Renewing a child's passport

I cannot believe my eldest son is almost 5! We applied for his US passport and got it a few weeks after his birth so his passport photo shows him looking like a squishy wee baby!

Our eldest child's passport is about to expire.

It would expire halfway through our Christmas visit to the States. It is illegal for a citizen of the U.S. to travel without a valid U.S. passport.

We decided to renew the almost-expired-passport before we go. It is permissible to renew at any time, you don't have to wait for the old passport to expire, we learned.

The steps involved:

1. Order photos (at least 2 per year, showing how your child develops between stages) or a photo book - if you haven't been updating your child's baby book or 'best of' album, do so now! Though it is important to note that a hard backed 13-by-9 inch book does not fit through the glass between the interviewer and interviewee, so maybe go for a paperback version that bends, or just realize that you'll have to hand the book to the security officer to pass through to the back. He has to bring it back to you at the end too.
2. Get American passport photos - we get ours at the Digital Image Centre at 27 Elm Row - but take a tape measure because they do occasionally get it wrong. It is supposed to be 2 inches by 2 inches with the head between 25 and 35 mm. See the official consulate or embassy website for more information.
3. Fill out the form, which you do online and then print
4. Set a date for the appointment and ensure that whole family will be there or that you have the relevant documents if one of them cannot. Use the Consulate website to schedule the appointment.
5. Budget for passport fees - there is no expedited service outside the States but the normal service is quick - our passports have always arrived within a week or two. You must pay by card or International Money Order, they do not accept cash.
6. Buy the return envelope, a pre-paid, self addressed Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope insured up to 500g.
7. Attend your appointment, allowing time to go through security. 
8. We always ask someone to drive us to the appointment to ensure we're not late while trying to catch buses, etc. The Consulate in Edinburgh has no bathroom facilities - there is a sign in the waiting room counseling that the nearest toilet is in the St. James Centre. The St. James Centre is currently closed so I imagine the closest toilet is probably the art museum or somewhere equally far - probably nothing within a 15 min walk. So all this to say - make your kids go to the toilet before you leave and try to keep the trip as short as possible by getting a taxi or a friend to drive you. I think the earlier in the morning you schedule the appointment, the less likely long queues are. 
9. The family before us had their kid wearing his school uniform and with his hair combed neatly. Our kids arrived in their sport class clothes, looking like slobs with messy hair. My eldest still got his passport but I wished I had put a tad more effort into it.
10. Our Consulate in Edinburgh has a few books for the kids but we brought plenty of paper and pens to keep the kids busy as well. There are clipboards in the waiting room which were novel to use, for our kids.

Renewal requires a few photocopies and original documents but nowhere as many as the original passport.

And that was it - we received our son's new passport within 8 or 9 days.

the shiny new passport

Update 19/8/19:
PHOTOCOPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED!

If you're like me, you will have gathered all the documents, filled in the form, and printed photocopies before applying for an appointment at the U.S. Consulate. I then received an email a week before the appointment saying we did not need the photocopies. I could have saved so much printer ink!

We just renewed Number 2 Son's passport.

We were totally a slick operation - we knew to turn off our phones and hand them over first thing. We had all our paperwork accessible. Our kids and ourselves were clean, tidy and well-dressed.

But they still made us wait around for an hour, despite our appointment being at 9 am. Note to self: bring lots of things to do with the kids!

Managing Babies through Under 5's on Transatlantic Trips

Being a parent on a 45 minute shopping trip can be stressful but a 21 hour + itinerary can turn into a nightmare. Each age is unique and we have taken our kids at pretty much every stage to see our family on the other side of the world. 

We are only 4,000 miles away from the majority of our family but we are cheap so we tend to fly through one or two 'hubs' which adds the extra time.

Understanding the different seating scenarios for traveling with multiple children and having a plan can make a huge difference. Also see my posts about traveling pregnant and breastfeeding, expressing and postpartum recovering and being delayed overnight. For packing see the Super Dad Pack and how to alter a jacket to make a travel jacket/vest.

0-6 months

• Most useful item: swaddling blanket which is good for 
• making baby feel warm and cuddled in travel cot or arms
• good substitute for a nursing shawl
• lightweight
• fold small so it's easy to pack a few
• can be used as a diaper changing mat if normal mat cannot be found
• great for mopping up 
• spit up
• diaper leaks
• and other spills like older brother's juice
• Another critical item at this stage: backup shirts or easy-to-scrub-clean clothes, like jeans, for the parents. Baby always manages to spit up on you when least expected.
• Pacifier if you can get baby used to it before the trip. I knew a mom who used to teach her babies associations with a pacifier or special toy so on the flight when she handed over the teddy or whatever, the babies would be clued to sleep. 
• On the upside baby doesn't move around too much
• Mostly wants to breastfeed
• A baby of this age might even want to sleep on the flight - if this happens take a nap. The advice Sleep when your baby sleeps has never been so relevant. You need to have your wits about you for the next leg or legs of travel, immigration officers, etc. Even if your husband is wrestling with a tantrumming toddler and you feel guilty you have the 'easy' one, just block it out and go to sleep. Trust me - it's not worth trying to swap because the baby will wake up when you try to change arms and then you'll all be in trouble.
• Flight crew and others give more attention the younger baby is
• More likely to get bulkhead seat which is useful for
• toddlers who want to sleep on a flat surface - aka the floor
• breastfeeding
• having somewhere to put baby so not holding in sweaty arms for whole trip
• more legroom
• less likely for baby to be crushed on lap when your tray is down and the person in front decides IN THE MIDDLE OF DINNER BEING SERVED to lean their seats back without warning. The time this happened to us, my 18 month old threw up in the aisle.
• This is a tiring age for the whole family. The new baby will probably wake everyone up at least once in the night before, during and after your trip.
• So try to shorten your trip as much as possible by taking family/friends up on pick up or drop off offers or getting a taxi if you can afford it to and from the airport. We have the option of taking a 1.5 hour bus or a 30 minute taxi ride to the airport but we feel it is more important to minimize travel time as much as possible.
• baby can ride in a front carrier - which is easier to get around an airport with escalators than a buggy would be, and saves waiting around for the buggy in Baggage Reclaim later. Just do not make my mistake of taking a 5 foot long wrap sling - it's difficult to tie on in the cramped confines of an airpline while everyone including you is frantic to make a connection. Get one of those clippy ones - but not Baby Bjorn as it can cause hip problems with baby.
• Your comfort and stress levels are probably going to affect your baby's so try to think of yourself when packing as well. You probably can't take Dramamine or your usual travel meds as you're breastfeeding, so explore other ways to handle motion sickness like motion sickness bracelets and eating icecream - my favorite coping mechanism.

homemade swaddling blanket - I turned some charity shop sheets into a few extra for our trip!

7-9 months

• Most useful item: books - you only need about 3 picture books because they'll listen to the same ones over and over. If you have a kindle, try loading a ton of books for the kids on it.
• Finger foods
• Pacifier if baby if used to it - and backups
• We forgot nappy ointment and baby ended up with the worst rash of his life by the time we touched down - so don't skimp on packing the diaper rash cream!
• Down side of this age: baby sleeps less
• Feeds less
• Not old enough to take normal milk so you have to breastfeed or bring formula and sample some at security. If you are bringing formula, consider decanting formula powder into zip lock bags to save space. Another space saver is to order formula ahead to your destination or ask your family abroad to stock up on it for you.
• Taking less breastmilk (due to introduction of solids or part/total weaning) or baby is a more efficient feeder so more time to play rather than feed
• Baby wiggles more
• Baby has short attention span
• Harder to change nappies in a confined space as baby is bigger
• Immunizations: regular immunizations are scheduled without regard to your travel plans. I would always recommend rescheduling an immunization shot so it doesn't happen the day before or even the month before travel. My children often weren't themselves for a week or two after shots - more fussy and more likely to run a temperature. It seems cruel to make them travel when they're already struggling with their shots. 
• Baby can ride in a front carrier but is a lot heavier - we ditched the carrier for just juggling between parents at this age
• More likely to have cold or ear infection  - due to babies being masters of sharing toys they've drooled on and exploring the world with their mouths. Even having a slight cold when traveling can make baby irritable. If they have an ear infection and are taking antibiotics, they can become monsters - and the antibiotics may cause really terrible poos. 
• Most moms I know take their kids out of normal activities a week or two prior to their trip to avoid catching anything.

9 months-2 years

• Most useful item: medicine, not because it works too well but because it's the first thing people ask you if you have a screaming child. 
• A note about medicine: This is a hot topic and some people say they would never do this. One mom I know gives children's paracetamol and children's cough medicine with a sleepy side effect, and alternates paracetamol/Tylenol with ibuprofen every four hours. Another mom uses Phenergan but please note this was thought to have caused deaths in several small children a few years ago and is not recommended for children under the age of two! I have never tried it. It's not even produced in the UK - there is a drug with the same name but it is apparently not the same thing and a lot less dangerous. 
• I notice my kids will usually not sleep on daytime flights unless they were up all night the night before. On night flights, they tend to sleep an extra hour or two. I never manage to get the kids to sleep more than 4 hours on a 9 hour flight. They usually sleep on our second flight and always in the taxi home.
• Our favorite toy in this age range was reusable stickers. My son loved cars so I told him stories about the cars we stuck and moved around this book.
• Snacks are a great way to pass the time. One lady online suggested you make trail mix with things you know your kids don't like to keep them busy picking out and sorting out for example all the raisins. Another favorite was crackers and breadsticks, which were comfortingly familiar and didn't cause too much mess or excess waste.
  
• They are still technically a lap baby but bigger, heavier, more curious
• You get less attention from flight crew
• Your child does not have enough attention span to focus on anything for longer than five minutes 
• Your child can technically go in a back carrier but is really heavy and doesn't really like being immobilized. A buggy can really slow you down - whether by forcing you to wait for lifts/elevators or in Baggage Reclaim. At this age, they are not old enough for a trunki - we tried and our 18 month old fell off the back and hit his head on the marble floor of Amsterdam Airport.
• Your child is probably walking and may want to spend the whole flight walking up and down the aisles.
• Basically the worst age to travel but you want to take advantage of not having to buy an extra ticket for as long as possible.

We end up chasing kids this age up and down aisles most of the trip

2-4 years 

• Most useful items: 
• Candy for bribery
• children's magazines
• sticker books
• small figurines - NEW toys are best - and wrapped as presents are even better
• children's headphones - the ones they give out have no audio control and could damage the kids' ears
• trunkies to ride on but most of all to have some visible area to park the kids during all the standing around in queues/lines
• an ipad/kindle/phone with kid games/apps on it
• Kids this age have a better attention span for watching movies or playing games
• Also better at bathroom routine. I don't even try to toilet train till my kids are 3 but some 2-year-olds can be convinced to stand for diaper changing which saves toting a changing mat
• Many kids this age can tell you what is hurting or what's wrong
• Most kids with one foreign parent have been on enough trips by this age to know what to expect - to the point of manipulating the situation sometimes ('I want a window seat like last time!')
• They are capable of sitting still longer
• Snacks are still a good idea - esp if one kid insists on eating only icecream for dinner, it's good to be able pull out something healthy and filling later
• For children who have technically toilet trained but still have accidents, we think it's okay to put them in pull-ups. Give yourself some peace of mind.
• A child of this age can walk more and be more patient in queues/lines
• Their passports haven't expired yet - kids get 5 years before needing renewals.
• This is the best age to travel
• But you have to pay for a seat for them.

Buying tickets before the baby is born

We have been in the interesting situation of buying tickets for the family before the new baby was born with the idea that we would pay for an extra lap baby ticket (which is usually just taxes - for us it was $120) on the day of departure. You cannot buy a ticket for a child without a name and birth date.

At our airport, in Edinburgh, they had a clueless person on the desk and overrode our first lap baby's ticket with the second so we almost missed our flights to and from the States because no one could find boarding passes for both our kids. 

On the return flight we had to buy baby a new ticket a second time! It was eventually refunded but it was stressful.

We have never flown with two kids under the age of two since so I do not know if this is common or not. Either way, arrive at least an extra hour earlier than you would have if you are buying a ticket even for a baby!

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It can be a meaningful experience to introduce your children to your extended family in a foreign country but often the transatlantic trip can pose a real challenge. A knowledge of children's ages and stages and possible hurdles with buying tickets can be key to planning a successful trip.

Obtaining Dual Citizenship

(Background: Husband=British, me=American, baby=born in the UK)

We found it helpful to break the process into steps:
1. register baby's birth
2. register with American consulate
3. register with general practitioner
4. apply for British passport
5. child benefit/tax credits (within first 3 months)

Step 1: Registering the baby’s birth (British side of things).
Our appointment: December 13, 10 to 11 (10:50 am). Office: 59-63 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1RN (you can pick the one closest to you. My mum-and-dad-in-law picked me up in their car for this - huzzah for wonderful, dedicated family!).
 Need to bring: just card from hospital + marriage cert. (I brought other documents just in case but didn't need them)
 Duration: 10 min (there is a longer council-related bodies one - but that's only for people on benefits and lasts 30 minutes.)
They automatically give you free small cert but also ask and pay for (10 pounds I believe) longer one please which has both parents' names on it. YOU WILL NEED THIS.

Step 2: American consulate
NOTE: It is illegal for an American citizen to travel on a non-American passport. This message was plastered over every wall of the consulate. That isn't the best place for it because I have known one or two families who procrastinate on getting their American child's passport for years, and travel on a British or other one instead. This is illegal!

We made appointment with American consulate via their website - do not be phased if you make a mistake, you can change the appointment time online with only about 7 freak-outs from the website.

You must turn in a packet of paperwork 7 days prior to your appointment. We used Dec 13th to fill in the forms and collect that paperwork. We thought we had limited time because of the consulate being closed so much around Christmas.

ANOTHER THING about the American consulate, they are in Edinburgh but you cannot just drop in to ask a question. You cannot get through on the phone - it's all automated messages. What you CAN do is drop off your paperwork packet 7 days in advance in person, if whoever answers the door is feeling charitable. No one at the consulate as far as I can tell is actually American.

I am afraid this application process for getting the baby acknowledged by the American government couldn't be more complicated. I was required to apply for three things simultaneously at the consulate:

- a consular report of birth abroad

- the baby's American passport

- the baby's social security number


These each have a separate form.

I printed these three forms and also included in my application

-a copy of our marriage certificate
-three copies of the child's long-form British birth certificate
-two copies of the details page of my US passport
-one copy of the details page of my husband's passport
-and a note giving the time and date of my appointment

.

My husband got away from work for an hour to attend, as he, baby and I all had be there in person.

Photographs for passport application:
We got the baby's photo taken for American passport paperwork. If I were doing this over, I'd get BOTH his American passport photos and British passport photos taken at the same time.

From http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/faqs/faq_passports.html :
"How do I photograph a baby?
Photo requirements are the same for all applicants. In the case of very young babies the head may be supported as long as the baby's face is clear. The baby's eyes need not be open."

We took Zeddy at 4 days of age to get his photo taken at the Digital Image Center at the top of Leith Walk (27, Elm Row, Edinburgh , EH7 4AH, Tel: 0131 557 8186
). They often do American passport photos. We took the baby in his car seat, laid a cream/gray sheet behind him and tried to keep him from screaming. His eyes were closed, his mouth open but we got one that was accepted! I think that they gave me 3 copies for £5.

For more information on the process, see the American embassy of London's website for information or call the American consulate and listen to the automated messages for more up-to-date info!

Complications:
A complication we had is that I had not updated my married name with the American social security service, not having to work in the states since my marriage. They did not deny Zeddy's social security number application (and also passport, etc) because of this. I did get a rather long-suffering letter from the London embassy saying "Will you PLEASE update your SSN name now?" with the form attached.

Something else we forgot: to measure the baby.  They wanted us to fill in the hair color, eye color and height sections. For some reason we hadn't measured the baby at the hospital so we ended up measuring him against a tape on the door to peels of laughter from all the other folk in the waiting room.

Expect to pay $205 NOT the 100 they say on their website. This is because they are badly organized and like to lie to you (actually it's because the consular report is 100 and the passport is 105 - some people get them separately).

Consulate appointment:
Husband and I were quite nervous. We’d done the mountain ranges which could fill small islands or archipelagos of paperwork, we’d had the baby’s passport photo taken, I’d done my fair share of tears and sweat and freaking out.

Alison and Stephen our in-laws drove us there.

There was a crying baby in the waiting room. Americans from Aberdeen had to come in on train with toddler and little baby. The 2-week-old howled and screeched the whole time till his mother fed him. She seemed really awkward about feeding in public. I had expressed a bottle to avoid that trauma but I don’t think I’m all that freaked out about it now.

It is set up like a bank. You are called up to a till and your paperwork assessed through a glass front.

We had left a few things blank which we had been unsure about. The woman who called us up briskly told us what to write in those spots. She had us sign and date the documents and then wait again while they were processed for the last time. We were called up one last time to sign again and have a sort of information security check. We also had a chance to ask questions.

Two pieces of misinformation: payment of 205 dollars as opposed to 100. We did not need an affadavit proving the time I spent in the states - as the passport instructions made out (follow directions from the embassy/consulate web sites rather than the instruction sheets for the individual forms, as bizarre as that might seem). Also they did not need to see all my old passports (we had sent copies of them, that was enough).

The affadavit is for people who need to prove they lived at least 5 years in the states – but she managed to pull up my 12-year-old passport (on computer? Photocopy?) which worked fine.  [According to one site, "Provide proof of your physical presence in the U.S. before the child's birth.

Please submit old passports, if available, as evidence. If unavailable, other evidence, such as school transcripts, may be accepted."]
At the end of the appointment they told us Zeddy had his American identity and the documents would be sent to us in the post.

I had memory loss about what years I studied at university during the information quizz. That was kinda embarrassing.

Otherwise we were fine!

We came home and had chocolate pie to celebrate. I had a bath (I was told to have at least two baths a day by the midwife) and two naps with Zeddy.

Update: The passport and report arrived in the post in about a week all three times we've done it through the Consulate.

Tip: Double check all the updated guildlines on the Edinburgh consulate and London embassy's own sites.

Step 3: register with general practitioner
This is important to do early on! There is a form that our surgery hands out for you to fill in. The dad can drop it off the surgery (or your mother-in-law or your health visitor) when completed. Midwives visit you daily or regularly the first couple of weeks. After Day 10, you graduate to Health Visitors. Your baby is given Red Notes (kind of like your Blue Notes when you're pregnant) which must be taken to appointments.
The hospital sends you invitations for the baby's appointments and immunizations. The Health Visitor arranges her visits with you.

Step 4: apply for British passport
We are doing this right now. You can pick up forms from local post offices or find them online and print at home. You will need to send off original documents including the British parent's passport, the baby's American passport, and your marriage certificate. You also have to collect data like when the baby's British grandparents were born and married.

Step 5: child benefit/tax credits (within first 3 months)
I haven't done this yet. It's a little tricky for us as I don't have indefinite Leave to Remain yet. I don't have the right to this stuff but my husband does, however I'm worried it will look bad on our record when I go to apply for Leave to Remain. We may miss the first 5 months of this so as not to muddy the waters.