and the numbers just keep getting bigger...

[welfareloser]

uncomplicated birth of twins... $9700
two days in the NICU.... $10,000
procedures performed to get a diagnosis of hirschsprung's disease... $3000
four-day hospital nursery stay for the healthy twin... $4500

and that's just the beginning... haven't gotten bills for the additional ten days in the NICU after transfer to children's hospital in peoria... let alone the pre-surgery appt this thursday or the actual surgery in 6-8 weeks... our insurance pays about 80% of this stuff... and the other 20% is lookin like more than what i got...

guess it be about time to go on the dole again...

thank god our country has a health safety net for us poor people.

[brainsmile]

wow... good thing for insurance.

[faither]

Not to be a downer but I'd trade each of your bills if my wife and I could have left the hospital with our daughter last March. We lost her at 38.5 weeks -- a 6.10lbs. beauty who had the misfortune of a knotted umbilical cord. To add insult to injury, a dead baby doesn't mean it was free, either. God bless your family and the twins. I'm sure you're just blowing off steam but all things considered, you've been very blessed.

Edit: She was 6lbs. 10oz. Not 6'10". Or maybe she was and my wife and I are each about 40-45 feet tall.

[coleslaw]

Wow welfare, I was almost expecting you to say that you were expecting again with a thread title like that. ;)

[Merlin]

Originally posted by welfareloser
uncomplicated birth of twins... $9700
two days in the NICU.... $10,000
procedures performed to get a diagnosis of hirschsprung's disease... $3000
four-day hospital nursery stay for the healthy twin... $4500

and that's just the beginning... haven't gotten bills for the additional ten days in the NICU after transfer to children's hospital in peoria... let alone the pre-surgery appt this thursday or the actual surgery in 6-8 weeks... our insurance pays about 80% of this stuff... and the other 20% is lookin like more than what i got...

guess it be about time to go on the dole again...

thank god our country has a health safety net for us poor people.

Wow, those are some big numbers. Really something to think about before getting pregnant.

[zenbooty]

Originally posted by faither
a 6'10" beauty:eek:
Tell me that was a typo!

[eSDee]

Originally posted by faither
Not to be a downer but I'd trade each of your bills if my wife and I could have left the hospital with our daughter last March. We lost her at 38.5 weeks -- a 6'10" beauty who had the misfortune of a knotted umbilical cord. To add insult to injury, a dead baby doesn't mean it was free, either. Gob bless your family and the twins. I'm sure you're just blowing off steam but all things considered, you've been very blessed.

Damn that sucks man I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Any plans for another one or are you going to have to take some more time to heal?

Welfare, sorry for the big bills you are running into. Make sure you save the receipts for when they are older so they can pay you back ;)

[ufcrusher]

Geez, sorry to hear about all the problems. I know that depending on your insurance some hospitals will actually just discharge the 20% as part of the expense of doing business. But i am sure if they did this you would probably already know about it. Well either way, hopefully all will work out in the end.

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by faither
Not to be a downer but I'd trade each of your bills if my wife and I could have left the hospital with our daughter last March. We lost her at 38.5 weeks -- a 6.10lbs. beauty who had the misfortune of a knotted umbilical cord. To add insult to injury, a dead baby doesn't mean it was free, either. God bless your family and the twins. I'm sure you're just blowing off steam but all things considered, you've been very blessed.

Edit: She was 6lbs. 10oz. Not 6'10". Or maybe she was and my wife and I are each about 40-45 feet tall.

Sorry for your loss, I hope it doesn't discourage you from having another one. :(

[faither]

Originally posted by eSDeeLoco


Damn that sucks man I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Any plans for another one or are you going to have to take some more time to heal?

Thank you. We have two older daughters (they'll be 8 and 5 this summer). In that respect we are much more fortunate than parents who've lost their only child -- it doesn't make it suck any less, though. We're torn as to whether and try to have another. My wife would like to; while the chances are small, I don't think I could handle another loss.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by faither

We're torn as to whether and try to have another. My wife would like to; while the chances are small, I don't think I could handle another loss.

i know i'm lucky; i think about how lucky i am every day. i spent two weeks wondering if this kid was going to die, worrying that there was something terrible wrong with him (80% of newborns presenting with his symptoms have friggin cystic fibrosis, that was a lot of fun to worry about...) after his surgery, he'll be pefectly fine. the monetary figure attached to all of this is really just something to laugh off. seriously. $50,000 in medical expenses before it's all over with, i'm sure. it's such a ridiculously huge number, and it's not going to prevent him from having the surgery, so what is there to do but laugh?

i understand your fears... my first pregnancy was a miscarriage, and it is tough, whether you have other kids or not. you'll spend the next pregnancy worrying about every... tiny... little... thing. i did, both subsequent pregnancies. but it is worth it.

my aunt has four huge (6'2-6'7), sloppy, obnoxious, ridiculously healthy boys... after her first two babies died after lengthy hospital stays. every one of her boys had a lengthy hospital stay... the fourth one was in such bad shape, they didn't even take the crib out of the attic until they got the call from the hospital saying he was being discharged (he's now a civil engineer making gorgeous baby girls with his wife...) the chances of something going wrong are very real. 1% of all babies have some sort of birth defect. sometimes they're nothing to worry about (eg only has one testicle.) sometimes they are deadly but very fixable (like leif's hirschsprung's disease.) sometimes they are awful. having babies is the one thing that has made me realize how we are ultimately helpless against nature, despite how good technology and medicine are.

i'd encourage you to not let your fear keep you from trying again... because there's still a 99% chance of a perfect, happy, healthy baby.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by coleslaw
Wow welfare, I was almost expecting you to say that you were expecting again with a thread title like that. ;)

i was just thinking about that the other day... breastfeeding is supposed to keep you from gettin knocked up again, but every now and then you hear of a woman who goes to her 6-week postpartum checkup to find that she is pregnant again. wheeeeee!

i am unfortunately quite fertile again already, and my 6-week is tomorrow... i was thinking if i got a "guess what?" from my doc, it would involve lots and lots of crying...

[brainsmile]

Originally posted by DarkFury


All I can say is... :eek:


So... do you think it is time yet to get the tubes tied or cut?

just have him go under the knife

[revil]

Originally posted by welfareloser
(eg only has one testicle.)
WHAT?! THAT IS TOO SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

He'd be laughed at for the rest of his life. :(

[Nija]

Originally posted by revil

WHAT?! THAT IS TOO SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

He'd be laughed at for the rest of his life. :(

so... how's it hanging revil?

:P

[sbp]

Originally posted by welfareloser
i am unfortunately quite fertile again already, and my 6-week is tomorrow... i was thinking if i got a "guess what?" from my doc, it would involve lots and lots of crying... Move over Irish twins, here come Irish quads. :eek: :eek:

[InfiniteNothing]

Originally posted by revil

WHAT?! THAT IS TOO SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

He'd be laughed at for the rest of his life. :(

Got|ProstheticNut?




Welfare? ever consider starting a donation website? If people can get money for trivial reasons, imagine what people with real money woes can get. Just a thought

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by DarkFury
So... do you think it is time yet to get the tubes tied or cut? What? After only three kids??

Seriously, 6 weeks after having twins is not the right time to make such a monumental decision. I think doctors who, right after the delivery, ask "as long as you're here in the hospital, do you want your tubes tied?" should be slapped.

After our twins were born, my wife developed a serious infection. The total for the birth and the infection and related hospital stay was right around $30k. I don't know the exact percentages, but our insurance covered most, and we were left with quite a bit. We simply couldn't pay what was left, and not wanting to stiff the hospital, we took their suggestion and contacted "Family Services" (aka welfare). I was surprised how eager they were to pay our bills. They even wanted us to go on food stamps, and more, but we just said thanks, but no thanks.

[Jenny]

Wow, faither, I had no idea. I'm so sorry, man. :( I can't even begin to imagine. Give your 2 girls a hug for me.

And DAMN WL! lol Good luck!

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by welfareloser


i know i'm lucky; i think about how lucky i am every day. i spent two weeks wondering if this kid was going to die, worrying that there was something terrible wrong with him (80% of newborns presenting with his symptoms have friggin cystic fibrosis, that was a lot of fun to worry about...) after his surgery, he'll be pefectly fine. the monetary figure attached to all of this is really just something to laugh off. seriously. $50,000 in medical expenses before it's all over with, i'm sure. it's such a ridiculously huge number, and it's not going to prevent him from having the surgery, so what is there to do but laugh?


I applaud your courage to get through that situation. That is a great attitude to have, it really is the only way to get through it without losing your sanity. :thumbup: :)

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by faither

Thank you. We have two older daughters (they'll be 8 and 5 this summer). In that respect we are much more fortunate than parents who've lost their only child -- it doesn't make it suck any less, though. We're torn as to whether and try to have another. My wife would like to; while the chances are small, I don't think I could handle another loss.

I hope you try again, welfareloser is right, your chances of having a healthy baby are extremely greater than your chances that you won't.

[welfareloser]

eg's dead nut died really unusually early - 4 months in utero - so his remaining nut is supersized, and hangs kinda lopsided, so his sack is pretty full and you'd have to look close to see that there's something unusual (he'll kick my ass in a few years when he finds out these details have been shared with hundreds of strangers...)

and prm is going under the knife, because it is less invasive, less painful, cheaper, and slightly more effective birth control than me going under the knife. although, now all we can afford is freecondoms.com, so that's it until we can come up with a few hundred bucks for something frivolous like a vasectomy. and it's pretty reversible if we decide we want a midlife crisis baby. :P

seriously, tho, three kids is enough. i do feel a little wierd about making a nearly permanent decision about family size at the age of 26, but it's a good decision. we'll be able to afford a dozen kids later in life, but prm is just now getting his phd and still has three years until he gets his md... and then about three years at residents' slave wages... so 99.99% effective birth control is a REALLY good idea... and we can probly take it back if we decide we dint mean it :P

i would have no idea how to go about a donation website, promoting it, etc... only techies get free money that way :heh:

[guiseppewv]

Just short of giving me a million dollars, up front, in cash, after taxes there is nothing you could do that would cause me to let someone take a knife to anything down there.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by guiseppewv
Just short of giving me a million dollars, up front, in cash, after taxes there is nothing you could do that would cause me to let someone take a knife to anything down there.

actually, it's done by laser these days. (although i guess it does involve a tiny incision, less than 1/4 of an inch, but it heals like nuthin... they do it in the office, send you home that day, and extra strength tylenol is adequate pain relief.)

and if you had a big deadly tumor, you'd pay them to take a knife to your mini-me. :P

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by welfareloser


actually, it's done by laser these days. (although i guess it does involve a tiny incision, less than 1/4 of an inch, but it heals like nuthin... they do it in the office, send you home that day, and extra strength tylenol is adequate pain relief.)

and if you had a big deadly tumor, you'd pay them to take a knife to your mini-me. :P

well maybe for a tumor :D but <in my best arnold schwarzeneggar voice> its not a tumor. :)

I don't care if it is a laser with a small incision I still will not get it done. Not gonna happen.

[whitak24]

Originally posted by guiseppewv
I don't care if it is a laser with a small incision I still will not get it done. Not gonna happen.
man, why not?

i'd have it done right now

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by whitak24

man, why not?

i'd have it done right now

B/C those are the family jewels and nobody uses a knife to mess with those.:)

[Jeffbx]

Eh, it's really no big deal there, pansy boy. ;)

Seriously, having my wisdom teeth pulled was much more painful & had a longer recovery time.

Plus, it's a lot cheaper & easier than an 'oops!' baby.

[Jenny]

yeah, and it isn't like they are messing with the actual ballz. :P Just snipping & tying (or lasering or whatever) the tubing. ;)

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by welfareloser
seriously, tho, three kids is enough. i do feel a little wierd about making a nearly permanent decision about family size at the age of 26, but it's a good decision. LOL, what a co-inky-dink! We had our third child when I was 26, and my wife DEMANDED that I get a vasectomy. I argued that 26 years old was way too young to make that kind of decision (back then reversals were rare, and largely unsuccessful.) She said I was just chicken and making excuses, but I stuck to my guns.

She still brings that up every so often and thanks me for not caving in.

[guiseppewv]

It doesn't matter, I'd like to keep things the way they are, and fully functional. :D :P

I had my wisdom teeth pulled too, and that was easy. I was eating pizza about 8 hours later. It isn't the pain that I am worried about, trust me I have gone through stuff that is WAY more painful than that. I just wouldn't get it done, I don't like the thought that someone is doing surgery down there. I guess I am a little overly protective of the family jewels. :D

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by kb0wwp
LOL, what a co-inky-dink! We had our third child when I was 26, and my wife DEMANDED that I get a vasectomy. I argued that 26 years old was way too young to make that kind of decision (back then reversals were rare, and largely unsuccessful.) She said I was just chicken and making excuses, but I stuck to my guns.

She still brings that up every so often and thanks me for not caving in.

lol. well, we both agreed the first week we were dating that we wanted three kids, and now we got 'em, so that's about that. i don't think i'd be happy with less attention to devote per child, less money per child for college, and less time for just me and doin my thing, than i have to look forward to right now, and prm feels the same, so there's no doubts about what we're gonna do about it ;)

not to mention the fact that i decided a LONG time ago that i damn well wanted to be done having babies by the time i was 30. more power to the women who make the informed decision to accept the higher riskes of just starting to have babies after the age of 30, but that's not me. i was quite happy with my my high fertility, smooth pregnancies, low risk of having twins (oh, well) and uncomplicated vaginal deliveries... and those things start to disappear quickly after 30.

[avlena]

Originally posted by guiseppewv
It doesn't matter, I'd like to keep things the way they are, and fully functional. :D :P

I had my wisdom teeth pulled too, and that was easy. I was eating pizza about 8 hours later. It isn't the pain that I am worried about, trust me I have gone through stuff that is WAY more painful than that. I just wouldn't get it done, I don't like the thought that someone is doing surgery down there. I guess I am a little overly protective of the family jewels. :D

would you expect your wife to have her tubes tied then? or just rely on other methods of birth control? my best friend's hubby had one done awhile back, after they had their 2nd little girl. she was really bad at taking birth control (always forgot), and he refused to use a condom. *shrug* cheapest and easiest way to stop another baby from coming was to have him get a vasectomy. :P he's very sensitive about it though, and you can't even mention it or let on that you know, or he gets all upset.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by guiseppewv
It doesn't matter, I'd like to keep things the way they are, and fully functional. :D :P

I had my wisdom teeth pulled too, and that was easy. I was eating pizza about 8 hours later. It isn't the pain that I am worried about, trust me I have gone through stuff that is WAY more painful than that. I just wouldn't get it done, I don't like the thought that someone is doing surgery down there. I guess I am a little overly protective of the family jewels. :D

yep, you're being completely irrational about a SCRATCH on the base of your shaft... which is totally allowable ;) so long as you don't expect your wife to go through the major trauma of a hysterectomy to avoid the little scratch :hmm:

funny, prm was remarking that he's been carrying his jewels around for 27 years, carefully protecting them from bicycle bars, soccer shoes, baseball bats... and they were useful for a grand total of about three seconds of his life, and will now be deactivated. :P

[ufcrusher]

Actually, I know someone who had a vasectomy and just had it reversed after getting hitched. Apparenty, he is armed and ready again..although we will see how long it takes for it to take, if you know what I mean.

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by avlena


would you expect your wife to have her tubes tied then? or just rely on other methods of birth control? my best friend's hubby had one done awhile back, after they had their 2nd little girl. she was really bad at taking birth control (always forgot), and he refused to use a condom. *shrug* cheapest and easiest way to stop another baby from coming was to have him get a vasectomy. :P he's very sensitive about it though, and you can't even mention it or let on that you know, or he gets all upset.

Either other methods of birth control or she could get her tubes tied. I won't force or ask anyone to do what I won't do, though. If she wanted to do it that would be fine but if not that would be fine too. Actually the cheapest way would be to use birth control. My insurance covers that. :) But I am not married and not in that situation. :D

[Kim]

Who wants to take hormones until they are 40 or so??? I think a V is the way to go when you are done having babies!

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by welfareloser


yep, you're being completely irrational about a SCRATCH on the base of your shaft... which is totally allowable ;) so long as you don't expect your wife to go through the major trauma of a hysterectomy to avoid the little scratch :hmm:

funny, prm was remarking that he's been carrying his jewels around for 27 years, carefully protecting them from bicycle bars, soccer shoes, baseball bats... and they were useful for a grand total of about three seconds of his life, and will now be deactivated. :P

That's bad. Hey if you want to have surgery, go for it, but I don't. :) :P Like I said in my post above I would never ask or force anyone to do what I won't do.

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by Kim
Who wants to take hormones until they are 40 or so??? I think a V is the way to go when you are done having babies!

So go get your tubes tied then.:P

[Nija]

Originally posted by welfareloser


yep, you're being completely irrational about a SCRATCH on the base of your shaft... which is totally allowable ;)

I prefer the scratches on my back, my neck, my arms, my chest.

Nibbling can be done down there, but not hard enough to leave a mark ;) :P

thanks welfare, now I'm all hot n bothered by that statement :D

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by Nija


I prefer the scratches on my back, my neck, my arms, my chest.

Nibbling can be done down there, but not hard enough to leave a mark ;) :P

thanks welfare, now I'm all hot n bothered by that statement :D

LMFAO :D

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by guiseppewv


So go get your tubes tied then.:P

again, that's a major, invasive surgery... vasectomies are nuthin.

there is a new procedure for female sterilization that sounds very cool... they insert two tiny pins in the ends of the fallopian tubes, and within three months, they close up with scar tissue. problem is the 3 month lag time, and i think it's more like 98% effective instead of over 99%. also, inducing scar tissue makes me a bit edgy... i'll wait and see how it turns out statistically on thousands of other women before i do it.

and don't be blase about hormonal birth control... they make you fat, they jack with your mood, they make you nauseous... they range from barely noticeable symptoms in a very few lucky women to pretty annoying in most to pretty awful in a sizeable number.

[guiseppewv]

Originally posted by welfareloser


again, that's a major, invasive surgery... vasectomies are nuthin.


They might be nothing to you but I would imagine they are something to the guy that is having the procedure done on them. :)

[whitak24]

Originally posted by guiseppewv


They might be nothing to you but I would imagine they are something to the guy that is having the procedure done on them. :)
but it's not. a big-v is nothing more than a little cut and snipping off some tubes.

in my understanding, in order to get your tubes tied, you have to get cut open and they have to mess around in there.

there is absolutely no question that getting your tubes tied is not only more invasive, but also riskier and carries a much longer recovery time.

it annoys me when men expect their wives, who have just gone through the trauma of a pregnancy and delivery (which quite frankly i don't think most men would be able to handle, myself included), to go through the additional physical invasion of having their tubes tied instead of having a simple, harmless, almost-painless outpatient procedure to solve the problem themselves.......PARTICULARLY if the women has been on birth control previously and has had to go through that hassle for however many years. i think men have to take some responsibility in all of this.

[Jenny]

/me stands and applauds whitak for his attitude. :D

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by whitak24
it annoys me when men expect their wives, who have just gone through the trauma of a pregnancy and delivery (which quite frankly i don't think most men would be able to handle, myself included), to go through the additional physical invasion of having their tubes tied instead of having a simple, harmless, almost-painless outpatient procedure to solve the problem themselves.......PARTICULARLY if the women has been on birth control previously and has had to go through that hassle for however many years. i think men have to take some responsibility in all of this.

:stupid:

It really is no big deal. In 'n out... snip snip, and you're done. Takes about 15-20 mins.

[Jenny]

I have to applaud Scott (my hubby), too. He told me years ago that when we knew that we were finished having kids, he would not hesitate to have it done, since he knew how simple it was compared to me having something done. :)

[coleslaw]

I've heard a story about a couple that both had their tubes snipped/tied, yet they still had another kid later! :eek:

No idea how true the story is, though. :hmm: