Insurance junk

Yesterday I was on the phone for over two hours and transferred five times to try to get someone to tell me what was happening with my baby's next surgery. Today I'm on the phone less than 20 minutes and the first person helps me. Now I have the right numbers to call for next time. Getting things moving for his palate surgery is proving harder than I thought. Today I am thankful for someone being able to take the time to tell me what is going on. And for the record, insurance companies are somewhat ridiculous. I wish we could afford to just pay cash up front and avoid this authorization nonsense.
We have been waiting for preauthorization from insurance for the surgery. This morning Shriner's called me to say they got a denial from our insurance because Shriner's is not in their hospital network. He told me we have to appeal to insurance, and when they come back with a second denial (which they will) then we have to apply for the surgery through Shriner's Charities. UGH! I really wish someone would have told me this when I first started calling about the surgery back in November. We would have had loads of time to get all of this done before his birthday. Originally the surgeon wanted to wait until he turned one year to do the surgery. That is in two weeks!
I think the thing I am most impatient about right now is how much I miss being able to put him in the high chair with a pile of cheerios to munch on while I do things like fold laundry and cook dinner. I have told Brady a few times recently that I would love to give him the same dinner we are having, like clam chowder, spaghetti, and mashed potatoes, but I can't because he would either choke on everything and/or get it all stuck up in his open sinus cavity. Pureed baby food is hard enough to get him to swallow. He will most likely be on formula until about 2-3 weeks after his palate is fixed and then he can have regular people food. My friend, who had a cleft baby, told me she put formula and smoothies in coffee cups for her baby to eat because he wasn't allowed to suck bottles or eat anything solid at all until the stiches healed up. So that is what I have to look forward to in the near future.