Brynn's Hospital Pictures

The Karate Kid arrives! Getting checked out and cleaned up.

Big sister gets to come visit

Grandma Cassens gets a snuggle

Getting a thorough prodding from the doctor.

The next morning in the hospital Pippy wanted to hold baby sister.

Babies are so expensive....Part 3

You may have read Part 1 about how little I have spent on our new baby. Maybe you read Part 2 about how expensive it is to bring a baby home from the hospital. This is part 3, which could also be entitled, "THANK GOODNESS FOR INSURANCE!"

In Part 2, I estimated that the total cost to bring baby home from the hospital would be around $11,200. Well, I was wrong.

First of all, if I or my insurance company is paying thousands of dollars for a basic hospital stay, I maybe would expect a receipt. Maybe. I get detailed receipts for buying furniture, gas, groceries, even fast food. But when I have a baby? Zilch. They gave me nothing. I have to call and request a receipt if I would like one. Oddly enough, I WOULD like to see how many much I was charged every time a nurse handed me an Ibuprofen. So I called to request a receipt. The receipt details the main charges: room & board, basic delivery, IVs, drugs, and seven dollars a day for baby wipes. Then my 'detailed statement' lists "HMS CONV 718" twenty eight times, each with different amounts and quantities. So much for details.

Second of all, I overpaid my portion of the bill. That was back in August. It took 4 phone calls and 6 months to get it refunded.

So at this point, I am not impressed with the hospital at all. But I did finally get my refund and a so-called detailed statement.

Here are the total charges:

To the doctor (remember Dr. Winch?) $3,200
To the hospital (for Penelope) $2,868
To Penelope's doctor (while in the hospital) $357
To the hospital (for me) $14,781

Grand Total: $21,206