Best Health Insurance Ever

I have health insurance through the University - JD and Nora are my dependents.  Besides a few sinus infections, we aren't exactly 'frequent flyers' for our health plan, but with my pregnancy, Nora's birth and subsequent hip dysplasia and a few other ancillary things, there has been a slight uptick in the number of EOB's (Explanation of Benefits) that our household receives.  I guess our insurance company has been thrown by our increased usage of the plan when I received these two forms in the mail (in separate envelopes) for a visit by JD to a minor medical establishment for a sinus infection.  These are fantastic examples of how incredibly intelligent our insurance company is:

Form #1

Insured: Kathryn Graffam
Claimant: James Graffam
Date of Service: 5/14/13
Provider of Service: XXXX

Dear Insured:

XXXX Administration, servicing your student insurance claims, has received charges for the above-referenced services.  Prior to processing these charges, additional information is needed:

Do you have health insurance prior to the date of service? (   )  Yes  (   )  No

Yes - we have been your customers for over two years without interruption.

If the answer is yes, please provide a copy of the Certificate of Credible Coverage from your prior carrier which shows the last 18 months of coverage.

Why don't you issue the certificate to yourself?


Signature of Insured: ____________  Date:____________

Important: Processing and evaluation of your charges will continue after we receive the requested information.

Yet, there is no address, return envelope, phone number or hangman puzzle in which to instruct us on how to return the above information.  Genius, right?

Form #2

Insured: Kathryn Graffam
Claimant: James Graffam
Date of Service: 5/14/13
Provider of Service: XXXX

Dear James Graffam

We have received a claim for the above referenced service.  In order to fully evaluate this claim, additional information is needed.  Please provide our office with the following information:

1. Date symptoms first appeared:

His nose started running the night before?

Date medical treatment was sought:

You already know this - it's in the letterhead

2. Was medication prescribed for this condition?

Yes - you already reimbursed us for it.

3. List names and addresses of all physicians treating you for this condition:

You mean the random guy in the white coat who signed off on the CNA's recommendation?  His name and address is in your letterhead as well.

Your Signature______________  Date___________________

Processing of this claim will continue after we received the requested information.  If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Department.

No contact information is given.

Sincerely,

Claims Analyst

Enclosure (there is no enclosure)

Two Months of Bliss

Just when you thought you couldn't get enough of blog posts about our baby - here's another! ;)  Nora turned two months old May 13 and, since our baby is the smartest/most attractive/unique/perfect baby in the world (not biased at all), I feel the need to document all her milestones.

Weighs 9 lbs 4 ozs, and is 22 inches long.  When she was born, Nora was in the 25th percentile for her weight and 75th percentile for her height.  Now she is somewhere in the 15th percentile for her weight and 60th percentile for her height.

"Coo"s all the time.  It is so darned cute.  Her two-month pic above was taken mid-coo.  She is so funny.  We coo back and forth a lot.  Yes, my masters degree and half of a PhD makes me uniquely qualified for this exchange.

Can move her pacifier towards her mouth.  She has recently fallen in love with her Wubbanub.  For those of you unfamiliar to baby land, a Wubbanub is a pacifier attached to a stuffed animal.  If Nora's pacifier falls out of her mouth, she compensates by sucking on the frog's hand.  Hey, whatever works.

Took her two month shots like a champ.  This was definitely a proud momma moment.  There were three shots she needed.  The first needle prick caused her to whimper from being surprised, but she didn't make a sound otherwise for the rest of her shots.  When our nurse left the room, another nurse asked her to "go ahead and give Nora her shots."  To which our nurse replied, "I just did.  We are all finished."  The other nurse was surprised because she didn't hear any crying out in the hall.  I guess my "crying is for babies" speech to Nora on the way to the pediatrician's worked.

Getting very manipulative.  In our childbirth classes, they preached over and over again that you can't hold a newborn "too much" because they don't learn to manipulate you until they are a little bit older.  To say that Nora has learned how to manipulate her admirers is an understatement - she could teach an entire hospital of newborns how to school their parents.  She just wants one thing in life - to occupy your shoulder.  All day.  Everyday.  And she does this creepy thing where she kisses your neck.

Has about two more weeks of harness wear.  Her ultrasound is scheduled for May 29 to verify that her left hip is staying firmly in place.  We expect this to go well as all her physical examinations of late lean that way.

Conquers tummy time.  I can't wait to see how she handles tummy time without a harness.  With the harness on and keeping her legs in place, she is able to overpower and almost roll over.  Without the harness, she could probably somersault around the floor.  Her neck strength is pretty amazing thanks to the harness positioning as well.


Enough bragging - on to the good stuff.  Here are the latest photos of the cutie:

First bath I gave her without Daddy's help:

Not actually Nora - but a funny email that Nora "sent" Kevin as he was preparing to head back from Afghanistan:

Reading the Very Quiet Cricket from Aunt Crickett...who is anything but quiet:

Just hanging out:

Holding on to her pacifier for her life before she met Uncle Kevin for the first time:

Getting one-on-one cousin time with Emma:

Smiling for her Mommy:

 Loving on her Wubbanub:

That's the face of a girl who JUST had her two-month shots only minutes before.  Does she look sad to you??

Chilling out with her favorite babysitter, Taylor:

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday - time to be thankful!

1. Ahhhhhh

That's my textual interpretation of a sigh of relief.  The semester is O-V-E-R.  What does that spell?  Over!  Over!  Having a baby in the middle of a semester was incredibly challenging.  Turning in this last little bit of my research was like climbing up a mountain wearing boots filled with concrete.  It wasn't my best effort.  My perfectionist self hates this.  But, my GPA has more than a little 'wiggle room' - if my efforts earn a low grade it won't derail my funding.  Here's what I'll be doing tonight:

2. Kevin is HOME!

This should really be first on the list, but I blog based on stream of consciousness.  Kevin knows that he is top of mind while he is in a war zone - thankfully the only war zone he faces these days is the traffic on I-40 instead of Afghanistan.  It was so neat to be able to introduce him to his newest niece, and of course to watch our crazy Emma get super-pumped over seeing Uncle Kevin.

3. JD

My husband is a swell guy in case you can't tell from my other blog posts.  Not only has he been super-Dad while I struggled through the rest of the semester, he has been super-husband as well.  He cancelled night meetings at a moment's notice so he could entertain Nora while I worked on my research.  He cooked meals, ok so he is actually best at picking up meals because I stopped grocery shopping for a little while, but you get the point.  He offered to be in charge of the middle of the night diaper changes when I have to get up to feed the baby.  Sometimes I let him and take advantage of a few more moments of sleep, but mostly I tell him to go back to bed.  I have to nurse Nora anyway, so there is no point in both of us getting up.  He changes his morning meeting schedule so I can get in a run before he leaves for the day.  The list goes on and on...

4. Weather

It's true - I am a summer girl.  I won't even run when it is less than 60 degrees outside.  I'd rather have to run at five in the morning because of a heat advisory than in the middle of the day when it is 58 degrees.  Call me crazy.  This weather has been beautiful and I plan on taking full advantage of it now that I am on summer vacation.

5. Nora

This silly girl is such a joy in our lives.  She is doing SO WELL with her harness.  In fact, she just had a check-up today and her doctor thinks that her hip is staying firmly in place.  We are continuing with her physical therapy and wearing the harness to ensure that everything is as it should be by June.  Orthopedic issues almost solved!  She nurses for a speedy ten minutes every four hours, and, even bigger news, our super-trooper is also sleeping through the night!  We have moved her into her room, and from 10:30 - 5, I get blissful, uninterrupted sleep.  Some people say it's too early, I say don't knock a good thing.  Seriously.  Let it be.

6. Memphis Grizzlies

In a shout out to my hometown, I am thankful that the Grizz are doing well in the playoffs.  My economic development background knows that this is a good thing for our City, my hometown pride overflows when I watch ESPN.  We plan on cheering them along on Monday night in the Forum - Go Grizz!

Living the Pioneer Life

Day 3 of no Internet or cable at the house. Our landscape guy cut the cable when tilling up the yard. At first I thought, hey this is no big deal. I need to finish up my paper for the semester anyway. This will cut out all the distractions.

Wrong. Have you ever tried to write a research paper without an Internet connection? It's impossible. So I started thinking about the pre-Internet days of paper-writing. I guess we would reference encyclopedias. I'd be hard pressed to name a friend who owns an encyclopedia, not even counting the irony that the paper is discussing recent real estate trends in the Memphis market.

I feel like a pioneer.

Giving up on the paper momentarily, I decide to watch a movie. Except Netflix streams over the Internet. That won't work. So I spend a few hours pulling weeds in the yard praying that the Comcast van starts driving down my cove. No luck.

I spend the rest of the day trying to accomplish what I can using my iPhone with mixed results. Why aren't all web pages mobile friendly?

Then my phone dies. Thus, I lose my connection to the outside world. Staring at a sleeping baby only provides so much entertainment and reading about crafty center pieces in Better Homes and Gardens seems overly-domestic, even for me. Can't a girl get a break around here?!

Back to praying for the Comcast van...

Happy One Month!

Taking a quick break from my research to post Nora's one month stats.  Yes, I realize she is close to six weeks old, but I can assure you that this picture was taken on her one month birthday thanks to my sister's insistence.  Megan said I can't "fake" the one-month photo, but I think I still could have pulled it off;)

One-Month Stats:

Wears mostly newborn size clothes.  I put her in a three-month onesie for this photo - see all that extra fabric?  This girl needs "Newborn Tall" sizes.  However, since that doesn't exist, Nora will start wearing three-month sizes since the newborn clothes are too "short" for her.

Weighs 8 lbs, 4 ounces and is 23 inches long.  She is roughly in the 30th percentile for her weight and over 90 percent for her height.

Nurses at 10, 2 and 6 throughout the day.  She takes about 30 minutes each time. Makes for a great excuse to do a little online shopping from my phone;)

Smiles. All. The. Time.  So freakin' cute.

Sleeps well MOST nights - one or two nights a week are the exception.  Each week gets a little easier, a little more predictable.

Loves to hang out with her parents.  We are on-the-go people, so this little girl has been to the mall, run errands all over the city, hung out on a college campus, attended church and dined in nice restaurants with her parents' friends (she was asleep for all of this of course).  She never complains.

Goes to the pediatric ortho every week.  They have to adjust her harness each week as she grows.  Every time, the doctor comments on how long she is getting.  We may have another volleyball player on our hands:)

Only has THREE weeks left of full-time harness wear, and then she will just need to wear it for a few more weeks at night.  After that, her hip should be fully formed correctly and we won't have to worry about this ever again!

Most recent photo dump:

 Sleeping through her first trip to Goodwinds so Mommy can pick out her spring flower selections.  She likes to keep that pacifier close while sleeping in case she wakes up and wants it.

Emma and "Uncle Deedle".  Emma is in love with her cousin!

Emma loves to help "Uncle Deedle" with Nora

Emma wanted in on the photo - think they'll want to repeat this pose when Emma is 24 and Nora is 20?  Worth a shot.

Did I mention she smiles all the time?  JD was taking a picture of her and I walked up to tickle her cheek.  Bam - big smile!

What Is She Wearing?!

If you've seen our daughter over the past week, you may have asked yourself - what is she wearing?!

Answer: The Wheaton-Pavlik Harness to correct her hip dysplasia.

When Nora had her first exam in the hospital, the pediatrician said that she heard "clicks" when maneuvering Nora's hips, which are a symptom of hip dysplasia.  Hip dysplasia occurs in about 3 of every 1,000 live births.  Basically, it's where the hip socket doesn't form correctly, and the baby is born with a dislocated hip.  Totally fixable, not a big deal at all - unless you let it go untreated until an older age.  If untreated, people with hip dysplasia as infants could develop arthritis early on and need hip transplants as early as their 30's.  Diagnosing hip dysplasia as an infant allows for the most minimally invasive corrective action - Nora just has to wear a velcro harness for a few weeks.

We knew in the hospital that she "might" have this, but the ultrasound was negative and we agreed to have another ultrasound when Nora was a month old.  At the one week checkup, our pediatrician felt it might be occuring in both hips, and decided we needed to check again sooner.  After sending us to a radiologist and a pediatric ortho, they finally confirmed her hip dysplasia in her left hip and suited her up.  For the next six weeks (now down to five), Nora has to wear this harness full-time.  After that, there is an additional six weeks of part-time wear where she only has to wear it at home and when she sleeps.  Luckily, this harness has over a 98% corrective rate, so we are confident this will be all she needs.

How is Nora adjusting?  She has no idea.  Honestly, she is just as happy as before.  And she still sleeps great.

How are her parents adjusting?  For a few moments, we acted like the world was ending.  Seriously.  It sounds so silly now - if this is the worst thing that can go wrong with your child, a fully correctable bone issue - who are we to complain?  I think we were worried about people thinking our baby was "different", as shallow as that sounds.  At the end of the day, we are thankful to have such diligent physicians in Nora's life who ensure that she stays happy and healthy as she continues to grow and smile each day!

Conversations Between Exhausted Parents

The other night, Nora was pretty fussy.  Between having a growth spurt and a touch of diaper rash, our normally sleepy baby would not sleep on her own.  I had resorted to feeding her around the clock and holding her in bed with me as the only way to soothe her.  Some time around three a.m., JD struck up a funny conversation in his sleep (eyes closed):

JD: Honey, you've been holding the baby all night.  Can I get you anything?  A hot dog?

Me: A hot dog?  Seriously?

JD: Not a hot dog.  You know what I mean.  One of those things.

Me: I have no idea what you're talking about.

JD: You know - a peanut butter and salsa thing.

Me: What? A peanut butter and salsa sandwich?

JD: Yeah, you want one of those?

Me: Are you high?

JD: Huh? Do you want one?

Me: (knowing we have no hot dogs in the house, but wanting to mess with him) No, I think a hot dog sounds good.

JD: You want salsa on it?

Me: Sure.

And then he falls fast asleep...never a dull moment!