If the bub doesn't wake me up kicking about in the small hours, it's one of my many, many trips to the loo which disrupts my precious sleep. It's actually got to the point that I'm surprised if I don't need a wee.

On the positive side I am now on maternity leave countdown. Yep - I have just seven and three-quarter days left at work. But the truth is I'm not entirely sure whether it is something to look forward to or dread. I don't really know what to expect.

I got my first job after university and have never had more than a two-week break from work ever since. The idea of not going to work for a year seems quite incomprehensible.

I have been warned time and time again that I'm not in for an easy ride. Oh I had all kinds of marvellous plans - starting a Phd, writing a book, ploughing time into a new business...but I've been told in no uncertain terms to forget it, which has kind of worried me.

Just about every parent I've spoken to has advised that I sleep as much as I can before baby arrives - sleep is apparently a luxury that just won't really occur much post birth.

"Is it really going to be that bad?" I ask, concern clearly etched on my face.

"Oh yes," they say with a knowing grin. "But don't worry - it's all worth it," they add as a seemingly necessary tag on.

It's not just the not-knowing-what-to-do-with-a-baby bit that's concerning - there's the toddler bit, the child bit, the teenager bit...And what happens if our precious bub becomes a serial killer? Or something as equally as shameful? You just never know. They always blame the parents don't they?

So these are the kind of thoughts that are currently filling up my brain. And of course working out wherever the nearest loo is...