Mamas in the house, please which is better pampers swaddlers or huggies?

Shawbabe:


These are the things I shipped and found useful, u don't have to get everything oh but for me I rarely buy or shop in naija coz of time and unnecessary exuberant prices they sell them for. so I shipped:

Onesies: from 3 months and above

Warm zipper Pajamas onesies (this is very useful as my baby is always in our room which is very cold coz of my husband and his -0 degree a/c settings lol.

Wipes: I shipped tubs and refill packs. U run through quickly so ship a lot.

Huggies diapers: one pack size 1, one box size 2, one box size 3 and 2 boxes size 4. Many I got from my baby shower in atl so I just unboxed them and shipped.

Baby Formula and Cereal: Similac and Gerber. The liquid bottles of similac and Gerber cereal

Baby clothes up to 2 years old. I'm not buy aba-made in naija....mba lol

Baby bouncer: paid $30 in walmart.....and it's N50,000 in Next store Abuja. Can u imagine?

Baby Bassinet: for afternoon naps. Paid 35 bucks in walmart.

Baby Microwave sterilising unit
Baby bottles
Johnsons and Aveeno baby products
Bottle brushes, rack and dryer
Baby soft blankies
Diaper creams
Baby crib romper
Bedsheets
Baby flat storage boxes
Baby plates, bowls, spoons, extra nipples
Diaper bag
Plastic waterproof bibs (for when they start eating solids)
Baby shoes from 6 months up
Baby hangers
Baby food warmer
Baby Travel system
Baby car mirror (for ur rear facing car seat, check Marshalls for this. It's like $6)

If I rmbr anything else I'll write it down.

Thank you very much. God bless you

dunwun:
Hello travels gurus
Had my visa interview yesterday but was refused; worst part is can't seem to place my hansd on what went wrong, so I'm skeptical about reappling for fear of rejection.

I really wish I knew what I shouldn't have done or should have done. Was pretty confident from all the learnings I had garnered here.

Background:

Applied for B2, used Lagos, married, self sponsored, travelling alone, budget of about 12.1K , Oakbend medical center, precious cedars for 10 weeks accommodation, Dr FF. SOA balance of about 3.5M in 2 banks with very good inflow and outflow. First time applicant to US, previously travelled for holiday to Ghana and Dubai. Work for a multinational.23weeks gone.

Transcript(in no particular order):

It seemed like I was her first interviewee or she just came from a break cos she had window blinds half way down her window and was settling down with a cup of coffee or something. Quite formal Black woman, no smiles etc. Hardly had eye contact, cos she kept typing, her fingers were so fast.Seemed to take forever, cos she kept typing.

where are you going to in the US? Richmond texas

Why?Vacation and child birth.

Who have you contacted? FF of OBC

How longdo you plan to spend? 10 weeks

Wherewould you be staying? Precious Cedars.

Where do you work? Xyz

What do you do there? Bla bla bla

how long have you been there? ...yrs

How much do you earn? Xyz

do you have a birth plan? gave her + FF correspondences and Precious Cedars emails.

CanI see your statements. Sure, passed them to her she studied and studied and studied.

So you are going for 3 months. No... 10 weeks.

I see you are married. Yes I am

Do you have any children. No, this is our first.

Have youtravelled outside? Yeah, UAE.

And kept typing and typing and typing.

I'm sorry bla bla bla, gave me the blue paper with 214b reasons for refusal.

...that's as far as I can remember...

I had a portmanteau filled with proofs, but you don't prove what you weren't asked, rightHow do I prove strong ties, thought my place of work, job role and the fact that my husband wasn't travelling with me was good enough.

Ireally do not know what to do differently?

My dear, so sorry about the refusal. I also applied in Jan and was interviewed by the same woman. You can reapply again but make sure she doesn't interview you again this time. I've heard a lot About that black woman. She is the only black lady there and she is really mean. I also don't think it's necessary to go with your husband when next you want to reapply unless it's necessary that he travels with you. I was granted the visa the 2nd time I applied in April and I went alone. I almost got interviewed by the black woman again but I made sure someone else interviewed me. Better luck next time

nefertitiram:


Mine won't take anything that is not from their own lab. Here are the tests:
Sickle cell test
Basic metabolic profile
Urine culture
Perinatal ABO/Rh antibodies screening
CBC with differential
Hepatitis B with surface antigen
Rubella antibody immune status
HIV 1/2 Antibody screen
Syphilis screen by EIA

That's all they did. The blood they drew eh, I had to exclaim "do you want to finish all the blood in my body "and got an epic response.
"You are pregnant, you are creating more blood than usual"

All the tests were also done with my doc as well. I had to shout as well when the doctor 's assistant almost took all the blood I had in me

Please o. I also need a shipper in Baltimore, Maryland. Thank you

nefertitiram:


There is supposed to be a second stamp that will show when you are to leave. If not check your I-94 on i94.cbp.dhs.gov to know how long you should be in US for.

Will check now. Thanks
Can you please crosscheck the website? Its saying webpage not available

hotmummy2015:


welcome sha post your detailed documentation process when the time comes biko

all the best

I will. Thanks @boldbabe

Olaideodes:

Congrat dear, thank God for wonderful Poe entry,I will keep praying for favour, I am due in July so will be going next month still looking out for a good and cheap flight ticket , but my Poe will probably be JFK before I connect to my final destination.

Sorry a quick one did aliacia book you for an appointment? Or just the estimate email that u printed out and used? You can pm me if you don't mind sister.
God bless you and I wish you safe delivery in Jesus name.

Thank you. She gave me an estimate and I told her the date il be coming to the US, so she also booked me for an appointment with the doctor. I printed everything

hotmummy2015:


9th Nov 2015
Nov is written in words not numbers

Oh , I get it now. Thank you

Newmum15:
Hello,are you staying over in Atlanta?I'm seeing 09/..../2015.Its really not clear.

I'm staying In Maryland.
It's 09 Abu 2015

I'm thinking the 9th is for September. il take a clearer picture.

Olaideodes:
hello sis, please I have some questions for you, please did you use aliacia' email at Poe for doctor Chaudrt? Or how did you do it.As I plan using him too and all what I have is aliacia'so email even when I called she picked.

Hi, was just about to share my POE story. It was God all through. my POE was Atlanta. I wanted to show my e-mail correspondence with Alicia but I was only asked why I was in the US, where I work, how much I had with me and my address. That was it.
Between I Don't underestimate the validity of what the POE officer stamped on my passport. Il attach the picture.

nefertitiram:
The results have been collated from Chicago.
But before I announce the winners, I will read the reports from the RECs of various hospitals.

My journey started with one Family Health Centre in Northside I saw online that bragged of discounted prenatal care and ob gyn services including delivery. I got there and was referred to a navigator who wanted me to apply for one govt program for preggies. I told her okay, and told her I will be back, and moved on.

The following week, I dusted my bathroom slippers and headed to Southside. It was like travelling from Lagos to Ibadan. On getting there, I found two really cheap hospitals. St. Bernard Hosp was $4200 for CS (all inclusive minus doc and paed fees) the other was Roseland Community Hospital, $3700 package price for CS, minus paed but you have to look for a doctor yourself. I think both were like $2500 for normal delivery.
The doctors I saw refused to take self pay patients saying that we cannot afford them and still wanted me to take the dreaded but awfully tempting govt programme for preggies. I finally found a doctor that charged $4000 for CS and $3200 for normal delivery, payable before 36 weeks (that's about $8k for me, not bad!) I kept his contact and continued the ultimate search.

I was tempted to stop there but decided to make a few more enquiries.
St Joseph: $6k for CS (without doc, paed and anaestician fees), $4,500 for normal

Northwestern: $25k for mum, $5k for baby, without professional fees) for CS

Rush: $20k without prof fees for CS

Mercy Hosp: $7,800 for CS, without prof fees ($3900 payable on registration, balance before 38 weeks)

Then finally John H. Stroger hospital of Cook County. The Rivers and Akwa Ibom state of them all. As soon as I walked in, they asked me to go to registration. I want to enquire about pricing. They say go to Financial assistance. At the F.A office, they ask for your bill.
I don't have a bill, I want to enquire about pricing.
Do you have insurance?
No.
Do you want to register for one of our financial aid programmes?
No. I want to know how much for CS delivery.
We don't give out pricing here, go to Billing.

I head to Billing. Same barrade of questions. Finally, the truth comes out. We don't give out estimates, we can't give you a bill till after your treatment and discharge. If you don't apply for financial assistance, you will be responsible for your full bill.
Oh boy, see one chance.
So I ask people in my circle, a lot have used cook county. One was charged $18k for complicated VB with 2 extra days, another $40k for complicated CS delivery of twin babies. Another set claim they paid $7k plus for CS delivery, and $5k plus for VB. Who will I believe now? Jega is confused!

So, tentatively, here is the result. I'm looking at the SS hosp with the package of $3700, and the Doc fees of $4000. I may change my mind sha and head for cook county if I can get concrete proof that I won't get $100k bill at the end of the day

I will still check out a couple of other hospitals, Swedish Convenant, Mount Sinai, St. Anthony for the benefit of information and share. Most of the prices I hear are not so bad for routine pregnancies with Normal delivery. I am even resorting to prayers to have normal delivery o! Cos these CS prices are giving me an ear ache.

So there you have it. I was able to find a package of $7,700 + $300 or so for paed here in chicago. Kudos to those who assisted my search, all the PMs and directions, all of you rock!

If you ever think of heading to Chicago, PM me, let's visit Hong Kong Buffet together and eat till we can eat no more!

One love, and God bless America!!!

Well done my sister. You really tried. I envy your dedication and strength. God bless you for sharing.

I've made a decision to go to Maryland and Wil be using Dr Chaudrt. Any mom to be in MD can contact me for hook ups and shopping to while away time. Il be staying In Baltimore.

bachangel:
Hello everyone! Congrats to all the Mums to be.. Been following this blog for a while now. I have been married for about a year now and we are expecting our 1st child.

My question comes from a very different direction. wonder if anyone has questioned or attempted to justify how worth it having a baby in the US is? When I worked out the costs, with the current exchange rate it works out to be N4m. (This is about a quarter of our savings).

N4m includes flights, hospital bills, shopping and accomodation. Although I will be staying with family before the baby is born and will move to an apartment when my hubby joins me just before baby and afterwards. I do like my space, especially at such a sensitive time. It also seems to me that several people are fine with having a baby in the US while their husbands stay back at home maybe to save cost or whatever but that is out of the question for me and his presence is the most important thing but that raises cost a bit.

So my husband and I are really unsure for the following reasons.

1. Giving birth in Nig will cost me N0.00k because my office will pay for it all. In the US we have to spend a reasonable chunk of our savings.

2. There is no risk of my hubby missing the birth cuz in the US he can only be away from work for 3 weeks max and babies smtimes decide to come out 2 weeks ealier or later, making it hard for him to be there in time and also leave the US together.

3. In Nigeria, I can work up until the week I'm due, leaving me plenty of time to spend with my baby afterwards.

4. I can have a proper naming ceremony 8 days afterwards with my whole family, also sentimentally, the same Doctor that brought me into this world 30 years ago, will also be my OBGYN and help deliver my own child.

5. I would be in my own comfortable space at home, and its just less stressful than the logistics of travelling.

Ofcourse the advantages of the US, ...the passport and....not sure what else...better healthcare I guess.

So my question to other Mums to be, Did you struggle with these kind of thoughts or other sentimental reasons? It wld be nice to hear your feedback. Between I already have a US visa.

Thanks!

P.S: Because Ive seen how abusive it can get here, I hope people can genuinely see I am only sharing my concerns and trying to see if others had similar concerns. If these things never crossed your mind, lucky u.

The American passport is above all you have mentioned above. With the way things are going these days ,I'm sure that you won't want your child to come home 1 day from school crying that all his classmates are US citizens. Its better to lay that foundation now if you can afford it.

jascon1:
oh k. Your idea isn't bad anyways. She can cancel then seek a refund.

When she books, she does not need to pay. You only need to fill in your card info. You will only be charged if you use the hotel.

nefertitiram:


Hehehehe, abi counting on me to confirm or disprove that there may be a stroke of luck that a cheaper option exists in chicago.

Yes ooo

[quote author=nefertitiram post=32975417][/quote]

Please we are counting on you on hospitals that aren't expensive in chicago

modath:


Are you sure about the chicago plan? Why not the california hospital @mamatobe&@chika used, mhis or mobap?

In case you find a budget friendly option, pls fill a sis in cos we tried but couldn't find. I'm gonna land first in chicago(family) before I port to wherever "pocket" directs but missouri seems to be winning now cos of its proximity to illinois of all the available options.

Is there something wrong with going to Chicago? I decided on Chicago cos I have someone there. I don't have anyone in Arizona or carlifornia

I changed my mind about going to Columbus. I found out its really expensive to give birth there. I'm thinking of Chicago now. I'm still researching about hospitals there thou. In case anyone knows of cheap hospitals there, please kindly let me know.

Hi everyone. I got the visa today. Thank you all that responded to my earlier questions regarding to the Birth plan.
I'm in a new dilemma now, ill be going to Columbus, does anyone know any reputable hospital that isn't too expensive? My budget for hospital and doctor's fee is $6k. Thanks

Phema:


Did you already state you will be going to Phoenix /MIHS? If not, I will sincerely not advise anyone to use MIHS for visa interview purposes. Their correspondence is not so detailed.

Thanks everyone for the reply.
I already stated at the embassy that I'll be using MIHS so I don't think I can change it anymore. However, I got In touch with El Paso and they replied immediately to my questions. Im thinking of taking my correspondence with them to the embassy as a backup just in case. What do you think?

segbas:
Hello,
did you have doctors appointmnet at MIHS if not try and call hem to book an appointment.
a Birth Plan will consist of your expenses plan, from hospital cost to ur ticket fare, to accommodation in US etc,
I have sent you PM, reply it then I will send a copy to you. All The Best

Thanks for the reply

please I need an urgent reply on this if anyone can help out. I was at the US embassy last week and I was given an admin letter to come back with my corresponce with the doctor and a birth plan. I've gotten the corresponce but I feel its not detailed enough. I got a reminder from the doctor about my upcoming appointment and I also replied. Is that enough to take back to the embassy? Also, I'd like to know what a birth plan constitutes. I'm planning on using MIHS.

i notice that any time i use a sunscreen, i go really darker, so i had 2 stop using any sunscreen. is it just me or does it happen to evry1?

I keep wondering about this topic evryday... I'm still single and i want to get married someday but I'm scared of marriage. 90% of the marriages around me are crashing everyday and these marriages lasts between 6-2years. I really wonder what's going on with our generation and commitment

God help us o. Flew Qatar just on tuesday afternoon. Scared of flying it back. It is well