At lunchtime I met up with Laura, Emma, Hannah and her nine-month-old son Luke. We went for tea and cakes at Bea’s in Bloomsbury – Emma’s Christmas gift to us. Within minutes of arriving Hannah offered her son round for ‘a squeeze’. I was a bit nervous about this because I didn’t want any of my tics to hurt him, but Hannah seemed unworried so I cuddled him for a bit.

Hannah is the first of my close friends to have a child and spending time with her and Luke made me think about how he’d altered her life, and whether I would have children. I’ve always thought I would have a family at some point but rather than having my own I’d probably foster or adopt.

As I sat on the bus going home I wondered whether this was still realistic. You can adopt a child if you have a disability but you need to show that you’d be a suitable parent and that you’re capable of caring for a child. I’m not at all sure how my tics would be viewed, but there’s no point trying to second-guess the future.