Katie Holmes: I was so scared when we first had Suri but now I’m strong

Katie Holmes has admitted that she was scared after giving birth to daughter Suri.

The former Dawson’s Creek star and husband Tom Cruise welcomed their little girl in April 2006, and she told Glamour magazine recently: “Becoming a mother has been the most amazing experience - in an instant you become strong. You have to be a little bit wiser; it’s the most important job in the world.

“[But] during the first couple of days [with Suri, it was scary]. We would just sleep right next to her to make sure she was breathing.

“And I was constantly learning on the job, but Tom was very helpful and supportive.”

She added that the constant speculation about the child - who the couple kept hidden from the public eye for her first six months - was also very stressful: “Some of the stuff [people said] was such absolutely horrible things to say about a child. It was so uncalled for and so disgusting.

“[Once] we were changing diapers, Tom said, ‘I don’t want you to get upset.’ And I said, ‘Well, I am upset.’ So we approached it together. But I definitely felt like - as a woman, as the mother of Suri - I want to handle this! My mom is very strong, and if anyone ever said anything about any of us, she would be, ‘Excuse me? That’s my family [you’re talking about]!’

“Sometimes I think I would say, ‘Why don’t you come over and have dinner? See what there is to see.’”