Breast Pump

To pump or not to pump - a breast pump is definitely not cheap but such a great investment. That has been lingering in my mind for the past month or so and now I'm down to 2 more weeks until my estimated due date with only a 2.5 cm dilation.

It was my standard 2 week pregnancy check up making sure Baby T's heartbeat was still going strong and thankfully it was.

Towards the end of my appointment my OB writes up a prescription to get a TDap  vaccination and a "breast pump." Puzzled at the "breast pump" prescription, I question her and found that the Affordable Care Act passed a law about 5 years ago that some medical insurance coverages will provide a FREE (that's right, FREE!!) breast pump! I start getting all wide-eyed and excited to do more research on obtaining a breast pump.

My appointment is done and I'm back at the office with three-quarters of work day left. Finally, lunchtime decides to make an appearance and I'm on the internet getting info of when the program started and which retail stores participate in giving me a FREE breast pump.

I find that my local Target accepts the prescription and has a better selection of breast pumps than other retailers. After work I head over to Target and anxiously await my turn at the Pharmacy. I'm next!...and am told that CVS has taken over Target's pharmacy department and will need to check with Customer Service for more info.

The customer representative I talked with had no clue what I was talking about but luckily an older gentleman did and he provided McKesson Patient Care Solutions, Inc. (MPCS) contact info - 805-406-PUMP (7867).

I called McKesson Patient Care Solutions, Inc. (MPCS) and their customer service was exceptional. I gave them my information and received an email confirming my inquiry with a list of breast pumps that were available under my insurance plan, either completely free or an upgraded pump for a nominal fee.

Here are my options and please note that this may differ depending on your medical coverage and/or the State you live in.

Breast Pump Basic Options
-Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump Starter Set
-Ameda Purely Yours Dual Electric Personal Double Pump

Breast Pump Upgrade Options (An Upgrade Agreement Form is Required)

-Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump Tote or Backpack  ($119 upgrade charge)
-Medela Freestyle Breastpump ($195 upgrade charge)

Needless to say, I chose the completely free breast pump - Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump Starter Set and it should be available for pick up at my local Target store in 1-3 business days.  Now how easy was that? I'm so excited!

7 Weeks To Go

5 years later, I'm 33 weeks pregnant with our 2nd daughter (who is now a size of a pineapple), working full time, waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and worst of all having trouble falling back asleep thereafter. So here I go attempting to blog my insomnia away.

Time is passing by so quickly with this pregnancy compared to my first. I think it's because my current job is much more demanding and my commute time doubled - 1 hour each way, to and from work, if I'm lucky.

Baby T is due July 23rd and loves to dance (like her big sister L) and hiccups like crazy. She loves halfway frozen yogurt and granola for breakfast, salmon made well done with rice and ocean (seaweed) salad for lunch, and any protein and veggies grilled with seasoned potatoes for dinner.

Looks like blogging does help with insomnia. Goodnight world.

A 5 Year Difference in Age

When people found out that my daughters would be five years apart, they were puzzled as to why we waited so long and asked if I had trouble conceiving, which I politely said no to.

Why did we wait 5 years? Mostly it was because of childcare. Only until then we realized the true cost of childcare and not having the luxury of either of our parents available to watch Miss 5.

When I had my first child and returned to work from maternity leave, my husband's work schedule was very flexible while in the midst of establishing his own business and was able to take Miss 5 to his meetings. Thankfully his clients were graciously accepting of this and  were impressed how well Misses 5 behaved at her age. Miss 5 eventually turned 6 months old and we knew it was time for her to go attend daycare as she became more vocal and wanted to play and crawl instead of sit through meetings with Daddy.

We were very fortunate to find a great daycare person at that time who is state licensed and a close distance away from home. An open spot actually became available and now youngest daughter will be under her care.

Update: This blog was actually written over year ago and I never posted it. Not exactly sure why but her it is now. :)  Furthermore, I'm currently a Stay at Home but more on that later. ;)