It's RSV season. So, what does that mean? It means that there are lots of yucky 'cold' germs out there that will cause you and I to get a runny nose, maybe congestion, a little cough, etc. Symptoms that we normally wouldn't even think anything about; not a big deal and for most of us it's a winter certainty. However, this little cold to you and I could potentially send Carter, Brayden, and Tucker to the hospital with infected, inflamed and swollen lungs. They'll wheeze like they have asthma and cough like they have severe bronchitis or pneumonia. This is due to the premature, smaller than normal, airways the babies are breathing through.

These mom's have also written about RSV, the precautions they're taking, and what that means for friends and family. Click here, and here, and here to see what they have to say and what they're doing.

I'm asking friends and family to be very mindful of germs and wash up before touching the boys and don't come around with even the slightest cold. We love you, but not your germs.

Taylor, a normal healthy full term baby actually had RSV before he turned a year old. We were able to treat him at home with albuterol breathing treatments. We were lucky. He was in daycare and during his first year of life I think he got every single cold and flu bug there was, and now he's healthy and rarely gets sick.

Now for some good news. There is a shot, similar to the flu shot, but for RSV. It helps to protect babies fragile lungs from this virus that loves to settle into them. For more info on the Synagis shot, click here. When we went into the doctor for their 4 month check up we were told that the boys would most likely not qualify for the shots; they were too healthy, not in daycare, etc. However, they do have a school age big brother. Therefore, the doctor's office tried to get us approved for the shots, and DID! Good news, right? Well, the shots are $1,800 per 50ML. The boys need 150ML right now and will be taking the full 200ML before we're done. I'm no math genius, but let me do a little number crunching here. $1800/50ml x 4 for a full dose = $7,200 per shot x 3 babies = $21,600 each time we go to the doctor x 6 months of shots = $129,600 total. Okay, that's based on the full 200ML dose that they will be getting, so in all actually, it's really about $115,200 for us. Now, since we were approved, insurance will pay 80%. $115,200 x 20% (our share) = $23,040 over the next 6 months. I was so upset. We got the call, we were approved, we could take steps to help protect our boys, and I was going to have to tell them we could not afford it and we were going to have to take our chances with our boys' health. SO UPSET.

I called the doctor's office to cancel the appointment. When I told them why, they transferred me to their billing specialist who only handles the Synagis billings and she - ready for this - told me --- not to worry about it. I have to pay only my $15/visit/child co-pay (so $45/month). So, we'll be paying a total of $270 for the $100,000+ shots! The boys got their first shot this morning and they will get 5 more over the next 5 months. They told me that they want them to get a flu shot at their 6 month visit next month, so I guess they'll be getting that too... I don't know, I've always been leery of flu shots, but I guess I should do as the dr says.

Oh, their 5 month weights are:

Carter - 16lbs 11oz
Brayden - 17lbs 11oz
Tucker - 15lbs 13oz