Gualby Nation : Our little Panamanian

Fist Pump for Panama

We went into David last week to get a few things checked off our do-to list. I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Guerra. He said I looked great, gave me hug, and told me to call him when I was pregnant again! He did do an ultrasound while I was there to make sure everything was as it should be and it was strange looking at my empty uterus on the screen in his office. The highlight of seeing my doctor for the past 9 months was getting a glimpse of Elwood while he was still in my belly. I would get to hear his beautiful heartbeat and was told that everything was healthy. Dr. Guerra must have sensed my emotions because he asked me, "Do you remember when you first came to see me and we saw just a speck on the screen?" Barely able to hold back my tears I answered, "Yes, that was the best day ever."

Next, we took Elwood to the maternal and children hospital for some routine newborn blood work and a tuberculosis vaccine. I was told to go to the maternity section of the hospital for the tuberculosis vaccine. As Con and me and Elwood were headed to the elevator we were stopped by a pretty serious looking female security officer who told us, sternly, that Conor would not be allowed past the lobby as he was not wearing pants. Surprised at this, I looked back at Conor and saw what the security officer must have seen: a large, shaggy haired, bearded gringo wearing semi clean clothes and dark prescription sunglasses inside a dimly lit hospital (he left his eye glasses in the car). He did look suspicious. The "no pants rule" might have been made up but it was less insulting than, "well you look creepy so you can't go any further into the hospital." So, Elwood and I went alone, my pant legs swishing back and forth as I made my way to the elevator. Elwood was tough as nails as he received his tuberculosis vaccine. The nurse said he was strong and handsome and his proud mama whole heartily agreed.

El then got his Infant Metabolic Screen done. This test was done close to the lobby area so Conor was allowed to wait with us for that one. There were about twenty other Panamanian babies waiting for the same test and it was interesting seeing that many babies right about Elwood's age all in the same place. The biggest difference between us and the other babies and parents is that we were way more casual. Obviously, Conor was the only father in shorts. Elwood was wearing a tie dyed onsie and had a simple, muslin blanket swaddled around him. The other babies kinda looked like they were on their way to baby prom. Both boy and girl babies were in ornate, fancy outfits with matching hats, booties, blankets, corsages, and all with lace trimmings.

While we were being productive we thought we would go to the Panamanian consulate and see what we needed to do to get Elwood's Panamanian passport. We looked online on what we needed to do to start his U.S. passport process and the list was ridiculous. We need a form that shows he was born abroad to two U.S. citizens, proof of our citizenship, college transcripts for proof of residency for four years, our original marriage licence, two passport photos, a special "long" birth certificate instead of the "short" birth certificate we got ten days after Elwood was born, a signed and notarized pledge of allegiance, pictures of us with the American flag flying in the background, a notarized affidavit saying we have never and will never harm the bald eagle, the names and social security numbers of our childhood best friends, and proof that we love apple pie, baseball, and anything red, white, and blue. We were hoping that it wasn't as difficult to get a Panamanian passport for our little guy. We walked into the passport office and the guy behind the counter was kind and helpful, hardly the type of person that should be working at a government building. He asked for Elwood's "short" birth certificate, Con and my passports and then asked us to take a seat. About five minutes later we were asked to take Elwood to the back to have his picture taken. The woman fussed over Elwood, telling us how handsome and sweet he was as she took his photo. Con and I went back to the waiting room and looked at each other. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. Is this it? Are we about to get his passport? Ten more minutes passed and we were called up to the window. We had to sign a paper with copies of our passports, making sure our signatures matched our passport signatures, and then we were handed a bright blue Panamanian passport with Elwood's photo and information in it! Twenty minutes total and Elwood was able to travel the world as a Panamanian citizen!