By Siobhan Harris
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Farah Ahmed, MD
July 22, 2013 -- It’s a prince!
The newest addition to the royal family, the first child of the duke and duchess of Cambridge, was born at 4:24 p.m. London time and weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces.
An official announcement posted on an ornate, gold-colored easel inside the gates of Buckingham Palace says Kate Middleton was "safely delivered of a son." The brief announcement continued: "Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well."
The child was delivered in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in West London, where the late Diana, princess of Wales, had her two sons, Princes William and Harry.
William was there for the birth, like most modern dads. The baby is third in line to the throne.
Reports suggest Kate will move back in with her parents for at least the first 6 weeks after leaving the hospital. Kate's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, have a manor house in Berkshire.
Phil Dampier, author of What's in the Queen's Handbag and Other Royal Secrets, can understand that choice: "William likes the Middletons' normal lifestyle and knows that Kate is relaxed in that environment, and that her mum Carole will help out with the new baby."
Many royals employ a maternity nurse after the birth, but Kate is reportedly breaking with this tradition. Similarly, nannies have been a mainstay of royal life for centuries, but Kate and William apparently don't intend to employ a full-time nanny for their child either. "William will be hands on, too. He'll want to change nappies and read to his child," Dampier says.
"It was a totally different story for the queen and Prince Charles," he says of William's grandmother and father. "When he [Charles] was a child, he didn't see her sometimes for months on end."
Dampier predicts that William and Kate will need extra help on the child front as time goes by. "In the end they may have to have a nanny," he says. "It won't be long before Will leaves the armed forces and takes on full-time royal duties, so there just won't be the time for the couple to look after a child or children all of the time."
Just a Baby
"Much has been made of Kate's normal background -- and it seems she's planned her pregnancy and motherhood like most normal mums too," says Siobhan Freegard, founder of the parenting site Netmums.
"Childbirth is a great leveler and there's no room for right royal airs and graces, so it's refreshing to see the royal couple so in tune with the nation's mums and dads."
He may be a future king, but the newest royal addition will be just like any other baby -- feeding, crying, and sleeping.
source : William and Kate Welcome Their Royal Baby
