Finnish.

We're moving to Finland! Just thought you'd like to know.

As I read through the FAQs of the hugely popular new blog Mila's Daydreams (the most delightful thing I've seen in a long time, truly), I came across this response to a question regarding her daughter's clothes:

In Finland mothers are truly blessed, we all get a big maternity package from government. There's lot of clothes and all the crucial baby stuff you need to have with your newborn.

The link directs you to Kela, the social insurance institution of Finland. Which apparently provides a package of adorable baby clothes to new parents. As well as a paid maternity leave beginning up to fifty days prior to baby's due date, and lasting up to 105 days total.

Wow. I know that's only a couple of months, but it's a couple of months paid.

I got two weeks of paid leave. Took another two weeks of short-term disability at 60% of my salary. Then two weeks of vacation, which left me with zero days for the rest of the year once I returned. Then...nothing. Oh, no. That's not true. I got another two weeks of pay when I returned to work. Accompanied by a bill for the insurance premiums my employer covered while I was on leave — the cost of which pretty much negated that final paycheck.

It took us nearly a year to save enough for me to take a 16-week maternity leave. And I'm one of the really lucky ones who a) got paid and b) got to take that much time off without penalty. I have many friends who received even less — or no — paid leave. I have no idea how we'll swing it with the next one. Saving that much money again will be darned near impossible now that we've added the cost of daycare to our monthly bills, and I'll probably have to go back to work much sooner than I had to with Calvin — a sickening thought.

I did a Google search for parental leave and landed on this Wikipedia page, which details the leave policies of countries all over the world. A quick scan tells you that the United States has the worst parental leave policy of the bunch. Paid leave is not granted nor required by law, and employers are only responsible for holding your job if you are covered by FMLA.

Way to be progressive, United States.

It's time to get packing. To qualify for benefits you have to live in Finland 180 days before your due date, and I'd like to get settled in before we think about having more kids.

But first I need to call Nate and fill him in on our relocation plans. I think he'll be fine with it, if for no other reason than the female president's striking resemblance to Conan O'Brien.