The final countdown

I'm very nearly due and am still working frantically on this picture book. The deadline that the publisher and I had agreed on has come and gone, and now I am faced with a very real, unbudging deadline: that of the arrival of baby number 2. I pat my belly daily, saying "Take your time little one, there's no rush". I'm relying on his timeliness to finish all the artwork, otherwise I'm in trouble...

This is my second children's book commission since becoming a mum, and as much as I've loved working on picture books again one thing I've struggled with is time, or the lack of it. Whereas before I could work day and night non-stop knowing I can catch up on sleep once it was all over, it just doesn't work like that anymore. That "catching up on sleep time" never arrives. My two working days a week disappear all too quickly and I'm always left wishing for another day, an extra hour even, to get that little bit more done. 

I've been very lucky working with a great publisher who have been supportive and encouraging from the very start, allowing me creative freedom and providing me with prompt feedback which can make all the difference in making the most of the time I have to work. 
I'm just hoping hoping hoping that baby won't arrive early, as I still have the book cover to start and finish and with only two more working days before the due date, I'm feeling a little nervous to say the least!