So here’s what I’m going to do this time… no more promises.  I’m gonna post when I can.  Not feel guilty when I don’t… and remember that the whole point of this blogging thing was to share my thoughts and interact with other mammas.   So that’s my “next chapter”… what’s yours?

Motherhood has also made a mess of my wardrobe, hair and makeup.  Sometimes walking by a mirror will cause me to stop and do a double take… not because I look so good, but because sometimes I don’t even recognize myself anymore.  I can’t remember the last time I actually made a full effort at putting on makeup.  My daily wardrobe resembles that of a glorified ragamuffin and I made the mistake of opting for a “mommy friendly” hair cut when Lily was just a month or so old.  I sure wish I could go back to that day and stop my hairdresser about half way through my daring pixie cut.  The cut I ended up with looks a little more boyish than I was hoping for.  But at least when Lily grabs it there’s less of it to grab onto!

I could go on and on about the other “messes” that come with motherhood.  Here are just a few that I’ve encountered; mind-messiness (walking in to a room and not remembering what you went in there for, forgetting names, dates and places you’ve known forever, leaving food in the microwave for hours, leaving clothes in the wash machine for days), car-messiness, home-messiness (it’s practically impossible to contain the explosion of toys, clothes, diapering accessories and food that come with babies) and general appearance messiness.

Now don’t get me wrong… I love motherhood.  I can’t imagine a more rewarding experience… and my little one is just six months old.  The messiness of motherhood on the other-hand is a whole different story.

What had caused the screech and the follow up “when daddy is left in charge” came from the fact that Lily was covered in avocado.  Instead of putting a more substantial type of food like banana in the teething feeder, my husband had decided to put avocado. Lily loves avocado… I just don’t think it’s the right food for the teething feeder.

The end result was a very happy very messy baby that got a bed time bath from head to foot.

I can only imagine the shenanigans that these two will get in as Lily gets older.

I used to think that I overpacked for trips out of town.  Now that I’m a mom, I suddenly realize that the expression “packing everything but the kitchen sink” is really meant for parents.  On any given day leaving the house to go the grocery store can feel like you’re packing for a long weekend away.  You’ve got to leave with a diaper bag stocked with enough diapers, wipes, spit-up rags, binkies, binky cleaning wipes, nose cleaning wipes, socks, hats and extra outfits (for when the extra diapers don’t do their job) that a non-parent might swear that you were preparing to go on a walkabout in the outback with your baby.  Nope, it’s just a trip to Costco.

So then when you have to pack to go on an actual trip, a real bonafide journey… you really do pack everything but the kitchen sink.

Prior to our first trip to visit “L’s” grandparents I decided that it was going to be necessary for Grandma to supply the absolute essentials; playard with bassinet, diapers and wipes.  This way I wouldn’t have to figure out how to get these items on the plane and packed in our suitcase.  I soon realized that essentials stretch out to include things like bottles, breast milk storage bags, more binkies (you can never have enough binkies… ever, end of story), blankets, spit-up rags… the list goes on and on.  Packing all of these essential items in one suitcase that doesn’t weigh more than 50 pounds is absolutely impossible!

So on our most recent trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s I only had to pack a couple of outfits for “L” and chose to pack clothes for myself that I plan to leave at my parents house.  I figure the fewer things I have to pack for future trips, the better. It will leave me more room for the kitchen sink.

My daughter Lily was born at 5:05 a.m. on Monday, August 10, 2009 via a medically necessary cesarean section.  After pushing for an hour and a half my doctor recommended that Lily be delivered via cesarean because Lily was failing to descend and was exhibiting non-reassuring fetal heart tones.  When my doctor attempted to “perk” Lily up there were no changes in her condition.  My doctor believed that Lily was in distress and even if she was able to deliver Lily’s head, it might be possible that Lily’s shoulders would get caught.  The doctor suggested that this could result in Lily being born with a “bum” arm.  My husband and I agreed to follow our doctor’s recommendation and proceeded with a cesarean section.

We are now in the process of appealing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona to cover Lily’s c-section on August 10, 2009.  BCBSAZ no longer considers “fetal distress” as a complication of pregnancy and therefore has decided that they will not cover my c-section. My husband and I paid out-of-pocket $8,000 for pre-natal care and a normal vaginal delivery.  We understood that our health insurance policy with BCBSAZ did not include maternity but we believed it did cover a cesarean section if it was medically necessary.

According to BCBSAZ our policy was changed on October 1, 2008 to no longer cover cesarean sections due to fetal distress.  While we did receive notice in the mail from BCBSAZ that our plan was changing we did not understand that if our baby was in trouble they wouldn’t cover a cesarean section.  We believed that if our doctor deemed it “medically necessary” it was medically necessary and our insurance would “kick in”.  Boy were we wrong.

We now have approximately $30,000 in outstanding bills that we are appealing, including approximately $17,000 for the cesarean section and resulting hospital stay.

I’m more than happy to pay my “fair share”, I just want my insurance company to step up to the plate and do what I believe is the right thing.  The only reason I can see for the change in the BCBSAZ defined “complications of pregnancy” is monetary.  I understand that Blue Cross Blue Shield is in business to make money.  Every business is in business to make money.  But shouldn’t health insurance companies be in the business of insuring our health too?

Taking on this fight is costing me oodles of time and significant amount of money.  It’s taking me away from my business and impeding my ability to make money as a freelancer.  Most importantly and most upsetting it’s taking me away from time that I should be spending with Lily.

If you’d like to know more about my fight with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona you can visit the website I’ve set up at www.lilysmom.com.  Please share my story with your friends and family and be sure that you understand your own insurance and what is and is not covered.  You can send any questions about my fight to elizabeth(at)lilysmom.com… you can send parachutes to me too, since I’d really rather be jumping out of a plane than having to fight an insurance company.

Fave Tradition #1: Christmas Tree Cutting
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and for as long as I can remember, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition was going Christmas Tree cutting.  Either on Thanksgiving itself or the day after, my family would pack into our four- wheel drive trucks and take a drive into the mountains in search of the perfect Christmas Tree.  Sometimes there would be snow.  Sometimes not.  Always there would be hot chocolate and yummy cookies that my grandma would bake.  It’s a family tradition that I absolutely cherish.  I haven’t gotten to go in years with my family… but I think of them every year out there in the mountains cutting down their tree.  I hope in the years to come we’ll be able to start our own tradition of Christmas tree cutting with baby “L”.

Fave Tradition #2: Granny’s Bubble Bread
Growing up my great grandmother would make this wonderful yummy cinnamon and sugar bread every Thanksgiving. I remember anxiously awaiting her arrival with my cousins and keeping an eye on how much was left… so I could snag one more piece before it was all gone.  I haven’t had it in years… so I think this year is the year to bring it back and make it for my family.  Just the thought of it makes my mouth water and my heart warm a little thinking about my granny.  Here’s a link to a bubble bread recipe… it’s not my granny’s, but it’s similar.  Bubble Bread Recipe.

Fave Tradition #3: Decorating the House
This is something I started doing when my husband and I were first married.  We typically spend Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with mine.  So on Thanksgiving morning before we go to his mom’s house, I start putting out my Christmas decorations.   This year “L” will be too little to participate in decorating… but next year will be a different story.  In fact, I suppose this year is my last year to hang ornaments low on the tree.  By next Christmas we’ll have a little one toddling about and low hanging ornaments will be way too tempting.  I suppose now is a good time to start looking for unbreakable ornaments.  It’s also the time to start looking for a couple “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments and decorations.  I particularly like the Baby’s First Christmas Snow Globe that I found online at Target.com.

I look forward to sharing these traditions and many more with “L” as she grows.

So what are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  Leave a comment below and let me know.  Better yet… enter the Twitter Moms contest and share your “Three Favorite Family Thanksgiving Traditions“, you could win a $50 Target gift card!

Thankfully after several days of dedicated feeding or pumping every two to three hours my milk seems to have returned to it’s “normal” state. In fact this morning around 7:15 a.m. I noticed that the right side of my pj’s was getting soaked… and just in time “L” woke up and was ready to help me fix the situation.  I also tried drinking tea, “Mothers Milk”  that is supposed to help with increasing production.  Unfortunately after just a few sips I got really sick to my stomach.  Not positive that it was a result of the tea… but I wasn’t going to try it again to find out.

In the end I am relieved to have my milk back in full force.  I hope to breastfeed “L” until she is a year old because of all the health benefits it will provide her… it also doesn’t hurt that it helps me to burn an additional 500 calories per day. Those pre-preggers jeans stare at me every day and I’m hoping it won’t be to long before we’re reunited.

Well, at least now I can say that I blogged today!

In order to drop those last ten pounds I’ve joined an exercise group called Stroller Strides.  If you’ve never heard of it, you might think like I did that it’s a nice mommy group that gets together and walks at the local park.  Yeah right.  It’s mommy boot camp… and it’s awesome!  It is definitely mommies and their strollers and in most places it does happen at the park… but it is not a “stroll in the park”.  Nope.  It’s a great workout and a great way to meet other moms. There’s probably a Stroller Strides in your area.  Check out their website for more information if you’re interested in leaving the land of maternity and getting back to reality.