On healthcare and second children

Just so you know, we're now the face of the healthcare crisis in the US.

Whee! Aren't we lucky?

As you may know, we've been tossing around the idea of having a second child, since the first one has turned out pretty well. Except for the whining, that is. We thought and thought and thought about it and decided: Yeah, we should do this thing. The question then became: When? We held off while Eric was in law school, because it was stressful enough without the sleeplessness a new infant provides and then we held off while we waited for Eric to get a job.

I was hoping to share the second pregnancy woes with Misty, but she decided to jump the gun, get knocked up sooner than I expected and move to NJ.

Yeah, I know: Ew! (Just the NJ part, Misty! I'm excited for you and li'l Oliver!)

"Oh, but, hasn't Eric put out his own shingle," you ask? Why yes, yes he has. So where's the getting on with the bun in the oven action?

Well...there's the small issue of health insurance. See, neither of us are employed by The Man and so we don't get to share in The Man's healthcare insurance rates. Instead, we have catastrophic insurance coverage only which a) costs us a lot upfront in the medical offices, but the monthly rates are low and b) doesn't cover maternity needs. Eric has been doing research on the issue and has discovered that insurance companies really don't want to have to pay out on maternity insurance. Since it's a special "extra" insurance, they know that when you ask to purchase it, you must be planning on getting pregnant. Which, in turn, means that they are going to have to actually (Gasp!) pay out! So the cost is exhorbitant and doesn't kick in for a year after you have the insurance.

Upon hearing all of this, I started to cry.

I guess that really tells you that I'm not as ambivalent about having a second kid as I thought I was. I guess I really do want another -- crazy as that seems.

Eric then had to talk me down off my "We can't afford to have another kid because of health insurance?!" bender. He assured me that we don't have to wait a year before getting pregnant, but that we'd have to have the insurance for a year. So technically, we could start "trying" in 3 months. You see, I know that while my doctors don't consider me to be of "advanced maternal age", I am not excited about the prospect of finding out exactly when that kicks in. A year from now? Two? Damn!

After all, this is going to be a knowingly expensive pregnancy. I am planning on having a planned c-section this time. I figure, I already have the scar and I'm not willing to go through the trauma of a "normal" delivery again only to have an emergency c-section when my body doesn't cooperate. Again. So, one c-section and at least 2 ultrasounds. I want to know that the next and last baby I'm carrying is healthy. Call me paranoid (I am, thank you.), but I want to know that everything is alright.

Well, there it is. We'd like to have a second child. Caitlin really wants a sibling. Now we just need to get there.

Wish us luck!