Out and About

Gabriela got to go out on the town yesterday for the first time. We needed to take her to the lab for her Teste do Pezinho (just the basic blood work done on newborns - I love that it translates to Little Foot Test though.) And we thought while we were out we would stop by the Cartório and get her birth certificate issued. (They give you a record of live birth at the hospital, but you have to go to the Cartório to get the birth certificate and actually name your kid and all.)




So she got all cleaned up and put on her polka-dot dress and little "shoe" socks, we packed her diaper bag, strapped her in her car seat, and off we went.

We went to the Cartório first. You can read all about these places here (read the comments for some clarification - I had some info wrong). The hospital deals with one specific place, so we had to go there. It was quite small, very crowded, not very well organized, and exceptionally hot. Of course, any Brasilian would probably have known better than to try doing this on a Friday - there were no less than 6 wedding parties all crammed in there yesterday! After waiting our turn, we finally got called back. And then we were told the hospital had not filled out the certificate of live birth correctly and that if we submitted the form as is, it would certainly be denied.

So off to the hospital we went. It was a quick fix to correct the certificate, but a bit of a hassle with a three day old baby and slow-moving new mommy. And of course, we didn't get any sort of apology from the lady who made the mistake. (I know, we Americans apologize incessantly, but, seriously, please acknowledge that you didn't do your job correctly and caused us an inconvenience! It would make the postpartum hormonal woman feel much better about the whole ordeal!)

And back we went to the Cartório. There wasn't any parking close by and Gabriela was awake and decided that she was hungry. So she and I stayed in the car and I fed her while Eric went back and got the birth certificate handled.

After that we went to the lab to have her blood drawn. She was less than thrilled to be awakened from her sweet slumber by someone poking a needle into her heel and squeeze blood out! But it was over quick and so was the crying.

I think the whole afternoon wore her out a bit though . . .





And I guess we're going to need to get the girl some bows for her hair or something. While Eric was getting us signed in at the lab, I had three different ladies come over to see Miss Gabriela, ask hold old she was, etc. And all three ended up asking if it was a boy. Now, I'm no expert on all the cultural differences between the US and Brasil, but I'm pretty sure they don't dress little boys in pink polka-dot dresses here. Or have a pink blanket in their car seats. Maybe a hair bow would help clarify things in the future though. :)

We decided to go out for a little walk around the neighborhood and to the grocery store this afternoon. Short of our excursion yesterday, I hadn't been out of the house at all and was ready for a little physical activity (as I suppose the soft belly isn't going to tone up on its own!)

(The lighting has her looking yellow in this picture - she's not actually jaundiced! Although maybe a little tan from the prenatal time at the pool in the Brasilian sun . . . hehe)

Gabriela slept through the whole thing. Which I take as a sign that she liked it.

She's definitely pimpin' one of the best looking strollers in town! And those bike tires roll like a dream on our bumpy, uneven sidewalks! I think we're going to find this was one of our best imports yet from our trip home at Christmas!

After coming home and getting a belly full of milk, Gabriela passed out once again and has assumed this position in my lap . I thought it provided a perfect opportunity to post a few more pictures and update on our days!