Fat sister is heavily pregnant, and her second child “Sausage” is due any day now. We live really close to each other so it seems logical that when the baby comes I’ll take care of 4-year-old Bean, Sausage’s big sister.

Bean’s very familiar with me, my support team, and with the castle. But she’s never stayed overnight without her mum and dad.

Every Friday Claire and I pick Bean up from nursery and she comes over for playtime and dinner. She has a bath here and I put her into her PJ’s before Leftwing Idiot drops her home. Tonight, though, instead of taking her home, we popped her into a cosy bed we’d made up in my room – we’re having a practice sleepover ahead of Sausage’s arrival!

Bean’s done well and she’s settled easily – even Monkey has been ok, considering that he’s no fan of small children! I didn’t think he’d tolerate being in the same room as Bean, but tonight he seems to understand that she’s not going home and that if he wants his usual place in bed with me, he needs to put up with her presence.

Bean’s never bothered Monkey in any way and has always been considerate of him – perfecting the art of adoring him from a distance. Tonight, she made him a gallery of cat drawings which she positioned at eye level just above his water bowl. Her patience was rewarded – not only did he look at her pictures, he even came over to watch her draw them.

With a practice sleepover out of the way, I feel ready for my impending childcare duties – all we need now is for Sausage to arrive.