One born every minute.

Since the beginning of this year I have heard of 4 pregnancies in my wide circle of friends. Two are secret early magical happenings. Just weeks old. Souls in potential.

I remember the first time I really looked at the creation of a baby in week by week stages with my friend Mairead, it was her first pregnancy of her beautiful daughter and my God daughter Willow, (now 7). I found the process of development so mind-blowingly amazing that I actually had conviction for the first time in my life that God as a higher power and creator was a certainty.

Since being a little girl, I have had a huge desire to be a mother. I had a doll called Emily that I looked after constantly for weeks and months at a time, my sister Charlotte and I had our own ongoing imaginary world. We would go to each others 'houses' for cups of tea.

The first time I was fully consumed with broodiness I was 23, which coincidental, (or maybe not) is exactly the age my Mum was when she conceived me. I was in my final year of studying Drama, we were doing a section of Greek theatre and my mind was full of images of me as a heavily pregnant Greek statue, in a white flowing gown! I was single for the first time in 5 years, not on hormonal contraception and suddenly raging with baby making hormones. I told all my closest friends I would be pregnant by the time the year was out. I was just going to fall in love and get pregnant because that's all there was. It was the best and only thing I could think to do.

Then just before my summer leaving party on a barge on the river Ouse, I got a phone call from my baby Sis, she was in shock because 3 pregnancy tests seemed to say that she was pregnant, 'The box says if there is a blue cross in the box that means its positive so does that me I am? Suddenly the entirety of the reality hit me. I was drinking a glass of wine, smoking a cigarette thinking I can defiantly wait. I'm so close to Charlotte that I knew I would have a brilliant relationship with her child. And so my broodiness was cured.

Over the past 6 years broodiness has hit me in waves, its worse in spring, when my womb yearns for lambs, new born babes are also a particular blissed out and intense womb states! it is mostly at a pretty constant rate. I couldn't be in a relationship for long now, without thinking it had the potential for babies. I think about the possibility of my own children every day, but I don't obsess.

My nephew Joseph, niece Izzy and close friends children are a total joy and blessing. I can get a healthy dose of child/baby love pretty easily. I find it funny how different Joseph and Izzy are. Stu and I came to Hexham last night, we were met with a flurry of excitement. Joseph wanted to show us his cartwheels and recent street dance moves. He wanted to know if Stu could do cartwheels and asked if Stu could do anything cool? While Izzy was much more interested in applying nail varnish and helping me put on make up! Mind you there both good at teaming up for play fighting. Izzy showed her approval of Stu by chucking herself on him and flashing her newly painted nails!

Working with children makes me more up for having my own for sure. They are so funny with the things they come out with.

I think it will be a couple of years till baby time for me! That's cool as long as I can talk about it and indulge in other peoples. My friend Sophie bought her beautiful 5 month old Ruby to a meal last night. I promptly woke her up by laughing about Stu's bluntness. The first time he held Ruby, he inspected her for fellow gingerness then said to me 'Did you come on your period?'

Last night on his hold of the baby he gave Ruby her first taste of solid food. Sag sauce!! We all caught him before he gave her the second taste, apparently she nearly sucked his finger off!