Moving Day

During graduation on Thursday, much of the talk among the various teachers was of summer vacations and impending flights. Some people were leaving the following day or over the weekend, while a few, like us, were leaving early the following week and some, not leaving at all. Those who had upcoming flights were mostly packed and ready to go, others had lots of last minute plans to pick up clothes at tailors, have those last meals at favorite spots and say goodbye to friends made over the past year or two. Steven and I had all of those plans as well, with a flight leaving the following Tuesday evening at 11 p.m., but when Tuesday morning came around, we found ourselves yet unpacked and with more than a few last minute items to attend to.

The Grandma Gauntlet

If we weren't conspicuous before as a white, westerners living in a Vietnamese neighborhood, having a tiny baby with us whenever we went out made us even more so. In Vietnamese culture, after giving birth mothers are expected to rest while the rest of the family cares for the newborn. This period of rest for the mother typically lasts a month, while the corresponding period for the newborn, during which he or she is to be kept inside lasts a bit longer, with most children not making a public appearance until three months of age. Unfortunately, we did not have the time, nor the available family, for such luxuries, and Hazel and I were out and about the day after she came home.

All Aboard the Bureaucracy Train

(Warning - This may be as painful to read as it was to experience.) 

Finally, armed with a baby, and a birth date for all the forms, Steven and I were able to begin the process of getting all the documents that Hazel needs to leave the country. The first of those forms was her actual birth certificate, which would be issued by the Vietnamese Department of Justice.

On Thursday morning, the day after we'd been discharged from the hospital, Hazel and I set out to the US Consulate to get a stamp on the form that stated that she would be accepted as an American citizen. After the hassle of getting the baby bag packed, getting the baby ready, getting myself ready, getting out of my neighborhood with the least amount of tongue clicking from all the Vietnamese woman who think I should a) not be leaving the house and b) have Hazel bundled up like a Himalayan Sherpa in 90 degree heat, getting the form stamped was a breeze.

Our First Night Home

 Wednesday evening was our first night alone with the baby. I was looking forward to being able to relax, or at least be able to get through the night without the fear of having a nurse come in and snatch our baby, but i found that the flip side of not having a nurse to snatch up your baby is that there isn't a nurse to come in and snatch up your baby...

Hospitalized

As part of our Labor and Delivery Package at the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital (FV) we paid for a five day, four night stay in the Maternity Ward. Steven was sure I'd be ready to leave before the five days were up, but sitting in my air conditioned hospital room, with meals coming in on a tray on a regular basis, I wasn't quite so sure I'd be ready to head back to our hot house where I'd have to figure out how to feed myself and take care of this baby any sooner than I had to, but it turns out – he was right.

Hazel's Birth Story

On the evening of Friday, May 21, Steven and I had plans to go to the End-of-Year AIS school play at 8:00, but before we went, we decided to go on one of our now regular evening walks around the track in yet another attempt to induce our baby, now almost 42 weeks, to join us outside of the womb. I had been walking regularly for months at this point, running having become a bit too much for my overstretched stomach and the baby that I pictured bouncing around on her head every time I took a step, but this evening, I felt like having a run. One of my former college roommates had put herself into preterm labor by running too late in pregnancy and while in her situation, labor was stopped and she continued to term, I figured that if she could do it, I could do it!

Haze's CRBA Appointment Comes...and Goes

When we initially learned of our pregnancy back in September, we looked up all of the steps we’d have to take to have the baby’s birth registered abroad and to bring her back to the US with us in the summer. As I’ve posted before, all of the paperwork and timing involved seemed quite daunting and we began to prepare early.

According the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) webpage, all appointments must be made three months in advance and passports should be applied for at the same time, a second process which would take about 3 to 5 weeks to complete. Due to these constraints we made an appointment for May 20, 2010, giving us three days after what we were told was the last day the baby would be allowed to remain in gestation before being induced and a month before we hoped to leave Viet Nam, arguably a tight stretch on either end, but the best we could do given our constraints.

Hazel's Baby Shower

On Sunday, April 18th, our good friends Marjie and Katherine threw a baby shower for us at the Castle (their five story house in District 1). The invitation initially included our friends of the male persuasion, but after some subtle hints from Steven, and some not-so-subtle hints from other friends, that baby showers were just not events men attended, it was revised to a female only group.

Reflections on being Pregnant in Viet Nam

My most common response to the now frequently asked, "How are you feeling?" by well meaning friends and acquaintances alike is "HOT!" April and May in Viet Nam (and presumably, June, July, August, etc.) are hot. Not just hot, but the stifling, perspiration soaked, still hot after four daily showers, heat that pervades every moment spent outside of an air conditioned room or taxi-cab. I attribute this somewhat to pregnancy, but practically speaking, I realize that everyone else is suffering in this same heat, I just find it a bit less bearable in the confines of the few outfits I have left that actually fit my now 167 pound frame.

Either an Original Document or a Certified Copy and One Hysterical Pregnant Woman

Because we hope to leave Viet Nam sometime in late June and we have so much to do in terms of paperwork and documentation before we can leave, I started gathering documents early on, or rather Kevin did, as all of our documents are in his attic. So by December of last year, all of our necessary documents traveled from Kevin's attic, to our parent's home in Lake Worth, to our house here in Viet Nam, or so I thought...