Tearful Simon Cowell's 'first words' to baby Eric moments after his birth

It's rare to see Simon Cowell tearful! Acerbic?yes...tearful? hardly. Simon who had ruled out parenthood  prior to announcing over Lauren Silverman’s pregnancy last August, has taken to it  ‘like a natural’ shortly after Eric’s birth at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York according to his friends.

An emotional Simon Cowell reportedly wept tears of happiness as he whispered his first words to newborn son Eric on Friday.

 Cradling his son his arms, the proud father– who joined Lauren for the natural birth at 10:45 in the morning – reportedly whispered: ‘I’ve waited all my life for you.’

Cowell has given Eric, named after his late father, the middle name Philip – thought to be a tribute to his close friend, retail magnate Sir Philip Green.

The name is thought to be a tribute to Sir Philip after he helped Cowell and Lauren during her divorce from Andrew Silverman last year.

‘Simon wanted to pay proper tribute to the influence of his late father in his life,’ a source told the Sunday Mirror.

‘Eric Philip is clearly a very proper tribute to the man. But there’s no doubt he also wanted to pay some kind of tribute to another Philip who has been a major influence in his life, Sir Philip Green.

A source told The Sun : ‘It was such a very emotional day for them and such a special moment when the baby arrived. There were happy tears shed by everyone, including Simon

‘Eric is absolutely amazing and they’re all so delighted. He’s very handsome and Simon and Lauren are completely besotted. Simon was at Lauren’s side the entire time and he told her it was the best day of his life.’

The pal added: ‘He admitted he was a little nervous before but, when it came to it, he was a complete natural.’