IF YOU spot a rather rotund woman talking to herself in the fruit and veg section of the supermarket, don't be alarmed.

It's probably me, or some other mum-to-be, bonding with their bump.

Experts claim that chatting away to your unborn child helps their language development, even though they've yet to make an appearance in the outside world.

In fact, they reckon a foetus is so clever it can recognise its mother's voice and even tell the difference when she's speaking a foreign language.

So most nights, instead of painting the town red, you'll find me tucked up in bed reading a bedtime story to my tummy.

I'm working my way through a selection of stories – Paddington Bear is already a familiar character in my night-time routine.

It may seem like a lot of nonsense but my baby really seems to enjoy a good story and most nights will join in with a round of kicking.

Having conversations with my baby – admittedly they're pretty one-sided – is also really helping me to see my child as an actual person, rather than just a chubby bump.

In fact, motherhood is seeming more and more of a reality. I'm now 24 weeks pregnant, which is considered the benchmark date from which a baby stands a decent chance of survival if born.

And I've already started a series of antenatal classes to get ready for the big day. The first session made me realise just how little I knew before.

I'm fairly certain my face was a picture during the rather graphic description of what we'll be going through during labour. I won't go into too many gory details in case you're eating your tea, but let's just say very little was left to the imagination.

My husband and a group of other terrified men were dispatched to the corner with a pelvis bone and a doll so they could see how the baby would make its entrance. I think in reality they ended up talking about football.

But I learnt a few pearls of wisdom.

My favourites were:

1. When you enter the second stage of labour (the bit with all the pushing), it will sound like a wildebeest has entered the room. They haven't – it'll be you making some sort of primeval animal noise.

2. You are very unlikely to suffer the horror of accidentally 'going to the toilet' while pushing.

3. And despite what Hollywood and the soaps would have you believe, most births don't start with a dramatic gush of water in the supermarket.

So if you do end up standing next to me near the satsumas, at least you won't have to worry about your shoes.