Dylie got a new bed and I got a denied claim!

I feel like... I feel like... I am one of the family! A denied claim is like a right of passage for a special needs family right? So, I have officially paid my dues!

Mike received a letter from our insurance that was sent to his old, OLD address but fortunately he is friends with the guy who is there now and the new guy picked it up for him. The Insurance needed further details for the claim, specifically, diagnosis codes to the fourth or fifth digit. (For example, if HPE is 177, Lobar HPE might be 177.2, Alobar 177.3 etc) If the information was not provided in a timely matter the claim would be denied (is it funny to anyone that it was sent to such an old address with this threat?) So Mike brought it to me and asked if I would call the hospital to see which codes they have billed with in the past.

I looked up my claim (that *I* sent in, not him... ) and the only diagnosis without the fourth or fifth digit was CVI. Which, given the other diagnosis, we could just take off the list. So I called the Insurance company directly... upon which I was informed that the claim was closed out as denied. WOOT! See, one of the family!

The "system" closed it out automatically... thank goodness for the rapid resolution team. On the same call it was reopened and approved. Do you think they were just hoping that we wouldn't get the letter and/or call? Random!!

Don't get me wrong, we are so BLESSED to have great insurance. I can't believe we haven't had a problem before now given how pricey our kids are (especially one... but let's not name names...). I was told by our home health company that this insurance never pays for interal tube feeding formula, they still pushed a claim through and we found out they are paying for it. The home health company was shocked. Her formula is sold at Walmart for $125 for 24 cans, she would be getting pureed Mac and Cheese if it wasn't paid for! We have been lucky, LUCKY up until now and I was pleased as punch that one call got this issue resolved as well.

Though, we did get an answer on how much of PT they will cover, and it's a lot at 60% once the out of network provider deductable is met... So uhmm... really nothing. I doubht we will meet to out of network provider deductable. Oh well, worth every penny!

As threatened, I took Asher in to the doctor to have hi bili's checked. He looked much better Monday morning but I figured I should probably be safe and just have it checked. When I called the nurse told me they purchased a machine to have it checked in the office. (Get out! I know!) So we packed up and the other kids went to grandma's with their dad and I just took Asher. It took forever, the appointment... I guess that's what happens sometimes when you shove yourself in to an already packed practice (and day!). In the end he was at 14 on day 10 which isn't entirely bad. On day 3, 14 is bad... on day 10, on it's way down. I wonder if he would have had to go in the suit case if I had been more aggressive... The suit case stinks. So skirted that!

And the good news is that because he was ten days old they could do the poke for his PKU and basically take all of his two week measurements, saving me from a Friday appointment! He weighed 8 lbs exactly, reaching his birth weight on day ten.

I also ran into an old friend I haven't seen in a loooooong time. It was fun seeing her and her new baby who was four days older than Asher. In fact, she made a comment about Asher not having hair which I thought was pretty funny given that he has more than Ian! Then I saw her baby who had light brown hair that was abut an inch and a half long!! He had a good pound on Asher as well even though he was only 2 ounces bigger at birth! So fun.

Matthew and I have been talking Dylie beds for a little while and we are on each extreme. He suggested a mattress on the floor. I am not all about that because she won't know to get back in bed to sleep. There are these AMAZING Sleep Safe beds I have been seeing friends get. They are like twin sized cribs, the sides can come down and the mattress can be lowered all the way to the floor. I heard that you have to have all kinds of doctor's notes submitted to insurance for a purchase and it takes quite some time. Well, Matthew wasn't about the big beds because he thought it was a wee bit of over-kill.

We were both right. When Mike was over this Wednesday I asked him about a bed for her.

Talking to Mike he said all that she needs something similar to a toddler bed by preferably not more than 6-8 inches off the ground with an additional railing of 5-6 inches. High enough to keep her from rolling out but low enough that she won't try to stand up to it. I was surprised, I asked if he thought she would 'get it' and he said "Oh yea, she's smart... she will totally get it!" I think he's going toward being able to have a normal big bed instead of one made for special needs. Leave it to him to give her this much credit!

Most of the toddler beds I can think of are a little too high... but I took him in to Dylan's room to show him Dylan's crib and asked about having Matthew modify it to be exactly what she needs right now. He described again what he thinks it would need to look like (envision Matthew wringing his hands in excitement) and left.

That night, Dylan got a new bed... custom build by her daddy! (He's so wicked handy!) Isn't it AMAZING!


The first night she wouldn't get out of it but by the second night she had found the path of least resistance and was driving her daddy bonkers when she should have been sleeping! I think it's awesome, and so do all of the boys! Go Matthew!

Someone looks just like daddy... (Matthew was out cold, I am sure he will love this picture...)


More big brother love!





Eden, Bridger and Lanie came for a visit. We remarked about how dainty Lanie's hands are compared to Asher's big man paws! It's hard to see in the pictures but his hand's nearly twice as big as hers!




More cute little hands...

More pics and maybe a little TMI

Matthew had PT with Dylan on Friday and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's really very interesting and I think it will help him get energized about doing exercises with Dylan. Even though, even her PT says with kids like her we can slack a little. I told him she walked all along the back of the couch around the corner and chickened out when it came to the HUGE bridge to the TV stand. He said "You must have really been working with her then!" And winked. I told him "Imagine if we had been!" Truth is, that corner is rather ominous... we don't want a cracked open skull, I was proud enough she walked all that way! She's officially a cruiser now.

Matthew was laying on the couch and called her over, she got to the couch by his feet, stood up and cruised to him the rest of the way. Preferring that over walking on her knees! AWESOME. And I thought Mike was crazy when he told me she would be walking in 6 months!!

Still waiting for approval on the PT for insurance. Apparently they sent him a letter requesting more information. Until then, we are just continuing with the sessions. No sense in waiting, either they will pay or not, Mike will continue to help us try to get it through insurance and we shall see. It's worth every penny we pay regardless.

Asher is great, he's sooooo mellow. (But remember, so was Ian for the longest time!) He just chills, looking around, soaking it all in. When he's tired he just closes his eyes and goes to sleep. He had a great 5+ hours of sleep the last two nights in a row. I still have to get up if Dylan wakes but he's very cooperative!

The only thing is that he's a bit yellow at this point. STILL. I was reading about it and some mom's milk has something in it that causes them to retain billirubin and this is usually the case if it's still bad past a week. He had formula in the hospital and I was hoping that supplemental formula would help with the lack of food that commonly causes jaundice but alas... it is not so. I will have to wake him pretty quickly to eat since I read that if this is the case they should east 8-10 times in a 24 hours period. That's a lot! But if he doesn't knock it off he may end up in the suit case like Ian did.

We shall see what he looks like tonight and tomorrow. They told me to call if he got yellow to his belly and he has been but I was holding on to the hope it would pass.

On Saturday Michael, Megan, Shannon and Tracy came over and Matthew brought out a new toy he bought. It was a blow up bubble ball thing that you get inside and roll around in. Commence chaos! It was crazy and loud and late but it was probably the best $30 ever spent, pictures below.

And for a little bit of TMI - You've been warned... (This is my journal right?)

Upon my discharge from the hospital they have to do discharge training which is basically going over all of the information from the doctors, follow up appointments, care and feeding of a newborn etc. When the nurse was talking to me she told me to stay away from my husband for 6 weeks. (Need I say more? No right?). Well, a little while later she brought in the orders and noted on the sheet that it said four weeks. Her reaction was funny "Well, four.. hmm, most doctors say six? But I guess it depends on the doctor and this doctor said four. Interesting, well... four, six..." Then it dawned on me, the doctor that was on call and came to see me over the weekend is our neighbor, he's friends with Matthew!! I asked the nurse if Dr. T. filled it out, she looked and started laughing! She said "Oh, that's funny! I have to go tell the other nurses about this!" Not sure if the four was a joke or not, but it seems like he might be looking out for a brutha! I am going to have to give him a hard time about this! We all got a good laugh.

The other (very brave) thing that happened during my labor that might be a little bit too much information would be that I didn't wait for my epidural to be cathed. I thought about how many opportunities we actually have to be cathed when we are with it (answer: not many) and I wanted to see what it felt like seeing as how we do this to Dylan four times a day. I mentioned it to the nurse and asked what she was waiting for (the epi to kick in) and she told me she would do it if I really wanted her to. And so I did it, and, well, it's not terrible comfy I will be honest. However, with me they were using a foley cathether which has a little balloon they inflate in the bladder to help keep it in. (Dylan's button works in the same way.) As a result the foley cath is about the size of a dime in diameter, okay, slight exaggeration, but, it's a FAIR bit larger than the self-cath we use for Dylan, even taking body size into consideration. Maybe it just looked HUGE? Matt was like my cheerleader since he wants to know what it feels like too, like I could actually describe it other than it doesn't feel good! Anyway, not comfy, little crazy, good times, the more you know right?

And finally... when I talked about Asher's birth I said Matthew said "It's a... It's a... BOY" But, while true, I did leave a but of descriptive information out. He actually said "It's a... It's a... very well-endowed BOY!" My guess it when you aren't expecting to see a penis, even the tiniest newborn penis looks enormous! Again, TMI, but makes for a funny story!

This morning - More sun for Asher


The most interest Dylan has shown Asher - This is about all you get!


Ian and Uncle Shane


Cuteness - Meeting Aunt Traci and Uncle Shane


Shane and Dylan talking


Aunt Traci - Try to ignore the laundry, it's the general state of that couch, drives Matthew NUTS!


Dylan was dancing with Uncle Kiko - She was VERY amused!


This little big brother LOVES this big big brother! Ian thinks Duncan's great! I am not sure the feeling is mutual though Duncan doesn't really mind him.


This is the first of many pictures over a half hour or longer, he slept the entire time.


He was sleeping pretty solid...


Catching some rays.


He looks a little round in pictures but, there's not much to this kid. This is the only picture that really shows his little lanky new born body.


Oh yea, I totally stuck my kid in a basket...

After his bath in Dylan's towel - he was not very happy with me! He still has his cord so it was just a good wipe down. He's holding on to the towel for dear life.

This little man has the cutest little body! He is so teeny!

The new toy! Tracy and the kids - Charlotte's showing how late it was!

Chaos in the ball - I see Duncan and a Charlotte leg sticking straight up in the air behind him!

Dylan loved it inside even though Matt said she didn't want to go in it too badly.

She was smiling and looking around, taking it all in. (Like my Duncan management?)

Charlotte patiently waiting for her turn again. (To be fair, the one with her smiling was just blurry... this one's just funny!)

Snuggling with Shannon - She had him in zen mode in no time.

Our little mini man

Asher David!

It was at m 37 week appointment when my doctor noted some action happening, I was getting ready to have a baby! (Yay!) so he asked if we were going to induce and I said yes. He asked me if I had any particular date in mind and I didn't... I just knew it would be easier to arrange my mom's schedule to sit the other little monsters. With me having no input on my child's birthday he offered to go check his calendar and left.

When I went out, I was scheduled! 2-11-11 it was!

And then began the hurry up and wait! I was SB+ Which meant I needed to get antibiotics for the baby three hours before I delivered. So, upon checking in at the hospital they started an IV, and got things going and we sat, and sat, and sat. (This is where I should add... a missed IV in my forearm was probably one of the most painful things I have experienced. After missing she asked if I would mind having it in my hand and I had to clench my jaw or else I knew I would say I didn't care where it was as long as she didn't go anywhere near my forearms ever again...) After two hours my doctor came in to break my water but ultimately decided that I would have this baby too quickly and he needed to wait. (Boy, was Asher going to prove him wrong!)

At the 3-4 hour mark he was caught in a c-s and didn't show up until hour number 5. The anesthesiologist was caught up in the same c-s and couldn't come so they gave me Fenderal (? who cares what it was called really... it was amazing stuff!) to hold me over until he came in. When he did finally come in his scrubs were wrinkled and he was a tad bit frenzied! I wasn't sure I would want him by my spine with a needle. As he was verifying my information he got called out again and as he was running out he said someone else came on in 15 minutes and that would be the latest I would get a visit.

We got the new guy. Who... incidentally, was the same guy we had with Ian but he was in a considerably better mood than he was then. I prefer him at the start of his shift for sure!

After the epi my BP plummeted to 90/50, happened last time too... makes me sick to my stomach, but they came back in and gave me something to rev me back up and get things back to normal.

From here, it was rotating from side to side to try and get Asher to engage, he was quite comfortable in what I like to refer to as his Olympic size swimming pool! They really amped up the Pit so I would get stronger contractions and he finally engaged, posterior... This whole thing was Ian all over again!! I was having clusters of contractions, three... then a break, then three more. So she talked about options, I was only at a 6, so the doctor couldn't try to physically turn him (which didn't work with Ian anyway and it left him with a big owie!). I explained that with Ian they had me lay in the Sims position for 25 minutes and he flipped right over. The position I was in was similar to Sims, but not as much on my belly as they had me when Ian flipped, so... when she left, I took matters in to my own hands.

And watched the contractions even out. Woot woot. Tons of pressure... so I called her in. When she walked in she goes "Oh, you are almost on your stomach!" I know, I thought she might not like it, but what works works right? She said she wasn't surprised at the pressure because my contractions evened out, she checked me... still at 6! WHAT?! Get out... So off to the other side. I had one contraction and TONS of pressure... tons and tons and tons... and she said "If it's that much more I can check you again, it's not unheard of..." She checked... that's right folks, 6 to a 10 in one contraction. The room turned in to a bee hive.

Everything was AWESOME! Nothing hurt but I was totally all up on the situation and I could tell when everything was happening. The nurse said "There's the head, and it's not a very small head either!" (All our kid baby... all our kid...) Matthew said "It's a very Ian face!" A few short minutes after we started Matthew said "It's a... it's a... BOY" Apparently he had to do a double take thinking "those aren't girl parts!" We were both very much expecting a girl! SURPRISE! And a very happy one too!

They place my slimy new child on my stomach and wiped away, he was ADORABLE. Looking up at me, squeaking occasionally... I couldn't help thinking about Dylan and her three brothers! I just kept imagining all of these boys loving her so much and taking care of her! I couldn't have been more pleased!

Off they took him to officially look him over and get his measurements. 8 pounds even, 21 inches long, super cute with lots of blond hair! (Okay, I may have added that last part!)

From here it was all kinds of unpleasantries because I tend to bleed, lots and lots and lots... but I didn't much care because I was holding an adorable new baby! Blood schmud, give me the baby!

We didn't get settled in to the room until 2:00 in the morning and then they wouldn't leave me alone much (blood schmud). Matthew left to tend to the other brood!

Lots of hospital visitors over the next couple of days; Grandma and grandpa, Jessica, my cute nieces Jenna, Paige and Eden, Aunt Jill and Uncle David, Shannon and Tracy, Aunt Kristen, Aunt Eden, Aunt Melissa, Aunt Megan and Uncle Michael. Yay for fun company

Grandma Shirley asked where I put these big babies... I guess now we know? This was a few minutes before we left for the hospital.



One of Asher's first pictures. He turned BRIGHT pink very very quickly!


Getting ready for a bath... and very angry!


But not minding the head washing so much! It was about 2 in the morning... (Very Ian face until he lost a little weight!)

Very blond hair and eyelashes! Even Ian had darker hair!

Aunt Jane's cute hat and sock. Asher does not like getting dressed and we were playing dress up!

He settled in nicely though

Sleeping peacefully, this is what he can usually be found doing... (I was changing our sheets right under him, notice the mattress protector. He's a good little sleeper!)

Duncan's been in love since the first time he saw him. When Asher's sleeping Duncan' asks where he is. He wants to touch and kiss him constantly. He looooves this big brother business.

This is so cute, but I think he's actually listening to a train as it went by and Asher's about to go flying...

Lots of nose beeping happening...

My big'uns with my littlest 'un

Duncan couldn't believe that I could sit and watch trains from the hospital room! He was in awwe as we saw a few public transport trains and a couple long old trains just in the time he was there! which wasn't long, three year olds and hospital rooms don't mix well!

He's pretty cute.

Grandma came bright and early on Saturday to visit her new little grandbaby!


Awwe, cute Shannon and Asher!

Jill and Uncle David... frightening. I tried to get a good picture, but Jill was apparently as tired as I was and we kept busting up, so this is what you get.

Cute pic of Aunt Kristen in the hospital

Asher's a very alert little man, he loves to look around... even though he can't see much at this point. He has a lot of pleasant, calm, awake time.

Ian thought Asher was GREAT! He loved him and kept grabbing his outfit at the shoulders to love him. Well, until Asher moved and Ian's hand went instantly to his earlobe! I think he though Asher was a doll... Ian brings blankets to Asher and wants to touch him and love him up. When Asher's on the counter in the bouncer and cries Ian stops and stares up with concern.

Lots and lots of nose beeping!

Over it!!

Uhhh... ... AHHHHH!!! Full house!

New cousin Lanie - she's two weeks older!

And - Pics of Dylie just for good measure!

Seeing as how she's not much interested in Asher...