Birth Certificate

I told you all I would let L write up the birth story of our new little man (who was born in the apartment!), but since she hasn't gotten to it yet I wanted to at least post a quick note about his birth certificate.  Before that, though, here is a little visual of how the animals spent their time while L was in labor:

Anyway, on to the birth certificate.  In France, births are declared at the mayor's office (mairie) and must be declared, by law, within 3 business days of the birth.  In most cases, the declaration is started by the hospital in which you give birth, and you show up and essentially confirm the details.  However, in the case of a homebirth, this means we bring a handwritten note from our midwife to the mayor's office, which is then used to create the official registration of the baby's birth.  By law, the midwife has to record the mother's maiden name on the birth certificate (in addition to her married name, if applicable).  The rules here state that if a married woman gives birth, the baby's last name will be that of her husband, regardless of whether she has taken his name.  If a single woman gives birth (even if in a relationship with the father), the baby's last name will be her maiden name, (or, as it is referred to here, your young girl's name or nom de jeune fille). 

Since we are married (again, thanks Canada!) but it is not recognized here, and since L legally changed her last name to mine (but again, that is not recognized here), we were really not sure how this would play out for us.  Our midwife had warned me that I would likely not be able to get his birth registered under our shared last name, which would cause major headaches for identity papers and for travelling.  Since I was the one going to the mayor's office to register the birth, I arrived already amped up and ready for a fight.  To my incredible surprise, the clerk happily recorded our shared last name on his official papers, no questions asked.  Again, it seems like the law of the country is not necessarily the law of the cities!

What is even more awesome about this is that when I am in public with our newest son, no one will question our (legal) relationship, even though in France we have no legal relationship.  He and I share the same last name; it will therefore be assumed that I am his mother and that I can make decisions for him.  In a country where second-parent adoption is illegal, and where I (officially) cannot be his mother, the common name literally makes all the difference. 

- E