I think Derek has officially caught the racing bug!
Yesterday he was googling upcoming races in his area and today he sent me this text:
Signed up for a 5k this weekend. 🙂
I read it with a burst of pride. I told him racing was addicting!
Who knows? Maybe one day I can talk him into doing a marathon with me. One step at a time though. 😉
Reading that also made me realize my next race isn’t until the end of November. *Sniff *Sniff
My mi-morning Honeycrisp Apple helped cheer me up.
In times of sadness its best to stay away from the sweets and have an apple instead. Especially a naturally sweet, refreshing Honeycrisp apple!
I couldn’t wait to have more of my homemade Black Bean Salsa for lunch today.
I made a semi-healthy version of nachos by piling a lot goodies on top of the last of a bag of Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.
Topping included:
- Black Bean Salsa
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Jalapenos
- Snap Peas
- Plain Oikos
The chips were mostly crumbs so I are the meal with a fork.
Delicious!
Infant deemed ‘too fat’…
Apparently the 4 month old – who has been fed nothing but a diet of breast milk from birth – ranks in the 99th percent tile for height and weight of his age and the insurance company refuses to cover any baby above the 95th percent tile stating ‘obesity’ as a pre-existing condition.
The parents are pretty angry about the situation and I think I would be too. Their child eats when he is hungry and is a healthy thriving baby boy. The pediatrician had never shown any concern about the baby’s weight and both parents are far from being obese themselves.
Now, I can understand if the baby was being fed excess amounts of ‘junk’ or if the parents were obese themselves, but neither is true in this case. It’s just one of those situations where an insurance company is looking for any loop hole possible to deny a family coverage.
What’s your take on the situation?
I heard about that story and I would be just as annoyed if the baby ate junk food or the parents were obese. It’s a baby that has no control over what it is fed in the first place. Insurance companies make me sick.
good for that mom and dad for going to the media!!! thats exactly what i wouldve done.
That story is awful.
I always prefer an apple over junk food..it satisfies the cravings!
How much do they expect a 4 month old to weigh. Most babies are born between 6 – 9 pounds. In 4 months for a now active baby I don’t think 8 – 9 pounds is excessive. He has to be able to hold his head up and roll over. And hello Breast Fed is Best Fed, he is getting nothing but the best.
Sorry this story is getting to me because basically the insurance company is asking for you to have a less than perfect child to get coverage, but then they would just find other problems.
That poor child. That’s just an awful situation all around I think
And way to spread the disease 😉
That story is terrible. Insurance companies need to simmer down and realize what they are doing. Ohh I could go on for days on this topic, it makes me so mad.
that’s awesome that he signed up for another race!
I hadn’t heard about this, but that’s ridiculous.
I dislike insurance companies. I think it’s a ploy to buy baby formula instead instead of using breast milk.
What a horrible situation, I can’t imagine what those poor parents are going through. I have never been a fan of insurance companies.
Hmmm…someone should look into if the insurance company has dealing with any food companies that put out formula. I bet there’s a link somewhere.
The racing virus is a good bug to catch…yea Derek!
That is so sad about the baby and the insurance. They should be required to cover every baby, whether they have pre-existing medical conditions or not.
Thats horrible that they wont cover that baby! Our insurance system is flawed in so many ways. The child is eating what he is supposed to be eating breast milk!!
Yeah for Derek!
I hadn’t heard about that baby, but maybe there is something medically wrong with him to be that big only drinking breast milk?
WOW. That’s ridiculous about that baby! My god! That seriously pisses me off. Oh how I despise insurance companies.
I find that story soo ridiculous… it’s true, the insurance companies are corrupt & I feel so awful for the family! 🙁
That apple looks scrumptious… I had my first Honeycrisp of the season this afternoon and it was perfection 🙂 Sweet enough to be “dessert” in my opinion!
I think it is probably one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. For one, I can’t believe that any healthy four-month-old baby could be called “obese.” Two, the Mom needs to be *applauded* for breast-feeding her baby, not subjected to nasty stuff like this. And three, “pre-existing” conditions are one of the worst things insurance companies have ever created and imposed on human kind. It’s despicable!
Go Derek!!
That is completely insane. It is of my opinion that insurance companies will do most anything to deny coverage, and don’t actually care whether or not people have access to health insurance or not. The parents should sue.
On another track – love honey crisp apples! They’re so yummy!
Insurance companies suck! I think this is awful! Its awesome that Derek signed up for a 5k this weekend.
Never heard the story..silly..As far as the racing bug goes, I knew he would! It’s contagious! I’ve already been looking at our fall racing schedule for some 5ks to fill the holes in my marathon training!
i heard about that infant. it is such garbage!!
I work for a large health insurance company (not in underwriting, thank goodness) and even I think that case is ridiculous. Having any sort of “obesity” standard for a child who isn’t even walking yet seems absurd. Babies know how to regulate their own hunger better than us adults, and to imply otherwise is just false. Sigh.
I loved the dad’s joke about putting the kid on the treadmill. It’s nice to see that they are able to maintain at least a little bit of a sense of humor about an awful situation.
I don’t understand how it would be considered a pre-existing condition. It’s a newborn!!
I work in the insurance field and it floors me EVERY SINGLE DAY to see the stuff they deny. I urge everyone to find an agent that will go over every single detail of the policy with confidence just because of cases like this. It may be money that could be used to pay the cable bill, but it’s worth it to have as much coverage, and understanding of the coverage, as you can get because the minute you need it, it won’t be there!
BTW – Your black bean salsa looks scrumptious!
I hadn’t heard about that case either, but it made me think about my family – my brother, sister, and I were off the charts in terms of height and weight almost as soon as we were born. We were all giant kids! I remember a doctor having to write in my height as a little kid on a separate chart! Thank god no one ever denied us coverage for anything and that we were fortunate enough to even have health insurance. It’s scary to think of things like that now!
Now I want an apple! Congrats to Derek for another race!!
It absurd. And the kid is proportional. It’s not like he’s a short fat little thing (which would make no difference), but he’s tall and big.
Yay for Derek! Are you going to be his cheerleader? You should make him write a race recap for the blog 🙂
OMG, that is crazy! It makes me wonder what the mom is eating to produce such rich milk. I’m glad you included that she wasn’t overweight. My gosh, I just can’t even imagine. Hopefully all the publicity will help get these people coverage.
yeah I agree total guest post is in order when Derek finishes his race!
That story is just ridiculous..
That is a really awful story with the baby. On a brighter note-I completely agree with racing. I can’t get enough! I’m trying to convince my boyfriend and more of my friends to join in the fun!
I heard this story on the news last night and I WAS FUMING MAD! It really hits home to me because I have a healthy, thriving, exclusively breastfed, 18 POUND 4 month old. The Pediatrician said he is just healthy as can be, and he is fed when he is hungry – breast milk is natures perfect food and is digested very quickly. Also the first year of an infants life is the fastest period of growth ever. Some just develop faster than others and you usually see the weight distribute more evenly, and some even slim down when they become more mobile. My little guy is in the 90+ percentile for both height and weight though, so he doesn’t look too large he just appears older than he really is. Like the couple as well, I am not overweight and my diet is not filled with junk at all. I try to eat as healthy as possible for the benefit of myself and my son. With my first son my diet wasn’t near as good as it is today and he actually was only 14 lbs at 4 months and was always in the lower percentile for weight (exclusively breastfed too). It just proves that all babies grow differently. How on Earth they can say that this baby boys size was a pre-existing condition is beyond me. He is 4 months old for crying out loud, he can’t even make any of his own decisions. All he knows is that he is fed from his mommy and he knows she will be there for him to take care of his needs.
I could go on forever, sorry…I just get so mad.
GO DEREK!!! hehe 🙂
Okay, I’m a pediatrician and I find the refusal of insurance to a baby ridiculous! Babies are some of the most vulnerable people there are. When they are so young, they are the most impressionable and even if this baby’s large size (at 17 pounds…NOT 8-9) HAD been due to parents feeding him french fries (which YES parents DO! I’ve had a parent trying to feed a 2 month of french fries!), etc…the baby has not made the choice to eat this and denying health insurance is just going to keep the parents from bringing the baby to the doctor…which is where they are going to receive instruction on what is appropriate to feed baby, etc. Many people, if they don’t have health insurance aren’t going to bring their baby to see the doctor unless they are sick…then they will go to the ER.
One of the things in this baby’s favor is that he is 99% in BOTH height and weight. If he had been 50% in height and 99% in weight, there might be something to be concerned about…but going to a doctor, and at that point an endocrinologist, would maybe be part of the answer…NOT denying the baby insurance! So, even if it was a pre-existing condition, it would be something that could probably be treated! In general a baby should triple birth weight in one year. So with an 8lb BW, he should be 24 pounds at one year. And YES, breast is best (unless you can’t and then formula is! 😉 )!!!
FYI: It looks like the company has made some changes in policy. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13547963
that makes me ill… big babies run in my family so i can point to several family members that were HUGE as babies and are now quite thin. breast milk is the best thing you can give to your child and that sort of natural fat is very healthy when you’re a growing baby. i’m shocked!
The ladies on the View were discussing this on their show this morning and lost their minds!! They were really mad…and I think it is ridic as well. Sounds like one more excuse for an insurance company to get out of doing what is right. Luckily the dad was a local newscaster and brought the story to light.
Courtney
Adventures in Tri-ing
does it not make sense that a child in the 99th percentile for height might also be in the 99th percentile for weight? that is what one would call proportional. also looking at the boy’s picture i would say he looks chubby (as most babies do) and healthy… not “obese”. he looks like i did when i was a baby and how all the babies in my family looked, tall and “big”. i would like to point out that as adults most of my family members are tall, athletic, and lean but muscular.
that story is awful and so sad.
the baby is clearly a healthy little boy and the parents are doing everything right! so wrong.
jenna
That story is terrible, it makes me so upset to live in a country where “too fat” leaves any person uninsurable.
As a person recovering from an eating disorder, i know all too well the issues with insurance and weight criteria.
This is why it’s so important to keep pushing congress and our representatives to include eating disorders as an illness worth coverage. This would in turn protect others from weight discrimination of any kind!
The story about the baby is terrible! Like people said above, if the parents were feeding the baby FOOD and he was overweight, that would be one thing. But when his entire diet is breast milk and his height and weight are proportionate, it’s completely ridiculous.
Just another reason the insurance companies in this country need to be regulated and broken down.
That’s so great to hear Derek’s into racing!!! Good for him! 😀
And that story about the baby is terrible 🙁 I could understand if the parents were overfeeding him, but they’re not! They’re being good, responsible parents and giving him good, healthy breastmilk. He’s a growing boy!!
Some people have no hearts 🙁
Yay for Derek!
We were JUST having a convo about that baby in Nutrition class today. RIDICULOUS! Babies are SUPPOSED to be fat. He’ll even out- breast milk is the most healthy food he could be eating!! Some people just don’t understand.
oh i’m glad claire already stepped in and said what i would say 🙂
i’m also in pediatrics (3rd year resident) and i’ve seen a ton of 17 lb 4 month olds. i wouldn’t even blink an eye at that size, and plenty of breastfed babies do tend to grow above the curve. and actually, the guidelines are to double your birthweight by 4-5 months, then triple by a year — so this kid isn’t too far off! if it’s really true about the insurance company, that is SO wrong.
kind of like how mountain dew in babies bottles is also wrong. but i’ve seen that too!
Honeycrisp makes EVERYTHING better!
I would love if you and Derek did a marathon together; it’s the ultimate romantic feat!
That is disgusting and wrong of that insurance company. They will sometimes just do anything to deny coverage I feel! I don’t feel like Universal Healthcare is the answer but I think there needs to be something to regulate stuff like this!!
Woohoo Derek!
That’s awesome that he’s taken the initiative to get out there himself. How cool! You’ve got another runner on your hands.
Glad to hear that Derek signed up for another race!
I’m hoping that racing is addicting…my first actual 10K race is three weeks away. Training has been rough because of a couple of injuries, but it’s gotten better.
Insurance companies are infuriating. So many of the underwriters and other people don’t know anything about health….some do, but many don’t. The one who said this baby is fat is clearly in the wrong. I hope that they can get the decision overturned. Healthcare is important, and so many people are denied…it’s just not right.
Thanks for posting the story–I hadn’t yet seen it.
I’m really saddened by the “big” baby story. Both my kids were breastfed, chubby and happy. My son, who was nearly 20 lbs by 4mos is now 6’1″ and skinny and STRONG. The pendulum has swung too far in this instance.
Go Derek! Races are so exciting and they definitely keep you motivated. I’m not doing another one until Thanksgiving so I hear ya 😉
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