Paperwork Checklist for Canadian Moms

Here's a checklist that you may find useful after giving birth to your baby.

• Canadian Birth Registration - this gets you the birth certificate (application will be given to you at the hospital in a package).
  
  
• Medical Services Plan (included with the hospital package) - your child will have a MSP number assigned to him/her at the hospital.
  
  
• Social Insurance Number (SIN) (included with the hospital package) - even if you are not planning to send your child to work, he/she will need a SIN in order to have a bank account or for you to set up RESP.
  
  
• On the form in the hospital package, there's a box where you check off if you want to receive the child tax benefit - check YES! Your child will be automatically enrolled in the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB), the BC Family Bonus (BCFB) and the BC Earned Income Benefit (BCEIB). The UCCB is what I grew up calling 'Milk Money' which is $100 per month.
  
  
• Canadian Employment Insurance - Because getting any money back from the government is good!
  

Optional applications:

• Passport application - your child will need a passport even for cross border shopping. Since this is a busy time at the passport office for the summer, I plan to apply for Kyle's passport near the end of summer.
  
  
• Opening a bank account - it's never too early to help your child save money and teach them about savings and the value of money at a young age. Some banks offer childrens savings accounts. I'm not sure how that is different from adults, perhaps no fees or a free toy when you sign up.
  
  
• Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) - savings for your child's post-secondary education. At the time of enrollment, contributions up to $2,500 per year are eligible for a 20 per cent Canada Education Savings Grant (which is $500), up to a lifetime maximum grant of $7,200 per child. An additional grant is available for low and middle-income families; a separate application needs to be filled to receive it.
  
  
• Work benefits - adding your child as a dependent to receive your extended/dental health and other work benefits your job offers.

Meet Baby Kyle

I had my baby about 3 weeks early!

Everything went well and Ed and I are super excited to continue this journey together with our little bundle of joy!

The nurses and doctor (my obgyn was on rotation that day, what luck!) were great at BC Womens although it's clear there are cutbacks at the hospital...

Kyle is not named after Kyle Wellwood as many would think since Ed and I are Canucks fans. If we were to name our son after a Canucks player, we would choose from the first line and not the third line... :P

Why We Choose to Use Cloth Diapers - By Ed

My dear wife has asked me (several times now) to post on the blog and explain the decision as to why we will be using cloth diapers.

There's a multitude of information and resources and I'm not too interested in regurgitating word for word what's out there. I'll append a list of resources at the end of this post. Briefly here are my comments.

Why cloth diapers? Why anything?

There are clear benefits to using cloth diapers to the environment, to the child and to the wallet. The opportunity cost is time in the form of more work, principally in laundry.

For me, the benefits outweigh the costs. At least the theory does at this point. I'll find out when I give it a try. That's the simple explanation.

The longer one is this.

We live in a world of distractions and it's easy to make excuses. We are collectively what we are individually. Seemingly innocent acts can build upon itself into something entirely greater and more monstrous than intended - like mountains of decaying diapers leaking its contents into the groundwater for the sake of convenience.

Our generation is now dealing with the consequences of the excesses of our parent's generation. Our children will likely feel the full brunt of decisions made in a time when there was little understanding of what those decisions would lead to.

We all have an obligation to be aware of the systems in which we are situated, and to work a bit, at the margin, to correct them.

I ain't no hippie, but I'll try to do what I can.

Resources:

Beginner's Most Frequently Asked Questions about Using Cloth Diapers and Why Cloth Diapers? - from Parenting By Nature

Articles on Cloth Diapers - from The Diaper Pin

The Green Renewal of the Cloth Diaper Industry - from Scientific American

EarthTalk: Cloth or disposable? The diaper debate is back - from The Christian Science Monitor

Caring for Cloth Diapers - from Childbirth Solutions

Chinese Customs? You Don't Say!

The Chinese have a lot of customs when it comes to almost everything. These are some of the customs that I've heard of or have to follow. There are many variations to these customs... many of them I find are quite amusing!

During pregnancy

• do not sit cross-legged or reach up as the umbilical cord can strangle the baby. So how does this work for mothers that practice yoga?
  
• leave the room if your husband is hammering or moving the furniture or your baby will be born with dents on their face. I suggest the opposite if you want your child to have dimples!
• do not eat lamb as it will cause the baby to have epilepsy(!!!)
  
• do not consume cold drinks (this goes for everything such as after birth or when you are having your period, it seems like old chinese ppl don't like cold drinks at all)

After Birth (usually in the first month)

• stay at home for a month (this is reasonable as this is an important time to heal)
• ginger vinegar makes up most of the meals
• taking ginger baths using the ginger skin that was peeled from the ginger used to make the vinegar
• drinking chicken-wine soup, basically cognac and silkie chicken (black chicken) - Delish!
• remain at the dining table during dinner until you have finished your meal or you will not have bladder control when you are old (!!!)
  
• do not consume cold drinks!
• having a one month or 100 day celebration of your baby. This used to be a tradition that applies to baby boys only but nowadays, parents would celebrate regardless of gender.