and the plot thickens ...

Yet another bill that apparently got lost in everybody's shuffle.

First time it appeared on a statement was in April, for a date of service of 1/13/09. The best part? It appeared as a 31-60 days past due already. First time they billed me it was already in the loss column. So I do a little more digging. Their little collection statement was sent to me, as guarantor of Girl J. Starke but the claim and EOB was filed under James AND it is listed as Out-of-Network. Someday I'm just going to go postal on the little f-ers. To top it off, I'm really not sure how the bill is only $125. It was for Emily's head Echo (to make sure she didn't have any bleeding in her brain, which is common in early micro-preemies. No, thankfully it came back normal.) and the only charge was $125. Not 'our portion' or the discounted rate. The total charge submitted was supposedly $125. I may be getting tired-head from muddling through all this stupid stuff but I know enough to know absolutely nothing done in a hospital NICU cost only $125. Hell, dental x-rays cost more than that and we're talking about a echo on a baby's head!!

I digress ... I'm tired and all those stupid people wreaking havoc on my life are probably in bed so I guess I should be too.

Quickly though, little Emily had her check-up with the Developmental Pediatrician. Just another person making sure she's making the progress she should be since she was born so early. Well, she scored on a 4.6 - 4.75 month old level (like standardized testing! HAH!) which is good since her adjusted age is just under 4 months. It's hard to think that I have a 6 month old performing on less than a 5 month old scale but I guess I need to think the other way around ... that she's ahead of where she should be. The crackpot also said no exersaucers or bouncers. I didn't have the guts to tell her that she absolutely LOVES her exersaucer and that I'm not so sure I'm going to take it away from her. It's one place she's pretty safe from Megan. :-) We're supposed to go back in November but since we'll be seeing her pedi for her 9 month appointment in October I think he'll tell us not to bother. I'm inclined to agree.

And Megan, well sorry if this is TMI but she has diarrhea. Poor girlie. I think Daddy being on vacation has filled her tummy with too much junk food and sugar (undiluted juice appears to be the devil). With all that mess has come the worst diaper rash I've ever seen. I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that she has had already (in moderation) that would cause an allergic reaction but I'll continue to try to figure it out.

Now I really need some sleep. It's 1130. Hopefully the girls will let me sleep all night long. Fingers crossed!