Poor Meghan,

In our closet is my favorite photo. It’s the day after the birth. I walk into the living room that is completely taken over by our family. My brother, my parents, my father-in-law, his wife, our best friend. I smile as if I’ve undergone seven fruit acid peels at once and look at what lies in my arms. My girl, our child. I have wrapped her in a pink scarf and hold her little head as the maternity nurse explained to me. A bit wobbly, because I ‘haven't been doing this for long’, with babies.

Meghan made her public appearance with Archie this week. Casual (but great) dress on, Archie lovingly pressed against her chest in a pure white onesie. Close to mama, where it’s safe.

And then it started. The storm. The hungry hyenas. They smelled their prey. Why Archie wasn’t wearing a sun hat. Uh, well I don’t know if you’ve ever held a baby in your arms, but a sun hat can easily fall off. Were you there? Yes? Maybe Meghan was standing in the shade a minute after the photo was taken. Why wasn’t he wearing socks? Well II: I don’t know if you’ve ever dealt with a baby, but a baby kicks off their socks faster than snow melts at forty degrees. So who knows, maybe she had neatly put them on in the car for the 37th time that day, but lost them again while walking. Were you there? Yes? And then this. She wasn’t holding him properly. And, and this one was really bad, Kate did all of this much better. The poor child is not even two months a mother. Anyone who has a child knows what a swamp those first months are. Listening by the crib to see if he ‘is still doing okay’, worrying if there’s too much pooping. Or too little. Putting hours of sleep into graphs (I did), scolding people who want to stroke your child’s cheek without washed hands (drama, I know, but new mothers are a different breed), wondering if your breastfeeding is sufficient. Breathing a sigh of relief when your child has grown. For Meghan, there’s also the fact that half the world’s population is watching. And judging.

This child has been carried in love. In the belly and outside of it. With or without socks. And sun hat.