Having a Baby in Germany?

I recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in April and I’ve come to realize that there is so much to having a baby overseas. From getting into OB to choosing to stay on base or give birth on the economy to setting up a nursery and getting birth certificates and passports! There is so much to do and I really wanted to share my experience and hopefully put together some good information for other mamas-to-be that will be giving birth in Germany. Please visit U.S. Baby Abroad for more information! I’ve just recently started so please check back often for new updates and more information (because there will be a lot!).  

  

Trip to Amsterdam and Our Fun Tour

 

We recently drove up to Amsterdam, which is about a 4.5 hour drive from the KMCC area. We had so much fun! We visited the Red Light District, drank some Belgian beer, and just had a great time. I highly recommend taking a free walking tour with 360amsterdam. Our tour guide was Kahrl (I hope I am remembering the spelling correctly, it was pronounced Carl) and he was a fabulous tour guide. He was very knowledgeable as well as funny and entertaining. We just happened to stumble upon the tour group at the Dam (the main square) next to the Royal Palace. Their website is  www.360amsterdam.info and they also sell tickets to things like the Heinekin Experience and the Anne Frank House. Usually you buy your tickets ahead of time before going to an exhibit and this also helps as the lines can be very long. Also, the tour guides only work for tips, so be sure to bring some euros for them! Overall, we loved Amsterdam and can’t wait to go back!

Journey to Germany and FMO Woes

I know it has been a while since I posted anything bit moving has been a little hectic. I made it to Germany! I wanted to give you all an overview of my experience getting here. After the EFMP screening I got the all clear on my medical to leave. I got a call about mid January that my passport came in so I went up to McChord to pick it up. It was a Monday and DH went to the travel office to see about getting me a flight. After I received the passport, things moved along much faster! By that Saturday I was on a plane! My last plane was the rotator out of Baltimore, so I got to land right I’m base. DH had to go to Frankfurt when he arrived so he had to be picked up by his sponsor. Frankfurt is about 1.5 hours away from KMCC. 

When I arrived, DH was still in lodging but he had already found a place for us to move into off base. They had given him 8 days I believe to find housing. So I stayed two nights in the hotel then it was time to move into our house. 

DH had already contacted FMO for our temporary furniture so we waited for them to arrive. Now, before he signed the rental agreement, the house had been inspected by someone in the housing office. That person told him that the dryer was dirty and since it was we could request a new dryer. So the inspector wrote down that we needed a new dryer. Ok, that was all fine and dandy EXCEPT that he put down an American dryer. I’m sure you may have heard that American dryers (and washers for that matter) are different than German ones. German dryers are condenser dryers so they do not need a vent like American dryers. So when the movers showed up with our temporary furniture, they showed up with an American dryer. We have no way to vent it so he told us that we need a German one. So DH jumped on the phone with FMO to get it switched. The thing is, the man from the moving company didn’t seem too keen to have to wait while DH talked to FMO so he began trying to get me to sign the release for the items. He was very pushy to say the least and pretty much told us, hey I did my part, I brought the stuff, it’s not my fault it wasn’t right. DH was still on hold and with the man becoming very impatient and cross, DH told me just to sign the paper and let the man be on his way. Long story short, we ourselves had to load up the dryer and take it to the FMO office in Vogelweh and switch it for a German dryer. After a stern talking to from the lady at the FMO office about the importance of making sure which dryer you need, we headed home, lugged it upstairs and were finished with the whole silly ordeal. The moral of the story is, don’t let the movers leave if they bring the wrong thing. The lady at FMO said that they should have removed the dryer and brought the correct one before we signed off on it. Since we signed, we had to do it. The good thing is that the dryers are all compact so we fit it in the backseat of our little Honda! 

Medical Clearance and Passport for our PCS to Germany

I have spent the last week at various appointments for my DD Form 2792 and DD Form 1466D to complete my medical clearance process for our PCS to Germany. This post is just about what the forms are and what I had to do to get them completed (unfortunately nothing too exciting!)

DD Form 2792: You need to fill out one for each family member requesting travel. It needs to be filled out by their provider (on or off base). This needs to reflect the medical history for the last 5 years. There are additional addendum that need to be filled out if you have children, but I don’t so I’m not sure which they are. This is a packet of about 11 pages and I took it to my doctor. Now, I haven’t been to a doctor in at least 10 years. At first, I was having problems with the doctor since, understandably, she doesn’t know me! But I submitted myself to a battery of tests that included a blood workup, urine test, pap smear, and breast exam (not with a machine, just by hand). That seemed to help and after she determined that I was in good health, she finished the paperwork for me. The only notes she wrote just stated that she didn’t have past medical records (since I didn’t have any!).

DD Form 1466D: Needs to be filled out by a dental provider for all members over the age of 2. I believe that you can take it to the dentist on base but since I am in Oregon and not near a base, I just took it to Green Apple Dental here in Portland. This is just a single sheet of paper and from what I understand, if they check off number 1 or 2 you should be fine. If they check off number 3 then it’s a no-go. In my case, I had box 3 checked because I had a cavity. I just went back, had the cavity fixed, and I got box 2 checked off! It was pretty easy in the end.

DD Form 1466: This form is filled out by your sponsor. The one that I found on the web seemed different than the one DH had, so it may be something that they will have to give your spouse.

Since I am not on base with DH, I will be having a phone referral next week. Someone from the EFMP office is going to call me and ask me various questions. From what I understand, it’s mostly to ensure that I want to go (i.e. I am not being forced by my spouse) and that there are no problems at home such as alcohol or drug abuse, or physical or mental abuse. I will update on this after I have the interview next week and let you know how it went. At that point, they should be able to authorize the paperwork and DH can go get his orders! After he has his orders, we will be able to begin the next steps, like planning for the movers and getting to Germany!

I also drove up to McChord AFB in Tacoma and put in my application for my no-fee passport. I had to take the application that I  filled out on the web and printed, (ask your spouse for instructions as there is a specific way to navigate the online application for the no-fee), a certified copy of our marriage license, a copy of DH’s CAC card front and back, my birth certificate (it has to be the original with a raised seal, it cannot be a certified copy.) and I already had some passport photos taken a few days before so she just used those. The process took less than 20 minutes

If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to try and answer them for you!

The Beginning Until Now and Sorting Out Tricare in Oregon

This is a quick introduction and what I have learned about the medical clearance process (The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)/ Special Needs Identification and Clearance (SNIAC) ) for the Air Force for OREGON. Oregon does not have a military presence, so there are no bases to go to. After scouring the internet for clues on what to do (while waiting for a response from someone on DH base) I found that I could not a single thing about Oregon and the process and I had so many questions! So, I decided to write a blog post about it in hopes that if someone else where in the same position as myself (no insurance/doctor/dentist/clue what they are doing!) this might possibly help!

I am new to the military life. As in, brand-new-haven’t-even-PCS’ed-yet new. What I am not new to is being married. I have been married to DH for just over 10 years. DH decided that he, indeed, wanted to join the military. Naturally, my first response was a resounding “no!”.  But after much discussion and compromise, I decided that it was not my place to deny him of his military dreams. I say compromise because DH wanted to join the Marines, which was an idea that I was not fond of! So it was decided that he would join the Air Force.

He left for BMT in August, graduated, and went on to tech school. BMT for me was very difficult. I had never spent that much time away from him. I have to be honest, the first few weeks were very difficult and I would find myself crying over the silliest things because I missed him so much. Slowly, I got used to sleeping alone, managing the bills, and running all the errands. Let me tell you, tech school is BY FAR way better than BMT. DH has his phone and I talk to him every day. So if your loved one is in BMT, look at tech school as the light at the end of the tunnel. Although you still may not be able to be with them just yet, communication with them is much easier at tech school.

DH received his assignment notification and it looks like we are heading to Ramstein, Germany! This will be our very first PCS and it is the mother of all PCS’s- overseas! So as it stands right now, I have about 10,000 things running through my mind! The first of which is getting my medical clearance so DH can get his orders and we can get this show on the road! Since I am in Oregon and there is no military bases nearby, here are a few things I have questions on and I am hope that I can answer them in the next few days so if any one is searching for answers too, I might be of some help:

1) I do not have medical records. I haven’t been to a doctor in about 10 years. DH just sent me DD form 2972 and told me to take it to my doctor. Like I said, I don’t have a doctor, so I have to figure out who can fill this form out.

2) Number 1 leads to this issue. I live in Oregon and the closest MTF is 2.5 hours away. Am I able to see a doctor near where I live?

ANSWER to 1 and 2: Since I am in Oregon, I am covered under Tricare Standard (Prime isn’t available to me here). I just went to their website and found a list of in-network providers, went to one and made an appointment for an exam. They said that they will give me an exam then fill out the forms.  I will update on how the process went with filling out the forms.

3) And yet again, this question is connected. When am I covered under Tricare? Am I supposed to receive something in the mail? a card? I really have no idea!

ANSWER: From what I hear, I was covered since DH went to BMT. As far as any “insurance” card, you just use your military ID (I was told this when I called Tricare West today.)

In regards to Tricare Dental (for DD Form 1466D):  I was informed that I needed to call Tricare dental to get enrolled. You MUST have your sponsor give them authorization to enroll you. The nice man I spoke with told me that DH could call them or conference call with me to give the authorization. He assured me that they only needed DH for a brief time, just to give authorization, and then he could leave the call. I imagine that they have received plenty of calls from spouses whose SO only had a few moments. Prior to this, I was told that DH could go somewhere on base and enroll me as well. I do not have specific details though.

Visiting a dentist without insurance (for DD Form 1466D): If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, I would suggest you go to Green Apple Dental. They may have other locations, I’m not sure, but the one that is closest to me on 82nd only charges $19 for the exam IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE. This is wonderful! My Tricare Dental enrollment will not start until January 1, 2014 and I cannot wait that long to fill out that form. I made an appointment today, so I will update on that too.

4) What vaccines/immunizations are required? I don’t have a complete immunization list from childhood and I have heard from some people that they do check this and from others that don’t.

So this is where I am right now, holding a gigantic stack of papers with a million questions! I will update my questions as I find the answers!