Search Results for: blog lets talk about pregnancy and finances

Getting Your Finances Straight Before the Hospital Bills Arrive

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When it comes to paying for prenatal care and labor and delivery, get your ducks in a row before you give birth. While eight months may not be enough time to get completely prepared financially, preparing for the large stack of bills before they arrive will give you the upper hand and reduce your stress. First of all, figure out what you can afford. Not many people have the kind of cash it takes to pay a hospital bill in full when it is due, so most of us end up making monthly payments. Figure out what the maximum monthly … Continue reading →

The Pregnancy Blog Week in Review for Jan 27 – Feb 2

Time flies when you are pregnant. With the pressures of work, other children and family responsibilities, it’s easy to get busy and miss some of the articles posted in the Pregnancy Blog. This weekly review is an easy and fast way to get caught up on your reading. Saturday, January 27 Let’s Talk About Water Birth: Fluid Pain Relief Sara Denomme talks about the magical experience of her daughter’s home water birth. Sunday, January 28 If you are planning to breastfeed your new baby, you will need a good book as a resource. Check out Great Breastfeeding Books for some … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Making Informed Parental Decisions During Pregnancy

When you are expecting, there are going to be some specific parenting decisions that you will need to make long before the baby arrives. Because you are completely responsible for another person’s well-being, it is very important that you make sure to become as informed as possible on the many issues parenting will present you with. Here’s a break-down of some of the important decisions you will be immediately faced with: Where and How You Will Deliver – There are several places to give birth – at home, a hospital, a birthing center. There are several ways in which to … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Pregnancy and Finances

You may recall me mentioning how finances may be affected in Let’s Talk About Pregnancy: Your Parenting Primer: You’ve got ten months to pay off and cut up those credit cards, missy. But are babies really that much of a financial burden? How much do they really cost? I was on the phone with a good, married friend the other day. She is the last of my good friends from high school to still be baby-less. She admitted that having a baby at this time in her life would probably put her in the poor house, but I insisted that … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About How Much Babies Really Cost

The Center for Nutrition/Policy and Promotion division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that by the time a child born in 2004 reaches age 6, parents with an income exceeding $70,200 a year (the median family income for 2003 was $52,680) will have spent $95,840 on said child. The report also notes that parents with a $70,200-plus income will have shelled out about $353,000 by their child’s eighteenth birthday. It’s no wonder that people are intimidated by the supposed large price tag of raising a family. If you don’t have insurance to cover the cost of delivering the baby, … Continue reading →

The Let’s Talk Blog Top Ten – Reasons to Have Children Early in Life

If you are a young mother and are thinking of conceiving, you’ve probably heard opinions on both sides of the fence. It’s no secret that young women have an easier time conceiving, but should they? Studies are showing that people are finding other reasons to have children at a younger age. The trend is leaning toward younger mothers, coming full circle after the boom of women in the workplace. This may be due to the influence of the internet, and the fact that it is possible to work at home. I am a testament to women who can work from … Continue reading →

Saving Up for Hospital Expenses

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Having a baby in a hospital is an expensive endeavor. You’ll spend more putting your baby up in the nursery than you would booking her a stay in a river view suite at the Trump International in Chicago. Checking into triage to see if you are in real labor can set you back over $500. If you are one of the lucky few who have full medical coverage, you won’t think twice about requesting extra supplies or asking for an epidural. For the rest of us, our best bet is to try and anticipate any out-of-pocket costs and save up … Continue reading →

Saving Up For Baby

Babies are expensive. There are tons of things to buy: diapers, clothes, cribs and strollers, just to name a few. If you have ever looked at the cost of a hospital delivery, your jaw probably hit the floor! For instance, the cost to hook me up to the monitors for a couple hours? Over $500! I didn’t even see a doctor or eat any of their food! I have a few strategies that I have used or plan on using the next time around to offset the cost: Pregnancy = Part Time Job I vowed to my husband, “next time … Continue reading →

The Perks of Having Higher Order Multiples?

In June the world saw it’s first double sextuplet birth. Two mothers, in two separate states, gave birth to sextuplets on June 11th. The Morrisons, a couple in Minnesota gave birth at 20 weeks via c-section. The Masche’s gave birth at 30 weeks and 4 days (this is a very long pregnancy for sextuplets) also via c-section. (On a side note, can you imagine pushing out 6 babies? Really no one can. . .sextuplets are always delivered via c-section.) Sadly for the Morrisons, five of their six sextuplets died. The remaining sextuplet remains in the hospital in critical condition. To … Continue reading →

I’m Pregnant: Why Can’t I Remember Anything?

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Forgetfulness is a common problem in pregnancy. Short term memory difficulties are most common in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. For a first time mother, this can be concerning. You may feel like you can’t concentrate or remember simple things, like what you needed at the store. Don’t worry, it’s totally normal. Experts really aren’t sure what causes forgetfulness. Studies don’t offer much help. Some show memory differences between women who are expecting and those who are not. Other studies show no real difference in memory or cognitive ability. This inconsistency makes it even more confusing. One theory … Continue reading →