Bureaucracy

OK - so i'm not saying bureaucracy here is worse than elsewhere - in fact I imagine it's pretty grim in whichever new country you rock up in - but let me share with you a little of my bureaucracy pain.

In two weeks I am due my 30 week maternity appointment.
Before I can do that I need to get my health insurance.
Before I can do that I need to get my visa sorted.
I can't do that until N gets his visa sorted.
He can't start that until he
gets back from the UK next week. It will then take a minimum of 10 days.
I also first need to get my marriage certificate attested by the UAE Foreign Affairs Dept.
They won't attest it until it's been attested by the UAE embassy in London.
They won't attest it until it's been attested by the FCO in Milton Keynes.
Do I need to have the usual rounds of HIV tests and TB x-rays before I can get my visa? I don't even know! I haven't even got that far yet! Probably.

Not only am I not going to get all this done in two weeks, i'm starting to wonder if this baby might actually be born in the visa office, under a sea of paperwork. At least we'll have a head start in getting his paperwork sorted I guess.

But it's not all grind. In an hour i'm off to join my new prenatal yoga class, though I have terrible wind today, so i'm dreading the squats. I'm also a little concerned about my mobility, as this baby seems to have doubled in size overnight. I've woken up today 70 per cent bump, 20 per cent boobs and 10 per cent former self - quivering under the weight of it all. I might sit out most of the class and just do the bit at the end where you lie still for 15 minutes and have a rest. I love that bit.