It doesn’t matter from what walk of life you come from, when you become a dad for the first time you beam with pride and boy was Harry beaming.
He positively bounced across to meet the TV crew and I remember that bounce.
When I became a dad for the first time, I was bouncing everywhere.
I wanted to tell the world my news, even strangers – and Harry has taken the opportunity to do just that and delighted Royal watchers.
I’m so pleased for Harry.
Like any expectant father your biggest concern is the health of your partner and child and I recall the relief that saying the words “the baby is healthy” and “mother and baby are doing well” brought.
And Harry, like any first time dad, looked delighted to get that phrase away.
“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension” he told the world, and of course he is right.
Unlike his grandfather, The Duke of Edinburgh, who apparently decided to play squash whilst his eldest son was coming into the world, Harry – the epitome of a modern manhood – was right by his wife’s side.
To be alongside your partner as she gives birth is life and love affirming and whatever happens to Meghan and Harry from this point on the experience of sharing a birth will stay with them always.
I was there with my wife and, although she did the work, I like to think my presence was supportive – I’m still in awe of her and was again when she gave birth to our daughter a couple of years later.
She still talks about the chocolate bar I fed her immediately after our son arrived, labour is an exhausting business, and I was able to cradle him within seconds of his birth.
I’d be interested to know if Harry cut the umbilical cord and if he held his son to his naked chest as is recommended to help with bonding.
Proud. It’s the right word to describe watching your wife become a mother and it is not just for the birth but the months of sickness, uncomfortable sleep and sometimes painful changes in her body a woman takes on.
(Image: Sky News)
My wife, like Harry’s it seems, had a fairly straightforward pregnancy and birth and the speed at which he issued his statement seems to confirm this so he’ll be feeling relieved.
Soon he will realise that this is the start of things rather than the end.
When you become a dad for the first time you do your best to prepare but nothing really does.
It’s overwhelming to suddenly become three but incredible too and as I write this I feel a warm glow inside remembering those first few hours.
I remember coming home with the baby in the car seat – never have I driven so carefully, you could have put a glass of water on the dashboard and I wouldn’t have spilt a drop.
I also recall the first night when it was just the three of us in the house and realising the full weight of responsibility lay with the two of us for caring for Jackson.
And Harry is right to hold the name of his child to himself.
I know when my son was born my wife and I had a idea of what we wanted to call him but we also wanted to let him settle in our arms for a few hours and practice the name out loud to see if it felt right.
Take your time Harry and Meghan, saviour every moment, every flutter of eye lashes, yawn and take in every hair on your new son’s head.
All too soon he’ll start getting big and you’ll marvel at the how you once held this new life in your arms.
Steve Myall is the presenter of the Daily Mirror’s First Time Dads podcast on iTunes.
