TTC and maternity thoughts...
First off, thanks to everyone who gave tips and encouragement regarding my tub issues..LOL. I finally just redid the sealant...it looks awful, but there is no more mould.
Yesterday, I went to the maternity benefits meeting that my school district puts on once a year. I was annoyed once again at how horrible maternity leaves are here in the US. I can't believe that I am the only one who appears to be bothered by the fact that the MAN gets one paid leave day (not sick leave, not personal leave) on the birth or his child, but that the woman has to use a sick day. That is just so very very wrong.
I was also annoyed that you must exhaust your sick leave during a maternity leave. How does that make sense?? Then, once you return, you better pray and pray and pray that you and baby don't get sick (which of course baby will, because he/she will be in day care...)
Finally, I was kicking myself for not signing up for short term disability insurance in September (the only time a year you can enroll in these things). Apparently, you can get 2/3 of your salary for 6 weeks after the birth of your baby..that's a great deal since we have no paid maternity leave (except for the amount of sick days you have..) There is a pre-existing condition clause though, so in some ways, it would be nice to not got pregnant until say, August and then i could just not "confirm" my pregnancy for a couple weeks....
Today, I had my consult with the RE. She acted surprised to see me, like I didn't need to check in after 3 failed cycles..(four really...but only 3 IUIs). I said I would like to have an HSG and she thought that was a good idea, so I will set that up sometime between day 7-11 and of the next cycle. This could be a problem, it may end up being during finals, and I won't be able to take the day off...I don't know how late they will do them.
I also asked about getting a beta each cycle to check if I am pregnant. She agreed, but only on/after 16dpo...oh well, better than not at all. Having an end in sight, I won' mind continuing the progesterone that long.
Finally, I asked if I could do injectable cycles in the summer (since it will be easier to schedule). So, at the end of next cycle, I am to schedule an injection class and then order my meds (Follistim it looks like for those who are curious..) She talked to me about injectables versus IVF. She mentioned the shared risk IVF program, but when I mentioned that I thought the woman needed to have a BMI under 35 (which I don't), she said she wasn't aware of that. That is interesting...if I would be accepted, that is an intriguing possibility since it would mean that you get money back if you don't get pregnant, which I could then put towards an adoption.
She seemed pretty positive still that she thinks I can get pregnant. She also respected my explanation of why I wasn't planning on doing IVF (that it is practically the cost of an adoption...). I have a positive outlook right now. I go in for a cd13 ultrasound on Saturday morning (7:30 am, what was I thinking??!!). Hope there is one (maybe even two??) good follicle ready to be triggered!:)
Yesterday, I went to the maternity benefits meeting that my school district puts on once a year. I was annoyed once again at how horrible maternity leaves are here in the US. I can't believe that I am the only one who appears to be bothered by the fact that the MAN gets one paid leave day (not sick leave, not personal leave) on the birth or his child, but that the woman has to use a sick day. That is just so very very wrong.
I was also annoyed that you must exhaust your sick leave during a maternity leave. How does that make sense?? Then, once you return, you better pray and pray and pray that you and baby don't get sick (which of course baby will, because he/she will be in day care...)
Finally, I was kicking myself for not signing up for short term disability insurance in September (the only time a year you can enroll in these things). Apparently, you can get 2/3 of your salary for 6 weeks after the birth of your baby..that's a great deal since we have no paid maternity leave (except for the amount of sick days you have..) There is a pre-existing condition clause though, so in some ways, it would be nice to not got pregnant until say, August and then i could just not "confirm" my pregnancy for a couple weeks....
Today, I had my consult with the RE. She acted surprised to see me, like I didn't need to check in after 3 failed cycles..(four really...but only 3 IUIs). I said I would like to have an HSG and she thought that was a good idea, so I will set that up sometime between day 7-11 and of the next cycle. This could be a problem, it may end up being during finals, and I won't be able to take the day off...I don't know how late they will do them.
I also asked about getting a beta each cycle to check if I am pregnant. She agreed, but only on/after 16dpo...oh well, better than not at all. Having an end in sight, I won' mind continuing the progesterone that long.
Finally, I asked if I could do injectable cycles in the summer (since it will be easier to schedule). So, at the end of next cycle, I am to schedule an injection class and then order my meds (Follistim it looks like for those who are curious..) She talked to me about injectables versus IVF. She mentioned the shared risk IVF program, but when I mentioned that I thought the woman needed to have a BMI under 35 (which I don't), she said she wasn't aware of that. That is interesting...if I would be accepted, that is an intriguing possibility since it would mean that you get money back if you don't get pregnant, which I could then put towards an adoption.
She seemed pretty positive still that she thinks I can get pregnant. She also respected my explanation of why I wasn't planning on doing IVF (that it is practically the cost of an adoption...). I have a positive outlook right now. I go in for a cd13 ultrasound on Saturday morning (7:30 am, what was I thinking??!!). Hope there is one (maybe even two??) good follicle ready to be triggered!:)
posted by Katrina | 5/17/2005 06:20:00 PM
4 Comments:
Sending positive thoughts your way. Could you tell me about the shared risk IVF program?
sure. The shared risk program is basically a flat fee you pay for up to 3 fresh IVF cycles, and usually 3 FET (frozen embryo transfer) cycles as well. The cost is about the same as 2 cycles of IVF, let's say something like 18000. You pay that with your first cycle, if you get pregnant on the first cycle, than you grossly overpaid. However, if you don't, you pay no more for the remaining cycles. If at the end of all 6 cycles, you have no baby, you get a refund of most of your money, maybe something like 15000.
It sucks that the maternity policy there is so yucky. I'm glad that I work for a company that has a pretty good policy for maternity leaves.
I'm covered by a company-provided short term disability program that pays my leave (I think they pay for 6 weeks) and then if I want to take extra time I can use vacation or sick time and then go unpaid after that. For the dads, it's not quite as sweet, since they aren't the one with the "medical condition" but are still covered by FMLA and can take vacation time or whatever to be off.
About that short term disability thing...you might check to see if pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition. I changed insurance providers in January and the new company doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, and I was pregnant in December while still under the old insurance. But...they said that pregnancy doesn't apply because it's not chronic or something like that. Just a thought.
Good luck with everything and I'm thinking good thoughts for you. Hang in there. :)
Katrina,
It's too bad you're not a teacher getting pregnant in Canada. I had 6 weeks of full pay after the birth of my son. I also received 52 weeks of maternity leave (unemployment insurance) from the federal government with a guarantee my job would be there for me when I returned.
I cannot believe how inhumane the US is when it comes to pregnancy and maternity benefits.
Rae
Post a Comment
<< Home