A day has not gone by since April 17, 2014 that I haven’t spent at least a minute or two (often longer) remembering the day my sweet boy Hunter was born. It was such an overwhelming, exciting, frustrating, wonderful day, and I’ve been trying to process it over the past year, but I still am in total awe.  I learned so much about myself through his birth. I realized that I have a very high pain tolerance, which I never knew. I discovered a mental strength I had never explored before. I never felt so proud of myself and what I was capable of, as I was in the moment I fist picked Hunter up. It was magical. As I held him for the first time I marveled at his little being, and was amazed that we had created a beautiful, healthy life. God is so good.

For two hours, my family quietly crouched around a birth pool in my lowly lit bedroom with music softly playing in the background as my midwife coached me through every contraction. As I rested my head on the edge of the pool after each contraction I heard John encouraging me as he held my hand. His excitement was tangible. His eyes were welled up with tears, and I was so excited to be able to give him the gift of his first son. My mom and sisters were all patiently waiting for Hunter to arrive, and in typical Katherine fashion, I heard her nervously laughing and saying she was never having kids. I told her it wasn’t as bad as it probably looked, and that someday we would all be huddled around her birth excited to meet her baby 🙂

{Actually, I probably said something more like “just you wait”…;) }

I closed my eyes and focused on breathing through every contraction, and though my back was hurting thanks to Hunter being in a weird position, and feeling nauseous at the end, I was amazed at how “good” I felt. In movies you always see the women looking like they are about to die…and I didn’t feel that bad at all. It wasn’t pleasant in the least, but I knew the pain had an end, and when that time came, I would meet my baby! I know every birth experience is different, but I am so thankful that my first was so empowering. I am thankful for my birth team that took such care of me during my pregnancy, and were such phenomenal, calm coaches during my delivery. You made my experience magical, and I can never thank you enough for that. So many women don’t feel that support, and it was (and is) priceless to me. I have no idea how future births will be, but I’m grateful my first was so positive.

When Hunter was born, I heard someone quietly whisper “Look! He has blonde hair!” and within seconds he was in my arms, and I was holding him to my chest as I counted his arms and legs, and fingers and toes. To my shock, he weighed 9 lbs, 5oz and he hasn’t slowed down on packing on the pounds since. He is our pride and joy, and we are so thankful for him. He’s curious, sweet, very fast, focused, and a total mommas boy. He loves to “sing” and dance, and loves any music with a good beat. For some reason, he really likes Meghan Trainor. 😉 Happy 1st Birthday sweet little man!

We are also very thankful to our family and friends that have given us so much support over the past year. Thank you for the meals, babysitting, advice, naps, texts, and calls– they mean more than you know!

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When people find out that we had Hunter at home we usually get a variety of responses that range from shock, to admiration, general confusion, or distain. We don’t believe there is only one “right” way to have your baby — and definitely, home birth is not for everyone. Our midwife diligently reminded us that a healthy baby & mom was the goal, not a home birth. If I ever showed signs of being high risk, or having complications,  I would be transferred to hospital care.  Home births, hospital births, and c sections all have their own set of risks, you just have to choose which set of risks you’re most comfortable with, and be willing to adapt your plans when circumstances change. We carefully selected our midwife & her assistant, went to all our prenatal appointments, attended Bradley classes, got several ultrasounds, had several consultations with an OB at Emory Hospital, and did our home visit where we ran through what the actual birth process would look like. John learned how to get the birth pool set up and organized our supplies, but nothing could have prepared us for Hunter’s actual arrival. He was a beautiful, blonde haired, blue eyed hunk.

Photography by:

Birdsong Louis Photography Team

Jessica V Photography

Whitney Wysong Photography