Administrivia

Now I know why more people don't have babies @ home. It's not because the experience is hard (it's not) or there's a lot of pain (there is just as much in a hospital) or because there's higher risk (there isn't, assuming you're assisted by qualified Midwives as I was).

It's because of the administrivia! I knew that we'd have to go get Rohan's birth certificate ourselves - and that we'd have to bring Rohan down to the Department of Health to do so, both of us show up in person, AND have our midwife Nancy sign a form saying yes, she helped birth him...so that was all fine, and went essentially as planned.

But Rohan also needs a Social Security Number...so I got to deal with the Federal Government. Their website clearly says that you need a Birth Certificate (ok, got it) and that the same document can serve as ID and as Proof of Citizenship. Fine; so I march down to the nearest Social Security office and present Rohan's Birth Certificate.

Not enough!

No, they need a second form of ID. But wait...babies don't come out with RFID tags, or even just a valid California ID card and checkbook with pre-printed address.
So what do we do? It turns out, they'll also need a statement from his Pediatrician (?!?) to prove his status as a US person. Which is illogical, if you think about it. His pediatrician's office was great; but the statement they provided was: We have seen a newborn infant boy whose name we are told is Rohan Sherwood Sharma; who we are told was born on 12/7/08. We saw him 3 times, here are his records. But nowhere does the statement prove that this boy is my son, that this boy was born here, or even his age. Do they ask the Midwife (who has to swear that she was there @ the birth)? Nope. Nonsensical.

...and now I go back there, to see if they'll accept this nonsensical piece of paper I have from the pediatrician...


In other news, enjoy the rainbow I saw outside our window today - photo doesn't do it justice. As the rest of the country freezes, I love living in San Francisco!