Baby, it's me!

Rebecca Ley finds out why bonding with your growing baby can not only benefit your li’l one, but make you happier and healthier, too

To say I don’t feel entirely myself at the moment is an understatement. I’m 29 weeks pregnant and every day I wake up feeling like a tourist in my own body. My shape is changing daily and I’ve got aches and pains I thought were solely the preserve of OAPs. My limbs are swollen, I can’t sleep at night, and I don’t feel like me in any of my clothes.

While the downsides of pregnancy have been dominating my life, I should point out I’m hugely excited. But I worry that I haven’t bonded with my bump yet, and wonder when it will happen. It doesn’t help that this is my second pregnancy. I’m so in love with my daughter Isobel, two, I find it hard to imagine how I will possibly adore my second child as much. Also, I’ve been so busy with work, I’ve barely had the time to even try to connect with my growing baby. But I’m realising it’s important I make the time – not only to feel closer to my child when she arrives but also because I’ve read that feeling of love raise levels of the hormone oxytocin, which helps a baby’s brain develop.