Appearing via video chat, the 52-year-old — whose son, Wyatt, is a week old — said he discussed his plans for parenthood before his mother, the noted socialite and fashion designer, died last June at the age of 95.

“I was able to tell her shortly before she died that I was going to have a baby,” Cooper told co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. “I hadn’t actually — Wyatt hadn’t been created at that point. Wyatt wasn’t actually a being at that point. But he was an idea in my head and I was in the process of it.”

Baby Wyatt was born to a surrogate last Monday. The CNN host praised the unidentified woman on-air while breaking the news of his son’s birth.

Cooper also explained during Monday’s appearance how his son’s middle name is a nod to his famous mother, adding: “I’ve been going through my mom’s things because she passed away in June and I found a list that she and my dad [Wyatt Emory Cooper] had handwritten out of possible names for me before I was born and one of them was Morgan.”

“So, I knew that they liked the name. So yeah, I went with it.”

The baby’s first name is after Cooper’s father.

Talking about his first few days as a dad, Cooper said: “It’s weird. I was trying to think about this last night actually. I keep coming back to the word astonishing. It’s amazing, astonishing. I don’t know. I just stare at him. Hours will go by and I realize I’ve just been sitting there holding him.”

He added: “After a baby’s born, you do this thing skin-to-skin where you hold the baby on your chest. I still do that all the time. There’s nothing better. He’s like a little amphibious creature all curled up with his feet up and he’s like a little tiny frog or something. It’s so cute and I just can’t help but stare at him.”

Cooper also said he’s become a coffee drinker to help him stay up all hours — despite never drinking it before: “I’ve become addicted. I’ve never had it before. I mean, I’ve had it like once or twice on TV and never in real life. And now, I can’t believe I’ve lasted this long,” said the new dad. “I understand why people drink coffee now.”

Despite a lack of sleep, Cooper said that having Wyatt is “something I’ve always dreamed of.” He added, “I’m very lucky. I’m very, very blessed.”

Meanwhile, “Entertainment Tonight” reports that Cooper has not reunited with ex-boyfriend Benjamin Maisani. A source says that while Cooper and Maisani remain friendly and in touch, they are not dating again.