im trying not to think about it @dragonfly87. My old job had great insurance, but my deductible is $6000 with this insurance so I'm planning on it being basically that much
@dragonfly87 with a high deductible plan your pretty much looking at what your out of pocket maximum is. Double check when your plan year starts. Not all insurances start at the beginning of the year. So lets say your plan year starts in July, anything you put towards your deductible before that starts over.
@mispanda: I called my insurance company and they do "global billing" (like most plans) where they lump all the expenses into one balance and send at the end. I have already spent about $200 this plan year and will give birth in the plan year. So the most I will pay is $2,300.
TallMomma29 From comparison to my last two jobs, it's sadly way more expensive. But I had it really good when I worked for the US Olympic Committee(only $22/month, $1,000 OOP max) and a private foundation previously. I paid $15 a month at the foundation for full medical/dental and had $500 out of pocket max...but the foundation heavily subsidized it's employee's health insurance. But overall, it's definitely on the reasonable side.
My friend works for a large university and her monthly premium is currently $45 a month for her whole family and her birth cost....(wait for it)....$104!!! But the university system is massive and has two hospitals in it. So she had limited options, but great rates.
@slaven: I grew up in a military family and stayed on Tricare until I was 25 (got married). I miss those days! I could go in for anything that was concerning and not worry about bills.
@dragonfly87, good point, I need to look into that. @ugoglencoco that's so cute your kids want to dress up! DH and I were Babette and Lumiere for Halloween this past year. We made our kitty the beast
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WAS SO GOOD YOU GUYS. I cried through the whole thing. Combo of pregnancy emotions and Disney pulling out all the stops. Amazing.
Oy, im trying not to think about it @dragonfly87. My old job had great insurance, but my deductible is $6000 with this insurance so I'm planning on it being basically that much
From what we can figure, we're also expecting to pay about $6k. If everything was only billed under my name, it would be less because the individual deductible is lower. But a significant portion of the hospital bills will most likely go under the baby, so we'll have to meet the family deductible. We had to wait until this year to even be able to pretend to be able to afford that. Having a baby will put us in debt and we'll have to set up a payment plan. Yay America!
@ArtificialRed - I've been pondering that too and need to call insurance. We have a $3k/person deductible this year and an $8k/family deductible and I've been trying to figure out what portion would go under me and what portion gets billed under the baby.
@kschref I went back to look it up when we started researching if we could afford to have a baby. With DS I had room and doctor fees for both of us. The room fees were not insignificant. (Of course, I had student insurance then and didn't actually have to pay that much in the end.) Epidural and all that related stuff were obviously only billed to me.
@ArtificialRed - It's very different for us this year insurance-wise. I'll have to go back and look at the bills from both kids and see what it ultimately all came to. This is our first year with a deductible even though my husband has been with the same company for over a decade so it's a whole new ballgame financially even though our circumstances in terms of employer, my doctors, and the hospital where I will deliver haven't changed. My son was jaundiced and had to stay in the hospital for 5 days, which I know is nothing compared to what a lot of women experience, but I'm sure it raised that bill quite a bit.
I'm half expecting to wake up to someone chewing me out for admitting we won't be able to pay all our medical bills up front. My first bmb had zero chill about poor money choices. So I'm just going to go ahead and say that my husband and I budget very carefully. We avoid debt except for our car and home loans. We pay our insurance deductibles and preschool tuition in lump sums. We plan and we save but we don't have the kind of income where $6k is chump change. We're not comfortable with debt, but we kind of figure a baby is worth it. I hope to have it all paid off before baby's first birthday. (Also, medical bills don't have interest, but I do pay more if I don't pay my insurance and tuition up front, so obviously I'll take a payment plan on the interest free expense, and pay the others off first.)
@ArtificialRed Eh, I am of the mindset that if you can plan and manage your finances, then do what works best for you. I personally leverage debt when possible (usually credit card rewards or zero percent interest loans). We are in a place now where we have built up some decent reserves, but still will take on debt occasionally.
Finances are personal, so it isn't really anyone's business. But if you are comfortable with your approach, then that's what matters.
I personally get frustrated with friends and family who don't plan for things and then continue to make poor financial plans. Like my 30 year old friend who got multiple degrees, isn't using any of them, has $90,000 in student loan debt, is paying the minimum and decided to have a baby...that they truly cannot afford. Now, it's her life, her decision. But then she comes and asks family/friends for money and gets upset if people don't help. That's where I seriously judge because she made the choice. I don't care what she does with her finances, but don't expect others to bail you out.
ETA: If you are comfortable and responsible with credit cards, you might consider signing up for a rewards card to pay the bills. You will need to pay it off before interest kicks in, but they do have good options out there. I paid grad school tuition with my Chase Sapphire Reserve and got a $1,500 travel bonus.
@dragonfly87 once we use up the money in our hsa I will totally be paying bills with our rewards card (up to the point where we can still afford to pay off the balance, obviously).
We kind of threw all caution to the wind when we had DS, and we weren't prepared financially at all. We learned some hard lessons. I'm much happier now with my YNAB budget and emergency fund lol
@ArtificialRed DH and I still have student loans and car payments but we also have a good amount of savings. That will change if I can't find a new job when we move and DH has to pay for both cars and student loans but I know we'll be fine. It may not be "perfect" but it's perfect for us. I think you just have to be smart about it (which I'm sure you are). There's a big difference in not having a ton of savings and still getting all the expensive baby gear or deciding what the important items are and spending wisely. I have to keep reminding myself that as I love all the expensive things but it's just not a realistic option if we still want to have a nest egg (plus moving always costs extra money no matter how you do it).
This is the one and only time I'm actually glad we have an HMO. When DS was born, we both had giant hospital bills - I was on hospital bed rest for 5 weeks, and then he was in the NICU for 6.5. I think mine, before insurance, totaled 150k, and his was 500k. Thankfully, we each just had our $250 hospital copay. Insanely thankful for that!
April Siggy Challenge: April Showers
About me:
29 y/o Married 6.26.11 BFP 12.23.13, EDD 9.2.14 - baby girl, born too soon at 22w6d due to a placental abruption on 5.5.14 BFP 8.4.14, EDD 4.15.15 - rainbow son, born at 30w4d due to a placental abruption on 2.8.15, healthy 3 y/o now! BFP 2.28.17, EDD 11.8.17 - baby girl, miscarried at 11 weeks on 4.21.17 BFP 11.28.17, EDD 8.8.18, delivering in July - another rainbow baby boy!
@ArtificialRed to not be able to pay a 6000 hospital fee upfront is understandable. That's a lot of money if you have other commitment to things. A lot of hospitals have payment plans for that reason. I know a lot of moms that pay monthly on their hospital bills. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as you make your payments.
As someone who is into to personal finance, I am curious who has done the (not so fun) research into how much their pregnancy/child birth will cost.
I have a high deductible HSA plan. My out of pocket max is $2,500 and my insurance estimates the total bill will be between $2,100 and $2,500 out of pocket. I plan to pay for it through my saved up funds in the HSA, so at least it's like getting a 20% discount (from the pre-tax savings).
I have a one-time OB copay which is $30, and then I pay $400 per day (max 5 days) for hospitalization. I do, however, also have a hospital indemnity plan which pays me $200 per day that I'm in the hospital and makes a $1500 additional payout for being in the hospital at all (once a year).
So if everything's totally normal, I'll be probably paying out about $830 and then getting back $1900, which is pretty great given all of the money I'm currently paying my RE (it's $50 per visit and i think I'll be seeing them weekly until they release me to my OB, plus although we have insurance coverage for the IUI's, we have copays, labwork copays, SA copays, etc. - that total right now is hovering around $1000 for the two IUI attempts we did) - SO, theoretically, it'll be pretty much a wash. My spending account is tapped out but resets July 1st, so thankfully it won't be a huge out of pocket come November.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
Honestly, where we are right now, things will be pretty tight for awhile. We are in the processing of selling my FI's house (we close in 12 days), buying our new home (we close in about 21 days, just waiting for confirmation from the title company on the date), and then we'll need to sell my townhouse really quickly to avoid paying two mortgages for long. We can't sell the townhouse until after we close on the new house, because then we'll have no legal residence in my son's school district and he will then technically be passed over to my ex husband's district (which is awful). Especially since my son is in Special Education, we really can't afford to mess with his placement.
No judgment from me on not paying up front. Everyone gets to make their own financial decisions for the reasons that are important to them.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
Hi ladies. I am writing this waiting for my US and the dr is taking forever to come in. Ugh could he be any more slow today!!! My heart is beating so fast makes me realize how much I want this baby. Also I leave for vacation for 5 days tomorrow and want to be mentally relaxed a little while I'm out there.
Re: Weekly Randoms 3/13
TTC 9/2016 BFP 12/9/16 EDD 8/21/17 NMC 1/8/16 at 7w6d
TTC 2/2017 BFP 3/6/17 EDD 11/17/17 DS born 11/25/17 via ECS
TTC 12/2018 BFP 6/2/19 EDD 2/12/20 NMC / BO at 7 weeks, low progesterone
TTC 7/2019 BFP 8/21/19 EDD 4/22/20 CP at 5 weeks
TTC 8/19 IUI #1 w/ Clomid + Ovidrel + progesterone BFN, IUI 2 and 3 w/ Letrozole + Ovidrel + progesterone,
IUI 4 Follistim + Ovidrel + progesterone BFP 1/9/20 EDD 9/18/20
AMA, ITP in pregnancy, vWD type II - low Factor VIII, unexplained RPL and secondary infertility
@DuchessofCambridge Uggg so jealous. DH is doing a training exercise for the month and has to be in uniform whenever he's outside the house so no movies or date nights for the rest of the month. Older Koreans don't mind the military being here because they remember what it was like during/right after the Korean war but younger Koreans aren't always so accepting and he'll get weird stares. I was Belle for Halloween 3 years in a row in elementary school.
eta: @ebelknap @kissthesky32 thankfully we get to sign a lease early to get a March rent special. The 3 bedroom is only $100 more than the 2 bedroom but the 4 bedroom is a few hundred more than the 3. With this rent special we save $200 a month plus we get our first month rent free. We were looking at houses but they're all old in the area and utilities would be high since it's upstate NY and freezing in winter. We're only going to be there for a year though and if DH gets deployed we're canceling the lease (there's a clause for that) so I can go stay with my ILs.
TTC since August 2018
eta: We've only been here a year and we knew it would only be a year so anything is doable for a short amount of time. Totally forgot to make my point about that haha.
TTC since August 2018
They have glycolic, salicylic, malic, and hyarulonic acids. Is a once a week treatment a bad idea? They're supposed to be used once a day but I never do it more than once a week.
TTC since August 2018
I have a high deductible HSA plan. My out of pocket max is $2,500 and my insurance estimates the total bill will be between $2,100 and $2,500 out of pocket. I plan to pay for it through my saved up funds in the HSA, so at least it's like getting a 20% discount (from the pre-tax savings).
TTC since August 2018
It probably doesn't feel like it but from what I've heard $2500 max out of pocket is on the cheap side! And that's great that you'll be able to use your HSA!
My friend works for a large university and her monthly premium is currently $45 a month for her whole family and her birth cost....(wait for it)....$104!!! But the university system is massive and has two hospitals in it. So she had limited options, but great rates.
@slaven: I grew up in a military family and stayed on Tricare until I was 25 (got married). I miss those days! I could go in for anything that was concerning and not worry about bills.
eta grammar
@ugoglencoco that's so cute your kids want to dress up! DH and I were Babette and Lumiere for Halloween this past year. We made our kitty the beast
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WAS SO GOOD YOU GUYS. I cried through the whole thing. Combo of pregnancy emotions and Disney pulling out all the stops. Amazing.
Finances are personal, so it isn't really anyone's business. But if you are comfortable with your approach, then that's what matters.
I personally get frustrated with friends and family who don't plan for things and then continue to make poor financial plans. Like my 30 year old friend who got multiple degrees, isn't using any of them, has $90,000 in student loan debt, is paying the minimum and decided to have a baby...that they truly cannot afford. Now, it's her life, her decision. But then she comes and asks family/friends for money and gets upset if people don't help. That's where I seriously judge because she made the choice. I don't care what she does with her finances, but don't expect others to bail you out.
ETA: If you are comfortable and responsible with credit cards, you might consider signing up for a rewards card to pay the bills. You will need to pay it off before interest kicks in, but they do have good options out there. I paid grad school tuition with my Chase Sapphire Reserve and got a $1,500 travel bonus.
We kind of threw all caution to the wind when we had DS, and we weren't prepared financially at all. We learned some hard lessons. I'm much happier now with my YNAB budget and emergency fund lol
TTC since August 2018
About me:
Married 6.26.11
BFP 12.23.13, EDD 9.2.14 - baby girl, born too soon at 22w6d due to a placental abruption on 5.5.14
BFP 8.4.14, EDD 4.15.15 - rainbow son, born at 30w4d due to a placental abruption on 2.8.15, healthy 3 y/o now!
BFP 2.28.17, EDD 11.8.17 - baby girl, miscarried at 11 weeks on 4.21.17
BFP 11.28.17, EDD 8.8.18, delivering in July - another rainbow baby boy!
So if everything's totally normal, I'll be probably paying out about $830 and then getting back $1900, which is pretty great given all of the money I'm currently paying my RE (it's $50 per visit and i think I'll be seeing them weekly until they release me to my OB, plus although we have insurance coverage for the IUI's, we have copays, labwork copays, SA copays, etc. - that total right now is hovering around $1000 for the two IUI attempts we did) - SO, theoretically, it'll be pretty much a wash. My spending account is tapped out but resets July 1st, so thankfully it won't be a huge out of pocket come November.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
[spoiler]
No judgment from me on not paying up front. Everyone gets to make their own financial decisions for the reasons that are important to them.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
[spoiler]