Truckin' along

We have been keeping busy... trying not to focus on the 'due date'. Fortunately we have a few things we want to accomplish between now and then, namely getting the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom ready. In my last 'family email' I emphasized the painting and carpeting Mike had done in the bedrooms-- to his amusement I left out all of the important work he'd done UNDER that (drywall and framing, etc.). I knew he was doing that of course, but the paint and carpet are so much more immediate and visual. I told him most people would realize the depth of his hard work, so I hope that is the case.
For the next few weeks Mike will be working on two big projects in tandem: the upstairs WC and the stairway. Both are coming along really well, and together they represent everything we want finished before the home birth.
In the Netherlands they have a service where a sort of nurse/helper comes to your house anywhere from 4-8 hours per day for a week after the delivery. She is trained to check up on the general well-being of the baby, but can also teach new parents to put a crib together, breast feed, diaper, etc. In addition to all of this, she will clean your house, shop and make dinner-- it seems the only thing she won't do is walk the dogs! Someone in the US really needs to market this idea!!! Can't you see this as the ultimate shower gift for a friend??? (MARILOIS you should incubate this small business idea)!!!
Here it is covered by insurance (yay!), and will probably be especially useful to us since we don't have the network of family and friends we'd have nearby in the states. We've signed up for 6-8 hours a day for a week, with the idea that we can cut back if needed. Mike is worried he won't have anything to DO, since he is the primary shopper and cook. Okay, lets be honest-- he is the only shopper and cook.
The point of this informative ramble, is that we had an interview with a representative from this group about 6 weeks ago. It was really interesting and helpful (all in Dutch), and they gave us a basic checklist of what we need to have ready for the baby and for the delivery. They require that you have everything set up for the delivery by the 37th week (for us, the week of July 19-25th). They will allow you to home birth with a baby two weeks earlier than or two weeks later than the 'due date', so anywhere from the 38th to the 42nd week. Anything outside of this range requires a hospital delivery. So, this is really the deadline we have in mind for Mike's current projects. We will see how that goes.