It can be overwhelming becoming a first time mom, but what about becoming a mom for the second time?
Upon discovery that I was pregnant with now my second child, I am thinking I have it all figured out. I know exactly how this is going to go, because I’ve been through this all once before, the morning sickness for the first few months, preparing for baby would be easy being that I had saved so much from my daughter, and the birth plan: to do whatever it takes to get as much sleep as possible in the first few weeks after the birth of this baby!
Of course, even after having gone through this once before, and thinking I “know it all”, I ended up realizing I don’t quite know as much as I thought I did. For one, I had medical insurance throughout my pregnancy with my daughter. After the birth of my daughter, I decided to take on a part-time nanny position, without medical benefits, so that I can spend as much time with my daughter as possible. My husband does construction work, and although he makes a decent salary, his company doesn’t provide their workers with medical benefits. Up until this pregnancy, everything was fine. My daughter had insurance through the state, and we paid a minimal premium each year, and although neither myself nor my husband had medical insurance, we had enough money that should either of us need to see a doctor, we were able to pay for a single visit here or there out-of-pocket. With my current pregnancy, we started out the very same way, seeing the OB and paying on a visit-to visit basis, forgetting that there was lab work, sonograms, and much more that would add to the expenses we weren’t quite prepared for.
So I started my search for insurance. Many private insurance companies monthly premiums were far too expensive for us, looking into a family plan, not to mention the pre-existing condition clause. Yes, MANY private insurance companies consider pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition if you have already been seen for it, and will not accept your application. So now I would try my luck obtaining medical insurance through the state. In the state of New York, there is either Medicaid, Family Health Plus, or Healthy New York depending on your yearly income. Currently, I am still waiting to hear back from them.
