‘I’m struggling’ says Karl Stefanovic during Today return after daughter’s birth

Karl Stefanovic admitted it might be a bumpy ride juggling his Today commitments with caring for a newborn.

Karl Stefanovic this morning admitted he was “struggling a bit” during his first show back after the birth of his new daughter Harper.

Stefanovic had taken last week off the show after wife Jasmine Yarbrough gave birth to Harper May Stefanovic on Friday May 1 at North Shore Private Hospital.

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By the sounds of it, juggling a newborn baby and several hours of live early morning TV each day may take some getting used to.

“How are you going on your first day back, Karl?” Today co-host Ally Langdon asked her returning colleague.

“I’ve been struggling a bit, to be honest,” he said.

Karl Stefanovic: “I’m struggling a bit, to be honest.”

“Emotionally? Physically?” she asked.

“Everything hurts. I’m tired. Emotional,” he said with a chuckle.

The new dad didn’t get much sympathy from his co-host, though: “That’s great, but it’s time for the news. We can deal with this in the ad break,” she quipped.

Earlier, Stefanovic told Today viewers his week off had been “wonderful”, and was full of praise for his new daughter.

"I know they call it the bubble in the first couple of weeks but Harper may the bubble continue," he said.

"She is so gorgeous – 2.9 kilos of just scrumptious delight. She's sleeping OK, three hours on, three hours off.

"Jasmine has just taken it in her stride, she is feeding really well. It makes me cry already," he said, struggling to contain his emotions.

Stefanovic and ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn share three children: Jackson, 20, Ava, 15 and River, 12. He admitted it was a bit of a shock to be changing nappies again after more than a decade.

"It felt very difficult waking up this morning only five minutes after changing a nappy, but it's like riding a bike – you just get used to it."

"(Harper’s) feeding beautifully. Mum is terrific. It's all going really swimmingly at this point."

Stefanovic also thanked fans for their well-wishes: “This is a really beautiful time for us and we felt all your love.”

Karl’s Today return came after a surprising, whiskey-fuelled interview on the Brown Cardigan Instagram page on Friday night. Admitting he hadn’t cleared the lively social media appearance with Channel 9’s publicity, Stefanovic downed a shot of whiskey and discussed his infamous 2009 post-Logies hosting appearance.

It wasn’t his only surprising media appearance of late: Last month Stefanovic gave a detailed, three-part interview with the Daily Mail, despite previously begging Today viewers never to read the outlet.