Baby Log - Star date 090109 - Can I get a lolly?

Okay, so being pregnant still hasn't really hit me. That's the only explanation I can think of for waiting this long before posting about the baby and being pregnant. I know, you'd think that occasional bouts of nausea, or the 1:30am hike to the bathroom would kinda drive it home, but when I look at all the other "really" pregnant women, I just don't see how I fit into their club, ya know? Yep, I'm still not showing even though I'm past the 4-month mark (one reason for no belly pictures yet).


That aside, I still had to discipline myself in finding a doctor and getting all the paperwork done. Finding a doctor out here didn't prove as smooth and easy as I thought. And figuring out all the paper work with Peace Corps, the Department of Labor and the Office of Worker's Compensation proved to be a little more layered and technical than I had anticipated. I'll get to that more later.

But, I prevailed and after being rejected by several doctor's offices (even though they were on the list of approved medical providers and even admitted that they were in the network), I found a great doctor and even have all the documentation and approvals I need for a fully-funded delivery!

I'd like you to meet my baby's doctor.... Dr. Shin:

Now meet Dr. Shin's Staff:

And let me introduce you to Dr. Shin's patients:

Then here's me....

Okay, fine. Those aren't really pictures of my new doctor, his staff and patients (though, that is really my 5th grade picture). Needless to say, I initially felt kinda out of place. To any of you out there who sometimes (or always) feel like you don't fit in, I'm really sorry whenever you feel that way. It can be quite uncomfortable. But I hope you stick it out and have good experiences anyway.

I did stick it out and have been very happy and grateful to Dr. Shin and his amazing staff. Everyone is very friendly and open. They joke with me and make me feel comfortable. They are professional and work with me on billing issues without making me feel like and id-ee-it. (Huge brownie points to them for that last one!)

So, I had an appointment on September 1st for a check up and blood draw.

Slight aside...

Seriously! I don't remember asking for help to overcome my fears of needles and having my blood drawn, but I must have, because this is the 5th time this year. In my whole life, I can only recall two other times having my blood drawn... So in my ENTIRE life I've had blood drawn 7 times, 71.4% of which occured just this year (one even being done in my own kitchen!). And I'm sure I haven't seen the end of it... Keep those arms bare.

Anyway, I did such a good job (well, and of course the nurse did too :). I didn't pass out, didn't flail around and squirt blood everywhere. I didn't even really feel the blood draining from my body (except a little at the end).

So to recap... I called dozens of doctors' offices, got rejected a lot, cried a little, finally found a nice doctor, scheduled a visit, went to the initial visit, felt out of place at first but found out they were very awesome, filled out and explained the payment process for the OSN-34245w323 form to the doctor's office to send in just for the initial visit, filled out the CE-130239-Z5 form for the FECA claim and included all the necessary documents, walked over (Nils was so nice to come with me) to the Peace Corps office and hand delivered all the documentation, received a letter with my claim number from Peace Corps, had a second visit with the doctor scheduled, called OWCP - the Office of Workers' Compensation to find out how payments going forward should be billed from the doctor, was told I couldn't bill anything until after my claim was approved, asked about the issue of pregnancy and that I wouldn't wait 4 weeks, was re-routed to another office, was given another phone number, decided to call Peace Corps, was given some advice about just going in anyway and worrying about billing later, went into the doctor's office - explained that the billing procedures had changed, that the OSN-34245w323 form was not the right form to use anymore and that now the TRS-234-4DR was the new form and the billing address had changed, that it was no longer under ChoiceCare insurance, had the billing lady be very nice to me, talked with the doctor, heard the baby's heartbeat, had my blood drawn, got the doctor's referral for an ultrasound in 4 weeks, paid the co-pay for the visit, went out to my car, called the other number OWCP had given me to talk to the person reviewing my case/claim, talked to him for a minute or less - had him tell me that everything would work out, and drove home.

Can I get a lolly?