The story so far; Josa Young, and her husband Thoby, have 2 children aged eleven and eight. She’s now 41 and expecting another baby very soon

All change this week

I suddenly felt ready to let go of my study and move my desk and computer downstairs to the back part of the sitting room. Thoby nested furiously upstairs – he says my hormones are affecting him. He blamed them when he ran a bath without the plug in. He scrubbed the nursery walls, nailed down the carpet (to stop us tripping over it in the night), put up a blackout blind (helps the baby to sleep in the daytime), put up a curtain rail and pelmet board, and hung the curtain. This thickly padded and luxurious curtain, given to us by a friend, has one drawback – it depicts fairies in shades of pink. Oh well, the baby will be too little to notice.

I even went shopping and bought a little brown teddy suit made of fleece, to keep the baby warm on his journey home in the car. I feel I am making progress and have been far less weepy and sleepy this week. I really believe that my yoga classes have helped me through this pregnancy.

You don’t seem to be doing all that much, compared say to an exercise class. It’s just regular deep breathing and stretching, followed by a ten minute rest, with the left leg propped on a little chair. The benefits are out of all proportion. I think my bad patches of tiredness and sorrow had a lot to do with three weeks off yoga.

The children are now back at school, and I am making lists of things to complete in the next two weeks. I feel quite different – extremely alert and full of energy. I am hoping this might herald imminent events. Every time I get a twinge in the lower abdomen, I get excited. Oddly enough, the lower back pain has receded and I find it much easier to avoid waddling.

As I write, my belly presses against the edge of the desk, and I can feel slow movements pushing against it. I am not flexible in the middle, and I managed to back into a car while parking. As I pride myself on my parking, I felt rather ashamed when I registered an audible crunch.

I saw the doctor at the newly built Queen Charlotte’s hospital and discovered that the architect had skimped on the waiting area, which was pullulating with pregnant women and their families. There were not nearly enough chairs to go around and it was chaotic. It reminded me what a luxury it is to have my midwife, Risi, coming to my home. This week she told me that the baby is face upwards, which means his spine is against my spine. I hope he doesn’t get stuck like that. If you go into labour with the baby in this position, it’s called ‘backache’ labour, which is reputed to be exceptionally painful.

I find it extraordinary that there was no formal consultation with midwives before all that money was spent on a completely new building. The tell me that they have to walk miles to work every day, and end up exhausted. I feel nostalgia for the hushed peace of old Queen Charlotte’s.

The doctor asked if I would like to go into a comparative study of different means of induction. One is the prostin hormonal gel inserted near the cervix to soften it and bring on contractions, which has been used for years and which I had for Archie. The other is a similar drug taken by mouth. I was perfectly happy to do this, but my midwife was surprised it had been offered at all – she advised against it. She described me, for the first time, as ‘high risk’. Solely due to my age.

As far as all the checks are concerned, it has been – touch wood – textbook. Low blood pressure and no swelling at all. My wedding ring is still loose. I have been swallowing capsules of ground raspberry leaves, which are meant to help bring things on. And my midwife suggested in hushed tones that sex might do the trick. This is easier said than done at the moment. Curry is another thing that is often advised, but I have intermittent acid reflux (where the top of the womb pushes acid back up the oesophagus), and curry might be agony and not even work.

How do you fill these weeks, when you know your life is about to change fundamentally? The conventional advice is to have some fun. But I can’t see beyond the practicalities – and getting my hair cut. The fringe in my eyes would drive me mad during labour.

See Anastasia's pregnancy diary for weeks 38-40.