Josa Young has 2 children aged eleven and eight. She became pregnant with her third child at the age of 41. Follow her progress as she gets to week 26 of her pregnancy

Thinking ahead and getting comfortable

I could never have predicted that I would be pregnant on my 42nd birthday. The fact eases the passing of the years. Although, this comes with the realisation that I will be near retirement age when this little person is at university. So there will never be a time when our nest is empty, while we are still youngish. However, I intend to remain fit and frisky, and take to backpacking again in my sixties.

The heartburn has receded somewhat – I find eating organic Greek yoghurt, and drinking Horlicks, last thing at night, really helps. I am sleeping better with a pillow between my knees, and I am trying to be careful not to drink too much water in the evenings, so I don’t have to get up to pee so often. The dreams have changed – from being negative and alarming. My subconscious keeps summoning up alternative baby boys for my inspection. One grows in three days to an exact replica of my eight-year-old son Archie – only, he is called Max. Another is large, plump and white blond, with blue eyes – that would be a genetic peculiarity, as my other two are brown-eyed brunettes.

The baby things have started to arrive – I remember this from last time, as the word gets round, you become a depository for hand-me-downs. And very grateful I am too. As there are less pregnant people around in my generation, and most of my friends and family have stopped reproducing, the range and quality is much higher. I remember receiving around 25 shrunken woollen vests for Archie – and not much else. Already, I have been given a coach-built pram, some really lovely clothes and even an electric breast pump. There is an embarrassment of cots, a bouncy cradle and a steriliser. Everything remains packed up, though – the baby’s room will be my office until the very last minute.

The only thing I shall have to buy new is a cot mattress, by the looks of it. Not that straightforward – this turns out to be a whole can of worms. In New Zealand where, up until recently, they had the highest rate of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in the world, there is a controversy raging over the cause. There is or was a theory that fire-retardant chemicals in foam mattresses, in conjunction with some common air-borne bacteria and fungi, formed deadly gases that could suffocate a baby in its cot. Dr Sprott, a chemist and forensic pathologist, of New Zealand, developed a mattress cover that shielded the baby completely from these fumes. It is claimed that no baby sleeping on one of these covers has ever died. However, the SIDS establishment has rejected this theory, and prefers to stick to lowering the risk factors – ie, your baby should sleep on its back, stay relatively cool, and that you should avoid smoking anywhere near it. What to believe?

I am ordering a brand new, chemical free mattress anyway, and will think further about Dr Sprott’s mattress wrapping. My baby will definitely be sleeping on its back.

My main aim at the moment is not to waddle. It is all too easy to try and relieve a stiff and uncomfortable back by adopting a duck-like gait – but no, I have told my husband and children that, if they catch me waddling, they are to tell me not to. I try a swan-like glide instead, and trip over the step, coming into the house. It is vital to sit upright, however – it really helps breathing and digestion. I am very glad I invested in a proper typing chair, the seat of which tips forward, so that working doesn’t hurt too much.

See Anastasia's diary for weeks 26-28.