₦airaland Forum

For your baby's BC, use your maiden name whether that's what you have on your passport or not

MumTee:
Hello Mums, though I don't have an idea what the BC looks like but I have a question.
When filling the BC form, for those of us whose Int passport is in our maiden name despite being married. What name do we fill in the BC form (as the mother) does it allow us to fill both maiden name and married name?

Is it necessary or recommended to request wheelchair service for the return leg of the journey for mother and the baby?

I'll let the people who gave birth in Missouri give specific guidance. But generally speaking, as long as you're very well prepared, a month is more than enough to get all your baby's documents.

We decided for wifey to stay back a month after giving birth. After we got all our documents in less than 2 weeks, iyawo became homesick. Of course we won't touch Wakanow with a long stick when it comes to changing itinerary so DW had no choice but to stay back. If you're with loved ones though, it may be better to stay back and let your baby enjoy American breeze before he/she gets introduced to the hot, noisy, atmosphere of Nigeria.

As for picking your own date, yes it is possible but you will need your OB to sanction that.

I

bmanbaba:
Please kindly advice, will a month be enough to process all baby's document in Missouri ? secondly, pls is it true that we can choose the delivery date? Abeg help me o, before I go enter one chance

There's a BA counter at the departure and there are no third party airlines involved, jus BA. What's the specific issue to look out for?

customised87:
I ll advise you to sharply confirm that there is a BA counter at ur Departure airport. You may have an issue if its American Airline thats carrying u on the first leg my 1cent.

After hounding BA call center for days, they finally linked lil' man to DW's ticket and this would cost us $312. They refused to take payment over the phone and insisted we pay at the check in counter.

Grateful to everyone who advised us, this missionary journey is gradually coming to a wrap.

Wish good for everyone in whatever stage of the journey you are.

From the quote below, it means the BA reps can actually do it. Many of them just do not know how to or rather, choose not to.

I called Wakanow and they said they don't even issue BA tickets anymore. I hope this doesn't result in a messy situation.

customised87:
The rep later rebooked me for another flight and made every effort to add my baby cos i started crying on the phone that i was now stranded in US with a 6week old.Lool
Moral of the story: Please call Wakanow again.

Wakanow (the travel agent used) said to contact BA and BA says it can't be done yet everybody here seems to have done it

jacksparow:
Thats strange.. did u buy from a travel agent or directly from BA.com?

OMG! Sorry I had to laugh at you but you are one hell of a jester.

Well, you are kinda right and although most wont admit to it, a lot of people matter-of-factly spend all their money and return empty-handed just as you have said but that is not what a zero balance is.

A zero balance is the letter or document the service provider gives you to show you don't have an outstanding bill to settle. A receipt shows how much you paid and not how much you owe. An invoice shows you how much you owe. A zero balance is a combination of both. I hope I was able to clarify.

PS: I would love to meet you in real life, you are superbly funny. LOL

temiedior:
Gud afternoon aus.pls,wt is ds "zero accnt" tn v been seeing on d thread from part 1? #coverseye#
Is it dt after d whole delivery n payment n eritn u want to do in d states,u must finish ur money and com back empty ni or wt precisely.
M sorry d questn sounds ridiculous,buh I just av to know.thanks @all

So BA says we can't add an infact to mommy's ticket. They say we have to make a fresh booking for the baby. This is completely different from everything I've read here. What are we to do? Please advise

This surely doesn't matter anymore since you already paid and you were happy with the deal but from experience I know those agents at the US Anesthetists office can make you swallow spit when they communicate to you your bill. If I tell you how much they initially said we owed for anesthesia, you will marvel. Dude even asked me to fax him correspondence with the hospital and they will have to review my request for a price slash with a feedback to be expected in 30 days! Guess what? I sent them the stupid fax. But then I called again and the new agent was glad to receive my payment for $950 after admitting the previous agent didn't know sh!t about what he was talking about.

firsttymum:
when d dude said 900 i "parad" o... He had to go get their price quotes and all... We paid 900.
My husband was happy to sef.... Epidural is the next best thing after jollof rice.

ETC is $270 plus $20 for regular mail or $30 for priority. You have the option of sending all the requested documents via email. That's what I did. But if your decision is to mail the documents still, you need 2 passport photos, a copy of baby's BC, copies of parents data page, letter of consent from parents, travel itinerary and MO for the stated amounts

firsttymum:
Nefertitiram
Nogen


Pls how much is the ETC
And is it original birth certificate?
Plus how many passports do we need to send

I returned to Nigeria today having left the lovely city of Houston exactly 2 weeks and 2 days after the birth of our lil' man. By day 14, we already had all receipts and zero balance plus Passport and ETC. Everything.

I will share our experience in a subsequent post but for now, here's the overall cost we incurred for an unscheduled CS:

Hospital: 3500
Doctor: 2630
Lab work during Antenal: 260
Anesthesia: 950
Brown and Associates: 115.05
NICS: 555.70

Mummy and LO are bidding their time in US while I prepare the home in anticipation of their return.

I'm going to queue for fuel for the generator. (I missed doing this while I was away, *rme*) When I return from this perilous task, I'll share details of our adventure

Thanks ma'am

ayanuke:
Greetings to Madam and the LO.

Thanks All on the baby cot suggestions. I was really referring to an actual location where you can buy. What I see on those online stores are quite pricy.

Guess I'll try Westminster then

Abeg o. Where can I buy baby cot at competitive pricing in Nigeria? Original plan was to buy from US but that's out of it now

Wifey and I got our emergency requests approved TWICE. I think you should go for it. But please note you will have to make another application and pay another fee. After you must have selected a date from the available dates, go to Request emergency interview or something like that and see the instructions. Basically, you will need a letter from your doctor in Nigeria and another from the doctor in US and finally you need a proof that you can afford the medical bills.

All the best!

craymond:
I need a candid advice.My wife and i had a scheduled interview for the last week but due to the 5hours i spent in traffic for a journey less than an hour,we missed our interview and couldnt attend and we had to give up on this missionary journey because the earliest date we could get has even passed her EDD and she wouldnt even be able to fly.I got to read about someone getting an Emergency appointment date within some days.I want to know how to go about that?

Replies would be appreciated

You're the best! Thanks

nefertitiram:
Sent.
Pls confirm receipt

Thanks for the kind gesture

nefertitiram:
I really don't think we should post their number her, so that we don't overwhelm them, or make them jack up their prices. Besides they are not paying anyone for advert here.

Most people have been sharing via pm. Shoot me a pm, I will respond with their details

Even for consulate staff/agents that have been so freely shared here the past few days?Anyway, thanks.

Nasadiva:
I would have loved to help but I don't think it's allowed to post phone number here.

firsttymum:
I dey hail o... Thanks for the prayers and congratulatory messages.

Congrats on having your baby. Wish your family the best in this new chapter of your lives

Hi All,

Is there a separate group of agents who only help to procure ETC from the US Embassy? cos I have contacted the two popular agents and they both say they don't offer that service. I know Nefertitiram highlighted the steps recently.

If anyone knows an agent who can help with the ETC thing, kindly share her/his contact.

Thanks

We were blessed with the most precious gift ever in form of a little boy about 12:30pm local time yesterday at Oakbend Medical Center. Dr Fagbohun was on hand. Baby, mom and dad are all doing okay

Hello All, So I joined my DW in Houston to support her on this incredible journey. We are now counting down to D day.

I can't believe this thing that started like play for us has become this real. Y'all are a wonderful lot

PS: For mamas trying so save some money, you can download the OfferUp App, this will open you to the possibilities of getting open box items at more affordable prices. Heck, you may even get them for free.

Congrats to everyone and wish y'all more happiness

Also, another example of the capitalistic nature of the world is seen right here a la sharing doctors and hospital info. Unfortunately, there is no right or wrong answer.

The best form of advertisement is word-of-mouth and if people are not able to get any first or secondhand experience but are only subjected to what the advertisers feed them, that depth and breadth which made this thread what it is or was (for people like us) may soon be lost.

Like I said, there is no right or wrong answer, my only hope is that the moderator(s) rethink this whole thing and act appropriately

Let me share a little experience with the house here:

DW and I couldn't get an earlier date for our interview and a lot of people saying it was impossible to expedite the process would have discouraged us if we didn't go ahead with it all the same. In fact, we got our emergency interview request approved, and after we were denied the visa, we made out another application, applied for another emergency interview and it was approved again.

If you listen to a lot of people saying it can't be done, that may just be your lot

duchessgoddess:
Remember the lady that was in desperate need of an earlier appointment date than the one available which was for 14th of October? I'm she. Little did I know that was the day God destined for me to birth my LO.

Congrats Duchess. God bless you and all yours

There is a trend I have noticed here:

How come nearly everyone who was interviewed at the US embassy landed in front of the same VO they were hoping to avoid?

As long as you can show you can afford to pay for your medical expenses (preferably cash, as most people here have mentioned) they don't need your bank statement at the POE. Even at black market rate, N2m is $8k; you should be fine.

omidan21:
Well Done House

My question is, when i have abt 2m to 3m in my account prior to interview and VO confirms my interview, i intend withdrawing from this 3m as cash to take along with me, of course i have a stable means of income and the money will still comin but u know when 3m is withdrawn , bank account will go low

Does this really matter, or is it that the amnt declared in the bank statement has to be the same amnt reflecting when one is leaving .

shanaka29:
hi people,
just realised i won't be able to carry more than 3K $ for my trip. People on this thread usually carry huge amounts (7-15K$)
do you think it's risky to have so little in cash and tell them that i have the rest on my cards (& don't like travelling with too much cash )
could they turn me back because of that ?

If you must do this, then I recommend you go with your bank statement. All the best

This is really hurtful and I love your courage. God keep you and your precious little baby. I may have seen you at the Abuja embassy on Oct 8 because apart from wifey, there was only one other visibly pregnant lady in the room.

So sorry about your experience
[quote author=funkebold post=39073958][/quote]

Thank you sir. I am happy to give back since I received a tremendous amount of learning myself from this thread

olokings:
Congrats muchos. ..

Personally I'd rank this session as one of the top 5 most educative POE experience on this thread so far. ....

This is just so cool

Lialian:
congratulations on your poe, pls which hospital did you use of ur poe correspondant? how much was on your budget sheet. ? Did u show a bank statement?

Thanks.
1. We are using Dr F and Oakbend Medical Center.
2. Budget sheet was 13 and 15k for Vag and CS respectively.
3. We had a bank statement ready but it wasn't requested