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Knowing and naming
Getting fatter by the minute
Health and wellbeing
Emotions
The birth itself
Being a mum
What about dad?
Knowing and naming
AAfter some deliberation the parents settled on the name Mia, which is Italian for 'mine'. Shortly after the birth Kate's agent, Robert Garlock, explained, "Kate and Jim had drawn up a list of 10 names but when the baby was born, none of them seemed right. Then Mia came to them and it seemed just right. There is no family significance; they just thought it was a really beautiful name."
Getting fatter by the minute
PPoor Kate was desperate to have a bump and with her cravings of fizzy cola sweets, tomatoes and blackcurrant juice she certainly deserved one. But she was barely showing at five months and was yet to "blow up like a balloon" and "look like the back end of a bus!" She did however suffer other characteristics. "I didn't know a symptom of early pregnancy was absent-mindedness," she said. "But it's true in my case, and it's been true with friends of mine too. And I'm feeling a bit nauseous in the mornings."
Health and wellbeing
Kate is famous for refusing to conform to Hollywood's obsession with waifs, but having expanded healthily during her pregnancy she was keen to shed a few excess pounds. Attending stomach-toning Pilates classes, Kate conceded, "I constantly wave the flag of 'don't go on diets because they are rubbish' but I'd like to get a bit of the baby weight off." Then came those reports of the outlandish 'face-reading' diets, but Kate laughs off the rumours. "I got my figure back by running around like a monkey, with Mia in tow. I did gain weight and wanted to lose it, but that's the same as any mum. I don't want to go to the gym or swim on my own anymore. I want to spend time doing things for - or with - my child. I'll always be the curvy Kate I've been!"
Emotions
"I'm so maternal that it's been more of a fight not to have a baby than to have one," joked Kate of the period immediately after her wedding. "Jim and I wanted some time together, but now we're completely prepared and are ready to love every minute of it." Despite her enthusiasm she was in for a bit of a shock. "Pregnancy turned out to be one of the hardest things I've ever done - physically, emotionally and mentally." Even though she is no longer with Jim, it seems the effort was well worth it. "Being a mother is the best thing in the world and that's a constant thing in my life. Being around Mia is brilliant. Nothing compares."
The birth itself
"People have always told me I have child-bearing hips and now it's time to put them to good use," said Kate before the big event. Baby Mia was born in London's St John and St Elizabeth Hospital at 5.40am on 12th October 2000, weighing a hearty 8lbs 9ozs. Kate had a natural drug-free birth with no complications. "I'm stoical and have a pretty high pain threshold," she said. "I've had a good training for labour with some of my film roles, especially Titanic when I was immersed for days in freezing tanks of water."
Being a mum
"I realise the baby means there'll have to be some changes, but I'm ready for them," said Kate at the beginning of her pregnancy. However, life was to change more than she could ever have anticipated when her family unit imploded. "I'm living the life of a single mother - admittedly without the day to day worries of money," she said recently. "Being a parent has been my priority from day one. It meant a lot of time at home last year. Before she was born, I decided to do that. I'm lucky that, as an actress, I can take my baby with me. I intend to take full advantage of it."
What about dad?
Although their mutual love for Mia was never in question, sadly Kate and Jim were unable to resolve their own differences. "A marriage is about the meeting of two minds and two souls and hoping that that's going to work forever," she explained after they had split up. "Look, life is life and sometimes it just doesn't work, and that's a shame." For a while Kate endured unfounded criticism for leaving Mia with Jim. "I'd hear that Jim was left holding the baby and I was working all the time. But firstly, if one parent's away, why shouldn't the other parent be holding the baby? It's better than a nanny. And secondly, I only worked for 11 weeks in the year. I even had Mia with me for most of that time." Needless to say, the split was amicable and they both remain devoted parents.
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