I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm sure I have rose-coloured glasses on and am in la-la land to an extent, but that doesn't matter. To me, it's all part of the wonderful journey I'm experiencing and as my Mum says, it's the most productive pain you'll ever go through, and that's how you cope.

I believe I'll never feel more proud and more like a woman than when I'm holding my baby in my arms for the first time. It's a rite of passage and one that I don't want to miss.

And I'm also very fortunate that I have the most supportive and involved partner anyone could ever hope for (and no, I don't have to `make him' be that way - he just is that way). We are so looking forward to this together, and the fear and pain and anxiety of labour and delivery we will handle together.

I've not had anyone tell me all the pain wasn't worth it all in the end, and I believe that. I also strongly believe in the power of perception - if I'm not afraid of it, I will be more empowered, even though I know there'll be times during the process when I'll probably be terrified.

But billions of women have given birth successfully and if they can do it, so can I. And wow - what a feeling!

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins