Born just last month, tiny Julius Robert Bay Tapert was rugged up as his mum, Lucy Lawless, took him on his first outing. The pair were a picture of bliss as they lazed about in an Auckland park on a cool but sunny spring day, with father Rob Tapert looking on.

Lucy looked fantastic, even though it was just days since she had given birth. Covered up in a baggy tracksuit, she glowed with pride as she rested in the sun with Julius snuggled up to her. Later, the trio also visited the studio where Rob, the executive producer on Xena: Warrior Princess, had gone to catch up on some work.  First-time dad Robert, 44, was always close at hand to make sure everything was okay, and, at one stage, carried Julius while Lucy chatted to a friend.

Both Lucy and Robert seemed relaxed around the new baby, and Lucy showed no signs of the concern she said she experienced when her 11-year-old daughter Daisy was born. A single mother after she divorced her former husband Garth Lawless in 1995, Lucy, 31, has learned a lot as a parent.

"With Daisy, I really didn't have a clue what I was getting into," she says. "We raised her in an idealistic and naive way for the first few years."

Lucy and Robert tied the knot in March last year.

The actress will be slipping back into her Xena bodice next month to begin filming the show's fifth season, in which a baby is to be added into the storyline. ·

Story Mardi Boardman.