4 Letters and the Tiger

I am very happy to report that Nadia now can identify the letters "C," "N," "O," and "B." Yahoo! It took a lot longer for her to learn to identify a few letters than I ever dreamed it would, but I am guessing it will be a lot easier now that we've got the ball rolling.

Ian's big accomplishment yesterday was that he started telling me when he needed to go to the bathroom. Woohoo! It took Nadia much longer than one week to master that skill. He didn't have any accidents the past three days! What a big boy! This morning I was very surprised that his diaper was only wet as 99.9% of the time it's also a poopy diaper. I thought this meant we could work on teaching him to poop on the potty. I forgot that bit of information though when he asked to go to the bathroom around 8:30am. I was surprised when he didn't pee as every other time when he's told me he needs to go, he's actually gone. I then took my shower, and he pooped in his pants while I was showering. As soon as I got out of the shower he said "potty." I called for Paul, and Paul took him down and discovered he had pooped in his underwear. He did pee on the potty at that point though. I felt badly as he obviously had tried to poop earlier, and then if he said something while I was in the shower, I didn't hear it. However he had two big accomplishments today with potty training. First, when we were at the mall today, he peed on an adult sized toilet without crying. Woohoo! Although he had stopped crying at home, he still cried in a public restroom the last time he went (Thursday). Second, he told me this afternoon (at home) that he needed to pee, and when I put him on the potty he actually pooped. YAHOOO! He earned his stuffed animal tiger that had been sitting on the top of the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. This was the first time he pooped on a potty. I have to say potty training Ian has been a breeze. I actually never dreamed it could be this easy! The only thing left to accomplish is staying dry through the night. I don't think that's going to happen until he's eating a more normal diet. His diet is so fluid based that he would have to pee several times in the night, and since he's in a crib, I'd have to get up and take him to the bathroom. I'd much rather let him wear a diaper so I can sleep through the night.

HR finally got back to me yesterday regarding our health insurance options. I had emailed my questions the week before Christmas. Option #1 is to drop Blue Shield insurance (yesterday would be our last day) and go on PSU's insurance for this semester. We'd go back on Blue Shield on July 1. We'd have double coverage for July and the first week of August. Option #2 is to stay on Blue Shield. I'd be paying $735 a month for 6.5 months and $192 a month for the other months. Option #2 would cost a total of $2,881 more than option #1 over a 9 month period. If Ian didn't have Medicaid, there wouldn't be any decision to make because PSU's insurance doesn't cover the intensive feeding program. Also, I don't want to go back to driving 5-6 hours per doctor appointment for Ian, but that's not going to happen because Medicaid will work with the local hospital. Paul and Nadia almost never go to the doctor, and their doctors work with PSU's insurance. One disadvantage for going on PSU's insurance would be IF Paul, Nadia, or I needed any medications, we'd pay a little more than we would through Blue Shield (although the difference wouldn't be as great as it was last year when we didn't know we were supposed to have things filled on campus). The other is that if I do find out that I'm pregnant in 9 days, PSU's insurance will only pay for two ultrasounds (one in the first trimester and one in the second). We have until January 23 to accept or decline PSU's insurance. I am not sure what the deadline is with my university. I'm actually leaning toward option #1 because I figure even if we need to pay for a couple of ultrasounds, that won't cost anywhere near $2,881. We'd be on Blue Shield before the baby was born (presuming there is another baby). Any recommendations? If Ian didn't have Medicaid, I wouldn't even consider option #1. If this ivf doesn't result in a pregnancy, then option #1 is definitely the way to go as Paul, Nadia, and I hardly ever go to the doctor when I'm not ttc or pregnant. The day we have to make the decision is the same day I'll be 12dpo, which is when I usually find out if I am pregnant or not (by hpt).