Week 36

Mike came with me to the midwife appointment today-- she asked if we were ready for the delivery, and just as I said 'yes' Mike went into a detailed explanation of what needs to be finished on the house. He is definitely feeling the pressure about having everything 'just so' for the baby's arrival, though I am trying to convince him that we could really deliver at home now without problem.

Our midwife practice is great-- we really like them. We have met four of the five midwives, and will meet the remaining one next week. Nienke, the midwife we saw today, said that we can deliver at home as of week 37, not week 38 as I believed. So--- that means a home delivery is possible as of next week. I think this is contributing to Mike's anxiety about the completion of the house. He knows it could still be 5 1/2 weeks before anything happens... but of course you never really know, and that unknown element is the problem! While Mike is anxious, I am just fine. Having an incomplete house has really helped me relax about when the baby will arrive, as strange as that logic may sound. I think if everything was truly ready I would just be sitting around twiddling my thumbs.

As for the house-- things are coming along beautifully. Here are some photos of the progression of the stair removal. Our next door neighbor, Ronald, rented a container for construction trash and had a lot of leftover room. He said we could toss any of our own waste in free of charge, but it had to be in before the container was removed yesterday afternoon. So, Mike took the stairs out a little early. What a racket Mike made tearing that sucker out-- the dogs and I retreated to the back garden for the duration. I am sure Mike enjoyed it! As you can see we now have no access to our second floor. We thought carefully about what we needed from upstairs before Mike took the stairs out-- and remembered almost everything. Fortunately, we aren't really living upstairs right now, so not many of the things we use often are upstairs. After Mike brought the stairs down I remembered that the bag I packed in case we need to go to the hospital early is upstairs. Big Whoops! Well, it wasn't filled with anything that cannot be replaced, so I think I will repack a little something just in case. The new stairs should be up and functional by the end of the weekend, and I think we will be okay until then.