Chickens in a box

James was born at 12.50pm on Monday 24 September 2007 weighing in at 7lbs exactly. So not the whopper we were led to believe! He's much, much darker than Will, olive skinned and just a completely different baby. It makes us realise how traumatised by his birth William must have been, because James sleeps, feeds, gurgles quietly and does all the things that Will NEVER did. Plus his head is the right shape (although much smaller!). Thank heavens. As for the gory details.... We got to Reading at 8.00am and had to sit around in a waiting room until about 11.15 when a midwife came in with my gown and Eddie's scrubs so we could get changed in the loo. We were then taken to the delivery room and I was given a local anaesthetic in my back, followed by the spinal. Horrible. I am so squeamish at the best of times and the whole concept makes my flesh creep. Got the shakes again, but not as badly as first time round. Eventually your legs go completely dead, they feel like rocks and that...

I can't tell if it's because he's a bit under the weather or just plain stroppy, or both, but Will has decided not to eat and I feel ready to throttle him already. Taking the zero tolerance approach to this new game and yesterday after throwing his shepherds pie at me, Will went down for his nap hungry. I think he must be teething again - some monstrous molar at the back - because he was very hot in the night and is dribbling like some kind of mini-zombie. Today started well with a big breakfast, but lunch was another disaster so he's back upstairs napping on an empty stomach. It's very hard to resist the temptation to make him alternatives, but I'm determined not to get into that particular trap. With the new baby iminent the last thing we need to be worrying about is a fussy eater.

I'm paying the price for a lovely day in London yesterday - Tea with Mrs Woodley at The Wolsey followed by a visit to see Janie and Isabella, the sweetest little sleepy baby. Then yesterday evening Eddie and I went out for a final, slap-up meal before our new arrival joins the clan. It was all fabulous, but I am paying for it today, not only am I totally exhausted, but having woken up at 5.30am, Will has also been a complete nightmare. Whinging and crying most of the morning which wasn't helped by an hour's wait for my final blood test at Newbury hospital this morning. Off for a well-earned sleep now and am hoping for a calmer afternoon....

AFTER HAVING WAITED FOR 1 HOUR 1/2 TO SEE THE MIDWIFE BEFORE FINALLY WALKING OUT IN DISGUST. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHH.

Went to Reading yesterday for my assessment and got seen by a midwife, doctor and anaesthetist, signed various forms, got measured for my anti-DVT stockings and then released. All very organised - needless to say none of the people I met will actually be there on Monday.... Anyway, I'm all set now. The baby is fine, heartbeat is borderline 138 - 140 so it could be either a boy or a girl (Durr....) I'm very nervous. The anaesthetist was the nicest of the three and tried very hard to make me feel relaxed and look at this experience in a positive light. He's right and I must think about the baby at the end of it and remember it's going to be nothing like the trauma and fear that went along with William's delivery. It makes me realise quite how much we were affected by that experience. You tootle along for 9 months and forget all about it, but now it's iminent the memories come flooding back. In the meantime William has rather worryingly started vomiting a little bi...

I can't help counting the days and am so uncomfortable and heavy I'm hardly sleeping at all. Last night I spent what felt like hours trying to switch from side to side while my brain whirred away thinking about the new baby and what life is going to be like on 'the other side' as I call it. Very, very nervous about the operation. I have to go in to Reading this afternoon to be checked, measured, poked and prodded so everything's ready for next week. It'll be the first time I've been back since Mummy was ill which will seem very strange. To take my mind off everything I've invested in a new pair of boots (having worn out my obsessions with make-up and jewelry). Feast your eyes...

I caved.

Now we have 24th in the diary I sort of feel like I did when I went past my due date with William - impatient! But I'm also treasuring the time I have with Will and the time I have to myself when he's in nursery. The last couple of weeks he's been at Little Sods I feel like I've been running about like a blue-arsed fly, but today I went with Sonya to show her where nursery is and introduce her to everyone and then we tootled round Hungerford after a coffee. Now I'm home and determined to stay put and relax until I need to pick Will up. Usually relaxing means sleeping, but today my mission is to watch a film. A whole film. All the way through. Without falling asleep. It'll be a real treat! Need to find either total mush (Pretty Woman?) or total rubbish (Cannonball Run).....tough call.

Threw myself on the mercy of my consultant Jane Siddell yesterday and in light of the fact this baby is going to be ENORMOUS, she's agreed that an elective caesarean is the right way to go. I am so relieved and now have 24th September to look forward to as the day we're finally going to meet our new baby. I'm so excited about it. Not only have I only got 2 1/2 weeks left to go - but I'm also going to have him/her 10 days earlier than my due date. Pregnancy is such a long haul, you make all those sacrifices, go through the discomfort of the later stages, but in the end it's just fantastic when you get to the end and meet the little person you've been looking after all this time. We've been through so much together the baby and I, I can't wait to meet them at last. I'm still pretty frightened about the procedure, but had a reassuring chat to Sonya this morning who has been through it and the main thing is that this is planned, not an emergency like...

This morning Eddie and I braved the horrors of Newbury hospital for our 36 week scan. All is well with the baby, apart from the fact that it's rapidly running out of space due to its size. Apparently if it was born now, it'd weigh around 6 lbs 14 and if we left nature to take its course it may end up being 9lbs! Initially I was terrified, given that William was 8lbs and I couldn't have him naturally, how the hell am I supposed to attempt birth with an even bigger child? Am calming down a bit now and trying to see the funny side of it all. Umm. Tomorrow is my follow-up meeting with the consultant and I am praying she is open to letting me have another c-section. I just can't face failing to have a 9lb baby naturally and ending up in a similar situation to the one I was in before with Will. More tomorrow....

So much for our smug joy at the genius baby sleeping peacefully in his cot bed. It didn't take William long to work out that not only could he get out of bed in the morning, but he could get out ANY TIME HE WANTED. The night before last I was up literally every hour putting him back to bed and woke up exhausted, as did Will. Spent most of the morning trying to get him to nap, unsuccessfully, so when Mary came to visit at lunchtime it was with huge relief that I finally hit the 1pm milestone and put him to bed. Even that didn't go smoothly and it took a good 20 minutes of me thundering up and down the stairs returning him to his bed every time I heard the patter of tiny feet from above. Last night, a mere 45 minutes were spent capturing the escapee and returning him to his bed before he finally capitulated and fortunately slept through (well, until Daddy woke everyone up at 5.45am) as did Mummy - apart from the usual aches and pains + wriggling baby number 2. Today, Hotpoint are...