Born to be loved

Our second son was born this summer, and due to my limited time off, we decided again to travel to Japan 3 weeks postpartum to spend time with family. As I didn't record  how I (with great painstaking effort) had managed to get a passport for Hugo during his infant Japan trip, I will note how we did it for A-chan, with some notable differences. There are multiple requirements, some being more difficult to secure than others, to obtain an expedited passport (Expedited as in for travel within 2 weeks) for a newborn. 1) The most difficult requirement: proof of citizenship in the form of a certified birth certificate. You need the actual formal birth certificate document, not the temporary ones they provide at the hospital after the baby's birth. At UCDMC in Sacramento, parents will fill out the birth certificate information at the hospital, and the paperwork is mailed out every day (supposedly) to the county Vital Records office. The hospital and Vital Records office will

We're in both maternity & paternity leave and came to Japan to see grand parents on both sides. Tomorrow we're flying to a southern island in Japan where m's grand parents (our kids' great grand parents) used to live. Great grandma and m's middle sister, her friend from east coast are joining. How exciting! We're taking an LCC (Low Cost Carrier`. Most popular LCC is probably Southwest) with a toddler and an infant. So did some research so that we won't get in any last minute trouble (which we have had a lot..). Luggage Each person can check-in for free up to 20 kg . We decided to check-in: - Stroller - Suitcase - Car seat Also, (I can't find its English page though) this page says that a stroller can be checked in, exempted for the weight limit. More waiting line might be possible Being LCC means cheaper, potentially leading to less convenience. We should bring into flight plenty of kids distraction (with our infant Ak, we're pr