2Nd Child

The Health Department where you live will do the pregnancy test for free and give you the paperwork you need to submit to the State for Medicaid but you should call ahead and ask what day and time they do them and get there early because they usually only do a few a day and they are gone quick(but it may be different where you live). You can apply for Medicaid all online and once you are on Medicaid it is VERY easy to get WIC.

Dear C.,

Where are you? I might be able to help you with the clothes a bit. I would much rather give them to someone nice than take them to goodwill or something. I am in Panama City Florida and my email is ____@____.com.
Sincerely,
K. Willard

What about the health departments, I am new to Orlando, but I would assume that the health departments here are pretty much the same as the ones in Tampa area.

Good luck to you!

Alpha Omega in St. Augustine on US 1 does pregnancy test and may be able to assist you with clothing. When you go in they will ask you to fill out an information sheet with some personal information but that is just so they can track where their assistance goes. You do not have to be a St. Johns County resident. Also, they have an ultrasound machine and do free check-ups.

Start taking an iron supplement right away - Don't wait to see a doctor. Iron may make you constipated so ask the pharmacist what he recommends...I think there is an iron supplement that also has another med in it to help with the constipation.

You already have a lot of really good suggestions. I will add another place you can go for help. First Coast Women's Services. My church donates to them annually and I know they are really great there. http://www.fcws.org

Also, be sure to check out Dawn's post about AmeriPlan, I was going to post the same thing, but I will respect her getting on here first. It is a great program for those on tight budgets. It is not insurance, so there are no wait periods. It is simply discounted health care, you will save a ton of money than if you cannot get insurance. Dawn's website will give you ALL the information you need.

Also, check in at your church, or find one. The Christian family is extremely supportive in all circumstances. I have so much help from mine, including replacing our refridgerator when it broke down two weeks after my son was born. If you wouldl like to check out my church, we are Christ's Church on Greenland Rd (seen at the corner of 9A and I95). We have a program specifically for expectant mothers.

Well, I hope I am able to help you out. May God bless you with a peace that passes all understanding!~

Your local health department should assist you in confirming the pregnancy and should help connect you to resources. If you have a 2-1-1 information and referral office in your area they can also help (dial 211 - it's a free call from land lines).

A Center for Women provides free pregnancy testing and maternity clothing. They also offer free ultrasounds if you qualify. They're on Wymore Rd. in Winter Park. Here's the link to their website:

http://www.acenterforwomen.org/

I'm very sorry, it sounds like you're in a tight fix. I believe in God and I hope that you do, too. He can give you peace in the middle of this if you will go to him for directions. Sometimes God has other plans than what we have. Don't ty to fight it. He knows what's best in the long run. I've seen so many terrible things turn into being the best things that could have ever happened. The second pregnancy can be totally different than the first, you might be able to continue school for a while. I will be praying for you.

Dear Kristie:

First don't panic there are programs out there to help. I'm in a similar boat so I understand. Check with your local Planned Parenthood they can do the test and give you the confirmation letter. Then check into the local Medicaid program. I don't know what state you live in but Florida has a program just for pregnant mothers who don't have insurance. Check with your local Department of Children and Families or whoever administers the Medicaid programs in your state. Good luck and God bless.

Dr. Jack Wilson in Winter Park is a great Dr. and he does private pay. Also check into the Maternity Card on the internet. I am pretty sure it is a program set up for families in your situation.
Good luck to you.

I would suggest a pregnancy test from the drug store- about $10- 15 dollars and if positive go to the Department of Family and Children Services and apply for Medicaid. Once you are accepted- they have a list of doctors and they will also get you on WIC. Tell your doctor that you might have had hypermesis with your last pregnancy-- I had the same thing- was never diagnosed and suffered through out my pregnancy but now there are treatments for the condition. There is also some websites about the condition too for more information.

Try Craigslist Orlando- an online listing services where you can find people giving away maternity clothes or selling used baby items like cribs, and changing tables. Also there are many consignment children stores that also sell maternity clothes at a large discount.

Best prayers and wishes for your new blessing!!!!!!

Hi Christine,
Chill out Lady, it will be alright! A local health department will give you a free pregnancy test (via urine check) and that will be enough to show state agencies that you are indeed pregnant and eliglble for Medicaid and WIC (for you and your 3 year old, depending on your husband's income).
I hope this helps sweetie. Take care!

C.,
I don't know what's available as far as dr. and such, but I have to tell you, my best friend went back to school and had two children while she was in college. I know it probably seems impossible, but you may just have take it slow. Just make sure you keep your focus on the important things, God gave you this baby for a reason, so look at it as blessing and know that He's not going to give you more than you can handle with His help.

Try the health dept for medical and good will for clothes

You can go to the health dept. for your county. Ask them for a pregnancy test. If is is positive they will send you to medicade (normally at the same office. Then they will give you the WIC information. I was in the same spot. Very little money and had just started my MBA when I got PG. But it worked out great. I had a really hard time with my daughter but Medicade paid for the dr and hospital visits. That was a life saver.

you can have the test done at the health department.
but calm down for one, you have plenty of time. You don't have to see a doctor right away. You should be able to get matirnity clothes at your local chapter of a "women's pregnancy center" or something like it, look in the phone book. also let people know, someone all ways knows someone who is getting rid of stuf. HTH good luck with it all.

Go to JMJ Life Crisis Center

They have free pregnancy, ultrasounds, etc...

Their website is www.JMJlifecenter.org to find a location near you. There are three in Orlando.

Best wishes! A second child will be a great blessing! It will all turn out okay. Keep your faith and know that your fear will not be present any longer with the birth of your second child.

J.

Wow C.! Just take it easy and breathe! I'm on my second one and it was an unexpected pregnancy too. I would suggest you to check on the website for places for pregnancies in your area or call the wic office of your city and they can give you phone #'s....or i just remember healthy start can give you info too. And as soon as you get to see the doctor (which go first to the wic office and p/up the paperwork to give to your doctor) make the appt w/the wic. I know health or healthy start calls you as soon as the doctor gives them your info. Anyways. I'm finishing my pregnancy in 2 months more if you need clothes i'll be happy to help you. I live in deltona, fl...so let me know or any more questions you might have...
Good luck!

Dear C.

I just read your letter of Plea

Not 2 pregnacies are alike
God will provide for you/
The County will help you tru this .
Call AFDC and tell them
And alot of these Thrift Stores will give you cloths if u tell them u r in need
Also your Church Home will assist you .
They help alot of Lady's in our Church .
Good Luck
Sincerely
R. D

You could try your local pregnancy support center. I got a free test done and they also give out baby blankets and clothes for you to wear. You have to call and make a appt. You can also go to freecycle and post on there what you need or want. It can take up to a week befor you get a response from freecycle. Make sure that you apply to your area Its easy. Craigslist also has free stuff and stuff real cheap. Hope this works. Good Luck

Congratulations! I have been in this same boat. Call the Health Department in Sanford, they can get you set up with everything you need...once you recieve the "gold" medicaid card in the mail, most private OB/GYN doctors take medicaid; cahnge doctors and your out of the health department. The only thing you will go for is your WIC appointments.

I am a Graphic Design student at SCC in Heathrow - the way the semester runs, you probably will only have to miss 1 semester. Keep in mind, every pregnancy is different and maybe you wont be that sick this time around!

I just had my second child about 5 months ago. What you might be able to do is ask your OB/GYN if you can set up some sort of payment arrangements. I work in a medical office and we do this with alot of our patients.

Even if you aren't that far along alot of times when you have a second child your body responds alot quicker, mine did. I swear i was in materninty clothes at like 6 weeks.

As for buying maternity clothes, go look at second hand shops. They usually have alot of stuff for cheap. Hope all works out for you. Don't stress. I know that is easier said than done.

Well, maybe timing is wrong for school right now. Sounds like husband needs to take on a 2nd job. You might think about taking on a full time job with benefits. Don't know, maybe you're working also already. I know what you mean about being sick during pregnancy. I was sick for 24/7 and worked full time til the day he was born. I was also in the hospital because I dehydrated. They did give me a med called phenregan - can't spell, but it helped with the sickness. Good luck. Just think what a beautiful child you have coming in 9 mo's.

C.,
You could look into your local pregnancy resource center. They won't be any help with the blood test (that I know of), but they should be able to help out with the clothes issue and may even be able to refer you to a dr that will do the blood test for a reasonable price.
http://www.lifecall.org/cpc/fl.html
Check out this site it gives a listing of all the centers in the state of Floirda. I'm familier with the Grace House center. The ladies there are awesome I give them all of the things my boys grow out of. All of the services provided by these centers should be absolutely free.
If you have any further questions feel free to contact me. Hope I was of some help to you!!
R.

Go down and file for medicaid for pregnant woman, once that is done go to the doctors, get your prenatal pills and then you can get on WIC. And go from there. Good Luck and Congrats

I was in the same fix (and oddly enough, I work in a law office). Go to the health department. The pregnancy test is $20 and right after they give you a positive test, the nurse will lead you back to a really sweet lady that will help you get what you need to start Medicaid. She will even help you set up a WIC appointment. As far as maternity clothes go, just buy really basic things with elastic waistbands, and you might check thrift stores, too.

you can go to the health department and get a proof of pregnancy from them. you can go online to apply for medicaid. www.myflorida.com/accessflorida they will contact you (usually by mail) and request a copy of proof of pregnancy etc. you can fax it to them. i'd apply now. it takes them a few months to get it processed. i was 4 months pregnant before my first appointment. CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!

Hi C.,

I just gave birth to baby #2, who is just over a year younger than my oldest, and I am in school working on a masters degree. I do not have any family help, other than my lovely husband, but we do have a good nanny. Here's my advice:

1) Find out what services are available at your school. You most likely have a health center, where the care is normally free (or rather covered in your semester fees) and you can certainly get a free blood test. Also, if you are in fact pregnant, you can often get HEAVILY discounted childcare for your newborn through your school. However, due to the high quality of this care, and the cheap price, there are often long waiting lists. My advice is to put your child on the waiting list for childcare before s/he is born. Lastly, as far as on-campus resources are concerned, your school may have a women's center where you could get some much needed support and perhaps some assistance with navigating community services.

2) My guess is, if you are a family of four, that you will easily qualify for Medicaid and WIC. I'm not sure what state you're in, but I have worked in healthcare and I've never heard of someplace that does not have special circumstances (that is, they will provide insurance for you when they otherwise would not) because you are pregnant. Incidentally, if your child is born while you are on Medicaid, they MUST (under federal law) be covered by your state through their first birthday. If you cannot get a blood test through your school, your local Medicaid office is often very helpful with getting you care at a free clinic. Most people in public assistance truly want to help you and your baby. While you are at it, apply for food stamps and WIC.

3) Maternity clothes... I was lucky and listened to my husband when he suggested that I keep mine. However, all hope is not lost. Again, I don't know where you are located, but when we lived on the west coast, we could find really lovely (and name brand) maternity clothes at Buffalo Exchange's kids store and where we now live in Florida we have a local kids store that sells used kids clothes and toys, as well as maternity clothes (again, name brand for cheap). If you don't have any stores like this near you, you can try craigslist on-line and try to buy for cheap, but the best resource is freecycle. If you sign up for your local freecycle you can post requests (like HELP I NEED MATERNITY CLOTHES) and people will respond with free gifts. I have gotten BAGS of children's clothes, like new and name brand, for free from folks that just want them out of their house.

Okay, hopefully this helps! I know the panic of an unexpected baby. Hopefully your preganancy will go easier this time. My faculty were very understanding of my needing to miss a couple of classes here and there, and to skip out on some of my teaching responsibilities as well. My first son was induced two weeks early and everyone understood. If you are still working as a notary, just be honest with your boss (but wait until 2nd trimester to tell them). You do have rights in the workplace, but they vary from state to state. Learn what yours are and hold your employer to them. Good luck and DON'T WORRY. These things have a way of working themselves out!

Look up your local freecycle.org site and post a want for maternity clothes. Everything is free and there's always someone willing to come through. Look for the offer posts as well. You can always find someone giving away maternity clothes and baby items since those stages are relatively short lived.
If/when you start feeling the "morning" sickness coming on, get some vitamin B6 and take it every day. Wait to take the prenatal vitamin until evenings and it won't make your tummy feel yucky.
I hope this pregnancy goes better than the last! They are all different so it is possible. Good luck!

C.,
Go to the local Health Department (or call them), they can take care of you at a substantially reduced fee since you don't have insurance...at least until Medicaid kicks in. Good luck!

C., where are you? If you are in the Gainesville area you might consider calling the Midwives Cooperative - we provide midwifery care and are medicaid providers (we can also give you a proof of pregnancy and WIC referral).
Find us online at www.midwivescooperative.com, or check us out in the mamasource business area.

Most of all, BREATHE! - ok, the timing is awful, but you can do this!

L. Salzburg
Licensed Midwife

Use the website listed to go ahead and apply for Medicaid. There are links on the site you can use before you apply to see the income and asset limits. If you get student loans they CAN NOT count that money as an asset. My dh is a student and I am also pg so I have been down the road. It only takes 30-45 days to get approved, usually within 30. If your dh is working they will request proof of his income for the previous month and proof of your pregnancy but that's about it. Go ahead now and make your appt for WIC as it can take maybe a month to get in. The health dept can give you proof of pregnancy and you can use that to get you started with both wic and medicaid. You may also be able to get WIC for your 3 y/o as well. Good luck to you and to a health pregnancy!

There is a health clinic at the beaches. They do free pregnancy testing and if you are + they have a guy there who will help you apply for medicaid, etc... I can't find my card but I am sure they are in the phone book. If you can't find it, let me know and I will get the contact info for you. Good luck.

C.,

Congrats on your pregnancy (even if you're not excited yet). That's okay. We've all been there. Sometimes though those surprises can be the best pregnancies. Call your local health department. They will give you a pregnancy test for free. There should also be a social service worker there for you to see if you qualify for Medicaid. Each state wants healthy babies and will do all they can to help you. If not the health department, call your local crisis pregnancy center. They do free tests as well. I'm praying that everything will go great with your classes and you'll get a great midwife or doctor.

blessings,
M.
mom to 7

Hi C.,

Congratulations on your exciting news but I know it can be a little overwhelming when you haven't planned for it.

You had mentioned that you didn't have any health insurance and I wanted to let you know of a great discount health benefits program that I just started working for. The company is called Ameriplan USA and they have been around for 15 years. For example for your whole family you can get Health, Dental, Vision and Prescription for $39.95 per month. Like I said it is a discount plan where you can save up to 50% and more on health services with participating doctors. We also offer just for health at $29.95. I copied an article below of a testimonial of a client who saved $7,000. Please see below. You will have copy the link into your browser to pull up the full article. Please feel free to call me or email if you would like more information. My email is ____@____.com or my number is ###-###-####. Hope I can help. D.

Medical Testimonial: BIG SAVINGS:

A recent visit to the hospital for my daughter was over $7,000

Take a look at the link below to see the huge savings see got

thanks to Ameriplan.

http://www.connectingbenefits.com/savings.pdf

Feel free to print out the letter and use the story. But remember

the negotiations are done on an individualized basis for hospital

bills totaling $2500 or more. The ability to pay and available

assistance programs in the Patient's state will affect the total

discount received.

I would go to your local clinic; the pregnancy test is free (or was a cple yrs ago); they can then get set up with a medicaid/ wic forms and etc. I had to go there with my first pregnancy for about 3 mths or so until I got health insurance. The blood tests and initial exam only cost $50-- which is a LOT cheaper than if you go through a regular dr. You can also go online and see if you can apply online. I know you can with kids; but I don;t know if it is that way for pregnant women. Hope this helps...

JEN

JEN

Most OB/GYN offices offer cash discounts. Thousands off what they charge insured people. They set up monthly payments with you. If you can get on Medicaid and qualify, that would help you out tremendously also.

Your local health department will usually do the confirmation test for no charge. They also fill out a sheet verifying the pregnancy for you to take to WIC and Medicaid.

I know it is a stressful thing to have a surprise pregnancy...trust me...went through that with my third. It always works itself out though. Hang in there and good luck!

First of all let me say Congratulations. I know it is a shocker right now, but there is never really a good time to plan a child, but somehow it always works out.

As far as the medical care, call your WIC office and ask them where you can get the test done. Usually your local health department will be able to help you out with this and that will help you to apply for your Medicaid and WIC. Is your daughter on WIC? Here in Florida, our children up to age 5 can qualify. Start there and see what they can do to help.
Best of luck,
V.

Medicaid has a special program for pregnant mothers - I used to work there. Or Ive also heard that the county programs, like the WIC help out too ! Congrats and good luck!

All you have to do is call the Health Dept. and they will do a pregnancy test and check to see if you qualify for pregnant womans Medicaid. That's what I had to do for both my children. It was a tremendous help. They will also help you get set up with WIC. You may also qualify for Medicaid for your daughter Willow and WIC for her too.

Hi C.. My name is Marilyn. I'm mommy to Evelyn Jade (3yrs) and I'm 7 weeks pregnant with my 2nd baby. However, this was a planned baby for us. I'm not sure exactly where you live but here in FL where I live our local Health Department will confirm pregnancies and treat pregnancies for little or no cost. And they will get you started with the whole WIC/foodstamps process. If you don't have much income you and your family probably is eligible for Medicaid. You should check it out, it's worth a try. The worst they can do is say no, right? I understand how you feel. After my daughter was born my husband quit his job to go to school full time and I wasn't working. No insurance and only his G.I. Bill for school as our income! It was VERY hard, but completely worth it. Now he has an amazing job and we are set. But thankfully our pediatrician loves our daughter almost as much as us and many times saw her for as little as $10! There are TONS of programs out there for people in your shoes, I know I've been there. Just keep your head up! Good luck!