The story so far: Josa Young and her husband Thoby have two children aged eleven and eight. She’s now 41 and expecting another baby . .

Shifting about

When I move around during the day the baby lies quietly, rocked in the cradle of my pelvis. When I settle down evening and morning for a rest, he gets active. Sometimes humps appear as he sticks his bottom out to the left of my tummy button. Sometimes a little foot sticks out on the right, under my ribs. He seems to be stretching. I see the surface wriggle, or someone with a hand on my belly feels a gentle prod, but I feel nothing. And there is never any sensation of movement at the back of the womb at all. For ‘reassurance’ we pregnant ladies are sometimes urged to do ‘kick charts’ on graph paper, filling in squares in a thoroughly anal way to make sure the movements are still happening. A recipe for paranoia if ever I heard one – particularly as the baby can be whirling about and you can be quite unconscious of it. I read somewhere that if you drink a lot of alcohol when pregnant, the baby is practically comatose and emerges with ossified joints, because it doesn’t exercise itself.

Now the exercise is no longer so lively – not such big bumps and jerks. I think he is running out of room for bouncing off walls. It is extremely difficult to visualise his position. I tried with a pelvis and small doll in my yoga class but it didn’t help.

I wake in the early hours and lie thinking about the future

Even though I have had two children, the early bit is very hazy in my memory. I have a nice stack of terry nappies left over from Archie, which I’ve washed. They range in colour from pink through grey to white – due to various laundry mishaps. I’ll have to practice my origami method of nappy folding on the biggest teddy. This leaves a good thickness between the baby’s legs where it counts. It can be used right up to potty training as it is so neat.

I’ve looked at all the trendy modern washable nappies but, as they cannot be unfolded, have no idea how you are meant to get them dry without expending vast quantities of energy with a tumble dryer. The terry square is so completely practical in this respect. You can now get biodegradable liners, which can go on the compost heap, and Nappi Nippers to use instead of pins, which I shall report back on as soon as I’ve had my date with Big Ted. Using disposables is not only a waste of money – it’s a waste of space in already horribly full landfill. I’m also concerned about the chemicals used in the manufacture, and the damage they might do to small male genitalia. In my view, they have their uses only when you are out and about.

I remember thinking that I have led really quite an exciting life, but this baby business knocks all my adventures into a cocked hat. I’m not surprised that some people get quite addicted to it and go on and on having babies.

I’ve started thinking about nursing bras. I’ve chosen a black one and one with leopard spots. My husband, Thoby, says, ‘Watch out for baby leopards.’

Some days I feel completely normal

If the acid stays down in my stomach, and I don’t feel too sick, I really have lots of energy. I’ve had no appetite for most of the pregnancy, so I’ve only put on a stone and a half. But then I was quite heavy to begin with, never having lost the extra stone after a miscarriage two years ago. Every calorie has to count, so I eat as carefully as I can, paying great attention to the need for oily fish, nuts, seeds and vegetables. The only problem is, if I get a vast appetite back while breastfeeding I am likely to balloon. I really hope this doesn’t happen because it is so difficult to lose weight at my age.

Nights have actually improved

I suppose one’s organs get used to the pressure and begin to adapt. Quite often I sleep all night, or only get up once to go to the lavatory. My poor husband feels a bit pushed aside as I prop up every bit of my anatomy with a barrage of pillows. We are all getting impatient to meet our new little person now, but I just need to make Christmas and the holidays magical for the children, before I can give my mind to birth, nursery etc. The increased energy is a great blessing at this busy time of year.

The baby should now weigh between four and five pounds. If he were born now, he would be fine – just a bit small. This last stage is the time when he puts on lots of body fat to protect him from the cold weather outside. Human babies are born at a much earlier stage of maturity that animal ones. This is because of the size of our brains. We would never get out of our mother’s pelvic canals if we had matured sufficiently to hit the ground running.