Theo and Wawa - Week 5

About a week back, Theo, who is now 5 weeks old, received a big box of really great goodies from his grandaunt Nalik and granduncle Gary of Louisiana.

Among the many things that he received were some really nice (possibly expensive!) clothes, one of which he is wearing in the photo above, and a toy koala which we have named Wawa. Tita Nalik (now, Lola Nalik!) and Uncle Gary (now, Lolo Gary!) are two of the most kind and generous persons that we know, and we, including Theo, are sincerely grateful for all the blessings that we have received from them over the years.

In the photo above, Theo appears to be enjoying Wawa's company, but he hasn't gotten to hugging her yet. Maybe in the next few months or so...

First Month Vital Statistics





Thanks to the assistance and kindness of Tito Romy, Theo was able to have his first-month checkup yesterday at the University of Tsukuba Hospital. Mommy D and Theo were also able to finish their registration formalities at the city hall.

As you can see from the figures above, Theo is growing very well, very healthily, and at a perfect pace, all thanks to breast milk and all the loving care that we can give. He'll have his next checkup on his 3rd month, and we're certain that he'll ace his charts again.

At the moment, I am typing this blog with only one hand, while Theo is fast asleep on my left arm. Mommy D is catching up on her sleep as well, while I am busy catching up on the joys (and responsibilities!) of fatherhood .

The Birthday Boy! - Month 1

This evening, we celebrated Theo's first month birth anniversary. But as you can see from the photos above, he doesn't seem to have the slightest interest, preferring instead to gaze sleepily elsewhere. He just had a healthy dose of Mommy D's milk and also had his diaper changed, so he felt very comfortable and contented when these photos were taken. He is currently fast asleep as I am writing this blog.

Mommy D also went to the hospital today for her checkup and the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. On Friday, Theo will also have his first-month checkup, and I would like to guess that he has already gained more than 1 kg of body weight.

Happy (1st month) Birthday, Theo! Mommy D and I are truly savoring each and every day of your astounding growth!

Permanent Residence!

Theo is indeed one very lucky kid!

While probably tens of thousands of people in the world are dying for a visa to enter Japan, Theo has been given the lifetime privilege to leave and enter Japan as much as he wants.

This morning at the Mito branch of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, this stamp (among other things) was fixed on his passport.

As you can see, he has been granted permanent residence!

Indeed, the blessings continue to pour in for our “miracle in the making”!

The Pinoy! - Week 4

On Friday afternoon (January 21), I sent an email to the Philippine Consul General, who is also a friend, to inquire if it's possible for me to pick up Theo's passport at the Philippine Embassy on Saturday (January 22). The good ConGen replied that Theo's passport is ready for release, and so I went to the Philippine Embassy in Roponggi yesterday to pick it up. At the same time, I attended a discussion with community leaders at 5 pm with two congressmen regarding the deployment of Filipino entertainers to Japan (but that's a different story and is beyond the scope of this blog).

After showing my 4-week-oldTheo his passport, here's what he said:






As you can see, Theo is very happy that he has already received his passport and that he is now, officially, a very proud Filipino! *

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*...despite the country's sorry state. We'll, there's no way to go but UP!

The Writer - Week 3



At exactly 3 weeks old, Theo is shown here holding a pen and looking intently at the camera. A future writer? That remains to be seen. But let me warn you, Theo, unless you’re J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series), writing won’t build you your dream house.

The photo above was taken just after Theo’s bath. In the photo below, he seems to be enjoying Mommy D’s hands gently rubbing his back. Oooooh....!

A Day at the Embassy

It was on a very rainy and gloomy Saturday morning (on January 15, 2005) when I set off from Tsukuba for the Philippine Embassy in Roppongi, Tokyo. The mercury was hitting 5 ^oC when I left home at around 7:30 a.m. The forecast mentioned that snow is expected in Tokyo in the afternoon, so I decided to wear my thick winter jacket, muffler and gloves. They actually proved very handy, as I later found out.

Consular services are available at the Philippine Embassy on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.). I arrived at the embassy at exactly 9:50 a.m.; there was already a small crowd milling impatiently around the entrance, a hodgepodge of Filipino women, their toddlers and their Japanese husbands (?), as well as very OFW-looking folks like me. The drizzle that had begun in Tsukuba when I left almost 2 hours earlier never let up, so those who came early to the embassy had to squeeze themselves in front of the entrance, under the canopy that shielded us from the rain. I felt the totality of warm bodies nudging the mercury a degree or two higher, adding to the coziness that subdued the concealed chaos.

Given the reputation of public offices in the Philippines, it was an utter surprise for me to see the entrance shutters actually begin to rise like clockwork at exactly 10:00 a.m. By 10:04 a.m., I was already inside and had logged my name in on the logbook. What followed, however, was typical Filipino.

The forms that I needed to fill up (Report of Birth) were not available for downloading on the Philippine Embassy website, so I had to queue at the Information Counter to obtain the forms. (Less than half of the embassy forms are available for downloading and I am actually wondering why the Report of Birth (ROB) form is not available considering that three originals are required.) As expected, the queue started lengthening soon after the entrance opened. By this time, the shutters that conceal the glass-covered counters were still down and the lights inside were still off. One Filipina joked that maybe those inside were still fast asleep, hehe…

I glanced at my watch, it was already 10:15 a.m., the shutters remained closed and the amusement of some women had already started to metamorphose into visible irritation. The person manning the entrance came in and said something like “They (the staff) are already here so please be patient.” She went inside for a few seconds and then came out. At 10:20 a.m., she picked up the phone and muttered something which I couldn’t hear. At exactly 10:25 a.m., the shutter of the Information Counter opened, revealing a motherly looking lady who started giving out the forms.

Lesson no. 1: The embassy may officially open at 10:00 a.m. but the services begin 25 minutes later.

In a few minutes, I had already received the necessary forms and began filling them up. Since three originals were required for the ROB, it was only at 11:00 a.m. when I finally had the chance to hand my documents at Counter 3, to the lady in charge of examining and processing them.

Let’s give credit to where it is due. I think this lady, whose name I will reveal later in this post, was very motherly, has a very kind face, was very accommodating, and not at all condescending. This kind of treatment was not only towards me but to others as well. Since everyone has to line up, one cannot help but overhear others transacting at the window.

An example: There was this lady who had lost her passport, had very incomplete documents for her passport application, has two kids (out of wedlock with a Japanese man) whose births she was just about to report and whose passport photos, including hers, were far from the required dimensions, and yet with much temerity, was still tiptoeing on belligerence. She even asked such inane questions as: “So where shall I have my photo taken, here or in the Philippines?” You can actually hear “Sus, naku po!” (Good heavens!) echoing from every direction, followed by very condescendingly sounding (feminine!) chuckles. Yet despite these, the lady at the counter just calmly replied, “Sa inyo na po kung saan kayo magpapalitrato.” (This is a polite way of saying, “It’s up for you to decide where you’ll have your picture taken.”)

Lesson no. 2: Bring all the necessary documents, together with the required number of photocopies.

Lesson no. 3: Refrain from asking stupid questions.

The processing of the ROB was not completed by 12:00 noon so I (and everyone else) had to leave the embassy premises for lunch. The drizzle outside was persistent but since I had prepared myself for the elements, I took the cranky weather in stride. My cheap 500-yen folding umbrella though was complaining against the occasional but strong gushes of cold wind. After downing an artery-clogging dish of pork garlic at Matsuya, one of my favorite Japanese fast food restos, I was off to Roppongi Hills, one of the trendiest, if not the trendiest, shopping area in Tokyo. Although I had more than an hour to burn, the continuing drizzle somehow perfectly dampened the elegant ambience of the multibillion yen complex. So where best to pass the time? At a bookstore, of course, in this case, the Aoyama bookstore near Exit 3 of the Roppongi station.

Lesson 4: Be prepared for a lot of waiting and loitering around.

Although the embassy was scheduled to reopen at half past 1 p.m., I was already back there at 1:10 p.m. By 1:15 p.m., the main door opened and the window shutters were already up. Service had also already begun. Did they start 15 minutes earlier to make up for the 25 minutes lost this morning? Well, what the heck.

I had the gut feel that the processing of Theo’s ROB was almost over so I lined up at the counter again to apply for Theo’s passport. All of the documents that I had brought were complete except for the ROB, which was still being processed. When I reached the window, the lady accepted the passport application, examined the documents, praised Theo’s photo for being perfectly correct in terms of dimensions, took Theo’s ROB and other documents from another table, and handed them to me to bring to the cashier for the payments. On the payment slips, she wrote her name; it was Nerie. For most expat Filipinos who have no opportunity to mix with the higher-ups, Nerie is the face of the Philippine Embassy to the thousands of Filipinos in Japan. And I think she’s doing a pretty good job.

Regarding payments, before going to the embassy, I already knew how much was needed for the processing so I had brought sufficient funds. I paid at the cashier and was out of the embassy a few minutes past 2 p.m. I was asked to return anytime on a weekday after January 20 for the release of Theo’s passport. The fees were undoubtedly steep, but as long as everybody pays the same amount, without exception, then they are acceptable.

Lesson 5: Know in advance how much money you need and don't forget to bring it with you to the embassy.

When I was residing and working in Tokyo for more than a year and a half, there was always one place where I couldn’t seem to get enough. From the embassy, I took the Hibiya line and went down about 20 minutes later, at this station where the latest in space-age technology awaits the curious and creatively inspired. For techno geeks like me, Akihabara is the place to be.

Lesson 6: It wouldn’t hurt to do a bit of window shopping at Akihabara after a long and wet day in and around the Philippine Embassy (hehe…).

Did I mention that I bought a new (but inexpensive) stereo at Laox? Ooops…

Registered! - Week 2

As of January 7, Theo has been officially registered at the Sakura branch of the Tsukuba City office, thereby making him a bonafide member of the buzzling and multicultural expat community in this part of Japan. The next step is to process his passport at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and to have his visa stamped on it at the Mito branch of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau.

We had also paid for Mommy D's hospital bills at the University of Tsukuba Hospital on January 5, to the tune of approximately 343,000 yen. At first glance, this may sound like a huge sum, but given that Mommy D is enrolled in the National Health Insurance system, we will receive a refund of 300,000 yen by the end of this month.

In other words, for delivery and hospitalization expenses alone, we had spent only roughly 43,000 yen. The laptop computer on which I am typing this blog is much more expensive. This is indeed another blessing. If Theo was born in Tokyo, we could have probably spent twice or even more.

Moreover, Theo's vaccinations, checkups and hospitalization expenses will all be FREE until he is 3 years of age, all courtesy of the government. To top it all, after we complete all of the necessary requirements, we will be receiving a modest amount from the city as "child welfare allowance." This isn't much, but at least, it will probably take care of his almost never-ending diaper expenses. (Because of Theo's periodic and healthy milk guzzling, his output processes follow like clockwork. And as I had written some time back, one needs to be careful when removing his diapers because his little thingy always seems to emit an infrared sensor aimed at your forehead, and when the target (that's you) is locked in, expect a steady stream of fresh urine almost instantaneously, hehe...)

Theo's favorite time seems to be bath time; as you can see, he appears very contended in this photo below, which was taken yesterday, January 8. His age here is 1 week and 6 days, just a day short of 2 weeks. If you had seen his picture two weeks back (see archives), you would immediately notice how much difference two weeks had made. He seems to be like a balloon that never stops expanding, which is normal of babies during their first year of life.



The closest thing to a "baby instruction manual" that I have read is the book by Frank Caplan and Theresa Caplan of the Princeton Center for Infancy and Early Childhood. The book's title is "The First Twelve Months of Life: Your Baby's Growth Month by Month."

As you can surmise from the title, the book's chapters are divided on a month-by-month basis, providing clear and accurate descriptions of the baby's developmental goals and tasks per month. For me, this book (and all of the research behind it) confirms the universality of the human species. Regardless of race or nationality, normal babies develop in almost exactly the same way. For example, Theo's first-week developmental achievements were accurately described in the book, even his spontaneous and fleeting smiles in response to sensory stimulation.

Come to think of it, really, the human race is exactly the same in essence. Essentially, human babies are very much the same. Human adults just make things more complicated.

Theo's First Bath at Home - Week 1



Is this Ian Thorpe in the making? Probably not yet, but as you can see, Theo is enjoying his first bath at home (with Mommy D's and Daddy B's hands supporting him). This shot, by his aunt, Tippi, was taken on January 1, the first day of 2005.

Like most parents, Mommy D and I have begun the almost sleepless nights taking care of our veritable bundle of joy. "Almost" because newborns usually spend as much as 16 hours of sleep within 24 hours; but then, the baby has to be awakened every 3 or 4 hours so that he can feed. Because Theo has been a super milk guzzler since his birth a week ago, he was the fastest growing baby in the hospital nursery, a testament to his optimum health and excellent well-being.

At home, his milk guzzling continues. In fact, for the past few days, his routine revolves around only three processes: input, processing, and output, just like a computer running a statistical software, hehe... Input = breast milk; processing = digestion; output = (you know what).

As he grows older, I think he's starting to resemble my father, the original Daddy E, just much, much cuter!