Sarah van der Kley: Here comes my baby - after 18 months!

Sarah van der Kley

The final countdown is on at last!

A friend commented to me yesterday that she feels like I have been pregnant for 18 months and I feel the same.

I think perhaps it's because we told everyone our happy news well before the traditional 12-week mark and also shared that we were trying to conceive months before we were successful.

We're also now in autumn which means my pregnancy has spanned over all four seasons, but here we are, finally in the last month.

It's been quite a journey for me, being my first experience with growing a baby from scratch.

I have googled things I never thought I would have any interest in knowing, from "what is pelvic lightening" to "is there breast milk in lactation cookies?" (The answer is no, thankfully).

I have felt overwhelmed by all the things I don't know. Obsessed with whether what I'm experiencing is "normal". Worried about the kind of mum I'll be, about what kind of labour I'll have. Worried about pretty much everything (apparently this is not something that goes away once you've given birth).

I've received a heck of a lot of advice, my favourite of which was to "listen to everyone's advice but then do whatever is right for you".

I've spent a ridiculous amount of time learning about the merits of different baby products and trying to work out what is essential. Then ignored whether it's actually necessary and bought it anyway.

I've chomped down on enough Quick-Eze to keep the company financially stable for many years.

I've had the craziest dreams, which have had me waking up wondering whether I have taken some sort of psychedelic drug, and visited the toilet more times on any given night than I would have thought possible.

While I certainly haven't loved every minute of being pregnant, I've been very lucky compared with some women and had no real complications. And now we wait to see whether this baby is going to come early, late or bang on time.

My latest obsession is to look up "signs your baby is going to come early or late" and probability calculators but, as everyone knows, babies come whenever they darn well feel like.

I can't say I feel 100 per cent prepared for his arrival, no matter how much I've researched and anticipated the moment, but I am already so in love with this little human and I cannot wait to meet him. • Don't miss Adam Green and Sarah van der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday.