What We Bought, Brought...... And Forgot!!

As promised, I thought that while we have some time (Blaze is sleeping) I would like to reflect back on our preparations to travel to Mumbai for the birth of our baby, and especially what we thought was important to bring along with us.  Many IP's who came before us have generously compiled lists of items that they have brought, which has been of great benefit to us and others.  This list is by no means is an end-all of lists.  It is our list and what we thought was important.  As new parents it becomes sort of a trial and error process, unless you know exactly what you need or have used a particular item in the past.  For us in the US, there are numerous large department stores that cater solely to your beautiful baby.  They are designed so that when you walk in, you are immediately overwhelmed at how much there is available to take care of your precious little angel.  And rest assured, the sales people want to convince you that each and every item is not just a requirement, it is a necessity and without it, you will surely be putting your child in harms way, which we all know is so untrue.

The exact time that you decide to start to go shopping for your baby, varies greatly between IP's and their individual comfort levels.  For us, Rhonda wanted to wait until we reached the end of the first trimester before she started looking and purchasing any baby items.  This was due largely to the fact that in the past we suffered a miscarriage at 7 and 1/2 weeks and she wanted to get past this hurdle that was in her heart.  I definitely understood her, since I too suffered right alongside her with our loss...BUT,  for me, the moment that we found out that we were pregnant this time, I was so ecstatic, that I began to go and look at the countless baby items that were available.  I enjoy shopping (sorry ladies, I'm taken!) and have a fantastic work schedule which allows me a lot of time off.  So on many of my days off I would go and look and research what was good and what was not so good.  As a guy, we tend to want to see and touch everything before we commit to buying it, so that's what I did.  Remember that Rhonda was still waiting, so I had to be a bit secretive and hide my purchases.  I purchased clothes, toys, bottles, a child seat, baby books and countless other items for our little angel's nursery.  Luckily enough that we have a large home and I can hide stuff without her finding out and even had to resort to putting the larger items out in our garage and in a storage shed that I have on the side of the house.

Once we reached that glorious milestone, the end of the first trimester, Rhonda's comfort level began to increase, not anywhere close to 100%, but increasing.  So now was the time that we both could look and purchase.  It was so funny, that on one occasion while we were browsing in Babies R Us, Rhonda was looking at various items and would say to me "I think that this would be good" and my response to most of the items that she wanted was "honey, I already picked that up!" When we got home, I had to come clean and bring out all of the items that I had purchased over the passing weeks while she was waiting. How could you be mad at me? I was excited!!!

As IP's pursuing surrogacy in India, we are aware right from the start that in India it is the law that the sex of the child can not and will not be disclosed prior to the birth. Well this sucks! For those of us that want to know if it is a boy or a girl so that we can buy all of those nice gender specific outfits that we see on sale and to decorate the baby's nursery in colors and patterns that will announce to everyone what sex your child is.  But, we are left to buy all of the gender neutral clothes, which coincidentally are hard to find, and to also resort to the same gender neutral decorating in our little one's nursery.  Can we just have a bit of a hint? PLEASE!!

So with this, shopping for the trip to Mumbai, is not as easy as one thinks.  With the updates that you receive from the clinic from the scans that the surrogate gets routinely, you can guesstimate on what size clothing you will need, and remember it is gender neutral so you are probably going to wait to buy all of the real nice outfits once you actually get home from India and know what sex specific clothing to look for.  With sizing for the clothing, that varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. I thought when looking at newborn clothing that it was very small and wouldn't fit for long or even not fit our baby at all.  Boy was I surprised! Newborn baby's are tiny.

So our recommendations for baby related items would be as follows:

• Be prepared for at least 2 to 3 clothing changes each day, more if your child spits up frequently or dribbles milk excessively while feeding.
• We brought an assortment of clothes with us.  Long/Short sleeve onsies, sleepers, t-shirts, one-piece outfits (jumpers). We chose to bring mostly NB (newborn) and some 0 - 3 months.
• NB socks.
• NB caps. 
  
• Lots and lots of bibs and burp cloths (if you think you have enough, throw in a few more) (Chaya, Rhonda wanted me to thank you for this suggestion).
  
• Small face cloths (also handy for wiping up milk dribbles) and a few hooded towels.
• Huggies disposable wash cloths for bath-time.
  
• A small portable Eddie Bauer Travel bed that is the perfect size for baby to sleep. (Thank you Danielle and Jay, this has been a life saver).
• A small sleep positioner to eliminate the rolling up of towels or blankets to keep baby in position.
  
• Several light weight blankets.
• A Munchkin inflatable bath cradle.
• Infant first aid kit complete with nail files (we have not used mitts, we just ensure his nails are filed since he enjoys sucking on his fingers to self-sooth).
  
• Several Kiddopotamus swaddlers since we keep him swaddled most of the time, and while he is swaddled he sleeps like a baby (pardon the pun!).  We found these very easy to use and they stay nice and tight.
  
• Diapers (we chose Pamper Sensitive, based solely on research.  Various brands are available in Mumbai, but we wanted to ensure that we had the brand we wanted and the correct size, and we just love these since he has had no blowouts and no diaper rash). We did try Huggies newborn diapers and we found that they leak on the sides and at the top (at least on little boys)
  
• Formula (we chose Similac Advance with DHA and ARA, based solely on research and haven't seen it available in Mumbai, but it may be in select stores. The hospital uses Nestle formula which we successfully switched over from after Blaze's short stay in the NICU).
• A lighted/musical Baby Einstein toy for activity time, Blaze is mesmorized by this thing.
• A & D Original Ointment and A & D Zinc Oxide Cream for baby's bum, Aveeno Baby SPF 55 Sunblock Lotion, Neutragena Pure and Free Baby Sunblock Stick SPF 60+ for face and ears, Little Tummy's Gripe Water for hiccups and colic, Q-tips, Small Cotton Pads for wiping baby's face, alcohol swabs to clean around the cord, then some antibiotic ointment (Neosporin or Bacitracin are fine) once it falls off.  We also purchased from the pharmacy in Hiranandani hospital, Colimex Drops to help with Colic and Gas and Crocin Drops which are similar to Tylenol and are a mild pain reliever (used after Blaze's circumcision).
  
• Bottles (we brought 10, and chose the Avent 4oz with size 1 nipples, based solely on research, these are available at the small store in Hiranandani hospital) also a whisk to stir the formula up with, we chose the Lionheart electric whisk which was very inexpensive but has been invaluable.
• Disposable Bottle Liners (we originally purchased the Avent Tempo Bottle and Disposable Liners in the US to use during the return trip home on the plane) But we have used them several times so far and give it a big thumbs up!
  
• A bottle brush (we waited and purchased a small bottle of dish detergent once we were in Mumbai).
  
• An Eddie Bauer Sling (it allows Blaze to lay relatively flat and allows both of your hands free to move about) We love it, very comfortable!
  
• Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes (several brands are available in Mumbai, but we haven't seen this particular brand, again they are personal choice).  We brought along 3 packages of 250 wipes.
  
• A diaper bag (I chose to bring along a manly diaper bag which I purchased online from Diaper Dude.  I thought that if I was going to be carrying it, I at least wanted it to not look girly, check them out).
• You definitely need a bag to carry items to your various appointments.  We used a large zippered beach bag which has an open top.  It has come in real handy to carry all of the extra items that don't fit in the diaper bag including all of the paperwork that is required for the Consulate and the FRRO, and is also great to stash snacks in when you are staying in the hospital and need to bring them from the store to your room undetected, trust me you will want to!
  
• We brought along a set of small portable speakers and an IPOD to play soothing baby music.
• Bottle Sterilizer/Bottle Warmer (as we mentioned in an earlier post, we brought with us an Avent bottle Sterilizer and an Avent Bottle Warmer which are 2 excellent products, but unfortunately even with a electrical converter they draw too much electricity and require a ground plug and therefore will not function properly.  Luckily enough we were able to purchase a combination unit at the store in Hiranandani hospital.  (Which has a huge array of baby items from clothes, to diapers to wipes, to bottles, to carriers to vibrating chairs. The store owner will gladly give you a pamphlet of ALL the items they carry at fairly reasonable prices) I am certain that you will be able to locate either an electric or microwaveable unit at one of the various baby stores in the city. To me this is a definite must have.

We are staying at the VITS hotel and speaking as someone who has spent 65 days at this hotel during the course of 4 trips to Mumbai, I definitely recommend it hands down.  The 1 bedroom suite, for the money is an excellent value and you will definitely appreciate the space when your new addition comes along.  As we mentioned earlier, they have also given us along with the room, free high-speed internet which can be very expensive if you have to pay for it, free breakfast and supper which helps alleviate the strain of going and carting your little one around each day in search of a meal,  now here is an important plus, they also have an excellent in-house laundry and give you each day 3 pieces of laundry free, and for baby clothes they have a flat rate of RS 25 per piece.  If you have ever been to Mumbai you will know that it is almost next to impossible to dry a piece of clothing in your hotel room due to the humidity.  They also have microwaves, hot plates and cribs available upon request which they will happily bring to your room (and when I say happily, I mean at no extra charge)

One very important piece of equipment that any new parent should not do without is a good digital camera with at least a 2GB memory for all of those pictures of your new beautiful baby.  Cameras are permitted at Hiranandani, so you will want to have it on hand to capture every memory possible.  The only place they frowned upon taking pictures was in the NICU, but I managed to get some shots through the glass windows in the doors.  We found an awesome photo studio to get prints made at right near the hospital, in an area called Hiranandani Gardens.  We are even in the process of getting several beautiful, custom made baby books made by them and at such an unbelievable price, we just couldn't resist. 

On the forgotten side, both Rhonda and I let it slip our minds when we were packing for our trip, that the time frame that we are in Mumbai is during Monsoon Season.  Coming from almost always hot, sunny and dry Arizona, you tend to forget that the weather isn't this beautiful everywhere.  So once we arrived in Mumbai to very heavy rains at times, we realized....OOOPS! guess what we forgot.  So a word to the wise, if your are travelling to Mumbai or India in general during Monsoon Season, don't forget to pack a light-weight waterproof jacket and a small compact umbrella or 2, you will definitely appreciate them on a rainy day.

So with this post, I hope in some way that it will help those of you that are venturing to India in the near future.  And to finish, a few more random pictures of cuteness.

 

  

 

Bitter Sweet Good-bye.......For Now

We are back from our Goa get-away and ready to head home tomorrow night (Tuesday).  We are SO excited to get home to our Frankie girl and get Blaze into a routine, BUT we are so sad to leave Mumbai, the Doctors and all of the wonderful people who we have come to know and love through our amazing journey.  We will be back, that is a definite, but it certainly won't be for quite some time (4 trips in a year and a half). 

We will post more once we are home and settled, with the remainder of the details of our trip, post-op circumcision, Gerry's report on the FRRO process (the good, the bad and the ugly!!), and of course beautiful Goa. 

Those of you who follow our blog with love, thank you for your kind sentiments and encouraging words.  We hope and pray that each of you finds the happiness and joy we have found at this very moment.  This entire experience has been long, exhausting, emotional, and AMAZING in every way. 

As we close one chapter of our journey, we open another new and exciting one...THE LIFE OF BLAZE!

OUCH...that smarts!

 What are you people doing???

Now its time to steal the computer away from my long-winded husband (Just wait for his post of items to bring, buy,etc. he is working on).  Can you tell he is a little passionate about all this stuff???

Today was Blaze's big surgery.  Thank God I am a nurse.  Poor Gerry wasn't prepared at all for the first diaper change, he hates to see his little man in any sort of pain.  Let's just say, that I know from experience that it always looks worse then it is.  Poor little fella, my heart broke for him.  Gerry donned a green gown and went in before the procedure, and again right after it into the recovery room to hold and comfort Blaze.  He was amazed at how calm and cool Blaze looked immediately after the surgery.  He even asked the Doctor if he did the procedure.  The Doctor smiled and said, "Oh, give it 10 minutes for the local anesthetic to wear off!"  And it did, every time he cried I felt like crying along side him.  The Doctor gave Gerry all of the post-op orders and told him that it was an uneventful procedure.  Good to know.  Dr. Nanavati was great, very informative, sweet and definitely an accomplished Pediatric Surgeon.  We had a quick discharge from the day care ward in the triage (emergency) room and then it was back to our hotel to rest.  All in all, it cost us a whopping $189.00 for the entire procedure (OR, Doctor, Medical Supplies, etc.)  I requested some Baby Acetaminophen (Indian version of Tylenol here in the US) at the hospital pharmacy while we picked up the topical ointment to apply with each diaper change.  Both of them together came to a grand total of less then $1.00.  You definitely can't beat the prices of health care here!

Pre-op Blaze in his mini hospital gown

 Post-op my poor little guy

We have been so fortunate to run into Dr.Soni each time we are at Hiranandani hospital.  She always asks,  "How's my baby?"  and she is always so full of big smiles and big hugs.  For those IP's who come after us, you will absolutely LOVE this woman.  Each and every IP from all of the various clinics in Mumbai cannot sing her praises enough.  She goes above and beyond for you, your surrogate, and your newborn child with pride.  Who could ask for more?

Prior to Blaze's surgery we had metabolic screening (Preventine New Born Screening) done since we were at the hospital.  It was recommended by the on-staff Pediatrician during Blaze's last check up.  It is to check multiple genetic disorders.  She gave us a pamphlet on the testing and it is quite a non-invasive test (Yah right, tell that to Blaze!).  It consists of a simple heel prick (like a blood glucose test) and a urine sample.  Gerry and I both had to laugh when the nurse brought in a urine specimen cup for us to give to Blaze, what did she expect from our 13 day old son, to be able to go on command?  I kindly asked her for a pediatric urine specimen bag, which seemed like a huge task as it took forever to get.  Both the Docs has a good chuckle over our story as well.  It takes 20 days for the results of the test and the hospital will email those to us as we will be back in Arizona.

Getting the 'heel prick'

Tomorrow we pick up Blaze's passport from the U.S Consulate, as it was just one day later then anticipated due to the Labor Day holiday.  Then Thursday we have an appointment with Parashar to go to the FRRO.  He has now starting to work with SI clients and the Docs feel confident in having him as a part of their team. 

After hopefully a relatively short day at the FRRO on Thursday, we all jet-set to Goa.  Once again Amit ROCKED and booked the entire vacation getaway for us at a outstanding price.  A 4 day/3 night, 4 star hotel, including breakfast every morning, 1 hour sunset cruise, half-day sightseeing tour, complimentary bottle of wine and 50% off all spa services (guess who's going to get a massage and who's baby sitting for that hour???)  We are excited to get-away and have a slight change in scenery and enjoy some quiet time on the beach before heading back to the States on Monday night.

Time here has really flown by (insert sad face here!!).  I can't WAIT to see our Frankie girl.  I miss her dearly, but I know that Lauren has been a gem and has kept me updated on Facebook and via phone, that Frankie is her usual self and doesn't really leave Lauren's side.  They have become quick friends.  I wonder if Frankie is even missing us, as I am sure Lauren is spoiling her rotten??? 

Well, its off to bed, it surely will be a long night with our little one fresh post-op. Please wish our little angel a speedy recovery.

Thats my boy!

Everyone loves a baby, and especially a cute little boy.  Who can resist those beautiful blue eyes and that bald head? He's already a chick magnet, thank you son!! As most of you are aware, we are staying at the VITS hotel, and included with our 1 bedroom suite is a full buffet breakfast and also a full buffet supper.  If the 3 of us are not out on the town enjoying what Mumbai has to offer, we head down to the buffet for supper.  Tonight during supper, we had the opportunity to meet 2 beautiful young women who are from the Republic of Georgia, and are both in Medical Tourism.  They are aware of surrogacy and were fascinated with the ups and downs of our journey to have Blaze. They each had to have a turn at holding our precious little bundle of joy and marveled at how his features look just like his Dad.

As our son reaches 12 days old, we see him growing and changing each day, he is awesome in each and every way.  Rhonda and I often just sit and look at him as he sleeps and think how truly blessed we are.  Our journey hasn't always been a smooth road, as we know first hand the devastating feelings that a negative causes, and now looking back that seems so long ago.  But if we can offer any advice, it would be to never, never, never, give up.  It will happen!!

Tomorrow is a big day for our Blaze, he returns once again to the place of his birth, Hiranadani hospital.  He is having his circumcision surgery at 3 pm, which will be performed by a very highly recommended pediatric surgeon, Dr. Nanavati.  We are a little nervous for our little guy, but know that he is in great hands, and Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir will be there as well with us for support.

The onsie says it all!!!

We The People....

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

excerpt from the Declaration of Independence

As my beautiful wife Rhonda promised, I am going to try and paint a picture of what it was like for us to take our son Blaze to the US Consulate to receive his citizenship and passport. This is an all important and momentous time in the life of your child, and it's grandeur is a bit lost in the myriad of things that are required to do in order to get your child home. This almost gets to become just another checkoff on your list, but if you can, take just a moment to savor what it all means. Many, many lives have been laid down over time, so that we can enjoy our freedoms and the rights that come with that great honor, of being a United States Citizen.

I guess I will start from the beginning. In our particular case, we were told by Dr. Yash and Dr. Soni when we should arrive in Mumbai for the birth since it was their intention to remove KT's cervical stitch and then either allow her to go into labor naturally or to induce her, but bottom line was that we had a date that our child was to be born on. So with this, I called the US Consulate in Mumbai and spoke with Rachel Crawford, of the Citizen Services Unit, who has taken over from Marissa, whom others that have come before us are surely familiar with.

Her contact number from the US is 001 91 22 23633611, ext 4237. To call from Mumbai it would be 022 23633611. The Citizen Services Unit number is ext 4306.

I explained to her our situation, that we were having a child born in Mumbai via surrogacy and that I would like to schedule an appointment for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). I told her the approximate date of birth and was able to get an appointment at the end of the same week. The Consulate only has availability for CRBA appointments from 9 am to 12 pm, Monday to Thursday. And don't forget that it is closed during US holidays and some Indian holidays. A couple we know recently had to wait over a month and a half for an appointment, so that is the reason, if at all possible to get an appointment early. You don't want to wait that long!!! This may take some coordination with the Docs, and in the end you may not be able to know when the child will be born, but in that case, once your child arrives, call for an appointment ASAP.

So once you are given an appointment, the American Citizen Services Unit emails you a letter explaining the process and what documents are required. It also gives you the links to the various forms that need to be completed. Most of the information on the forms can be completed prior to the birth, and then once the sex of your child is known (and the all important name that you have been keeping a secret for so long!) and the date and time of birth as well, can all then be filled in the appropriate spots. Ensure that the date in the top right corner of each of the forms is still valid. The link to the passport form the Consulate sent me, had the form expired, but luckily the forms are available online.

So we were given a Thursday, 9 am appointment. Luckily for us it was the last day of the Ganesh Festival and the final immersions, so traffic at that hour of the morning was relatively light. But ensure that you plan ahead, you definitely don't want to be late and miss your appointment. The Consulate is in Breech Candy area in South Mumbai and very easy to get to, again ensure your driver knows exactly where to go. The building in itself is very unassuming and blends in with the other surrounding buildings. Space is at a premium in Mumbai, so it is not a stand alone structure that I definitely expected.

We arrived in plenty of time. There is no parking in front of the consulate on either side of the road, but luckily our taxi driver Hassan, found an open spot right next to the consulate in front of a few small shops. Since it was raining, and raining heavily I might add!, I went over to find out where the entrance was. There was a very long lineup of people waiting outside, and I hoped in my mind that this wasn't our line. I spoke with one of the Consulate security guards, they wear light blue uniforms that are very close to my air force uniform. He spoke English very well and directed me to the door just down from the one with the long lineup. I proceeded to that door and it is an entrance where you enter and come to a window with another of the Consulate security guards. I spoke with him and explained that I had an appointment for 9 am. I was instructed that they begin to allow people in at 845 am. Awesome, I was in the right place, and given a time that we could go in. I went back to our taxi and told Rhonda what I had found out. When it was time to head over to the Consulate, Hassan had an umbrella waiting for us, how nice was that. So a word to the wise, if you are in Mumbai during the Monsoon season, bring an umbrella, we didn't!

Once in front of the window, you hand them your passports and they fill in a small white slip of paper that they hand you back after reviewing your passports. The slip is then given to another security guard who opens the door to allow you into a screening area. No electronics are allowed, so we had to give up our cell phone which was logged onto that small piece of paper and he then placed the cell phone in a cabinet and locked it. Just like at the airport, everything out of your pockets, and our baby bag and bags containing our files was xray'd. We had 3 small baby bottles prefilled with water for feeding and they didn't have us remove them. Others have said that they weren't allowed to bring in any liquids, so be prepared. I think though that you will be safe with the small amounts that are in the baby bottles if you chose to follow our lead, your choice.

Now was the fun part, you pass through a large metal turnstile and then have to go from this building, across a courtyard to the main building, did I mention that now it was really, really, raining? Rhonda and Blaze took the umbrella, and I just ran trying to avoid getting totally soaked. We made it!! In through 2 big glass windowed wooden doors we went, through another metal detector and hand in that small piece of paper to the person sitting at the desk. They take it and you are directed to a small room on the right. As you enter this small, plain looking (DMVish looking room) there are rows of chairs and we went right up to the front row and sat down.

Deep breath! I make sure that all of my paperwork that I have brought with me is still intact. And we wait. There are 2 windows at the front of the room, just in front of where we are, and 2 women sitting at desks just behind them. to our surprise, the one lady called me up, early!! Wow, I like this place already. I told her that I had an appointment with Rachel for a CRBA. She then asked for my documents.

All originals are required, which they copy and return. She asked for: Doctors letter from the clinic, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate if applicable, Baby's Birth Certificate, completed CRBA Application (if both parents are US Citizens, section 12, Precise Periods of Physical Presence in the United States can be left blank), completed Passport Application (photos can be taken at the Consulate for a fee of RS 200, and are ready in 10 minutes) we chose to do this, and you get 3, 2x2 photos, 1 for the Passport Application and 2 for the FFRO, completed Social Security Application, Surrogate Agreement (and 2 copies which we made beforehand to save time).

She took all of these documents and then collected the fee. You can pay in either Rupees or US dollars, but if paying in dollars you must have exact change. The total for us was RS 7500 or $150.00. If you use the in-house photographer, they will bring you the photos once they are printed and remember to save RS 200 to pay him. One photo is then given to the woman for your Passport application. You then take a seat and wait for your documents to be reviewed.

After a brief wait, a younger woman came to the window with all of our documents and introduced herself, we finally got to meet Rachel. She is a very nice lady and very eager to learn all about surrogacy. As a side note, something I am quite proud of, the US Consulate has requested and set up a meeting with Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir and will visit the SI clinic, Hiranandani hospital and as well Lilaviti hospital. They want to see the entire process of surrogacy from start to finish, since it is becoming so popular in India for American couples. This is quite an honor for SI, since the only other clinic in Mumbai to do this was Rotunda. Now back to where I was. Rachel then asked to see the paperwork from Rhonda's stimulation, EPU, Transfers, Medical Tests, Sperm Freezing and Testing and also the Surrogates Medical Tests (which SI ensures are downloaded to the Internet for each IP). Luckily I am very meticulous about all of this and had everything in order. I guess that's my military training kicking in, or is it just being a bit anal? Rhonda don't answer that!

Rachel then flipped through the stack of documents and asked us questions concerning the process. She was not asking questions in a dis-believing manner, but to truly understand surrogacy. She asked questions like 'what is the name of your surrogate?", "how did you find the clinic?" , "tell me a bit about the process", "how did you pick your surrogate?", "did you know if you were having a boy or a girl?" and she even looked at the dates of transfer and the corresponding Beta numbers to see if they went together. She even took the time to look at Blaze. All in all, she really liked the paper trail that we had created, which laid out the pregnancy from the start to the finish. So definitely keep copies of everything relating to the pregnancy including the medical reports from the Stimulation, EPU and Transfer. The more prepared that you are ahead of time, the faster you will get completed.

After she was satisfied with all of our submitted paperwork, she stamped and signed them and then had us both raise our right hands and swear that all of the information given was correct. And with that, Blaze Xennon Wile was a United States Citizen, YAY!!!

Since we did not need an Emergency Passport, and yes if you request it, you need to have a good reason, not just because you want to leave to go home early. Blaze's passport will be ready in 5 days which will be Tuesday morning. Monday is a holiday in the US, it's Labor Day so the Consulate is closed or we could have had his passport then, but Tuesday will do. We know when we are leaving to go home, we don't want to rush out of here just yet and don't plan on leaving any earlier. In order to pick up the passport, you do not all have to go in, just one of you will suffice. I will just need to call at 830 am to ensure that it is ready and then go down to the Consulate, show them the receipt that I received after payment and his passport is all mine, process complete.

At the same time that you pick up your child's passport, the Citizen Services Unit will also give you a letter that is required to be taken to the FFRO when you go to get your child's exit visa, which is another hurdle that everyone in this journey faces. We had the opportunity to meet Peter, who is a US Citizen living in Singapore. He just went to the FFRO and in a few short hours he had the exit visa with relatively little headaches. He passed on what he did during that process and I will do the same when I go through it this week. The Consulate recommends that you go to the FFRO as soon as you get your child's passport, to ensure that there are no hang-ups, which only makes sense.

So I am hoping that this lengthy post (sorry) will be possibly of some assistance to you. That truly was Rhonda and my goal throughout this whole journey, to be able to help others and to have others help us as well. I am also planning on an upcoming blog entry, a review of the good, the bad and the ugly of baby stuff that we have bought, brought, or forgot. Please stay tuned for that one.

And now some random pictures of cuteness brought to you by Blaze Xennon...

He was too cute to resist...