All things Albany NY area. Freaking out, possible move.....

[larzanna]

Hi Albany mommas:

Hopefully some of you can help me to calm down about moving to NY state, Albany in particular. My husband has a very promising interview for a promotion this Friday. It would be right in downtown Albany.  I don't want to move :( especially with a toddler and a will be new baby (i am due with #2 in March), oh and 5 cats and a dog.

I have been trying to do some research on NY state since all i really know is that its cold and expensive, and i am scaring myself! It just seems so big government, high tax, up in my business kind of state :(  so if any of you "crunchy" mommies can set the record straight for me i would be so appreciative! I was in tears last night and this whole thing, not knowing whats true and whats rumors is really stressing me out!

I know with some of this i am borrowing trouble since it will be a few years before we have baby # 3, and a few years before i have to worry about schooling for #1. But i would rather know whats up going into it, than wait until last minute and then have no plan. We would even consider living over the border if need be, but that would be a long commute.

-How are the BF laws?

-What about home birth? How easy? Does this state risk out many people. What i mean by that is that there are some states where VBAC and twins and breech are illegal. Here home birth midwives are not "legal" but they are also not explicitly "illegal" so yes, its easy to find a MW to do a VBAC/twin/breech birth.

-What about hospital births? Is it true that you cannot decline "routine newborn stuff" w/o CPS being called on you? While i am a homebirther you never know what can happen. I transferred with my first and we just declined everything, signed ourselves out AMA and left the next morning. No issues at all.  

-Vaccines? We are VERY selective and delayed. What exemptions are there and how easy are they to get? Here in Ohio we have a philosophical, religious and medical exemption. Basically you just say you don't believe in them and no questions asked. There is like one piece of paperwork to fill out for school, and again, no big deal.

-How is homeschooling? Again, here its pretty easy, you file your paperwork and done. There are a few homeschooling groups, the local science center is very positive to the homeschooling crowd ect ect.....

I am not even sure i want to homeschool, but depending on what the vaccine issue may be i might have to.

Thank you to any of you that can ease my fears about this!! Its going to be hard enough dealing with finding a place we want to live and can afford (due to the CRAZY taxes OMG?!), and a new Dr, and a new vet, and a new.......

If my husband gets this job (we should know by Christmas) i will be posting again to get names of recommended providers as well as recommended neighborhoods to live.

Thanks for reading!

-Larissa

[tinybirds]

I can answer the first three pretty well. This will be long!

- The breastfeeding laws here are very liberal. A mother can breastfeed her child as needed in public, whenever needed. No restrictions. The actual atmosphere in this area is quite accepting of NIP, but it also depends on the circles you keep and where you are. If you nurse at the co-op, nobody bats an eye :)

-Home birth options are AWESOME now, thanks to NY's Midwifery Modernization Act which allows CPMs and CNMs to work independently. We have quite a few licensed MW's who can attend home birth:

Sage Femme Midwifery

Kelly McDermott CNM, Maureen Muphy LM, Heidi Ricks CPM (I'll be using these ladies for my birth in Aug/Sept!)

Family Life Center

Betsy Mercogliano CNM and Tisha Graham CPM

Jennifer Fegan, CPM

Local Care Midwifery

K Michelle Doyle, CNM

Woman Way

Jenna Houston CPM (not as likely to serve Albany area now, usually more Columbia County)

Susan Rannestad is based out of the Catskill mountains and is AWESOME, she may be able to attend in the Albany area if no other midwife can/will.

Capital Region Midwifery just opened a practice, but all of the with the exception of Kelly McDermott (who moonlights) deliver at Burdett Care Center. Which is were you'll want to go if you have to trasnfer, as they are most NCB friendly and the only ones in the area who actually allow water birth. Bellevue allows laboring in the tub but will force you to get on the bed to push. There are some issues with BCC still being worked out, as they just merged with another hospital and the level of care has gone down considerably. The level of lactation support from the nurses on staff is not as strong and they currently don't have a peds unit (meaning if baby has a complication, you'll need to transfer about 20 mins away). But I digress, they're a great backup plan when you know you probably won't need 'em :) Just a note: do not step foot in Albany Medical Center or Saratoga Hospital for birth. Just. Don't. Unless you absolutely medically need to.

NYS doesn't usually regulate risk outs, it's up to the midwives or the practice to do that. Some are more lenient than others when determining risk, which can also be due to insurance regulations (which can usually be resolved on the home level by not using insurance, if it comes down to that or not having a home birth, KWIM?) Kelly is considered the renegade of the bunch, willing to take on higher risk moms who are usually destined for the hospital. Since she has delivery rights at Burdett, if there is a need for transfer, she becomes their supervising midwife at the hospital itself and fights tooth and nail for what moms want. Betsy is also awesome when it comes to risks. She has been known to risk out moms for actual medical complications that SHOULD be taken care of in the hospital (like blood not being able to clot, etc) but is comfortable with things like breech birth, VBAC and twins. I do know that she no longer takes labors earlier than 36-37 weeks because of an issue she had attending a 35 weeker who needed NICU care. So I'd recommend them if you would regularly fall into a "high risk" category in the hospital.

-at hospital births, there are actual NYS requirements as far as neonatal care goes. The mom must either take an HIV test prenatally or have the baby heel sticked for it after birth. The vit K and drops are also state requirements, though I think you may be able to negotiate on that. I birthed at St. Mary's (now Burdett) and just wiped the drops out soon after. I was not really in a state to accept or decline anything though. Turns out, the anesthesiologist on staff decided to give me a pre-cesarean HUGE dose of morphine in my IV. yeah, haha. They don't usually report other things, depending on how lenient or respectful of parental wishes they are. I do know that Saratoga hospital in particular WILL report that type of thing to CPS, even going as far as threatening to not let mom leave the hospital if she didn't have a nurse watch her give her baby a bottle of formula...even though the baby only lost 10% of body weight, not indicated at ll. I signed out AMA from St. Mary's and they didn't give me a hard time, though I did have midwives and it wasn't an emergency. However, they did go ahead and bill my insurance for procedures I did not have, so that's something to consider. Many nurses and doctors WILL charge your insurance if you do AMA and you've gotta be ready to fight.

Anyhow, sorry if this is super rambly! I am a chapter leader of Eats on Feets NY (for milk donation) and run a local Upstate Moms Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/EOFNY/ would love if you joined! planning on getting a meeting in in January! I'm also a birth and postpartum doula as well as a lactation counselor. If you need my services, feel free to stop by my business page :) http://www.facebook.com/MothersChoice

[neverloc]

Thanks for posting that. I'm in the Albany area and freaking out. I don't have friends who are/have been pregnant, our families are at least 500 miles away and my sister, who is pregnant, thinks I've been sniffing glue for wanting to BF, take classes, etc. 

We're due in August (I know, super early still) and have been considering doulas, Bradley, the whole bit. So overwhelming. I know I want them on a gradual vaccine schedule and I know I will be most comfortable in the hospital under my terms. So much to take in!

[mom2ingy]

Vaccine exemptions are not easy in NY. AFAIK there are no philosophical exemptions; only medical and religious (and those are not easy to come by either). The 'good news' (if you can call it that) is that the actual vaccination requirements for school entrance are far less than the CDC schedule: http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2370.pdf

[larzanna]

Thank you for the information. Tinybirds that was very complete, and i saved the info for future reference.

Thats really a bummer about the vaccines.....what do non and selective vaxers do there? Move out of state? haha. We did start the DTaP at age two, so he will be done with that one. But that MMR i was planning on waiting for a looooonnngggg time. (my sister almost died after hers). I was planning on doing polio at some point as well.

Does anyone have any info or contacts about homeschooling?

Thanks again. DH had a second interview today that his words he,  "aced it!"

ACKKKKKK and wahhhhhhh i really don't want to move.

I should start another thread entitled "tell me whats great about Albany NY!"

-Larissa

[albanymomma]

Your home birth options in Albany are very good. I can highly recommend Local Care Midwifery. Michelle Doyle is wonderful!

As far as what's great about Albany: There are lots of good restaurants. The pizza here is some of the best in the world. DeFazios in Troy is comparable to the pizza I had in Rome.

There are some very good movie theatres. I love the Spectrum in Albany.

Its a great place to live because it is a three hour drive from NYC, Boston, and Montreal, which means it is very convenient for vacation, business, shopping and day trips.

Some of the architecture in both Troy and Albany is spectacular. They are lovely places to wander around in.

There are free concerts on the river every summer, which are usually fun and full of happy dancing children. And if you like music, it is close to both the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Tanglewood which host a variety of events including Symphony, ballet, opera, rock, jazz concerts.

Oh and free plays and musicals in Washington Park - which leads me to the Tulip Festival. This is the pride of albany, celebrating its Dutch history every spring with beautiful displays of tulips.

to name a few

Don't worry, Albany is a good place to be.

[neverloc]

I'm sorry, but Albany proper is not a good place to be. It's a good place to visit and leave. I say this because we live in Albany proper (across from Washington Park) and doing our darndest to get to Colonie, CP, etc...just out of Albany. I probably wouldn't live in Troy, either. We have a great landlord, but the area is quickly becoming not safe, even with increased foot patrols. Even moving out towards SUNY means its hard b/c you can't tell what is student and what isn't. Property taxes are ridiculous, btw. The only reason we're where we're at now is because it's six blocks from my work. 

[AlexisT]

Vit. K and eye ointment are mandated by law. No exceptions, not negotiable. CPS will be called. Only way out is to HB; some MWs will look the other way.

You must have a religious objection to the practice of vaccination. No selective vax exemptions. And the school district is allowed to question your sincerity. Do not file for a vaccine exemption in NYS without being very clear on what is required.

The Midwifery Modernization Act only removed the written agreement requirement. CPMs are still not legally recognized. They may become recognized by meeting additional state requirements. New York DOES mandate home birth coverage if a policy is written in the state and the company is not self-insured (which exempts it from state law on insurance).

[tinybirds]

Yeah I should have specified: CPMs who have obtained licensure :) The current reqs are CPM and masters degree and some other stuff.

[tinybirds]

and I really think it's all in where you live. The Central Ave side of Washington park is pretty bad, but there are some great neighborhoods. I live in Beverwyck and other than a neighbor who has a dog with a serious poop problem, we haven't had any issues. Taxes aren't TOO bad, compared to suburbs around here. We pay around $2500 a year. My parents in Schodack pay $6,000-7,000! Colonie is much cheaper though. I will say that the school districts have me a little worried, but we are hoping to have our son go to the Free School (despite family complaints, lol!) It's rally focused on independent work and field trips, hands on stuff etc. Similar to unschooling but in a social environment, they do all their own gardening and things like that. Betsy the MW and her husband are actually the heads of the program :)

[larzanna]

So, AlexisT:  (and anyone else)

Since vaccine exemptions are so hard to get in NYS what do selective vaxers do in all seriousness?  

Do you know if private schools or Montessori schools (which is what direction i am thinking anyway) have the same (almost non negotiable) vaccine requirements?

In addition, since vaxing for school seems to be such an issue, will i be able to find a GP or FP doctor who is ok with my decisions (selective/delayed)?

Finding a Dr is probably my biggest worry since in theory if NYS is soooooo bad about this stuff we COULD probably get out before school even becomes an issue, but it would mean yet another move. :(   But i HAVE to have a Dr. that's not something i can do without.

Thanks everyone for all the information!!! Keep it coming!

We find out about the job most likely tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wed......

-Larissa

[sahmof2girls]

I live in Cambridge and DP works in Albany.  We delay vax, and I only had one issue when dd2 was about 20 months and my ped called NYS.(NOT my ped anymore)  The nurse came to my house, looked at dd and laughed, and said I legally have to do this exam but I can tell there is no need.  That was that.  As far as school, our school has never asked for our missing vax records.  I don't know if it is error or what, but my oldest is now in 5th grade and second is in 2nd grade and never had an issue.   Everyone else pretty much covered breastfeeding.  Cambridge is basically pretty crunchy as it is. As far as living in Albany, I don't really know what to offer you about that.  Good luck mama!

[AlexisT]

I honestly don't know what people do. Once upon a time it may have been possible to go under the radar, but NYS now has a vaccine registry. If your child was previously vaccinated you can, of course, decide not to from that point forward, but you can't get any more without losing your exemption. I'm from downstate, so I can't say how things vary from place to place, but my home area is known for grilling parents on sincerity.

The requirements apply to all schools--public, private, and parochial, and I know of religious schools that have rejected religious exemptions (I've heard conflicting info on whether or not it's legal, but it absolutely happens. Don't know about secular schools.)

[girlfromthenc]

We have found the vaccine issue to be more of an annoyance than an actual problem. We have a fantastic pediatrician that we drive 40mins to Albany for, and he's very accepting of non-vaccinating patients. He will want to know your reasons for not, but he will not push you at all. I think he just wants to make sure you've done some research and are educated on the risks either way. We ended up doing DTAP, because we were concerned about tetanus, but we waited until the kids were 5 and 3 and it was fine. That's the only one we've done. Feel free to PM me for his info. I don't want to spread it publicly, because our dr. before him became well known and ended up being basically run out of the country to Australia, which was really devastating to the non-vaxing community. This doctor is also fantastic about breastfeeding. A friend of mine told him she was still nursing her 3 yo, and his response was: 'wow, what a lucky little girl!"

About schools... We homeschooled until my first son was 6, and it was not really working out. We ended up putting him in a montessori school (about 15-20mins from albany), and it hasn't been a problem. They pretty much just look the other way. We did have to fill out the standard medical form, but it wasn't even discussed. I know that about half the kids aren't vaccinated.

Good luck!!