I’ve been playing hooky on 7 Quick Takes Fridays, mainly because extracting seven semi-witty things from my gray-sludge-of-a-brain since giving birth to my third child has become next to impossible. But here I am again. Not because I’m feeling particularly witty, so go ahead and lower your expectations right now. It’s just that Jen’s got a great thing going here, and it felt right to jump on board again this week.
Saint Gaba has left the premises and I miss her already. Seriously, my mom is a saint-in-the-making. Even Madeline announced that when my mom died, she was going to start praying to Saint Gaba. (No worries: Gaba’s perfectly healthy.)
At my recent dental appointment, I received some good news. No cavities! Whoo-hoo! Unfortunately, my usual postpartum dental visits haven’t been quite as gratifying. I never had one single cavity until I became a mom. Since bringing forth new life, I’ve suffered one root canal and several encounters with the dental drill for smaller cavities. What gives (besides the enamel in my teeth)? Any other moms out there experience tooth rot as well?
I woke up the other day feeling bummed that my husband had to work until 11 p.m. for an entire week and then I remembered it was just a dream! I don’t know what I was happier about – the fact that my husband’s hours have been lighter lately or that I actually slipped into REM mode long enough to dream.
My husband and I went on a date and ate sushi. And we talked about things other than our kids (for most of the time anyway). We also had the worst waitress in the history of dinner dates. She was more spacey than Polaris, but she was sweet and we’re pretty sure she had pinkeye (her left eye was terribly bloodshot and on the gunky side) so we cut her some slack (and washed our hands really well after dinner and were careful not to touch our own gunk-free eyeballs). An added bonus: Her slow service meant the date lasted longer. No complaints there. And remember we – the parental units – were eating sushi. Sushi! With a glass of wine! At 9 p.m.! (And what’s really weird is apparently a lot of people our age eat sushi and imbibe at 9 p.m. in the city. The hangout was packed. Who knew?)
Last week I splurged on a few new articles of clothing – they’re feminine and frilly and so not practical for an at-home mom who spends most of her life wearing Eau du Breastmilk. But I don’t care. It was fun buying a few things that make me feel pretty even if I smell like regurgitated breastmilk. (I wore a new dress to the aforementioned date night, and it was a hit with my husband, too.)
Are you a fishy American? I am, and I even reported myself to the “Truth Police.”
And so long as I’m on the subject, why isn’t defensive medicine, which results in huge costs in the health care industry, not being addressed? Doctors often run more tests than needed to “pad” a patient’s chart in the event of a lawsuit and have to pay huge malpractice premiums that health care consumers end up subsidizing. With all this talk of change and making health care more affordable, why hasn’t tort reform been discussed as one way to curb costs? Oh, wait. Capitol Hill is filled with lawyers turned politicians. Talk about hypocrisy.
Now back to much more fun topics like growing babies…
M.E. had her 4-month checkup earlier this week. I just don’t believe the growth charts because they’re saying this chunker is only in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Mama’s milk does a body good.
Stop by Jen’s Conversion Diary for more quick takes that are sure to have the sparkling wit I seem to be lacking these days.
LOOK AT THAT CHUNKY MONKEY! I love it!! Yummy.
I am so jealous of your new wardrobe purchases – even without a detailed description of what you bought. Just jealous of the new clothes in general. Jealous in a godly way, OF COURSE.
Here from CD, thanks for the posts, love your tag line.
I've had trouble in both directions regarding medical tests. I've had friends and kids in situations where a simple test could have / eventually did diagnose serious, real conditions when the original take was to call diabetes teething pain and cancer a stomach bug. At the same time, my last round of medical misery came when my kid had an ongoing stomach ache that she still has. GI doctor didn't bother to listen to or spend time with us much because clearly his default is to run a stock series of tests, painful and embarrassing. Not that I'm not grateful some things got ruled out, but then the negative results get to be justification for telling me it's all in her head. If you knew this kid at all, you'd know it's not in her head. But all he knows is the lab results. It is a frustration. Anyway, thanks for bringing the subject up.
That baby isn't getting milk, she's getting heavy cream ;) Good job, mama!
Marie, thank you so much for stopping by and for your much-needed perspective.
I can somewhat relate to your frustrations because my daughter ended up having to be put on a medication unnecessarily (we discovered this after our pediatrician ordered a more accurate test several months after a test done at her office suggested our little one might have a problem, which was ruled out with the more extensive testing).
Likewise, my poor mom has seen way too much of the medical system and has had repeated tests for years with nothing conclusive. Unfortunately, a lot of guesswork remains in modern medicine.
Also, I realize that I'm approaching the topic of health care reform/defensive medicine with a unique perspective because my husband is a medical resident. Thus, I get somewhat of an "inside" look at how government regulations are already affecting the industry.
On one hand, government interferance, insurance and Medicaid mandates sometimes have more control over the kind of tests that doctors can use up front than we'd like to think. On the other, many ER docs order every test under the sun to rule out anything serious to protect themselves (they don't have the luxury of forging a personal relationship with patients or even access to a patient's medical history in some cases that would possibly help rule out certain tests, etc.). In addition, OB/GYNs also often practice fear-based medicine because of the number of lawsuits they face.
Not only does the proposed legislation do nothing to address defensive medicine, but it calls for MORE government interferance. It's frustrating because the government wants to do things like appoint an Independent Medicare Advisory Council. Under this proposal being considered by the Senate and the House, an independent, non-partisan body of health "experts" (AKA bureacrats working for Uncle Sam) would make payment and coverage decisions for providers in the Medicare program. The Congress would have minimal ability to modify these recommendations since this proposed legislative language would mandate an “en bloc” vote by the Congress.
Most medical specialists feel this effort would take away the ability of physicians to collectively participate in the formation of Medicare policy and put too much power into the hands of a few unelected officials. This is just one of many points in the current health care legislation that is troubling.
I've pointed out before that some rationing of health care is unfortunately a necessary evil – not *access* to health care but, for example, not everyone can get an MRI or CT Scan as part of their yearly physical even though it might save some lives. But shouldn't doctors, rather than politicians, be the ones deciding who gets what tests based on their expertise and years of training, not out of the fear of being sued?
This is a simplified explanation and just some food for thought…
Sorry for prattling on and on… :)
Blessings!
I should note that the Independent Medical Advisory Council is supposed to be a nonpartisan group; however,it would consist of a body of doctors and other health experts that are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and then serve for five-year terms. Smells fishy to me and I'm not sure it would curb costs at all.
Absolutely love meaty comments, thanks.
My if-i-ruled-the-world take on medical costs is that we blew it when we changed how insurance works. When my grandmother worked in insurance, people bought insurance for in case something big happened that they couldn't ever afford. If she needed the doctor, she paid for the visit out of pocket (and he usually came to the house). What I'm finding in our many medical adventures is that I'm seeing insurance not covering really essential stuff at the same time I'm seeing insurance being billed for (and paying for) services that I would never have paid such money for if it had been my decision (but was required to use if I wanted the stuff I did need). (Sorry if that's too abstract to be clear). In any case, I think as long as the people paying the bills are not the ones receiving the services, the whole supply/demand thing gets royally twisted up. I'd be really curious if you have an opinion on the out of pocket sort of system.
Amen, Marie! My husband and I both think a wonderful solution would be to require folks to have catastrophic insurance and then allow citizens to put tax-free money into a medical IRA (we could stash the same amount of money we put toward our high health insurance premiums) to pay for routine medical care.
My concern is there are a lot of people out there who just wouldn't take the personal accountability to set aside money for their health care. In fact, 30 percent of the "uninsured" in American are people ages 18-34 who spend more than four times as much on alcohol, tobacco, entertainment and dining out as they do for out-of-pocket spending on health care. (Source: Free Market Cure) I even have had some young, healthy friends who have decided not to get health insurance because it costs too much; yet, these same friends have iPhones and nice cars. Something's wrong with this picture.
Still, I agree with you 100 percent, and maybe there's hope. I'm getting really fired up about this topic (it's not obvious or anything!) and others are, too. Maybe Capitol Hill will start listening.
Blessings!
I do get it about people not storing up for medical bills, but I really think we've got the same right now. The fact is, no one has to pay their medical bills and health care facilities must serve them in dire circumstances anyway, right? They just don't get very good care, but then paying customers often don't, either.
Honestly, our family is now paying $1100 per month for insurance, and our costs run about $300 (often more) per month beyond that. What if we dropped our insurance? Would my kid go without insulin? No, the state would pick up the slack because she's a child. So I get free, if not so great, health care for her. And if I want to improve it, $1400 per month would pay for a lot of upgrading. Really, the only thing keeping us doing this is fear and conscience. And since we don't have a penny of income coming into the house right now, those fears and guilts have some pretty hefty competitors right now.
Not that I get worked up about it at all myself.
I'll check out free market cure, thanks for the lead. I don't really have any hope, though, for the country to go this direction — it's just wistful and wishful thinking. . . .
Marie, I'd like to write more, but I've been engaged in far too much e-banter as it is today. However, I admire you so much. Please know you and your family are in my prayers. I'm sorry you've had to deal with so much hardship. Thank you for the worthwhile discussion. God bless.
Oh, all's great, and bouncing babies is a better topic.
No hardships — just my version of what everybody's got, daily stuff — but I'll never turn down prayer. Health care is just one of my latest dead horses that I find myself beating — appreciate the opinions and the pointers towards places where I can learn more.
We just had a sushi date too! It was much needed and appreciated :)
Love this list!!
First off, I got my 1st cavities post Valiant…it was like both kids made my teeth rot!! UGH! I've heard it happens to a lot of moms. The body needs calcium, steals it from your teeth, we forget to brush, etc….so frustrating.
#3 CRACKED me up!! Love it!
As always, I hear you….love your wisdom about healthcare…you weigh all the angles!!
So glad you got a DATE! YEAH!
And as for ME? Be still me heart…your milk ROCKS. What a piece of heaven!!
Bless you!
Now you're just making me feel deficient–a good head on your shoulders AND super milk producer. I basically starved my kids when I was nursing. I socked it to my mother when she was pregnant. Her mouth went to pot after delivering me.
I enjoyed your Quick Takes. Have a great weekend.
Kate, I've never had a cavity, but I did have an infected gum around one of my wisdom teeth when I was pregnant with my second, which my dentist said was because of being pregnant and being more susceptible to such things. I had to suffer with it til I was through my first trimester, and then he pulled the offending tooth and I felt a million times better!
Oh Kate, she is gorgeous.
Such sweet photos! I especially love that bottom one. Is she a redhead? Just gorgeous!
P.S. Where did you buy your new clothes?
stephanie@metropolitanmama.net