Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tears!

I pride myself on not being much of a crier. But.... I cried saying goodbye to the Canadoca's pediatrician today. But how do you not? The guy was there when I gave birth and has been ever since. He wrote her a little note saying that she should not forget him because he will never forget her. Only in Brazil!

Because You Asked: The Cost of Having A Baby in Brazil

Let me preface this post (which has been requested over and over again by MANY readers) by saying that these are prices for private healthcare in the Zona Sul of Rio. In other words, yes there are other options available, not all doctors are this expensive nor are all hospitals. However, this is the information that I have on what it cost for the particular birth experience I had in Rio. The Canadoca was delivered at Perinatal in Laranjeiras by an English speaking well renown OB/GYN who practices in Gavea. These prices are from a friend who had her baby in the past year, so should be still current.

Two night's stay at Perinatal:                        BR$4,302*
OB/GYN Birth fees:                                      BR$8,000
Support staff (anaesthesiologist + 4 others)  BR$7,500
                                                                 BR $19,802  

Pre-pregnancy costs:

9 OB/GYN Appointments (BR$340 x 9)   BR$3,060
Ultrasounds (R$180 x 7)                       BR$1,260
Bloodwork (Can depend but approx)      BR$3,000
                                                         BR $7,320

For the birth experience I outlined for you in many posts, you are looking at BR$27,122 or US$16,400.

*In our case, insurance took care of this part on the spot, and so we did not have to personally pay for it.

 

Brazilian Baby Shower

I went to a baby shower today for a gorgeous little girl... we are getting quite good at throwing these little festas being that we've had so much practice (many babies born to friends) over the past few years in Rio.

Last time, we decided to incorporate a little bit of Brazilian tradition into the mix. We wrote on the mother-to-be's baby bump!

Really? A post about baby wipes?

Yep. Sure is. What have we come to here?

I went to Shopping da Gavea yesterday with the Canadoca. She and I needed passport photos for our Canadian passports and I've been told by multiple people that the only place to get that done is located across the street. We did get the photos, we'll see if Passport Canada accepts them before I give a full "recommendation" for this place .

Sidenote - I must shamelessly brag that the only reason I need a new passport is because I am out of pages! Probably the only time in my life that this will happen, and yes at least half the stamps are just from homeland security while I pass through the US on my way to and from the great white north, but still! A full passport!

Bragging over, and the process of getting said new passport is of course nothing to brag about! Note that the Canadoca needs a new one because hers was a temporary 2 yr passport, issued prior to her gaining Canadian citizenship.

What on earth does this have to do with baby wipes you may ask? Back to Shopping da Gavea, which has some truly great shopping for kids, by Rio standards. I couldn't believe some of the great products available! Things are changing in Rio indeed. I even found... unscented baby wipes.... Recently our babysitter had asked me about where I buy my unscented baby wipes for the Canadoca's bumbum, as she wanted to get some for a friend. Not here, I said. Haven't seen them.

Until yesterday, when I encountered a travel pack:

What-what - yes we need a closeup of that pricetag, peeps.

For those needing some context here, a year's supply of kirkland signature unscented baby wipes sets you back about C$20.74. Today that's R$35. Or you can buy a week's worth (at best) here for twice that.

Ok. Done with the baby wipe talk. Promise.

 

Renewing Brazilian Passports in A Hurry

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that when I tried to make an appointment with the federal police to handle the Canadoca's Brazilian passport renewal, the next available appointment was at the end of January? (I should mention that her Brazilian passport expired in October. So she currently doesn't have one). Insert jeitinho. It's right across the bridge, folks. Niteroi! Got in via an agency in less than one week's time. Just a little tip for you....

You Must be An Expat Mom in Rio When...

Just another day in the life, people, another day in the life...

- Your child get completely traumatized by a kid in a (very realistic looking, I'll admit) spiderman costume at the park. Yet, said child wasn't fazed by the gunfire you could hear in the distance a few minutes earlier. Yes, that would be my Canadoca, this morning.

- It takes a quarter of the useful life of a passport to get an appointment to renew said passport.(Canadoca's first Brazilian passport was only good for one year; our appointment to submit our documents to renew it is almost THREE MONTHS away). Don't ask, just be sure to make your renewal appointment early. Around the time you receive the child's passport in the first place is probably best. ;) Currently they are not even accepting bookings at two of the four locations in the city, they are so backed up. Lovely.

- Child receives ELITE status card in the mail from airline, along with several tickets for alcoholic beverages on board. They must figure momma will need a drink (or that we might need to make some friends at some point on the long flight)... either that or they figure if she has some wine, she'll sleep better on the flight?

The Kid Loves ACAI

Brazilian by birth, and by tummy too I think. The Canadoca loves the spoils of Brazil. Carne, acai, fruit, did I mention rice & beans?

The acai is the funniest though. At breakfast she tells me she's all done, then I offer acai, suddenly she has room for an entire additional BOWL...  and yes I think it is probably the messiest food in existance.

You may be wondering what sort of acai I am feeding her, especially if you remember that I'm the super anal mom who didn't let her four month old baby eat cake. If not, click here for that story. What I do is buy the frozen plain acai from Zona Sul and mix it with the juice bar sweetened variety. You could avoid the sugar altogether by just mixing it with grape juice, banana, strawberry, or agave or something to sweeten it up (the pure stuff is pretty tart). I also mix in her vitamin drops, and am assured, as you can see below, that she takes in every drop....

 

The Baby Gender Blood Test

Here in Brazil, once determined pregnant, one can take a blood test to determine the sex of the fetus. From what I've been told, Brazil is one of the only countries in the world offering this sneak-peek. Ultrasound testing does not reveal the baby's sex conclusively as early on - generally this is done at 20 weeks, sometimes a smidge sooner (and sometimes inconclusively or WRONG), whereas this blood test is accurate, and can be performed as early as 6 weeks in. Early! To put this in perspective, when I was 6 weeks pregnant, I didn't know I was pregnant! I'd suspected I might be, and taken tests both in Argentina and Brazil, which were false-negatives.But I didn't even get conclusive tests to determine pregnancy until I was 7 weeks along.

Anyway! It costs R$400. It can be done. It is particularly handy if you are an expat, pregnant, planning a trip home in your first or second trimesters to shop.

Alternatively, if you are like I was and don't want to find out, prepare to be met with sympathy from Brazilians... what am I talking about? In my case more than one person assumed I was having a transgender baby when I told them I didn't know the sex of the baby. "You mean they couldn't tell? Nossa!"

Naming the baby after it's born? Unheard of! Most Brazilian babies are named before they're conceived, so it seems. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. Upon receiving the results of the baby gender blood test ;)

 

New Carseat Law in Brazil

As of September 1st, in Brazil it is now mandatory for babies and children up to 7 years old traveling in private passenger vehicles to be strapped into carseats.  Previously use of carseats was simply a recommendation. It seems that taxis and buses are exempt.

Police in Rio began issuing fines on September 8th.

Those who disobey the rules will receive a fine of R $ 191.54 and seven points in the driver's license, plus the seizure of the vehicle until the deficiency is remedied. The new rule was initially to begin to be enforced in June, but was postponed because the seats themselves were in short supply. As it is, there are currently 3 month waiting lists at some stores to buy the seats. So, I am guessing that you could probably sell a carseat for a pretty penny here in Brazil these days! Especially considering they are about 4 x the price of the ones back home as it is!

One article I read estimated that previously just 32% of mothers in Brazil were using carseats to transport babies.

 

 

 

Unbelievable...

If you are a longtime loyal blog reader you will remember that about a year ago we had major problems getting a Brazilian passport for the Canadoca. Basically everything that could go wrong did and it took about 5 months. This is not a typical situation, but I'm proof that it can happen. Just FYI the procedure is much easier once an RNE is issued.

During this time, some sort of policy changed with the federal police, and I was able to travel with her last summer to Canada on just a Canadian passport, though I was previously told that taking her out of Brazil would be impossible without a Brazilian passport. At that time, when I went to check in for my flight the airline's staff was bewildered by this concept, not sure if they could allow me to travel, hadn't at that time encountered this scenario.  They sent a runner into the federal police to check if this was in fact possible, they confirmed it was. Despite the stress and confusion at the time, the girl I dealt with was very nice about it and I seem to run into her every time we go to the airport and she always remembers me. She checked us through again for this trip and once again we remembered each other.

However, it was my turn to be bewildered when she asked if she could ask me a question that did not pertain to security, but rather her personal curiousity, to which I replied of course. She wanted to know why the Canadoca had a Brazilian passport and seemed agitated about it. I told her that it was because she was born in Brazil and when she was born, she needed it to be able to travel outside of Brazil. She then went on to suggest that I should let the Canadoca's Brazilian expire so that I would not need a travel authorization each time I left the country without my husband. (She also admitted she was not quite sure of the laws, when pressed.) She seemed very bothered by the Canadoca having a Brazilian passport. I could not believe this, coming from someone who just a year ago almost didn't let me get on a plane without the Canadoca's Brazilian passport. For the record, I plan to renew it when we arrive home (it's only good for a year).

As is often the case in Brazil, the stories and policies are ever-changing and few have definitive answers... yet without the facts, everyone still seems to offer an opinion.

10 Days Alone with the Canadoca

Mr. DRL returned yesterday from 10 days in the states on a course. I have a whole new respect for single parents! Though Mr. DRL does work a lot and there are days when he doesn't get to see our little pumpkin at all, we have fantastic weekends together and I had two full weekends on my own with her. She was an incredibly well behaved girl... but here are my top tips for 10 days alone with a busy toddler:

• Take everyone up on their offers to babysit or have you over. It gives you a break from each other, gives them more attention, and makes the time more fun! I had my regular babysitter come three times as opposed to the regular two.
• Use said babysitting services to plan a girl's night out. I recommend Venga for Sangria & Tapas. Nothing like starting 10 days alone with a toddler with a hangover ;) I survived.
• If it rains and it's Saturday, take them out for feijoada. This also helps with the hangover I mentioned above. Preferably somewhere with a samba band. The Canadoca was mesmerized for about a full hour watching the band and only stopped staring long enough to eat handfuls of beans or to glare at anyone or anything blocking her view.
• Go to the pool/beach/park as frequently as possible. The more fun you are both having, the better. The more fresh air, the better they sleep I think! Also, the less you are home, the fewer times you will need to put everything back in the tupperware cupboard.
• Take her to kilo restaurants as frequently as possible. It is a toddler's heaven, it's reasonably priced, it's an outing, it's entertaining, it's healthy, there's no cleanup...  seriously this one deserves a blog post of its own. The kilo concept ROCKS for kids. Give them a scoop of everything and they are bound to find something they like. I am so happy Fronterra is now in Leblon!
• If you are skyping your significant other who is AWOL, get them to install some software to make skype more interesting. Mr. DRL has this thing on his computer that puts frames around his face. One minute Daddy is in a spaceship, then a submarine, then in a tree with squirrels running around him. She thought it was quite hilarious. 
• Introduce some new fun activities or toys. In our case, we discovered BUBBLES this week. So much fun.
• Instead of feeling lonely and isolated in the evenings, use the time to watch/read/surf/sort what YOU want.
• If you live in RIo, use the buddy system a bit. As in, text a friend and let them know if you are heading out on your own somewhere and again when you return. Not the most pleasant topic but it dawned on me that with Mr. DRL gone if we were to go missing we may not be missed for a little while.... just sayin'! I also found myself using many more of our security features than we normally do. 
• Make sure you hint to your significant other on exactly what you'd like brought back for your trouble. As in .... shoes... Tory Burch, size 8, black ;)  Thanks Mr. DRL!
• Make sure your spouse knows how happy you are to have them back!

Playgrounds in the Condo Common Area = Disneyland for my kid.

The Canadoca has a Grams down here, and at Grams' place, there is a fantastic play area which is basically a playground. Going to Grams' place is like going to Disneyland. There's a trampoline, a ball pit, tunnels to climb through, safe baby swings (most parks just have chair style swings which the Canadoca is too little for), playhouses, bikes and cars. Seriously, it's Disneyland. The point of this post is for people who are thinking of moving to Rio or planning to, to let them know that these buildings exist in case they want these amenities. Here are some shots of Grams' Disneyland...

For those who wanted to see an updated photo of the Canadoca:

The Good Life: Being a Kid in Rio

I plan to start a series on parks & playgrounds in this area - what they have to offer, where they are located...

The Canadoca and I have been doing some research on this, you know, going to the park and stuff.

It often occurs to me that she will look at her baby pictures and look not at her little tulip lips or deep blue eyes but at what's in the background and say, uh, mom, why did we leave? I want to go back! And likely the saudade will set in for me too...

Because when you have this view from the window in the playhouse at Baixo Bebe, why would you want to leave?

 

Baixo Bebe is a kiosk with fantastic toys for kids and a change area, located between Postsos 11 & 12 in Leblon on the beach.

Twins and their Babas

This is not an uncommon scene in my neighbourhood - the sight of twin babies out with their two babas.

Now, if ever there would be a reason to have a full time Baba, it would be when one had TWINS. My goodness. But I always wonder when I see twins with twin babas, are they each assigned a particular twin, or do they switch back and forth? It would really suck if you got the "Evil twin" while the other baba sat there with angel baby.... or if they switch it up, how do they make it fair? Today you have twin a, tomorrow twin b? Mornings and afternoons? Hour by hour? Anyone know? The suspense is getting to me.

Links

• How good is your sunscreen? Find out here - EWC's sunscreen ratings.
• Must-haves for babies at the beach.

Little old ladies and storeclerks in Rio, this one's for you!

So... even upon arriving back in Rio, I was tsk tsk ed by a couple of old ladies for having the Canadoca in the refrigerator aisle... right. Um, did I mention we saw snow in Canada? Or that we took her on a zodiak boat in Patagonia when she was 4 months old?

Now - I will unleash my secret weapon in shutting these people up. A precious gift from my grandmother:

In Canada, we call this a toque. If you see a kid rocking out this one in the freezer section of a grocery store while being carried in a baby bjorn, chances are you've spotted me. Come say hi! Tell me she's cold, I dare you! ;)

BTW - you may be wondering what it will take for me to not be irritated by these "she's cold" people. Well, put it this way, once I stop seeing much bigger atrocities happening to children in Rio I might agree that people should make ensuring the Canadoca's temperature is stable a priority... these are the same people who turn a blind eye to kids selling stuff on the street, being mistreated, not having enough to eat, living in favelas, not getting adequate education, living on the streets.

Instead, my wish is that they would spend that energy doing something about those kids, please.

Rainy Days with Kids in Rio

Or - super hot days where you need to escape the heat. Either way - here is a great place to take your little one. It's in Ipanema, beside yogoberry - Despertar Baby. They have a soft play area, music classes, and a ton of different activities for older kids. A lot of these classes are drop-in, which is perfect for expats like me who are out of town or have routines constantly rattled by visitors. You can stay there with your baby or use their childcare "baba" services. Click here for their web site. Your first playtime or class is free!

Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 282 - Lojas E e F - Ipanema
Tel.: (21) 2287-7529 / 8550-3335 / [email protected]

On Baby Gates in Brazil

The International Newcomer's Club has a playgroup that meets once a week. It's also a great informal information exchange between expat moms. One little tidbit that was shared last week refers to securing baby gates in Brazil. Apparently the best place to go to find such a thing is the pet store!

Here is one in Ipanema that even sends someone to measure the doorway you need gated and install it:

Pet Place Animais e Produtos‎
Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 76 - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22410-000, Brazil‎ - (0xx)21 2523-0131‎

Parabens!

Happy Birthday, Canadoca!

I can't believe my baby is one.... 

Okay my little love, you can finally have some CAKE.

Prenatal Yoga in Rio

One year ago, I was in labour! Seemed an appropriate time to tell this little story and share some info...

I met the sweetest woman in Hortifruti recently. She fussed over the Canadoca, insisted on emptying my cart for me and instructed the staff on just how to pack my groceries. So nice! Turns out she also teaches prenatal yoga in Gavea. So if you are interested, get in touch with her. She speaks English as well.

Maria Augusta Cavalcanti, 2274-5664

My obsession with wooden toys continues

It seems that whenever I come across something once it is suddenly everywhere right in front of my face. Like wooden toys...

At Tok & Stok:

at the Hippie Fair:

Quick Note on Healthcare in Brazil

I should preface this post by saying that I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have health insurance and access to health care at all. But for those who think Canada has the perfect health care system and that other countries should model themselves after it, think again. It's waaaaay better here.

We took the Canadoca to busy hospital ER over the weekend - nothing serious, just extreme irritability which we thought was due to teething and after she'd had a fever for a few days she suddenly erupted in a rash so we thought we'd better get her in to see someone. We called our pediatrician and he asked us to take her to Copa D'or.

I figured we'd be there all day. She wasn't showing many symptoms and surely there would be others who needed more urgent care.

We were in and out of that hospital within one hour in which time two doctors examined the Canadoca, who is just fine (and actually cut a tooth while we were at the hospital). The paperwork was minimal. The longest we waited at any point was for our car from the valet!

Quick Tips from DRL - Traveling and just generally BEING in Brazil

Just trying to make your life easier here!

• Beware overcast days in Brazil. Twice recently we've gone out on an overcast day and come home burnt. Well, ok, mostly Mr. DRL has been burned. Without realizing it AT ALL when out. As in burned to the point of looking like he acquired a hairy red pair of gloves with matching boots. I think I tan MORE on the overcast days, so be careful, that sun is STRONG!
• As I mentioned a couple posts ago, bringing ID (Not just your passport,I'm talking every piece you own...) is important when traveling out of Brazil, but also WITHIN Brazil. Friends of ours traveled to Bahia last weekend with their 18 month old. Upon arriving at the hotel they were informed that they could not check in with their exhausted daughter until they saw all of her ID including birth certificate, etc. Which they then proceeded to photocopy, and it had tp be inspected by higher-ups. This traveling with the birth certificate AND passport thing is obviously a big deal here.

Remember your ID!

As I posted, we recently went to Buenos Aires for a weekend. One thing I forgot to mention was that we were delayed slightly at the airport as we did not have the Canadoca's birth certificate with us. We had both of her passports, our passports, etc. but none of these documents verify that she is in fact our child. We managed to talk our way through it by demonstrating that we'd traveled together in the past (matching date stamps in various countries in our passports, etc.) and they looked us up in the Federal Police's system. All was well and we made our flight, but despite the enormous size of Canadoca's birth certificate, we won't again leave home without it.

When we arrived in Argentina we were greeted with a new reciprocal tax as well targeting Canadians, Australians and Americans - for us it's now US$70 per entry into Argentina. Americans pay US$168 and Australians US$100, but luckily for them once they've paid they are in the clear for the lifetime of their passport.  Currently the fees are only being collected from tourists landing in the international airport in Buenos Aires (EZE). More reason to fly Pluno into the downtown airport, though you might spend that $ on paying for your luggage to get there as it's per-kilo...

Canadoca didn't have to pay as she entered on her Brazilian passport. More shoes for her!

For more info on the reciprocity tax, click here.

I will post about our more recent trip tomorrow :)

New Canadian

The Canadoca officially has dual citizenship. Her Canadian citizenship card came through last month - just in time for her to cheer on the Canadians in the Olympics, and to watch the Gold Medal Hockey Game, a whole 4 months before we expected it! Not sure how it works for other countries, but we had to apply for Canadian citizenship for her. She was granted a temporary Canadian passport almost immediately, which was particularly important since her Brazilian passport took so long.

She's Canadian just in time to appreciate this moving tribute to Canada in the words of an American - this made me homesick!!!

I have to admit I didn't really get into the Olympic thing too much, but after hearing so many amazing stories from family and friends, I feel like I really missed out on something special. But to be fair, in my EXACTLY two years here in Brazil (today marks 2 years since we moved here!), it's one of the first times I've felt that way.

The Walker

Sometimes the lack of rules and regulations and things being "up to code" works for you, and sometimes it works against you. Being that we're in an apartment without stairs, the lack of rules when it comes to baby walkers works in our (and Canadoca's) favour here in Brazil. (Back in Canada, baby walkers have been banned for a few years). 

That kid can really motor around in her walker now - there have been a couple of occasions where I've had to go find her! She's growing fast...

The Bundchen Baby

Although many people come to Brazil thinking that they will find 100 million clones of Gisele Bundchen, there are even more reasons than ever to assure you that this is not at all the case. 

In fact, after reading this article in People, I am starting to wonder if she is Brazilian at all! She did not use any painkillers during the birth of her son (this is pretty much unheard of according to my OB, who also tells her expat clients regularly that they should give Brazilians lessons on "how to behave during childbirth"), opted for a natural birth (again, Brazil has one of the highest C-section rates...), and didn't NAME her child for several days after his birth (most Brazilians I have met who are pregnant find out the sex of the baby as soon as possible via blood test - before the ultrasound results are possible - then promptly name their child and start referring to them by their name from that point on!) 

Are we sure she is Brazilian?

What Canadoca's Stroller is Rocking These Days...

This stroller fan from DreamBaby. It features foam blades (she can safely stick her fingers in there!) and psychedelic lights that seem to mesmerize her. I'm not saying this thing is the most powerful fan but it certainly makes a difference in this 35 degree heat...

Bought mine on Ebay, and no I haven't spotted anything like it here in RIo (and I was looking!).

Hot-Weather Must-Haves for BABY

Sorry to those who have no interest in this particular topic, but I get a LOT of moms asking about this stuff, even moms going on vacation have been asking me - What are some great hot-weather items for babies? What to buy? Here are some things I've learned:

1) Blankets - everyone loves to buy babies blankets but in hot weather, let's face it not all of them are very useful. Especially the super fuzzy ones. Anything that is more like a quilt (cotton-y) is very useful in all climates. There are these fantastic muslin swaddle blankets that I've just discovered - by a company called Aden & Anais - fantastic for hot weather. Provides a barrier for nursing without overheating baby.  They come in really fun prints and are also available at Target. 

2) Shade - I have this fantastic little pop tent for Canadoca, she loves being in it! It is an inflatable travel bed tent thing with UV protection that packs up small and only weighs 4 lbs. Here is the site for the Kidco Pop Tent. This, and many other great finds are available on PinkyBlue.ca

3) Swimwear - there are a ton of rashguards and UV suits on the market but one of my favorite things we were given for Canadoca was this swimsuit with a built-in swim diaper, made by a company called i play. 

Here is a photo:

We also purchased this life jacket for her - the Salus Bijoux Baby Life Jacket - which she LOVES - it gives her a lot of independence in the water.

4) Sunshine Kids, Arbonne, and Neutrogena all make really great baby sunscreen products (for kids above 6 months of age of course!)

I will add more as I think of them... can you tell I'm putting off the big unpack?

Day in Barra part 5

Being that one of the girlfriends I went to Barra with is expecting, we were excited to see a new maternity store opening up.

Upon closer inspection, we couldn't help but wonder who would want to wear these shoes in Rio while pregnant. 

BIG DAY

My five month long fight with the federal police ordeal to get Canadoca's passport has come to an end!!!!!

Let them have CAKE?

I would like to preface this post by saying that when the incident I am about to write about occurred, I had NO intention of writing about it. However, in the few days since it occurred, in talking with other people, it occurred to me that this is anything but an isolated incident, so I think it's worth mentioning!

Last week a well-meaning acquaintance fed Canadoca some cake when she was being held by another friend. She is not quite 6 months old now, and hadn't previously been given anything other than breastmilk. Put it this way - according to the books I'm reading (and my pediatrician) there are a few foods recommended for babies this age, and cake is not one of them. Not to mention that I am a bit anal about these things (food) despite being a pretty relaxed mom about other things, like, you know, traveling. For example, the night before, my mom and I were analyzing what would be the best foods to first introduce to Canadoca based on what her blood type is. Silly us, cake is the obvious choice.

Suffice it to say I didn't anticipate her first food being CAKE, and I had kind of looked forward to being around when she first tried solids, to see her reaction, you know... I figure I've earned that you know with all the late night feedings, giving birth, gear schlepping and gazillion loads of laundry I've done. These first are the fun parts, the mommy rewards if you will.  But no.  I also have severe (anaphylactic) allergies to nuts and shellfish, so I will be very careful when introducing certain foods to Canadoca because of the family history, baking is something I have to be extremely careful with. Anyway, the person did not mean to cause her any harm of course, as she did not see any issue with giving a five month old cake. Apparently it was par for the course for her. Got it.

I thought I was the only one who could possibly have such a bizarre incident occur, until I read Eric & Emily's post on another well-meaning South American trying to give their daughter cake, saying it couldn't hurt. Then a friend told me about how every time she goes for coffee, the barristas stuff her 14 month old full of chocolate when she turns her back to pay. You often see babies with bottles of chocolate milk, or perhaps it's milk and coffee, as in the story in Emily's post.

I get that nutrition is about personal choices and opinions and that South Americans have a different view on it than North Americans in many cases (do you really need fries, rice and pasta with your beans and meat? Not to mention no vegetables besides the beans...sugar in EVERYTHING) but I am really not okay with people feeding things to my kid without asking me first, especially when it could be putting her at risk. I also get that this is something we will have to contend with back home with people wanting to give her treats, but I didn't expect this to start before she'd even started eating. For now, cake will be officially listed as her first solid food in the baby book, no long term effects, and heck she even seemed to enjoy it. But I'll be more careful next time...  

Canadoca's Brazilian Passport

While away, Mr. DRL received an email from our agency stating that the Federal Police finally received all documentation required to begin processing Canadoca's Brazilian Passport.

FINALLY.

This is great news, and for us it has only been a 4 month process to get to this point...

I would also like to say that we seem to be the exception, not the rule, and that we had a lot of bad luck (like the carteiro losing the birth certificate and our agency being, well, pretty much useless!) and I know of several other foreigners who obtained passports for their Brazilian-born children without issue, in a very timely manner. But still my story is still worth telling, because this could happen, and when it does there is NOTHING you can do about it.

More Canadoca-wear

The Canadoca likes to flaunt her dual citizenship status by wearing articles of clothing from her two home countries. I've posted a couple of her Canada items in the past, but check out this dress:

 

It's seriously a great Rio piece...

 

She also has some cute "Gatinha Carioca" and "Ela e Carioca"  onesies - but I think the dress is the best!

Where to find it?

Parceria Carioca, which has locations in Jardim Botanico, Shopping da Gavea and Forum de Ipanema

Back in Rio

I'm currently re-acclimatizing to the "Daily Rio Life"... back in Rio after a great trip home. Canadoca met a number of our friends, three of her four sets of grandparents, one set of great-grandparents and numerous members of the extended family as well. She did a bit of a tour of Western Canada, starting in Calgary then heading into the interior of BC, Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

Traveling alone with a 4 month old was easier than one might think. She was a trooper no matter where I took her or how many new people mauled her in one day (I think the record was 45).  This kid wants to see the world.

In case you are curious, I traveled with her on a Canadian passport only, since we still do not have a Brazilian one. Initially when we started all these processes the Canadian consulate here in Rio said that we must have both passports in order to travel. However, something recently changed, and now the Brazilian officials are allowing Brazilian born children of foreign descent to travel on the passports of the parents' home country. (Confusing much!?) The airline officials raised an eyebrow but when they consulted the federal police, they said it was a-okay. I did have to have her Brazilian birth certificate along with a letter from Mr. DRL (actually, truth be told it was a court order) saying that I was allowed to leave the country with her.  Whatever works!

So now we are back, safe and sound, and ready for the next adventures... which include Uruguay, Chile, Argentina & Peru! 

Regular posts will follow... and responses to comments and emails, too. Just as soon as I get started on my laundry pile...

It's good to be back.

Update on the SHRED

About a month ago I wrote about doing the 30 Day Shred video by Jillian Michaels.

My postpartum weight loss is going a bit more slowly than I would have anticipated but I definitely recommend this video. I've lost a few inches on my waist and feel a lot stronger/tighter everywhere, and it is rewarding to do the video and see the increase in endurance. I have lost over 5 lbs, and feel my muscle tone has increased quite a bit. More of my pre-pregnancy clothing fits every week. Most importantly in my books was getting back into my Rock & Republic jeans, which I managed to do this week. I did a victory dance that scared the crap out of Canadoca when I got those babies zipped up (apparently she hadn't before seen me so crazy-excited).  I realize that after a baby some of the weight loss is just hormone related as well, and that if I keep working hard and give it some time, it will eventually come off!

I did not do the shred every day (though in the beginning I did it for about 15 days straight) then every few days after that as I did other activities. I find that the repetitive lunges and squats with the SHRED were a bit hard on my hip, which is a bit of an old problem area for me. So I rested it a bit and am now modifying a few of the exercises and adding more stretches.

A favorite website of mine for tracking weight loss, calories consumed (along with other dietary details), etc. is SPARKPEOPLE. Check it out!

Putting the the "Canad" in the Canadoca

Mr. DRL's aunt sent Canadoca a very cute little bit of Canadiana couture. I think it may have brought us luck!

If all went well, the Canadoca are currently somewhere over Brazil, flying back to Canada. And yes, she's probably about to actually be COLD for the first time in her life.

How did this turn of events come about?

No, we still do not have a Brazilian passport for her. However, there has been some sort of policy change with the Federal Police and a birth certificate and Canadian passport will suffice. Typing this is a bit tough being that my fingers are crossed that this works...

In order to see as many of the VIPs in our life, Canadoca and I are spending time in Calgary, the interior of BC, Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

I am obviously THRILLED to be going home but there are a million emotions running through my system about this trip, for many reasons.

• Firstly, it is my first time flying since the Air France crash. Losing two friends in this crash changed my outlook on flying, and really, life in general. I am also a bit nervous about flying over potential bad weather systems, given the recent incident Continental has. 
• It's Canadoca's first time on a plane and I will be alone with her! Mr. DRL is not joining us. Which means he will also not be there when his family sees Canadoca for the first time, which saddens me. I am also anticipating that almost 3 weeks without his baby girl is going to be very hard on Mr. DRL....
• I am sure that having her meet our friends and family will be soooo incredible but part of it is so sad for me too because I know how difficult the goodbyes are going to be. So I am trying to just focus on the hello's. :)
• Frustration is also an emotion I am feeling, as I am being pulled in a million different directions to satisfy everyone's need to have time with her. I hate feeling like I am hurting people, and am a pleaser, trying to accomodate people and make them happy. The way I see it, basically every moment I spend with everyone is a moment someone else does not get with her. I understand where everyone is coming from and want to give them the time they want, but some people are making this easier/more difficult on me than others. I have a lot of "expat guilt" about depriving people back home of time with my daughter since we live so far away.

Upon returning (assuming I got to leave), Mr. DRL and Canadoca and I are heading to Peru and Chile for our first family holiday. In the meantime, enjoy some regularly scheduled posts that I have been frantically pulling together while Canadoca "naps"...  and I'll be checking in from time to time to moderate comments. 

Fraldario

The malls here in Brazil have little diaper change rooms complete with staff, supplies, chairs to breastfeed in, microwaves, high chairs... it's nice! A staff member puts down a fresh cover for the change area between each baby and offers any additional help you might need. It's nice!

Here are some photos from Sao Conrado Fashion Mall:

Above: supplies provided

Below: Canadoca ready for a change

 

Baby Shoes - can't resist...

Sometimes Canadoca likes to rock the Copacabana shoes...
Bought these at Bebe Basico

Or these Brazilian originals which were a gift from Mr. DRL's secretary. They are Puket's http://www.puket.com.br
I think he thought I was a little nutty when I was so excited to open them up (I'd seen them in magazines, etc. and had been trying to find some for Canadoca). So cute!

Okay these ones are not Brazilian but they do get a lot of rave reviews... socks from trumpette. I bought a pack of 6 different colors and had to order more.

Update

So the Canadoca and I are still here in Brazil as she still does not have a Brazilian passport.

The latest?

After SIX weeks had gone by since the Federal Police launched the investigation into her birth, Mr. DRL demanded some answers as something had obviously gone wrong along the way. By the way, the hospital responded promptly and apparently satisfied the federal police's requirements. The second part of the process was for the Cartorio/Notary to provide her birth certificate. Which, apparently, they LOST.

It's okay, as we have several copies. However, if someone had simply NOTIFIED us of this when it was realized rather than waiting for us to inquire, we could have provided another copy of it weeks ago. And potentially gone home for the wedding, etc. 

Anyway. As soon as I get a passport, I'm going to Canada. Shouldn't be long now. Until then... I'm here!

Of course this is soooo frustrating at times, but it could be worse. 

I am not the only person who is having trouble getting kids out of Brazil - one of my American friends was briefly detained with her children as she tried to go home this summer (since her kids have RNE's, the officials were asking for their Brazilian passports. Which makes no sense - of course they don't have them, because they are not Brazilian.) Another acquaintance was also stopped when trying to leave with her child as she was travelling without her husband because she only had a notorized letter specifying that he was aware that she was doing this, rather than a court order....

And yet despite the many hoops we all have to jump through, the worst part is we all hear the horror stories in the news about cases such as David Goldman's, or worse this shocking case, a fellow in Austria whose child is now dead. Because apparently once a child is in Brazil, it's pretty hard to get them out, whether they belong here or not.

Pacing the Panic Room

While I was pregnant, I stumbled across this blog, Pacing the Panic Room, which seems to have started out as a beautiful art project dedicated to capturing the blogger's wife's pregnancy. Each week he took beautiful photos (he is a photographer) of his wife and wrote up a little piece about the week. Sigh... so nice! They welcomed a beautiful baby girl recently, who is now frequently showcased on the blog.

I read the blog regularly and had always meant to comment but, well, have been a bit busy lately. Yesterday however I HAD to. See, now there is a Brazil connection - the blogger and his family are featured in this month's issue of Crescer magazine here in Brazil:

More Maternity Clothes in Rio

I try to avoid shopping for anything here that I could get at home (especially things that are much cheaper there, and let's face it, most things that are available both places are cheaper at home).  So as a general but occasionally broken rule, I don't really go to Zara here. But sometimes one needs a couple of wardrobe staples, and Zara is great for that. They also have a maternity section for all of you gestantes...

No passport

So the wedding is tomorrow but we are still in Rio as we do not have Canadoca's Brazilian passport... it ended up being the cartorio that delayed the process so much.

Perfect day in the Peapod Pop Tent!

The Canadoca has earned the "oca" (from Carioca) in her name... she offically loves the beach. Even if it IS "winter"...  Last Friday we took her and our guests out to Recreio to the beach for a little sun, frescoball and R&R. Mr. DRL even took the day off!

We bought the Canadoca a little Peapod Pop Tent/Travel Bed thing that folds up super small and protects her from some elements (sun, wind, insects, etc.) while engaging in outdoor pursuits. Almost like a pack & play but much lighter and smaller (less than 5 lbs, and measures 14x14x5 - easily put in a suitcase)! Friday was the first time we used it so we weren't sure how it would go but she seemed mesmerized by the red interior and with the exception of coming out for feedings, she spent the better part of 5 hours of the afternoon in there!

Ela não esta com frio

I think I am going to make a flag that says this little slogan. Since Canadoca can't yet speak for herself and since apparently at least 5 people insist on harping on me that she is cold every time I leave the house. Yesterday it was 25 degrees and she was in the baby bjorn with me in a long sleeved shirt and pants with her feet in little booties. THREE PEOPLE stopped me in as many steps at the grocery store to tell me she was cold. One scolded me for having her near the refrigerated section in the store because it is apparently too cold for her. I'm talking full finger shaking scolding here.  If I thought that their criticisms had even the slightest amount of legitimacy I don't think I would be annoyed but it is truly ridiculous. She isn't cold. The third lady in as many steps got a very dirty look and sour response from me.

Some days I think it is definitely a good thing that I did not ever learn to properly tell people off in Portuguese.

Can you tell that it's been a year since I have been home?

Where are Canadoca's passports...

Shredding

So... Canadoca is now more than 10 weeks old, and officially weighs more pounds than I've lost since her birth. Although I realize that there is "no rush" and "it took 9 months to put on" and "it might take a year" and "breastfeeding makes you hang on to some fat" .......I'm just not a very patient girl.

So what's a new mom to do?

Well I walk a lot. Go to the gym occasionally, and Mr. DRL and I sort of swap off taking care of Canadoca.  I haven't returned to my ashtanga practice yet as our schedule is just not regulated enough yet.

11 days ago I started the "30 Day Shred" - an intense workout video that takes just 30 minutes per day. A highschool friend recently had a baby and used it to get back in shape - she was back in her pre-pregnancy clothing within 14 days of starting the shred, and only did level 1 (there are 3 levels). I've managed to do it every day for 11 days and notice a huge difference in my endurance and how my clothes are fitting (I am fitting into my size 8 pants now. Which is great except that most of my stuff is more like size 6 but hey this is progress!!!)

The video is tough but as the trainer Jillian Michaels says, if you are only going to work out for 30 minutes, you have to make every minute count.  I will do a weigh in/measurement update after day 15...

 

Canadoca's Brazilian Passport

She has her dress picked out:

but will she get to wear it? (Dress is from Fabula - a children's boutique here in Rio).

Canadoca's aunt is getting married two weeks from today somewhere in Canada. Will we and the Canadoca be there to show off her mad air guitar skills (aided by mom)? Not sure. Why? No Brazilian passport yet.

To be fair, this should have been a fairly easy process. IF we had already received our Residency Cards, which we applied for over a year ago.

I was told by other gringoes to make an appointment at Shopping Leblon at the passport office and that from there on it would be quite simple and we'd have the passport within days. Our appointment was in mid-June.

We arrived at the appointment accompanied by an agent from the company my husband's firm employs to take care of passport and visa issues. When our name was called, we were told that since we didn't have our Residence Cards yet, we could not be issued a passport at that office and rather we would have to go to the Federal Police at the International Airport. This was frustrating for two reasons: 1) Mr. DRL took the day off work for this appointment, but more importantly, 2) Our agent should have realized that this was the case since they were involved in applying for our residency cards.

The next day, we headed to the international airport. A different agent met us there and asked us what we were there for (!! I am not even going to go there.... I am just not...) and basically stood around. Mr. DRL dealt directly with the officials, who told us that our presence wasn't really required, we could have motoboyed in some forms, and that they would need to launch an investigation into our daughter's birth since we don't have our residence cards yet. We were told that this would take about 30 days. Around this time the agency also admits that there was some sort of error or mix-up on their part with our application for residency cards. Strike three.

We are now applying for permanent citizenship based on the fact that we have a Brazilian child. Which will apparently take about another year, but allows us to work here, for any company, rather than being tied to the company because it holds our visa. Nice to have flexibility for sure.

However, currently we are waiting to hear if the signatures from FOUR doctors present in the delivery room are enough to prove that Canadoca is ours. I have heard horror stories of people having to undergo DNA testing in this scenario so we are hopeful that their word will suffice (I guess I should have opted for the birth video at the hospital!). 

Clearly our agency dropped the ball. I just hope that it can be retrieved in time, so that we can attend Mr. DRL's sister's wedding, and so that he can be there when his family first sees Canadoca. (I'm going home once the passport is issued, regardless, but he is only going to go if he can attend the wedding).

Lessons learned:
1) If you are a foreigner having a child in Brazil, make EVERY effort to ensure you receive your residence card before the child is born. It will save you a lot of hassle.
2) Carefully check the reputation of any agency you entrust with these matters. This particular agency deals with many companies here and seems to do a great job with the actual workers' visas/passports, etc. but drops the ball when it comes to the dependants/families. I know another woman whose husband works for another company who was stuck in the US for WEEKS earlier this year because the same agency made mistakes with their family's visas.

The Chupera

Another massive FAIL on my part as a parent according to many of the Brazilians I encounter on my daily adventures is the lack of a CHUPERA in Canadoca's mouth. If she cries for even a moment they immediately ask if she has one, when I say no, I inevitably get a tsk tsk or the dreaded shaking of the finger in my face (because every baby's life is incomplete until they suck and chew on plastic? It's okay for babies to cry for a minute or two every once in a while...). Don't get me wrong, there are times that I would definitely love to simply stick in a plug of some sort to console Canadoca when it will be a few minutes until she can feed or be changed. BUT SHE DOESN'T LIKE IT, people!! She won't take it. It's not really an issue, as she doesn't generally cry unless there is reason to do so, and promptly stops when her needs are met. She's a great baby. All the more reason not to have her dependant on a soother.

I am thinking of purchasing one of the crazy baby soothers below to carry around and distract the Brazilians when they ask if she has one...

My Birth Experience in Brazil - Part 3: The Hospital

My doctor delivers babies at Perinatal in Laranjeiras. About a month before my due date, we went for a tour.

We did not get to see the delivery rooms, but rather were shown all varieties of suites available to us for after the birth. We ended up going with a basic one, as we weren't expecting many visitors and as long as it was a private room with somewhere for Mr. DRL to sleep (he had his own bed), we were happy!

During the tour, the woman kept telling us how much nicer the facilities at Perinatal in Barra were, it was newer, etc. I found this odd!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Fast forward to delivery day...
My water broke at midnight on a Friday.  By 2 am we arrived at the hospital, where I was admitted, and went for an ultrasound right away. My doctor had already arrived and her team was on their way (I had three ob/gyn's + a private anaesthesiologist at all times... yes all 20 hours!). So it's important to note - you bring your own "team" into Perinatal - doctors, etc. Nurses are hospital staff, but the doctors are basically your doctor's staff. And you pay them directly and everything.

One of her assisting doctors commented on the size of my belly in Portuguese. I am not sure if she knew I understood or not! I let her know I did... haha.

All privacy ended the moment I stepped into the hospital. Mr. DRL and I were shown to our room where we could store our things and change. The nurse stayed in my room with me to ensure I got into my gown okay, and then a bunch of questions ensued (religion, all kinds of things. I have a theory that Perinatal does all sorts of surveys and sells their results to research companies... read further for more!)...

About an hour later (I was not very dilated at this point!) we were taken down to labour and delivery. I was not allowed to walk, was put on a stretcher. I found this hilarious, considering that I was bonked into walls no less than four times on the way down, and that my doctor had me pace the halls for HOURS after arriving there. But anyway.

I won't go into a ton of detail about the next several hours (20 hour long process in all), but here are some key points that I am told were unique experiences for me that I would not have experienced in North America:

- The biggest of course is the amount of personal attention. To have an entire team of doctors there solely for the birth of our baby was overwhelming. Everyone was great!
- Our pediatrician attended the birth.
- Our delivery room was quite pretty - and large, with a private bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. Unfortunately since my water had broken I was not allowed to use the jacuzzi tub!

- The entire 20 hours, I was only offered one small glass of juice, and was told I wasn't allowed anything else. Not even ice chips which you hear about all the time. Not that I wanted ice chips, mind you...
- The epidural and episiotomy are pretty standard here. If you don't want either, it will be difficult finding a doc who will go without.
- Apparently all of my doc's colleagues could not understand why I would want to still have a vaginal birth after so many hours... luckily my doc did!
- I started pushing when I was 8 cm dilated.
- When pushing, one of the three docs was by my side, putting his weight on my stomach to try and push the baby out.
- I can't describe how overwhelmingly positive everyone was, and the energy in the room when Canadoca was born was just awesome. We were all cracking jokes until about the 3rd push from the end, and despite the fact that the doctors had been there for almost an entire DAY, they were all in incredible spirits.
- My doctor and her team suggested that Mr. DRL and I put on seminars for Brazilians called "How to Behave During Childbirth" - apparently at the slightest amount of pain, most of her patients beg for a c-section. They were impressed with our patience (and I don't consider myself to be very patient...) I loved the compliments - and they continued to my post-natal appointments when the receptionist greeted me by saying: "I hear you are a warrior!" Back home a woman who had less than 24 hours labour with an epidural would never be referred to as such....
- Despite being assured many times before the delivery that I would be immediately handed my baby and given time with her, this was not the case. She was handed to the doctor for a quick exam, then I got her for about 5 minutes, then we were apart for nearly an hour. There were no complications at the time of birth or anything. If I were to do it over, I would have my husband be more insistent on this point with the doc's. But all ended well!
- The lactation consultants in the hospital were not very encouraging when it came to breastfeeding. I am told this is the opposite of how it works back home! They were very overbearing, physically, with me, and I ended up kicking them out of my room several times as I found them to be rude.  (They would come into the room, not even speak to me but rather just start manhandling me immediately. This even occurred the first time that I held my baby back in the room!) Their response to my rejection of their methods was to basically say that if I was going to have any trouble breastfeeding, I should go get a bottle (they even sent Mr. DRL to a drugstore to buy an item they wrote down - turned out to be a bottle).  This sort of goes with my point above about tolerating pain - it seems as though when confronted with the slightest amount of difficulty, the typical solution for patients here is to somehow get around it (c-section, bottle feeding, etc.) I would like to note that I didn't have any unique difficulty getting started breastfeeding, but getting a latch was certainly an adjustment - which is entirely typical! Just like anywhere in the world, we need to take charge of our own health and go into these situations as educated as possible, to make our own decisions where we can.
- I don't think I would have commented on this but for the fact that I was told that the food was so amazing at Perinatal - I didn't find this to be the case. After being in labour for 20 hours and not allowed to eat, I was brought a plate of coldcuts and some crackers. NOT KIDDING. I found this incredible considering how bad cold cuts are for a person... I didn't eat it and they commented on that, and by the day we were checking out they sent over a nutritionist to talk to me about what I would prefer they serve me (I had one meal left to have there by that point).
- After the baby was born, there were a variety of services available to us such as signage for our door, manicure/pedicure, face makeup, videos, photos, etc. etc. 
- The bathtub for Canadoca's first bath was the coolest ever:

Overall the hospital experience was great and a lot better than what we'd have back home from the sounds of things. Having privacy was so nice. Knowing that our doctor would be there every step of the way was so reassuring. Having the continuity of the same pediatrician since birth is also awesome. We would have another baby in Brazil for sure if we could!

** A note to expectant moms in Rio - if you are considering having an elective c-section in Rio, ask your doctor about Casa de Saude - Hospital Sao Jose. It is a very nice facility. **

Canadoca's Passports - Part 1 - Canadian Passport Requirements

I'll soon get into the wild goose chase tale that outlines the adventure of getting Canadoca her Brazilian passport... until then, here are the details for obtaining a Canadian Passport/citizenship for children born to Canadian Citizens in Brazil.

The Application for Canadian Citizenship can be downloaded and printed out of the CIC website: www.cic.gc.ca  form CIT0001.

Besides the application, we will:
- 02 photos (following sizes and instructions provided on the form);
- original birth certificate of the child in Portuguese;
- translation of the birth certificate by a Sworn Translator (available at www.atprio.com.br);
- original proof of Canadian citizenship (Birth Certificate or Canadian Citizenship Card) of the applicant (mother or father of the child);
- marriage certificate (not mandatory);
- original document of mother and father (passport or ID with picture and signature);
- processing fee R$140,00.

Please note that in order to apply for a Canadian Passport you need a proof of travel. No Canadian Passport will be issued without it.

For the passport the application can be downloaded and printed out of the Passport Canada website: www.passportcanada.gc.ca  form PPTC 042 (For Children under 16 years of age English).

Please note that the back of one of the pictures need to be sign by a guarantor (refer to the instructions).

Form PPTC116 will be signed at the Consulate General, as the passport will be issued with a limited validity with no extension of validity.

Passport fees:

- R$37,00 for a 24 pages passport (for applicant under 3 years)

Passports are now issued in Canada in 15 working days, when all requirements are completed. Please note that fees are paid in Reais, in cash, to the Consular Department when the application and documents are submitted.

The Consular Department opening hours to the public are: from Monday to Thursday, from 08:30hs to 12:00hs and from 14:00hs to 17:30hs and Friday from 8:30hs to 14:00hs.

Consulate General of Canada/Consulat Général du Canada
Av. Atlântica, 1130 - 5th /ième floor/étage
22021-000 - RJ - Brazil/Brésil
Tel: (55 21) 2543-3004
Fax/Télec: (55 21) 2275-2195
www.brasil.gc.ca

My note: it was of particular interest to us that our daughter will not be a Canadian Citizen for at least a year (this is how long it takes to process), and the passport she will be given now is just temporary because she needs it to travel.