Today’s visit to my gyno was a little disappointing. My cervix is still completely closed, not even a hint of dilation or ripening. Before my visit I was pretty sure that something was happening, since I had quite a bit of cramping for two days in the row, just couple of days ago.

It’s pretty different from my first pregnancy. The first time around, my cervix was 1.5 centimeters dilated for 2-3 weeks prior due date. And sure enough I went into labor on the 5th day after my due date.

This time things seem to be moving much slower. The induction is scheduled for Monday, February 22, 6 days from now. I have another appointment in three days to see whether I dilate between now and then. If I’m not dilated, I will have to come to the hospital on the night prior my induction date and receive cervix softening medicine. It should work overnight before starting the induction medicine the next morning.

Oh well, even though things are happening a little slower than I would like, the longest we have to wait is 6 days! And there is always a chance to go in labor before then too.

Besides waiting, there is always plenty of stuff to do at home. Cleaning the house seems to be a constant chore, no matter how much or how often I do it. My 2-yr old daughter needs constant attention, and other life’s odds and ends never seem to stop coming my way!

Today we went to do a 4D ultrasound at my OBGYN’s office. I’m 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant and apparently the best time to do a 4D ultrasound is between 28 and 32 weeks. For some reason I was under the impression that I needed to wait until 35 or 37 weeks to do it. But luckily I asked my doctor about it 2 days ago and they managed to squeeze me in for a 4D ultrasound appointment this week!

The technician told us that the pictures came out great. Apparently it has to do with the clarity of the liquid in the womb, and mine seemed to serve the purpose well. Technician told us that 32 weeks is one of the best times to get a clear pictures. She took total of 39 pictures and uploaded them on a CD. I picked 4 best ones to share with you.

The 4D ultrasound experience got a lot cheaper in the last couple of years. Today it cost us $149 at my obstetrician’s office. Two years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, my obstetrician didn’t even have the 4D machine. We would have to go to a place specializing only in 3D US and they charged over $300 for a similar experience. We decided not to pursue it at the time.

I am so excited about our soon to be born son! He is definitely a kicker. I don’t think I had nearly as much activity with my first one. It feels like he kicks and stirs all the time. I actually had to ask my doctor whether there is such thing as too much movement. She laughed and said no.

I think when we just started the ultrasound he was sleeping. But he probably got woken up by the pressure from the ultrasound mouse that the tech was sliding all over my stomach. So we got to witness him move around and open and close his mouth. The technology today is amaizing!

If you are reading this post, you are probably desperate.  First off, congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope my story will help you save money on your maternity bills if you don’t have maternity coverage.

In April 2007 I found myself pregnant.  I called my insurance first to find out if they covered pregnancy.  The answer was ‘no’.  Then after calling numerous insurance companies I found that pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and none of them could cover me, since I was already pregnant.

I started to get worried.  We have a baby on the way and we will have to pay for the doctor, labs, hospital ourselves!  How much will it be?  Where are we going to get the money?  What if there are complications?

My husband is self-employed and I wasn’t working at the time. We had individual insurance plan through a major insurance carrier.  The only way they would cover pregnancy is if I had maternity coverage before I got pregnant or if we had group insurance through the business.

I didn’t even know that we could get a group insurance plan. In our state of Florida, a business is qualified for the group insurance as long as it has a minimum of two employees who need insurance.  My husband would have to add me to his payroll in order for us to be qualified for a group insurance plan. Would it be the cheapest way to go? Find out here.

One of the big mistakes we made is, we signed up for Maternity Card.  They promised that they will help us reduce our maternity bills by negotiating with the providers.  After paying them $700, we realized that it was a scam and they currently have a class action lawsuit against them filed by the state of Texas.  They did give us our money back eventually, but it took a lot of my nerves and back and forth negotiations.

Doctor’s Bills

In the meantime I started calling OBGYN doctors in the area to find out their pricing.  Apparently they have different rates for the insured and the uninsured customers.   If you don’t have maternity insurance, tell them upfront that you will do ‘cash-pay’.  They will quote you a price for their maternity package.  It usually includes all of the doctor’s visits and delivery.  Here you will learn more about all of the important financial questions to ask a doctor before signing up with them.

Lab Bills

The doctor will require you to do some lab work during your pregnancy.  Some tests are required and many are optional. Obviously, in order to avoid extra costs, just refuse the optional tests. Usually the doctor won’t tell you which tests are optional or required, so it’s up to you to find that out before they do the test.

Find out how you can do some required tests for free or at a very low cost here.

Hospital Bills

When I was about five months pregnant I went to the hospital for registration.  During registration, tell them that you don’t have maternity insurance and you will do ’self-pay’.  They will quote you a price that will include delivery and hospital stay.  Sometimes hospital will give you a discount as long as you prepay by the n-th month of your pregnancy.

Keep in mind that this package does not include any other services like the specialists, anesthesiologist or pediatrician.  If you are planning on getting pain reducing drugs during labor, you will require anesthesiologist.  It Anesthesiologist’s services are quite pricey, but it doesn’t mean that you have to be in pain while in labor so you can avoid paying anesthesiologist. Trust me, when you’re in labor pain, you won’t care! But you can significantly reduce your specialists’ bills by using techniques I describe here.

One more tip, make sure you are in true labor before you rush to the hospital.  If you show up thinking you are in labor and the hospital doesn’t admit you, you still have to pay.  We had it happened to us and it cost us $500. Learn here how you can avoid this expense.

And finally, do you want to know right now how much your pregnancy is going to cost you and the options available to you? Do you want to gain instant access to the information that’s going to resolve the financial uncertainties you have and give you a piece of mind right now? Learn about it here!

In any case, I wish you happy and healthy pregnancy, as well as quick and easy labor!!

For affiliate information for my product please visit http://lowerpregnancybills.com/affiliate/ . This link can also be found on the bottom of the sales page.

I know it’s a little past due, but we are having a boy! We found out on October 7 during my second ultrasound. I was about twenty one and half weeks preggie at the time. The baby was estimated to weigh 1.1 pounds and everything seemed to be normal.

Sex of our second baby didn’t matter to us much, but honestly I was just a tad more excited to hear that we are having a boy! Our first one is a girl and to have one of each is definitely a blessing. Before the ultrasound, my husband and I were pretty much convinced that we are having a girl this time as well. My sister-in-law did the ’scientific’ pendant test against the palm of my hand. The pendant was moving in a circular motion versus back and forth, predicting a girl. I also did the Intelligender Gender Prediction Test, which was kind of inconclusive, but I decided that it was going to be a girl afterall.

So definitely hearing words “it’s a boy” from the ultrasound technician was a wonderful surprise! I now have to switch my mindset from pinks and purples, dolls and hair dos, to blues, and trucks, and planes, and sports uniforms. I’m used to girly things (hello, I’m a girl), and since I am the only child, exploring the boy world is like stepping into the Wild Wild West. But afterall I am more than ready for the challenge and can’t wait to meet my son! He, he, it still sounds a little unnatural to me, “MY son”, but boy-o-boy am I ready!

Untitled from Malika Risley on Vimeo.

Pregnancy Week 17 from Malika Risley on Vimeo.