So after 9 months of getting acquainted with the idea of #BabyBear (or 9 months to get over my denial) I am now faced with the real thing. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that she is the most gorgeous baby in the whole wide world! Obviously!

At 4am during the first morning I was experiencing contractions I was sat at my laptop sending work emails; this was either the height of efficiency and multi-tasking or even at that late stage I was still in denial. I was possibly trying to distract myself from the thought that was fast becoming reality that there would be an actual, live, human baby for us to look after. Now, just over two weeks on it is getting harder to imagine our house without the live version of #BabyBear in it. But at the same time, it is incredible how much of an impact she has made and quite how much time and space she takes up for someone so tiny.

First though, let me take you through labour and childbirth itself – all 36 hours of it – only joking. I will spare you the details but I will tell you that I will never ever forget the name of the anaesthetist who came to administer me my epidural at about 20 hours in. Daryl I love you and will forever be in your debt. I thought I had a high pain threshold but having sworn twice (that is a lot for me!) I knew that the pain was getting unbearable. And I worried that I would not know if I was having contractions. I definitely knew and I am very sorry for those pregnant women out there who might be reading this but they are evil, pure evil. I would swap them any day for the horrible pregnancy heartburn or facial hair growth or indescribable fatigue or discomfort or general grumpiness or inability to move. And I don’t think I will ever forget the experience, apart from the moments when I really had no idea what was going on at the time. The most effective form of contraception? The experience of childbirth.

For fear of being a little bit slushy I will say that J was absolutely amazing through the whole time. From going to hospital to the next couple of days to when we came home. He kept the mid-wives stocked in cakes which I am pretty sure meant that we were able to get discharged a little earlier and he kept me stocked up in reassurance. Any future dad’s want some advice on how to behave through childbirth I will hire J out to you as a consultant…..for a fee of course.

#Jeff the Fern is still alive though he has still not grown at all. To add to that he is now having to fight for attention. Not just from #BabyBear but also from the new tea plant that I was given for my birthday. Another thing to keep alive; but with incentive as I look forward to harvesting my own tea in a year or so. And on the note of my birthday I keep forgetting that it even happened and really it didn’t. I managed some tea and cake with my twin brother and parents and the new generation – Nephew is now nearing 4 months – but in reality, the change to the big 40 did not happen. Therefore, I am not 40 and never will be. Thank you, #BabyBear, for arriving 4 days before the dreaded birthday. But also thank you for giving me something else to think about and distrcting me form the doom.