http://mumpharmd.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/weekly-update-1/
Email for the password, which I'm happy to share:
mizfuturepharmd at gmail dot com
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Weekly update
I thought it would be nice to do a weekly update about Little Monster's growth, because I am sure to forget all of what happened, arguably so I have room in myhead to memorize important stuff about various medications.
They will be password protected so feel free to email me for the password. I'm happy to share but would like to limit readers to humans rather than spam-bots. I presume I'll post them between Thursday and Saturday.
EDITED to add: I may post them over at my intended new wordpress home, as an incentive to me to get this blog moved over there, with links here until that happens properly.
Email me at mizfuturepharmd at gmail dot com (and I'll figure out how to make that more prominent around here. Eventually.)
They will be password protected so feel free to email me for the password. I'm happy to share but would like to limit readers to humans rather than spam-bots. I presume I'll post them between Thursday and Saturday.
EDITED to add: I may post them over at my intended new wordpress home, as an incentive to me to get this blog moved over there, with links here until that happens properly.
Email me at mizfuturepharmd at gmail dot com (and I'll figure out how to make that more prominent around here. Eventually.)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Considering the end of things
Very briefly I figured I'd mention the PAIL theme post for the month.
I'd wonder how I've missed it to this point, but man, did I ever. I blame school and the tiny human currently snoozing on me (again...).
We realized a few years ago that it was really time to get things in order, notably when my uncle was going through hospice at the end of his life and how nice it was for everyone to get things squared away. This was in stark contrast to the spouse's grandma who put off making a will for months after her diagnosis of terminal cancer and never did get to it, where her estate was in limbo for several YEARS and we have no idea what she intended to happen with her assets or even what they all were.
We've put it off since then.
It is high time to get to all the end of life planning stuff. We have put it off way too long. I've started the "in case of death" list of where our things are (money, life insurance that we should buy more of, debts, bills, things I don't want my parents to find that my sibling should remove before they do find them, all that jazz). It's in a document online that I'll share and update at least once a year. We've discussed who we want to have custody of the wee ones (squee! plural! yipes!) in the event we both die, but we need to touch base with the siblings to confirm our plans (and to tell the spiritual sponsors of the kid that we have moved them to second position because of the very minor role they've opted to play in her life). Tomorrow for pete's sakes I'm making an appointment to do our will and trust stuff with a local lawyer because IT IS TIME. We are not utterly broke and this is too important to put off.
Do we have the right sized stuff? Yes and no. We rent a house that's the perfect size for 2 kids but not for more or for 2 who cannot share a room. We have a tiny car that fits us snugly but exactly. If/when we add to our family, we'd have to change both of those, but the car is a couple of years and many thousands of miles old and the house is likely temporary along with the place (but maybe not).
On the whole it is high time to finish getting our ducks in a row so we can share that with our parents (and siblings) and be sure that they have done the same. I can guess that one set of parents can direct us to their lawyer who has a folder with all the details, and the other set of parents has been meaning to get to it one of these days. Of course the younger set will be right on top of things and the older set off in the woods expecting to live forever... Sigh...
I'd wonder how I've missed it to this point, but man, did I ever. I blame school and the tiny human currently snoozing on me (again...).
We realized a few years ago that it was really time to get things in order, notably when my uncle was going through hospice at the end of his life and how nice it was for everyone to get things squared away. This was in stark contrast to the spouse's grandma who put off making a will for months after her diagnosis of terminal cancer and never did get to it, where her estate was in limbo for several YEARS and we have no idea what she intended to happen with her assets or even what they all were.
We've put it off since then.
It is high time to get to all the end of life planning stuff. We have put it off way too long. I've started the "in case of death" list of where our things are (money, life insurance that we should buy more of, debts, bills, things I don't want my parents to find that my sibling should remove before they do find them, all that jazz). It's in a document online that I'll share and update at least once a year. We've discussed who we want to have custody of the wee ones (squee! plural! yipes!) in the event we both die, but we need to touch base with the siblings to confirm our plans (and to tell the spiritual sponsors of the kid that we have moved them to second position because of the very minor role they've opted to play in her life). Tomorrow for pete's sakes I'm making an appointment to do our will and trust stuff with a local lawyer because IT IS TIME. We are not utterly broke and this is too important to put off.
Do we have the right sized stuff? Yes and no. We rent a house that's the perfect size for 2 kids but not for more or for 2 who cannot share a room. We have a tiny car that fits us snugly but exactly. If/when we add to our family, we'd have to change both of those, but the car is a couple of years and many thousands of miles old and the house is likely temporary along with the place (but maybe not).
On the whole it is high time to finish getting our ducks in a row so we can share that with our parents (and siblings) and be sure that they have done the same. I can guess that one set of parents can direct us to their lawyer who has a folder with all the details, and the other set of parents has been meaning to get to it one of these days. Of course the younger set will be right on top of things and the older set off in the woods expecting to live forever... Sigh...
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
HA!
And now, a moment of laughter in the midst of homework and a sleepy haze. (Aside: my practice patients this week are very likely to die due to inattention... sorry imaginary people.)
I ordered replacement parts for my breast pump today since the originals have vanished into thin air. Some segment or other has shipped now, so I got the email notification, as follows:
Your Giant Dot Com Order of "Branded Custom Breast..." has shipped!
Nice. Way to go email generator. Now I'm ordering breasts in addition to many other strange things! HAH!
I ordered replacement parts for my breast pump today since the originals have vanished into thin air. Some segment or other has shipped now, so I got the email notification, as follows:
Your Giant Dot Com Order of "Branded Custom Breast..." has shipped!
Nice. Way to go email generator. Now I'm ordering breasts in addition to many other strange things! HAH!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Luck favors the prepared
One of the most exciting things about a surprise 37ish week baby is just how unprepared it is possible to be. Carseat still in its box, no bed, cloth diapers unwashed, no groceries beyond the bulk stuff. We're getting caught up quickly but it's doubly tiring.
Aside from me feeling like a super grouch due to super engorgement today, and aside from that early labor online shopping spree being crucial, things are going well. A friend dropped by with a big sister present for the kid and some disposable diapers and onesies for Little Monster, so nobody has to go get them tomorrow. We've got a decent handle on nursing and sleeping, although having to roust Little Monster to eat is a bit strange, but still. Just amazing. Hopefully things keep ticking along and I get to keep hogging LM during her naps. There's something about a sleeping tiny person I find irresistible right now.
And that's my "go feed the baby" timer. Back to the land of spit-up and cuteness.
Aside from me feeling like a super grouch due to super engorgement today, and aside from that early labor online shopping spree being crucial, things are going well. A friend dropped by with a big sister present for the kid and some disposable diapers and onesies for Little Monster, so nobody has to go get them tomorrow. We've got a decent handle on nursing and sleeping, although having to roust Little Monster to eat is a bit strange, but still. Just amazing. Hopefully things keep ticking along and I get to keep hogging LM during her naps. There's something about a sleeping tiny person I find irresistible right now.
And that's my "go feed the baby" timer. Back to the land of spit-up and cuteness.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Well that was exciting
At just about 37 weeks, my water broke, and it was clearly go time for Little Monster's arrival. We're really excited that she is here! Everyone is doing well so far and the kid is a super excited big sister. Birth story to follow when I get to it.
For the moment, let's stick with what I said every few minutes for the first two hours after her arrival: wow. Just wow.
For the moment, let's stick with what I said every few minutes for the first two hours after her arrival: wow. Just wow.
Healthcare reform: birth control compromise?
One of the really snazzy features in the Affordable Care Act is the increase in no-cost-sharing preventative services for people with insurance. Sure, the subsidies and expanded (hopefully) government programs that increase access are awesome, but helping make sure that underinsured people get some value from their insurance is my personal favorite part.
One of the preventative services that has to be free is an annual wellness visit. Clearly, nothing but the visit itself counts as "no cost sharing" or otherwise known as "free." You'll pay through the nose for blood tests and any extra things your insurance company can manage to charge you for, but it's an improvement. With a free check-up annually, hopefully we catch more health problems sooner and avoid big illnesses.
Another one is birth control. It got deemed a preventative item just like vaccinations, so it has to be covered at no cost by insurers.
This one gets many up in arms though. Despite science saying that birth control pills suppress ovulation and have nothing to do with fertilized eggs as far as we can make out, some faiths have decided birth control is immoral because life begins at conception and there's an outside risk that these hormones might stop a fertilized egg from implanting. I can see how you can be of a mind to think life starts at conception, and it is America, so you are free to decide whatever you'd like.
My take: your beliefs apply to you yourself. Your faith says eating cows is immoral? Fine! Don't eat them. Just don't try to stop me (mmm... beef...).
The complexity: employers pay for health insurance, and individual business owners are those employers, and some of those people object to paying for healthcare they disapprove of. If we were a sensible country, we'd fix this by having everyone in a single healthcare pool so no single person would be paying for anyone else's healthcare choices. But we are not sensible. We are "free market" and how DARE we consider doing something that would save us all money and probably give us better care at the same time... hmm... but this is mostly a distinct issue.
This weird system has been supported for years, where we allow a few religious groups to get exempted from paying for very specific things they deem immoral. IVF is of course on this list. Hormonal contraceptives are on the list. Abortions are, sometimes also other pregnancy ending things like drugs to induce miscarriage (that are used for molar and ectopic pregnancies as well as elective terminations, but of course they don't make that distinction).
To me, this seems like a case of me choosing to make a moral decision for someone else based on my moral views for myself. It bothers me that someone can decide for me whether it's moral for me to use contraceptives or have IVF. It's my life, my body, I should get to be the boss of it without anyone intervening in the process.
The compromise that the White House has issued is that employers will pay for healthcare, and health insurers will pay for those "morally reprehensible" parts that are federally required (aka contraceptives). It's a shell game at best, but it's a compromise that keeps the technically fussy at bay.
So yay for a compromise that gets women better access to medical care, prevents abortions, and keeps everyone happy enough. I think it's best we let women be the boss of themselves, don't you?
One of the preventative services that has to be free is an annual wellness visit. Clearly, nothing but the visit itself counts as "no cost sharing" or otherwise known as "free." You'll pay through the nose for blood tests and any extra things your insurance company can manage to charge you for, but it's an improvement. With a free check-up annually, hopefully we catch more health problems sooner and avoid big illnesses.
Another one is birth control. It got deemed a preventative item just like vaccinations, so it has to be covered at no cost by insurers.
This one gets many up in arms though. Despite science saying that birth control pills suppress ovulation and have nothing to do with fertilized eggs as far as we can make out, some faiths have decided birth control is immoral because life begins at conception and there's an outside risk that these hormones might stop a fertilized egg from implanting. I can see how you can be of a mind to think life starts at conception, and it is America, so you are free to decide whatever you'd like.
My take: your beliefs apply to you yourself. Your faith says eating cows is immoral? Fine! Don't eat them. Just don't try to stop me (mmm... beef...).
The complexity: employers pay for health insurance, and individual business owners are those employers, and some of those people object to paying for healthcare they disapprove of. If we were a sensible country, we'd fix this by having everyone in a single healthcare pool so no single person would be paying for anyone else's healthcare choices. But we are not sensible. We are "free market" and how DARE we consider doing something that would save us all money and probably give us better care at the same time... hmm... but this is mostly a distinct issue.
This weird system has been supported for years, where we allow a few religious groups to get exempted from paying for very specific things they deem immoral. IVF is of course on this list. Hormonal contraceptives are on the list. Abortions are, sometimes also other pregnancy ending things like drugs to induce miscarriage (that are used for molar and ectopic pregnancies as well as elective terminations, but of course they don't make that distinction).
To me, this seems like a case of me choosing to make a moral decision for someone else based on my moral views for myself. It bothers me that someone can decide for me whether it's moral for me to use contraceptives or have IVF. It's my life, my body, I should get to be the boss of it without anyone intervening in the process.
The compromise that the White House has issued is that employers will pay for healthcare, and health insurers will pay for those "morally reprehensible" parts that are federally required (aka contraceptives). It's a shell game at best, but it's a compromise that keeps the technically fussy at bay.
So yay for a compromise that gets women better access to medical care, prevents abortions, and keeps everyone happy enough. I think it's best we let women be the boss of themselves, don't you?
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