D-day + 4

Dear Baby J,

You're still in there. It's 4.30am. I've been awake since 3. I'm bored of watching re-runs of Scrubs and Two and a Half Men.

Yesterday we went to the hospital. I had a headache that wouldn't shift and the midwives wanted to check for pre-eclamsia. We had to go to the delivery ward where a very attractive midwife called Sally gave us a thorough check up. She was far too young and good looking and I felt all fat and lumpy. Daddy was hoping she'd induce labour and get you out - but no such luck. The headache was just a headache. We were home by lunch.

A marathon trek around the grounds at Burghley cleared my head, but did little to encourage you out. I'm getting pretty sick of people giving me baby induction tips. None of them work. The other day a girl told me to drink hot chocolate because it bought on her first labour. She then went on to tell me that her second baby was induced. I was very tempted to suggest that like everything else perhaps the hot chocolate was just a "coincidence" and that her baby was ready to come out on its own - but I managed to be polite.

Daddy is growing a beard until you show signs of arriving. It's perhaps the most amusing beard in the world - it's all patchy and is full of gaps where the hair won't grow. He's beginning to look like a tramp.I'll take a picture of it today to show you what a state he looked before you were born.

I've started snoring! I woke myself up yesterday during an afternoon sofa snooze - I was mortified. Still it's payback for Daddy - whose snores have symphonic range and keep me awake frequently - I'm afraid you're going to have to learn to sleep through them.

Today we might paint the shed - we need to do something to pass the time.

xxx