What Was Prince George’s Christening Really Like?
- October 24, 2013
- by Melissa Lawrence
Like many, I enjoyed reading about the royal baby christening yesterday and looking at the lovely pictures. Prince George looked so chubby and cute in his intricately laced gown, with his mom matching. The royal couple looked happy and relaxed, as it their custom.
With other notable events related to Kate Middletown and Price William, I’ve watched from afar. I’m pretty much a small town girl and I would never compare myself to the royal couple and think to myself “I know what that’s like.”
But with this christening, I couldn’t resist. We baptized 5 babies and I remember so vividly what was front in center in my new mom mind as my family went through this ritual. It’s pretty basic stuff that we moms go through when it comes to new babies, but when you’re putting on a pageant, all of sudden these little “baby realities” require more strategy and planning! Here’s what was on my mind as my babies were baptized. I will bet anything that Kate and Will were thinking along the same lines as they planned and went through their event.
1) How do I make sure the baby isn’t hungry? Our baptism’s started at around 11am. To me, that posed a challenge because I knew that I needed to get at least two good feedings in before the ceremony began. We baptized our children at the chapel where we were married, which is about 30 minutes from my parents house. So I remember feeding my babies early, driving to the chapel, and then feeding them as close as possible to the ceremony start time!
Going back in history, here’s what Daily Express had to say among other things about Diana’s state of mind during Price William’s baptism (and apparently, the 21 year old new mother was pretty overwhelmed): “No one consulted me as to whether 11am would fit in with William’s schedule.”
Just like any other mom, right? For Kate, George’s feeding schedule must have been top of mind and for sure she had conceived a plan to try and make sure the royal baby was nice and full during the baptism.
2) When do I dress the baby? The issue of the baby’s feeding schedule leads right to issue #2. My babies burped a lot after they fed! They were kings and queens of bibs (sorry, bad pun). So for me, this meant feeding them, burping them, and then changing them into the baptismal outfit only minutes beforehand. I bet you that the same sort of strategic planning was happening yesterday when it came to Prince George’s christening gown, which, incidentally, was a replica of the original royal baptismal gown that Queen Elizabeth commissioned in 2008 so as to preserve the original that many royals had worn since the mid-19th century.
3) What do I do when the baby cries? This is baby 101 and what do you do? Diana resorted to putting her finger in her child’s mouth. Makes sense since at 3 months, many babies will take a finger. I don’t think a pacifier(which would have stirred up a whole public debate) would look too noble in these circumstances. I wonder what Kate had planned? Here’s Diana soothing Prince William with her finger.
Smart move, in my book, because it looks so natural and women have been doing this throughout the ages.
4) Will the pictures look ok? Clearly, William and Kate are masters in this area and Prince George is already a little pro. But still, they must have realized how tricky it would be to get at least one good shot, a shot wherein Prince George had his eyes open, wasn’t crying, and looked reasonably content. To me, they got a few good shots so hat’s off, but you can tell from the photo below that the royal baby is about to nod off into his mid-day nap!
5) When can we all change? No matter how good it feels to be wearing cream-colored Alexander McQueen when you’ve got an infant, I know you’re happier wearing something else. It’s just got to be pure stress to even think about what’s going to end up on that luscious silk … same story with baby christening gowns. So I imagine that once the ceremony and high tea were concluded, Kate and Will were pretty happy to get home and back into their mom and dad duds.
What was your baby’s baptism like for you? What was on your mind and how did you plan for this big event? I’d love to hear about your experience so please comment below!
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