As predicted, everyone thought I hadn't been to antenatal class for 2 weeks cos I'd had the baby. Ur no. Unfortunately they'll be thinking it again this Thursday since the creche was already booked up when I rang. Grr. Not sure I'll be around for the following one - will have to see.

The long weekend was good. I finally got the project out of the way that has been pending for about 3 months now. My brother (whose project it is) was in danger of never speaking to me again. Hopefully there won't be too many changes needed now, particularly if it goes beyond the end of this week. Don't want to put myself in another position like June 2003, when I was working up until the night I went into labour (it was my belief that the work postponed the labour).

Had a lovely afternoon with Rose on Friday while Roj was down at the river. She came over here while Jody was still asleep and we caught up on all our plans, then had easy Waitrose pizza for dinner. Lovely to see her again. And even the whole Jody routine wasn't too painful, since I opted for the 'put her back in bed if she wanders around' rather than the 'sit outside her door for over an hour' routine.

Still, Jody's nights have been very disrupted apart from Sunday night when she stayed in bed from 9 til 6:40 and last night when I just went in at 3 for 45 minutes to try and ease her coughing. It doesn't help that she's got another streaming cold (which Roj has been full of the last few days). Right now it's difficult to see how we're going to handle things when the new baby comes along, given that Jody might well display jealousy that he's in our bedroom to start with, and that she still views Roj as the entertainer (and therefore gives him the runaround at bedtimes). Was hoping that she'd be back in a stable routine by then - and I'm still not ruling out the possiblity, though it's looking less likely as time ticks by.

Saturday was good. We all went down to Putney for mid-morning so that Roj could get his second reunion crew row in - this time against the 2005 Blue Boat. Lovely to catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while - particularly two mums and their respective 2 boys (a regular little creche at times). Had an enjoyable buffet lunch once the crews came back and then headed back home. The afternoon was necessarily leisurely albeit with some work thrown in, and we went off to eat a sophisticated birthday dinner at Deep Pan Pizza (my choice - I've been craving it for weeks). The pizza had no toppings, was half an hour coming (not good with Jody's hyperactivity) and we got wet in the rain going over there but I still enjoyed myself. Thanks very much to everyone who sent cards.

Sunday Roj was meant to go down to the river again but was feeling so grotty that he ended up babysitting Jody in the sitting room (it was cold and grey outside) while I worked. Jody was considerate enough to fall asleep 10 minutes before the actual Boat Race started on TV so we were both able to watch Cambridge get a good thrashing by a patently better crew.

We finally went to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Hyde Park on Monday morning. It was a glorious day and several of my mum friends have been raving about it. Luckily the bus goes from the nearest spot to us on Oxford Street (though we miscalculated our stop by about a mile which played merry hell with painful ligaments for me later on). The playground is excellent though - lots of toddler-centric stuff and an enormous pirate ship that can be scrambled all over. It even has a cafe which does reasonable lunchtime kiddie fare and a good cup of earl grey! The place was teeming though, it being a hot sunny Easter Monday.

Had a bit of a futile hunt for Jody shoes on the way back - with the 'experts' measuring her at anything between 5.5 and 7 and nothing fitting properly anyway. Abandoned as she was getting seriously sleepy, and came back to allow her (and Roj) to catch up on sleep while I did more work.

Yesterday was cold and miserable and I nurtured my guilty complex by working all morning and leaving Jody to play house-wrecker (her current favourite). She still has her streaming cold and the weather was miserable so I'm sure she'll survive. In recompense I can now spend the whole week devoted to her entertainment, which would be an easier prospect were it not for the rain.

There's no sign that I'm any closer to having this baby (and my due date is still 8 days away so why should I?) Had crampy feelings at various times over the last few days which I remember as being symptomatic as the beginning of the end, but I'm still thinking that he's not going to show his face for at least a week. Becka the midwife dropped off all the necessary gear on Friday though - a whole suitcase of somethingorother, a ventilation kit and 3 canisters of various gases. I am now officially prepared. And to that end I am implementing another little poll for those of you with 30 seconds to spare. I've taken out the question of sex, so it's simply weight and date but it'll be interesting to see whether Peta wins again this time.

We're officially house-hunting this week. We had Foxtons over for a valuation on Friday and to take us round a local first floor conversion which was incredibly yucky and right on one of the busiest roads in the area. Granted it was being lived in by a couple of single blokes and so looked like a student flat, but the standard of decor would have put us right back to square one as regards new bathrooms/kitchen and flooring. No way. We've got three flats lined up in the next couple of days though - we want to get an impression of the different types available so we're viewing mews, mansion block and conversion flats to make our comparisons. Everyone is very optimistic that they can sell our flat, but the tables are turned against us looking - there is little available and what there is is totally over-priced. Seems that we will probably need to move out of the centre of Marylebone to get something decent, and even then will be compromising on some other aspect. Crazy that you have to double the price of our good-standard, excellent-area, 2-bedroom flat in order to afford 3 bedrooms, but apparently it's because we're moving from pied-a-terre territory to family home. Whatever.

Happy Birthday yesterday to Charlotte and today to Camilla. xx.

Jody has now almost completely recovered. She had her last snotty nose on Sunday and only coughs once in a while. The chest part of my bug has also mostly disappeared but has left me with annoying catarrh and snottiness. Nothing I can't handle though. My energy levels are so much better than the last two weeks that I feel almost normal.

The weekend was good. Spent Saturday morning cleaning the flat of new-rug fluff which invades every little space. Long overdue (I have my excuses) and very satisfying. Looked like I was making candy floss with the Dyson.

Camilla came over for the afternoon and Roj happily took on babysitter role to allow me out to sit in the park with her for most of the afternoon. It was fab to have some adult company and to relax in the sunshine. Really enjoyed it.

Sunday I was just exhausted - falling asleep even while Roj was constructing the co-sleeper and Jody was manically running around the bedroom. We went to the Tate in the morning though, to see the Turner, Whistler, Monet exhibition on free EY tickets. Quite enjoyed seeing the Turners and Whistlers - printmaking in particular - but wasn't overwhelmed by the exhibition in general.

Sleepwise, things have improved and then deteriorated. Jody slept through until 4:10 and 5:35 respectively on Saturday and Sunday nights. Unfortunately since then she has had a couple of bad nights - waking at 3, 4, 5 and 6 on Monday night and 12:30, 3 and 4 last night. Still not sure what to tackle in order to solve the problem - it's obviously no longer her illness. I'll have to try 'gradual retreat' in the next few days to see if she's just become overly-dependent on having us next to her bed while she falls asleep. Roj handled most of the sleeplessness last night which was a nice break for me although unlike him, I can't sleep while Jody is awake and unhappy, even when there's someone else there to console her.

Have spent the last two mornings taking Jody to nursery in order to acclimatise her. Have finally had it confirmed that she can start in mid-April (despite their dubious rules) and am even getting my three mornings of choice (Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays). The head teacher is extremely eccentric but so obviously cares about her little charges and takes the whole thing so seriously she has to be admired. The other teachers seem fine and the Montessori philosophy - of encouraging independence - is infallible. I think in execution some of the sessions fall slightly short of the mark, but I know that Jody will be challenged and stimulated (though it's all a bit cerebral) and that's what's important. It takes a weight off my mind to know that she's going to be in a place she enjoys while I play new mum again. I don't think I'll ever increase her days though - I have high hopes of being able to take up Wednesday swimming again after a term's leave of absence and I would never forgo the pleasures of Friday toddler group. Plus I'll miss my little girl!

Went swimming today for the first time in 2 weeks. Needn't have bothered. Jody screamed for the whole session, refused to do any of the exercises and cried for 'big hug', 'sit down' and 'shower' the whole way through. I hope something hasn't put her off the water - she seems comfortable enough in the bath still, but I'm sad that she couldn't enjoy our very last session. The teacher seemed to think she was just having an 'off day' but to see a little girl who was once so confident become so clingy is quite worrying. Will have to make sure to take her on the occasional weekend so that she gets back into it. When she's less tired maybe.

Back to antenatal class (and a weights session) tomorrow. Mental note to find out what the Holmes Place suspension policy is. Not sure I'll be particularly energetic for the class but I do enjoy it and it's practically the only thing I'm managing to do. 38 weeks tomorrow too, so getting closer all the time. I am predisposed to thinking that I'll go overdue with this one as I did with Jody, but as that's not necessarily true I have to pull my finger out and start reading name books and getting final preparations underway. Don't want to be like Geoff after all, who has had to go out buying cotbeds and the like while Anna (who was also due 7 April) recovers in hospital after the birth of Emelia on Monday evening. Congratulations to them.

Oooh isn't this weather glorious? The weather, the Friday toddler group and the yummy cappucino therein have put me in a very good mood today despite earlier setbacks including 2 hours of toddler monitoring in Jody's bedroom at 3am. Wouldn't let her in our bed when she toddled in so spent the best part of the early morning lying on her floor trying to keep her calm. It works to an extent - there's little motivation for her to come out and find mummy if she knows mummy is lying on her floor - but she's still coughing and full of snot and generally objecting to the fact that she isn't being pampered in our bed. Got to start somewhere though - can't have her wreaking this havoc in a month's time.

Spent the morning caving to the pressures of CBeebies and dozing on the sofa. Wild horses couldn't have kept me from the Land of Nod. Then off to toddler group (last of the term) where most of the best mums were in attendance. Got butterflies in my stomach when Karen (who leads the group) wished us all well for Easter and that she'd see us on April 15. With sprog 2 by then, most probably.

Had to remove scarf and cardigan on route back through the park because it was so hot and sunny. This weather can stay as long as it likes. If I was slightly madder I'd be wishing Jody awake so we could go and capitalise in the park, but I'm not.

Off to see the Tate show tomorrow morning on opening. Decided to shelve the PV tonight because of general exhaustion levels, so we'll do a daytime trip instead. I know it'll be heaving in the morning, but I really can't be bothered to dress up nice and make an effort at this stage in my pregnancy. A relaxed approach is best. Then Camilla is coming over for the afternoon for a bit of girlie catch-up time over cappucino (or will it be frappucino?) Looking forward to that.

And finally Roj's work is dying down a bit so I might get to see him some evenings next week. Course Easter weekend is also Boat Race weekend (and the reunion for his 1995 crew) so I won't see much of him Fri-Sun, but he's recently promised me a birthday celebration on Saturday evening which should make up for his absence the rest of the time. If I'm feeling energetic I might even make it down to the river myself to watch his reunion crew row against this year's Blues, but it's still highly likely I'll duck out of that given my rising fear of going into labour when I'm more than 20 minutes from home. I'm full term now, as from yesterday. Which means that from now for about 5 weeks I am 'allowed' to have my baby at home, barring any other unforseen complications. Yikes.

Very nice to have Roj here at the weekend. I could nap in the afternoons and have a little break from Jody. I'm making small amounts of recovery every day and have kept clear of the antibiotics. Jody's the same - still coughing and spluttering but gaining small amounts of energy every day. Didn't achieve much mind you, in the normal scheme of things. Went for the big Sainsbury's shop on Saturday morning - £185! Hopefully that'll be the last big stock up before baby. Went for a very brief foray to the playground on Sunday but neither Jody nor I had the energy. Then stopped in at John Lewis to buy toddler duvet and pillow (another attempt to make Jody's bed appealing to her) and look for a breadbin (our glass one succumbing to Jody's enthusiasm on Friday). Felt very dizzy. Struggled not to fall over. Came back and napped. Felt a bit better. This lurgy is annoying.

Would like to make it to swimming tomorrow but will have to see how it goes in the morning. It's only half an hour in a very warm pool but it's not fair on the other tots to subject them to Jody's bug unnecessarily. And she's gonna have no fun with all the underwater antics if she's full of snot anyway. Right now I'm aiming at a nursery session on Thursday morning (I'm unlikely to have energy for antenatal class even if I continue eating this much cake) and toddler group - the last of the term - which means the last with only one baby to take along - eek - on Friday.

At the weekend we're gonna put the co-sleeper together (small cot for baby that attaches to side of bed) and try and organise some kind of storage system for his clothes/nappies/etc. It's better to have things up sooner rather than later to enable Jody to get used to the changes beforehand. I'm still worried that I haven't been overly successful in preparing her, but on the flip side I wonder how one can possibly be adequately prepared for the arrival of one's sibling.

Jody came into our room this morning at 2:30am as she has been doing since getting ill. She spends some time (2 hours in this case) getting comfortable and ends up perpendicular to the two of us, leaving just about enough room for Roj on the far edge. Which means that I crawl into the space at the foot of the bed and scrabble for something resembling a pillow while attempting to stay out of reach of her flailing limbs (easier said than done when she prefers skin contact whilst sleeping). I feel like some kind of royal slave. Right now I'm turning a blind eye to her midnight wanderings and hoping that when she's better she'll go back to sleeping through the night, and certainly not need space in our bed from the early hours. I've got a month to tackle the issue - give or take - I just don't have the energy or motivation to do it right now.

Well done to Sven and Charlotte incidentally, who did their first adventure race on Sunday (solo) and seem to have enjoyed it. Sven, indeed, came predictably high up the leader board proving that he is still beyond the normal level of human fitness, lucky sod. The race sounded fast and furious - not my scene at all. I wonder if they'll do more.

And while I'm on the subject of competition I've neglected to say congratulations to my sister-in-law Zoe for recently getting two horses through the dressage semi-finals. Very impressive as usual. Finals, I believe, are round about my due date so good luck to her for those.

I also neglected to mention - going even further back - that we had another star-spotting episode on our return from Marbella at Heathrow baggage collection. Our bags were off very early so who did we see on our way out but Hugh Grant and diminutive Jemima Khan having a cuddle in their dark glasses and waiting for their own luggage. Could've reached out and touched them! (Things like this are exciting in our small lives!)

Chronic coughing from Jody's room. I feel very sorry for her. She just doesn't seem to be recovering. Her temperature was normal on Wednesday but this afternoon it returned to 102.3°F so she's right back on the Calpol. She's also getting conjuctivitis, so her eyes are red and puffy and gluey. Today we've both spent pretty much the entire day asleep and yet we both feel utterly exhausted. Even when awake Jody just sits against me all listless and unhappy and hates me to move. So unlike her normal self.

We went to the doc for a follow-up this afternoon, and he checked her over and said it's still just this viral throat thing that will go in time. There's nothing we can give her because viruses just need to be sweated out. On the other hand my throat has developed into a chest infection so he's prescribed me a course of antibiotics which I won't be taking until I feel it's absolutely the last resort. I rang my midwives and they confirmed the approach - they said my body will deal with it ... it may just take a little more time. Which is the last thing I want to hear, obviously, but I'd rather give antibiotics a miss at the best of times, not least when 8 months pregnant. The doctor was funny - when I first went in there he was quite aloof and officious. After he'd checked Jody and was talking about me though, and I told him I was pregnant when he was suggesting Aspirin, he suddenly turned into this benevolent grandfather-type, asking if I was OK, whether I had any help, and coming up with all these suggestions for making life easier for me at home. I was quite moved!

Since Monday evening we haven't left the flat except to go to the doctors today. Roj - poor thing - has had to pick himself up dinner every evening before coming home, and we've run out of everything. A mega Sainsbury's trip will be in order this Saturday he'll be delighted to hear.

And I've had to cancel a million things. Obviously no swimming and no toddler group, but also no gym & antenatal session, no session at nursery for Jody, no dinner with Rose on Tuesday and no weekend visit from Camilla coming up. It's been a lonely week but a necessary one under the circumstances. Just hoping we can get back to normality soon.

Brr. Cold weekend in Bournemouth but a very successful one nonetheless. Jody and Rosie got along very well - holding hands and things - which was very cute to watch (and bodes well for our holiday in September), and though cold it was sunny so we enjoyed time at the petting zoo and softplay on Saturday and the beach on Sunday. Thanks very much to Will and Pippa for putting us up.

Unfortunately Jody and I both woke with lurgy yesterday morning. I took her to the nursery for 10 but she was the most lethargic and clingy I've ever seen her (not making the right impressions at all). She slept in the buggy on the way over, in the buggy from there to my Soho midwife appointment, woke for lunch and then slept til 4:15. Clearly all was not well. I checked her temperature at about 5:00 and found it was hovering at about 102°F so rang the doc who recommended Calpol. Went out to get some and then went in to get her checked out at about 6:40, at which point the Calpol had started taking effect and she appeared much better. This was all followed by a very fraught night with Jody waking vociferously at small intervals and needing the administration of Calpol or a bit of tlc. We ended up with her in our bed from about 3 which wasn't conducive to our own sleep.

Her temperature is still 101 today so the Calpol thing continues, but she appears marginally better. Unfortunately I'm feeling absolutely awful - hideous sore throat and aching all over. All I need now, as Roj pointed out, is to go into labour. Eurgh. I haven't really had this issue to deal with before - feeling like death warmed up but still being responsible for the entertainment of a small toddler. Luckily she's not at her most energetic but today is going to be a challenge.

The nursery issue continues apace. The secretary got back to me yesterday after the issue with "I don't know whether we've got a place," with a whole new spanner. She apologised profusely but said they aren't legally allowed to take children until they're two. I said - and in truth - that I had asked at least 3 times whether they'd be prepared to take Jody this April a couple of months before her second birthday and was each time told it wouldn't be an issue. In actual fact I wouldn't have bothered looking round the place in November had I known it wouldn't be allowed. I had even phoned a closer nursery first which told me Jody couldn't start til September due to her age and I didn't bother taking it any further since my needs were for her to start in the spring. Part of the point of me pursuing this nursery was that they were more amenable from the start. Anyway, after a 4:30 morning this news was about all I could take. The secretary was very apologetic - particularly that I hadn't been told this rather important news back in November - but it sounds very much as if it's an immovable rule (though she is getting back to me once she's had another word with the head teacher). So having thought that Jody had a secure place three mornings a week at a fab nursery, I now find that my first few months as a mother of two will be somewhat different. The mind can only boggle.

Took Jody swimming in the morning but she's taken exception to going underwater for some reason, and this extended to her enjoyment of the whole session. I can only put her whingeing down to tiredness (I hadn't allowed her to sleep in the morning) but it's a shame to make the effort when she doesn't enjoy it. I then got absolutely sodden on the way back to Victoria in freezing sleet.

We finally had our evening out with Mike and Jill last night though and were joined by Jill's daughter Tanya who made use of her membership to exclusive club Hospital to take us along. Lovely place to eat, and a very enjoyable evening. The only issue was the babysitter who had some very odd ideas about pacifiers and sleeping techniques which I didn't want to hear. She didn't seem overly enamoured with the idea of giving Jody a bath either, nor taking her shoes off (small detail, but most of the babysitters do it automatically). Strange woman and she won't be coming back here.

Jody is still waking at 5-something despite me adhering to a strict 2-hour afternoon nap schedule. Even this morning she woke at 5:35 despite having been up an hour longer last night. I suppose the next step is to eliminate her afternoon nap altogether, though that isn't exactly practical in the coming weeks and, more importantly, doesn't seem to be what she needs since she gets extremely overtired and hyperactive on those days she doesn't sleep. Will keep up the 2-hour schedule for another week to see if it has impact and then cut it back to 1 hour in the hope that the issue is solved. I also think it's something to do with being too inactive in these cold last few weeks. Hopefully when it's milder and lighter we can spend more time outdoors getting exhausted. On the bright side, though Jody woke vociferously at 1 last night, she cried and fidgeted a lot but didn't come into our bedroom. So it might just be the morning waking that needs to be tackled.

Well ... even since writing the above, I've been phoned by the nursery again to bring Jody (who they think is a little boy) in on Monday for another assessment. Seems they've miraculously found space and may be willing to accept her at 22 months providing she's developmentally advanced enough (which we know she is, since they said they'd be happy to take her straight away when we visited at 17 months). Looks like our April plans may fall into place after all. Phew.

Off to Bournemouth tomorrow evening to stay with friends for the weekend. It's going to be shitty weather, but it'll be nice to get away. Also nice to drag Roj away from work for the first time in weeks, even if I have to share him with other people. These evenings have been getting lonely.