Category Archives: Audiovisual

Getting Paul’s Passport

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Monday, we went to the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne. All three of us had to be there. We submitted paperwork for Paul’s Consular Report of Birth Abroad, passport, and Social Security number.

It was a fairly straight forward day. The paperwork was long but understandable (mostly), the drive took 45 minutes (including circling the block looking for parking), and time in the government offices was miraculously less than an hour (it was the day before a public holiday!).

What did take a long time was getting Paul’s passport photo the week before. Here are the required dimensions:

Here are some “helpful” requirements (courtesy the Department of State website).

7 Steps to Successful Photos

  • Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background.

If you went to a photo shop for a passport photo, you would be put in front of a plain white screen. But for Paul, of course, there could be no arms or hands or anything to prop him up, so that wouldn’t work for us. Instead, we used white blankets over pillows to try to prop up the little guy. I don’t think passport photos are intended for infants who can’t hold up their own heads!

  • Position subject and lighting so that there are no distracting shadows on the face or background.

This is very hard to do without professional lighting. I admit, some of the shadows from the background had to be eliminated in the end.

  • Encourage subject to have a natural expression.

OK, Paul, look natural! (Should this include spit up?)

  • Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open.

Have you ever tried to get an infant, who is awake and has his eyes open, to stay still? It doesn’t happen. Paul wanted to wriggle around. He certainly didn’t want to face forward and pose.

  • Center head within frame.

Paul kept squirming, so his head kept flopping out of the center of the frame. He really likes to have his hand by his face, too. Thank goodness for cropping!

  • Make sure photo presents full head from top of hair to bottom of chin; height of head should measure 1 inch to 1-3/8 inches (25 mm to 35 mm).

Babies faces are quite round, so I think this requirement makes the head huge in comparison to the rest of the frame.

  • Make sure eye height is between 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/8 inches (28 mm and 35 mm) from bottom of photo.

So exact!

In all, I think I took 100 pictures before we found one that we could fix up to meet the requirements. Here are the attempts and the final product.

Passport Photos

The attempts and the final product.

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Survey Says…

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I got a call the other day from a student at Melbourne University. She called me as a follow up to a survey I agreed to participate in when I was in the hospital. They ask me questions while in the hospital, at 4-6 weeks, and at 6 months. Then they compare the answers to determine changing perceptions.

One question was as follows: How would you rate the level of pain you experienced during your labor and delivery, 1 being the worst possible pain and 5 being no pain at all?

I thought a moment and answered 2.

I have reflected since then. Did I say 1 when I was in the hospital?

I am glad I wrote about the childbirth experience right after it happened, because I guess already I’m forgetting how bad it was. The great cuddly moments with my son are mellowing out the memory of labor. How I love being a mother!

My husband and I watched Bill Cosby’s take on natural childbirth the other day. Here it is, in two parts (each is 5-6 minutes long).

Bill Cosby Natural Childbirth Part 1
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFMVeZyhagI]

Bill Cosby Natural Childbirth Part 2
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-AG_yF1Uw]

My comments: I really don’t think yelling at my husband would have helped at all! However, I may have yelled at him had he started into a cheer: “Push him out! Shove him out! Waaaaaaaay out!”

Paul and the Pacifier

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Title: Paul and the Pacifier

Starring: Paul

Synopsis: Paul is minding his own business and enjoying his pacifier when an unseen force pries it out of his mouth. He knows the pacifier is nearby and struggles to get it back. It is a cruel world. The effort wears him out and he begins to fall asleep.

Editor’s note: Paul will be very happy when he figures out how to use those hands of his!

Hemming Paul’s First Suit

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This morning as my husband was leaving for work, I told him that I planned on hemming the pants of Paul’s new suit today.

“Uh oh,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, do you know how to hem pants?” he asked.

I told him I could figure it out. I mean, these are infant-sized cuffs! How hard could it be?

It took me an hour and a half. And I don’t think it looks very good. I’m just not very good. I guess that’s why kids start small–I learn on an infant-sized cuff. By the time I get to a toddler-sized cuff, I’m better. That’s a nice thought, but the problem is, I’m not sure I improved. That’s because, to be honest, I really didn’t know what I was doing. My husband was right. I really don’t know how to hem pants. Oh well.

Next time I really should just go to the kiosk at the mall–they hem pants while you wait for just $12. And then I wouldn’t have “ruined” Paul’s nice new suit. I just couldn’t bring myself to ask them to hem such small pants. How silly would I look?

I hope no one thinks Paul looks silly for having a hem that looks amateur.

Does it really matter when he’ll probably outgrow it in two months?

By the way, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a suit or even plain black pants for an infant? They’re very hard to find. But we really wanted him to look sharp. And it is such a cute suit! The pants even have pockets. Does an infant really need two pockets?

Here’s his suit. I still need to take in the vest at the shoulder (it’s too big as well) but I’m scared to mess with it. Especially after my hemming job.

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We’ll try to get pictures with the kid in the suit tomorrow. He’s asleep now. I’m just afraid he’s going to spit up over it before the blessing time on Sunday! I wanted it new for the blessing!