I found out that I was "officially" pregnant at the beginning of August. I went to a real clinic and everything!! This pregnancy test only cost me $22, far cheaper than what I had spent just months before during my phantom pregnancy. Oh, but it will not be the last dollar this wonderful new baby will cost me.
I will say that I am grateful for programs like Medicaid when it comes to food and medical assistance. There was a time when Seth and first-time-pregnant me wouldn't have survived without it when we lived in Washington state. This time around, as soon as I found out I was preggo with baby #2, I applied for Pregnancy Medical through the state of Texas.
Let me give you a background on our situation. No, Seth and I aren't married...yet. He did propose almost a year ago and I have a ring and all, I have just been waiting for that magical moment when the universe felt right and I felt skinny. haha! Then I got pregnant and well...let's just say the universe doesn't feel quite right yet.
When we lived in Washington, Seth had what most people would call a 'real' job. He had three of them, actually. Seth worked for two Adult Care facilities and he had his own art business, which I manned during the day. Right at the 'turn' of the economy when all the layoffs started to happen, well, it happened to us. He got laid off from both facilities and no one was in the mood to buy art. Fortunately, he was able to get unemployment and more fortunate that that, he was able to find a new job in about a month, working for a lawn care company. In Texas, a company like that could easily operate year round, but not in Spokane, Washington. Seth worked through the summer, advancing quickly in the company, until they closed for the winter. Laid off again. Unemployment again. This time we had it until it ran out, if I remember correctly, into the new year. Now, I was newly pregnant during this whole time, starting from the first layoff, so I had the luxury of staying home. I delivered Evelyn on December 17 and took her home on Christmas Eve. All was good. But then we were running out of money and food stamps and Seth was having a hard time finding another job. Enter the world of Network Marketing.
This world can be filled with wonderment and joy as quickly as it can turn into worry and pain. I can't complain too much because it alone has kept our family afloat for nearly a year and a half. It has afforded us a move across country to Texas. It has provided us with a great apartment and plenty to eat. Most of all, it has given Seth and I the extreme luxury of being with Evelyn from the moment she opened her beautiful eyes. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.
The downside comes when the income fluctuates. When having to do taxes. When filling out any type of government form. It is considered self employment, and when you have two and sometimes three online marketing companies compensating you for your work, it is hard to explain to people on paper, I guess. We don't get pay stubs. We don't get paid on a regular weekly or biweekly basis. Last year's tax return has NOTHING to do with proving how much, or how little we are making this year. We don't have company provided insurance.
When I decided to apply for Medicaid this time around for pregnancy medical, at the beginning of my application we were making a good amount of money. Before you judge me, you must know that I am an avid Googler and researcher and I started to find out how much it would be to pay for a pregnancy out of pocket. Holy Cow. I got as far as finding the cost of just the day of delivery...a whopping $15-20,000. Yes, thousand. I called a few hospitals to confirm. Nope, I was applying for Medicaid.
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