Being pregnant is expensive!

Whoa mama. While I'm more than 5 months pregnant, I'm just seeing the first EOBs from my insurance provider on my early visits and lab work. Wow, being pregnant is pricey. I'm adding this to the list of "things I wish someone had told me before I got pregnant" so I could have planned better.

For all those aspiring moms-to-be, take this as a word of advice. PUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN IN YOUR FSA.

The deal is -- you should really understand your insurance plan well before you get pregnant -- for example, ours covers 90% of lab work after my $175 deductible is satisfied. 90% always sounded like a pretty good deal. A good deal, that is, until my first lab work bill came back and I already have to pay $220, plus the $175 deductible. That's nearly $400 gone from my FSA instantly, and for every test my doctor runs (and has run since then) -- I am responsible for paying 10%.

When the test runs $1.24, not a big deal. When the test costs $179.88, it's a bigger deal. And when your doctor runs 11 different blood tests from one appointment, um...you're in for a surprise.

So take this as a word of advice -- study your insurance plan. Make sure you understand every nook and cranny, and make some wise decisions about contributing to your FSA in preparation for something like pregnancy.

Here's to an expensive 5 months to come. Sigh....