The Birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge: July 22, 2013

[US Royal Watcher]

I see what you mean with Catherine. I think she looked uncomfortable, tired, and not entirely all with it - although I would suspect that that would have more to do with the general post-birthness and the media presence. I am certain that I would feel pretty uncomfortable if I was in her shoes.

To me, she actually looked more natural while holding George than when she wasn't holding him, while William looked a bit uncomfortable holding him, particularly when he was in more of a transition mode. Like, William looked uncomfortable when Catherine was holding him, when they did the switch, then again when there were pauses between him talking to the media and looking at George. If he felt like he was doing something, even if that something was just looking at his son, he seemed fine, but if he wasn't then he seemed just uncomfortable.

I will say though that they both handled it really well, and while he looked uncomfortable at times it seemed like this was the most natural William has been while in media presence for a long time (except for maybe when he was playing polo). Catherine didn't have that ease at all, but then she was dealing with a lot more.

Learning to hand the baby off is very hard. I was always afraid that I would damage the baby's neck. It gets easier when they can hold their heads up. You are also right that Catherine seemed more ill at ease when she wasn't holding the baby. I imagine that she was worried about germs and all the noise upsetting the baby.

I agree that William seemed more at ease with the media than virtually any other time I have seen him.

 

[Isabella]

Guys please don't take this the wrong way I am just observing not criticizing. I do no have children and make a habit of not holding newborns. Did Kate look a little apprehensive holding George? She looked more stiff than William. JW if anyone else noticed.

I thought exactly the opposite, actually. The way she was cradling him and gently patting him, it looked like she'd spent her whole life holding babies - almost made me a bit teary eyed, because it all seemed so natural and cozy.

I thought William looked quite comfortable holding the baby, too. Some dads look almost terrified holding newborns, as if they're going to break, but William had a good hold on him.

 

[Ish]

Learning to hand the baby off is very hard. I was always afraid that I would damage the baby's neck. It gets easier when they can hold their heads up. You are also right that Catherine seemed more ill at ease when she wasn't holding the baby. I imagine that she was worried about germs and all the noise upsetting the baby.

I agree that William seemed more at ease with the media than virtually any other time I have seen him.

Learning to hand off the baby is a huge challenge. With my nephew, I didn't feel comfortable about it until he hit the point where I was "okay, if he drops it won't kill him."

When he was born my nephew was about the same size as George, and while he was a big baby we were all still amazed by just how small he was. It took a bit to get past the "don't drop him, support his head, don't drop him, am I holding him too right, don't drop him."

 

[Baroness of Books]

Really? If your sensibilities are so outraged by such a discussion, you can always choose not to read the thread. We're making observations, not criticisms, but inferring that members are disgusting is certainly critical and disrespectful on your part.

If such discourses disgust you, I'd advise you to switch to other threads that are more palatable to your taste.

 

[Ish]

Some of the comments on here are disgusting and prefacing a remark with "I don't mean to be critical but..." doesn't cut it. She gave birth just 8 hours before, doing a press call in front of over 200 paps and people are calling her tired and uncomfortable. Disgusting.

No one is criticizing her though.

We're observing that she looked tired and uncomfortable - which was completely acceptable as she had just given birth the day before (it was more than eight hours earlier). No one is saying that it's a bad thing, in fact the general consensus seems to be "while she looked tired and uncomfortable, completely understanding given as she's just recently given birth, we think she's amazing because she's able to appear in such a vulnerable moment, unlike many female celebrities."

There's a huge difference between making an observation, even if it's not a positive one, and making a criticism. Maybe you should learn it.

 

[HRHHermione]

I have to agree that people are reading far too much into how she looked. To put this into perspective, this is what she faced 24 hours after giving birth and this is what she had to walk out and introduce her newborn child to: https://twitter.com/BuzzFeed/status/360133727973683200/photo/1

I think she looked remarkably happy and comfortable considering.

 

[cepe]

I have to agree that people are reading far too much into how she looked. To put this into perspective, this is what she faced 24 hours after giving birth and this is what she had to walk out and introduce her newborn child to: https://twitter.com/BuzzFeed/status/360133727973683200/photo/1

I think she looked remarkably happy and comfortable considering.

This was described in the Sunday Times as 2 small people facing the lions in the arena - they did really well.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Exactly, and that's why people are giving her credit for what she did after giving birth.

 

[padams2359]

She was fantastic, all things considered. She is quickly learning how critical the news media can be. Some news channel had a child nurse or something or other in the back seat of a Range Rover explaining how William improperly put the baby in the car seat. Was that really necessary? I don't know about the rest of you, but when we left the hospital with our children, we did not receive an Owner's Manual. Nor did we walk out to the world media watching our every move. Hormones, exhaustion, a combination of both, they both were more than pleasant.

 

[Frelinghighness]

She had the good sense to have the baby in the afternoon so she didn't miss a night of sleep.
All I know is that I delivered the same weight baby and 24 hours later had to change hospital rooms. Moving and relocating in my hospital gown, hair matted down, and could barely walk, and burst into tears!

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Thank you Baroness, how sore is Kate a little less than 24hrs after. I need a Tylenol sore or I need a morphine drip sore? Kate has always come off as more comfortable with the media and having her picture taken then William. Even after the France incident she kept her cool and professionalism. Now that she has a new born she perhaps didn't want to parade him in front of the world and wanted to just hold and look at him rather than put on a show.

A lot more than Tylenol, but not morphine drip..... but I bet she'd love a donut pillow.

I was frankly surprised she was not bowlegged - I was after a 9 lb baby.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Some of the comments on here are disgusting and prefacing a remark with "I don't mean to be critical but..." doesn't cut it. She gave birth just 8 hours before, doing a press call in front of over 200 paps and people are calling her tired and uncomfortable. Disgusting.

She gave birth over 24 hours before the press call - which was at about 7.00 p.m. the day after she gave birth (they came out at 4.10 a.m. Sydney time which would have been 7.10 p.m. in the UK - I was up at the time and getting antsy about getting some more sleep before my alarm went off).

The baby was born at 4.24 p.m. the day before so she had nearly 27 hours not 8.

 

[Argie]

I was really surprised at how soon she was released from the maternity. I was expecting her hospital stay to be at least 3 days. Is that the norm in the U.K.?

 

[Molly2101]

I was really surprised at how soon she was released from the maternity. I was expecting her hospital stay to be at least 3 days. Is that the norm in the U.K.?

It depends on the delivery. Some woman are allowed home after a few hours. If you have had a c section the stay is generally 2 days.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Thank u to those who understood that I was not criticizing Kate in the least.

On another note, Williams's parents were 5'10 and he is 6'2? Kate is 5'10 and William is over 6 ft; can u imagine how tall George is going to be?

 

[Argie]

Wow!! I had c-sections, no complications, and was in for 7 days. I can only imagine how Catherine felt, having to face the whole new motherhood without the support of medical staff. It can be quite overwhelming.

 

[Ish]

Thank u to those who understood that I was not criticizing Kate in the least.

On another note, Williams's parents were 5'10 and he is 6'2? Kate is 5'10 and William is over 6 ft; can u imagine how tall George is going to be?

George'll probably be around 6'3. I'm not sure how tall Diana's brother is, but I would bet that William and Harry both get their height from Diana's side.

 

[sndral]

Or he could be less than 6'. I don't believe Prince Charles is terribly tall, certainly less than 6', and Michael, Catherine's father looks to be less than 6' - so if he takes after either grandfather he may not be very tall.

 

[Kingwithoutacastle]

Or he could be less than 6'. I don't believe Prince Charles is terribly tall, certainly less than 6', and Michael, Catherine's father looks to be less than 6' - so if he takes after either grandfather he may not be very tall.

The Windsors tend to be quite tall, mostly slim. No famous cases of obesity seen in public

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Well the Queen Mother was known as cookie for a reason. Wasn't obese but wasn't slim. Also I think most of the Windsors have been tall since Elizabeth and Margaret.

 

[VictoriaB]

It depends on the delivery. Some woman are allowed home after a few hours. If you have had a c section the stay is generally 2 days.

Its not that women are "allowed home", it's their choice and always has been. They can choose to go home after 24 hours with or against medical advice. If Catherine had a normal and uncomplicated delivery then there is no reason why she could not/should not choose to go home early.

Every woman who delivers in the UK has to be visited by a midwife twice a day until day 3 and daily for about a week after that (unless the law has changed a lot from when I practiced as a midwife in the UK). I suspect Catherine will get more care than that if she feels she needs it.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Visited by a midwife everyday? So she's looking up there to make sure things are healing well? I'm glad Kate didn't have a c section, there are a lot of famous women who are too posh to push.

 

[Mariel]

It's nice they have a midwife look in so often. I had no one look in on me. when I went back to the doctor at one month checkup, I had such a bad infection that I screamed when he tried to examine me. No one checked during that month. Good grief, the differences in care are pretty dramatic. I am amazed that Kate could walk out like that so soon after giving birth. She probably had a fairly easy birth or she wouldn't have been walking like that in high heels. Not saying she was too posh to push, as people put it. Just that she somehow managed the situation well. I had induction and that of course is a semi-violent procedure and probably caused the big tear in my cervix. What a mess birth is for many women, but apparently not for Kate.

 

[kathia_sophia]

On another note, Williams's parents were 5'10 and he is 6'2? Kate is 5'10 and William is over 6 ft; can u imagine how tall George is going to be?

I bet George will be really tall, taller than Catherine for sure, but I'm not sure if he'll be taller than William, if he will then maybe be at the same height as Prince Felipe of Spain (just a little bit taller than William, 6'5 I think)

On other genetic talk. I'm sure he'll have blue eyes, but not sure about the type of blue eyes, could it be darker like Catherine or lighter like William.
As for his hair, he'll be blonde as a child, if he takes after William and Diana's side he'll be blonde as adult but if he takes Catherine side or William's paternal side his hair can turn darker with time, I think the second is the likely one.
Does he has a chance to be a redhead?

Ohhhh, I get so excited when it comes to babies genetics, who will he take after, what eye color and hair color he'll have, etc... Can't wait to see him grow up

 

[Molly2101]

Its not that women are "allowed home", it's their choice and always has been. They can choose to go home after 24 hours with or against medical advice. If Catherine had a normal and uncomplicated delivery then there is no reason why she could not/should not choose to go home early.

Every woman who delivers in the UK has to be visited by a midwife twice a day until day 3 and daily for about a week after that (unless the law has changed a lot from when I practiced as a midwife in the UK). I suspect Catherine will get more care than that if she feels she needs it.

I am a midwife in the UK now and they do not gey visited twice a day. Once the day after discharge, then on day 5 and then day 10. If is not the woman's first baby they don't always get a day 10 visit.

 

[kathl29]

I am a midwife in the UK now and they do not gey visited twice a day. Once the day after discharge, then on day 5 and then day 10. If is not the woman's first baby they don't always get a day 10 visit.

I would presume Kate would go home quickly as any midwife visits etc would be arranged to go to her. Top level medical care can be arranged to check her and George at home with hospital only needed if there was something serious instead of doing those extra few days in hospital.

I would prefer that if I was Kate as there is no risk of her privacy being breached if she is out of hospital. Other patients/medical staff have less opportunity to obtain info that can be sold to the newspapers.

She has her own doctors and I presume they will continue to perform health checks and answer any queries she has for as long as she wants them to - she is never going to have to go to the local gp to get help!

 

[kitkat21]

Poor Kate. I can only imagine what it is like to give birth to your first child, but I'm sure that it wasn't easy for Kate! She literally gave birth with the weight of the world on her shoulders as she managed the world's anticipation and expectation.

When Kate and William emerged from the hospital it really was an emotional moment. The family were as relaxed and as natural as they could possibly be given the circumstances. Put yourself in Kate's shoes. After delivering your first child how much strength do you think that she managed to gather to even prepare herself, not only physically, but mentally, to even emerge from the hospital. Looking good and being a fashion icon is one of Kate's trademarks. When so much pressure was on her to look her best do you think she wanted to let her admirers down? The pain from giving birth was masked by her genuine, and blissfully happiness as she became a new mum. How can we criticise her for looking well, wearing heels and living up to expectation?

The most important thing now, is that the new family get privacy they deserve!!!

Congratulations Kate and William!!!!

 

[Dman]

It was a beautiful and emotional moment. I think even some of the royal reporters and correspondents admitted to shedding a tear when the Cambridge's came out.

Rebecca English ‏@RE_DailyMail 38m
And in the latest #royalbaby news, Prince Charles loves the name George, but predicts he will be called Georgie 'in no time'.

 

[hkittybaby]

Georgie better than George

 

[Elenath]

The only sad thing is... no Georgiana nicknamed Georgie. I had my heart set on one..