Latest / Arrivals: A Birth Story Podcast / Two hospital births, a wonderful induction, and a healing birth experience

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Two hospital births, a wonderful induction, and a healing birth experience · Arrivals: A Birth Story Podcast

• Merelise Wilson: So funny. All right. Welcome to the Arrivals podcast. I'm your host, Merelise Wilson. And today I have Katherine Mason Beasley with me. Hi, guys. I'm so happy you're here. Katherine is a mom, an entrepreneur, founder and owner of SculptHouse in Atlanta and Dallas. And I'm just so excited to talk to you today and hear your birth stories. I'm excited to talk to you guys. I feel like we need to tell the story of how we met. I think so too. It's really cute and funny. I was on a flight to New York for my day job and we were sitting next to each other and I got up to go to the bathroom as I was walking back like you to get up to let me back in and I was like, she looks so familiar. ⁓ And ⁓ was like, I don't know, I'm getting good vibes from her. I'm going to say something. ⁓ And I like, you look so familiar to me. And then you were like, well, I live in Atlanta. and we started chatting and then it turns out we have like all these mutual friends and I ran into you at a little kid birthday party a few months later. it's the coolest story, I love it. We were meant to become friends. love it, I know. I'm so glad that we are. Yeah, me too. I'm really excited to talk about your birth of your two girls today and then you're gonna have a third birth to talk about soon. ⁓ surprise baby that we're so excited about. Yes, yes. So should we start with your first girl? Yeah, let's do it. So what was pregnancy like for you, with your first? Yes. So my oldest Sloan is 3 and 1 half. She was born in August of 2022. I had just come out of the pandemic owning a fitness business. It was a really crazy time. I knew that I wanted to have kids and my husband and talked about it often, but just didn't ever feel like the exact right time being a business owner, going through that process, had to close some locations and the stress of that two years was just immense. I can imagine. And I had just a lot to sort through with all of that. And then it just seemed like, okay, let's try this. And I did get pregnant right away, which was such a blessing. And I'm so glad that I did because I needed to just be ⁓ off the cliff ⁓ you know, ⁓ into pregnancy and motherhood. was very nervous about becoming a mother, children, all the things. ⁓ not really ⁓ the girl who always thought about her wedding and babies and was really, really into little kids or anything. That just was not me. So ⁓ thinking about a mom was ⁓ lot me. ⁓ And ⁓ once I become pregnant, I didn't want know. ⁓ a lot other than what was happening in my body during pregnancy. So I very much tracked the weeks and what was happening because I'm very in tune with my body. actually knew that I was pregnant very early on. I actually woke up from a dream that told me that I was pregnant. ⁓ that's cool. Yes. Wait, tell me more. What was the dream? ⁓ I knew that I was pregnant. I don't even really know. just woke up and- my body told me to go take a pregnancy test. I was only three weeks pregnant. Wow. I actually went on, I think it was, what was it called? I actually went on Postmates and ordered four pregnancy tests delivered to my front door and took them and could not believe the results. My husband couldn't really believe either. Yeah. So I had an amazing pregnancy. It was really pretty smooth for the most part, although I was a very anxious person just because I had heard stories of how hard birth was, how hard pregnancy was. I had a few people lose pregnancies around the same time that I was early on in my pregnancy. So it was scary for me. I think I just was very cautious, especially through that 20-week scan. Yeah. But I really had a great pregnancy overall. Did you stay active? mean, for those that don't know, Katherine is fitness is her job, it's her career. And so I assume you stayed active through most of your pregnancy? I did. I did. did not really work out during my first trimester out of fear. Yeah. But as soon as I got to a place where I felt less nervous. I did really dive in. was actively learning about prenatal fitness, postnatal fitness, and for the first time dove into that world. Yeah. Did it evolve your business at all? It really did actually, especially during my first pregnancy and then into my second pregnancy. So I think that that gave me a perspective of the mental stress and anxiety that goes on in a woman's body during that time and how important feeling normal is and how for me that release of working out and being in my normal environment, feeling like myself, even when my body is evolving so much and feeling like, okay, well, at least I'm doing something that gives me that high, if you will. getting that sweat in has always been a release for me and a therapy for me. So I took a pre and postnatal course in Lagree during that time. Legris is the method that we teach, one of the pieces of our method. And that was really great sort of first step for me in this ⁓ of Katherine before babies versus during pregnancy and then postpartum and who I am today. I've changed a lot as a person. And I even think my business has changed a lot because of what I've gone through and I understand now. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I love that. And you mentioned that you are really in tune with your body. And I feel like that's such an important part of labor and delivery too, is that mind-body connection. It is. And being an advocate for yourself. and all the things. But yeah, I had a relatively smooth pregnancy. was telling you earlier how I had a little bit of a weird thing. I've had sort of an interesting thing happen with each pregnancy. And I think that's what's important to know is that every pregnancy can be so different. Yes. You can have a different ⁓ you know, conception situation. You can have a different pregnancy situation and a different birth experience. with my first, I actually did not really have pregnancy symptoms, which was amazing from a, could pretty much be like myself and do all the things and work out, go about every day. but the one thing was I actually had this dermatology situation where I had this little hair follicle that turned into a ⁓ It was so weird and random and I'm not like a hairy person. she's not. ⁓ just like what even happened, but it was the hormones and whatever was going on in my body. ⁓ had to end up having ⁓ little surgery on it. ⁓ it was on my baby bump, right below my belly button. That was an insane ⁓ thing to experience at first started at 16 weeks and it progressed to around 20 and had to have this surgery on my baby bump and they removed about the size of a golf ball from the tissue. That is wild. On my stomach and I was awake during the procedure ⁓ but just crazy. ⁓ little fluke thing and that's just kind of what happens during pregnancy. You all these stories of these jokes around, yeah, that's just a normal part of pregnancy. It's like your arm is falling off. That's just a normal part of pregnancy. I know, but a golf ball size is no joke. It was not a joke at is crazy. Yes. How many weeks along were you when you had it removed? I think it was around 20. Wow. There was definitely a big belly. Oh my gosh. stitches and the stitches had to be re-sewn because my stomach was growing. ⁓ geez. And it was not fun, but it just made me really appreciate, okay, this is hard to go through. It really hurts. It's not fun, but also people have way worse things happen during pregnancy. Yeah. And I've had a really ⁓ pregnancy ⁓ for the most part, otherwise. And I'm just grateful that I'm going through this process and that it's going well and the baby is healthy and safe. And even though pregnancy scares the hell out of me, it was a good reminder of just the reality of what I was doing, what my body was doing. Yeah. Yeah. I love that you could see ⁓ the lining in it. I think you have to. Yes. That is so true. Yeah. So true. So that was kind the only hiccup. Yeah, it really was. I even worked out the same day that my daughter was born, while it was 12 hours later or whatever it was. How many weeks were you at that point? I was 39 weeks exactly. I was just like, want to have her on August 11th. I saw the number 1111 all the time during my pregnancy. as well as ladybugs. I love ladybugs. And it was like my little signal that everything was okay and just think positively. And my doctor was actually working on August 11th and she just became an advocate for me and a close friend during the anxious moments of worry and all the things. And I just really wanted to feel safe with my doctor if I could. So I went into SculptHouse that day and at this point in my pregnancy, I was not running on the treadmill and I was modifying a lot on the megaformer and I learned how to do those modifications. And now that's a part of our programming and every instructor goes through a pre and postnatal part of their training. And it's something that we have kind of become known for, which I'm very proud of. But this day, I threw all of that out and I was like, This little baby is coming today and I cannot wait to meet her. So I sprinted on the treadmill. I'm so impressed by the way. I lifted very heavy and I just gave it everything that I had. It was almost my way of just trying to control the situation. Yeah. And I learned a lot about losing control after. Having the baby and then having another baby, et cetera. Being a parent is a good exercise in not having control. I had to learn that. And I did not know much about that before. And so I took the 12 p.m. class at lunch ⁓ at 12 a.m. about ⁓ when ⁓ went to the bathroom in the middle of the night ⁓ I had bloody show but I actually did not know what that was because I... ⁓ Once again, I'm the girl didn't want to know anything and wanted to just dive off the cliff and figure it out as I go and did not read, did not know about what that was. I was worried that something was wrong with the baby. Yeah. I could see how you would think that. It was a lot in the toilet and it was scary. I was halfway asleep. because I just went to go to the bathroom. I wasn't feeling anything. Had you had any other signs or symptoms of Not really. Not really. So we went straight to the hospital. They checked us in. I got checked. I was dilated, but I'd also been dilated a few days, just a few centimeters. And they actually were going to send me home. I was having contractions, but I didn't feel them. They could just see them on like the They could just see them on the monitor. And I have a pretty high pain tolerance. So maybe I was feeling them, but I also had adrenaline going because I was scared. So I just asked them if I could go use the restroom really fast before we pack everything up and leave. And as I stood up, my water just went everywhere. It was like a big balloon popping. Like you see on the movies. That's so funny because I always say like, For everyone out there, just so you know, your water breaking might not be what you see in the movies, but yours was. was. And I actually, now that I'm talking about this, had amniotic fluid than normal. Oh, really? In this pregnancy. Did you know that before? I did. Okay. So, it wasn't like a dangerous amount. It was right up to where they're like, that's like a little much. was completely fine, but I did. have a really big belly and a pretty small baby. So we definitely saw the MNAP and we were like, fluid, there's the proof. ⁓ we were all kind of laughing and I was like, well, I guess I'm not leaving now. And they said, you are not. ⁓ You not leaving now. And I was so glad not to leave because I was just trying to get this baby to And then once you've gone and checked into the hospital, you don't want to. go home, it's like so anticlimactic. It totally is. Yeah. was bought in all day long for this to happen. you truly, you made it happen. And so the amazing thing is, is they got me in the room. ⁓ My doctor was coming into her shift within the next hour or so. And I was pretty comfortable at this point. I did feel contractions and then things went really fast. Yeah. ⁓ And it was in 2022. the hospital I was at Piedmont still had COVID protocol and they had to take a COVID test. And they said, you know, this could take an hour or so to get the results back. Well, between the time of having the test done and getting the results, I went from zero to 100. Oh my gosh. And I felt crazy contractions. It was very, very uncomfortable. And it was getting to the point where I was almost going to miss my window for having an epidural. And I really wanted an epidural. My mom had grown up telling me the horror stories of having all of her children, which I don't recommend probably. painting that story for your children. did not really make this, it probably contributed to some of my anxiety. I was gonna say, no wonder you were nervous. Yes, yes. I heard all about ⁓ all the things. ⁓ And so wanted epidural to just me some peace of mind. ⁓ And unfortunately, because of this stupid COVID test, I had to wait for them to get the and the, the guy that was going to do the epidural was standing outside the door. He couldn't come in until I had passed my COVID test, which it's like, even if I'd had COVID, like the baby's coming out. So I'm not really sure. And what are they going to do? Not give you an epidural because you have COVID? That's not a thing. Exactly. That's so crazy to me. And I was just begging them. I feeling like I was going to like throw up. I was shaking profusely. You were probably going through transition, which is the hardest part of labor, where you go from like, eight to nine centimeters. Oh, was. Yeah. Yes. And so you made it through the hardest part. I could have just gone I could have probably just kept going. You could Yes. So I felt everything. And then they finally gave me the epidural. And got me almost so numb that it wasn't maybe the best thing in the world. But you couldn't move any. No. And now that I've had more children, I know what having a little bit of feeling versus really not having any feeling feels like. But that was okay because I was in a lot of pain and in the moment I had no idea what was going on, right? And I didn't read anything. So I really didn't know what was going on. And so I got the epidural, they told us to rest and they came in to check me and the girl was I think shadowing. So she had not really experienced much of this before, she was very new. and the baby's head was coming out. ⁓ my God. And she didn't know that that's what was happening. So she called the other girl in and I could tell that people were panicked. Yeah. And it was actually a full moon and we were hearing a lot of ⁓ and noises going on and apparently someone had a crazy situation going on in the other room. And so they kind of ignored us. ⁓ a little while until this check happened. Yeah. And then they were like, we have to get the baby out like right now. Yeah. So I had no time to even prepare for, hey, you're nine centimeters or none of that. I went from arriving at three to getting the epidural. And I don't even know if they knew how far along I was at that point. And then being 10 and the baby's head coming out. think it was like 45 minutes later she was born and I couldn't feel anything. What was pushing like not being able to feel didn't really know what I was doing again. So they were kind of telling is a common theme. I didn't take any birthing classes, but like I said, I'm very in tune with my body and being an athlete growing up, I was able to try to channel as much as I could, but because I couldn't feel anything, was definitely difficult. Yeah. But I imagine just at some point muscle memory, like since you're so in tune with your body, you know how to engage your core, engage different parts of your body. I have heard that muscle memory, even with an epidural, can kind of take over. And I wonder if that benefited you. Yes. And once they told me, OK, what you're doing right now is progressing the baby, then I could kind of get into that, even though really wasn't able to, didn't feel like I could control my body nearly like I normally do. then we got really productive and she came out and it was great. And ⁓ just remember, ⁓ think I said something crazy like, ⁓ like ⁓ like I was just like so in shock of this baby is here. This just happened. I had such a crazy last, you know, 30 minutes before this or whatever. ⁓ But once was able to really calm down, ⁓ I couldn't believe that that was my baby. all this stuff that I was so afraid of came to this beautiful head in this moment. I was very emotional and so excited. And my world truly did change in that moment. Yeah, it's amazing. Our world's changed. And I also like to say that the whole world changes every time a baby is born. you never know who this person is going to be. That's so true. Isn't that wild to think about? Yes, our world changes exponentially, but who knows? It's just such a magical moment. It is very emotional. Yeah. Yeah, it was really, really, really special. ⁓ in that moment, I was like, ⁓ my gosh, I want to have ⁓ kids. I can't believe this. And I think that's just part of what- That high. Yeah. ⁓ was definitely there. I mean, it's the most amazing accomplishment, feels like. It was great. It's like our Super Bowl as women. Yeah, it's incredible. Yeah. And then they me into Waters Pavilion, which was absolutely amazing. And I ate a waffle. ⁓ that sounds amazing. That sounds awesome. Yeah, it was really great. I've done Waters and just the regular. And I really I really did love Waters, especially from my first experience because again, I was very overwhelmed just by it all. To be able to get food and that extra level of care was really, really nice. That's awesome. Did you have any sort of tears or anything? I did. I had a second degree and it really wasn't that bad. I think I was prepared for way worse after hearing my mom's story. And of course, you are not totally aware of what that's going to feel like and be like and wearing diapers and seeing all that comes out of your body. I mean, it's a lot. ⁓ it really was OK. I think I was relieved, actually. I have this baby and I'm safe and the baby's safe and I'll be fine. And my recovery was really pretty great. That's awesome. Yeah. How quickly were you able to get back to exercising? I think it was at around eight weeks. Just the soonest that they could allow me to with that. I do think that I got a UTI slash almost kidney infection though from having the... catheter in and out a few different times. So that was a little bit ⁓ of complication, but other than that, I had a really great recovery and ⁓ was to get back into exercising and had to relearn our method. And that's when I could use that ⁓ postnatal ⁓ and it for myself because ⁓ as instructor, ⁓ not having children, you can read this stuff and study and think that you understand, but you truly don't because you haven't physically felt it. Yeah. And so that was such a cool experience to say, now I get why it's important to have instructors on your team or leadership that have been through these phases of life. Right. And know how to speak to our clients about them and know how to approach things. later in my other stories, there are some things that layered on top of that that helped me be a better fitness professional and be able to lead my team in a way where we can be more supportive of our community. Was it as humbling for you as it was for me to relearn your body post-pregnancy? I think because I was so active, it wasn't that bad. That's awesome. I say that now, I think in the moment. I mean, really had a hard time losing the weight. I will say that I had a much easier time with my second baby. know about you, but even when I lost the weight, things still didn't look you know, the same. just correct. Yeah. Yes. And that is a huge transition. Yeah. Having scars and you know, everything is kind of moved around a little bit. That was a transition for sure. The ribs are bigger, ⁓ ⁓ I think ⁓ it took me about nine months to feel like I ⁓ really myself again. And most of that was actually probably more mentally because I was having to transition into this new role as a mom, which we all have to do. But then also, how does that work in my business? I only was able to take four weeks off. didn't really have maternity leave. It doesn't really exist when you own a business that is open every day. ⁓ So I think it was a really big transition for me and I had a harder time with my first baby with all of these things because it was all so new. And then with the second baby, there were other things that were hard, but going from having the baby and the birth experience to postpartum and all the things, I felt so much more empowered the second time. I feel like that's a very common theme. Yeah. That's a good transition. Yeah. You want to talk about your second? Yes. I actually had a miscarriage between my first and my second baby. We got pregnant with twins, which was the shock of a lifetime. I imagine. Things did not necessarily look totally how they should the first appointment. So this was very early on and they wanted me to come back about 10 days later, but they had everything on the ultrasound where they could see two sacs and two placentas and all the things. And my doctor actually felt like, okay, I think your conception date and all of that is maybe just awesome, but I have always had such a regular cycle that. I kind of in my heart knew, I don't think that's probably the case. Was she thinking that they looked like they were measuring smaller? Behind, yes. But still all the things were there and you could very clearly see the beginning of two babies and all the things. so ⁓ when we went back for the next appointment, they had not progressed. But my body very much thought that I was pregnant. I felt like I was pregnant with twins, very intense. ⁓ pregnancy symptoms, extremely tired, and did not have any indication of a miscarriage. although this had probably been going on for a number of weeks, I was at 10 weeks or so probably at this point that they finally sort of called it. My body had kind of stopped the growth of this ⁓ around maybe ⁓ eight weeks or something. So I ended up going in for DNC. It was a very emotional experience, obviously. going through that process was, in retrospect, such a good thing for me to experience. It's back to the idea of I now can relate to other people who have gone through these types of situations. I'm also grateful that it happened when it did. versus later and not that either one is great, not that earlier is good, but it was one of those things where so many women go through this ⁓ and someone in these communities of Atlanta and Dallas ⁓ and so many women around me in my life, my cousin has been through this and all these different people, you don't understand what to say to someone. ⁓ or how they're feeling until you go through it yourself. Again, you think that you know, but you really don't know until you have those emotions. the first trimester of pregnancy is so lonely in that you have this secret. You don't really wanna tell anyone. You don't really know how you feel about it, maybe even possibly. That's how I was. Yeah, totally. And then you have to keep waiting. And it's like this purgatory of, okay, we'll come back in 10 days. and how do you treat those 10 days and go about your life? So that was just obviously a lot, but I'm also grateful for ⁓ experience so that I can be supportive of other people in my life who ⁓ through these things. I imagine it's very lonely because like you said, with anyone in their first trimester, a lot of times people around you don't know. Yes. ⁓ then to go through this tragic event and then ⁓ How do you tell people like, oh, I was pregnant, but now I'm not? do you, you know, I imagine it's just, it's, oh, it's so hard. Yeah. And then to start thinking about, okay, well, if it's twins and this does work, do we need to like get a bigger car? Right. Do we need to move to a bigger house? you kind of get excited about it, even though it seems overwhelming. there's just something weighty about the fact that it's two, right? yeah. Absolutely. just all that you're feeling too with double hormones. anyway, that was this short period that we went through. And after the DNC, I had the most wonderful doctor who was at our practice who did the operation. And he said, it's actually the best time after your first period to start trying again because everything is sort of optimal. Your body's receptive. Yes. Your body's receptive. Your body is ready. Wow. And we really highly suggest in the first two to three months, you try again, even though mentally and emotionally, it feels like a lot to dive back in. And I was ready to just go forward with that and listen to him. And after you go through that and you start wondering, is there something wrong with me? Then you want to give it your best shot. we actually got pregnant with our second daughter, Quinn, right after. That's amazing. The first time. And I was so happy because I did sort of think, well, maybe there's something wrong with me or us, or are we going to have to go down another route to have more children. It was so easy the first time. Like, why was this? And you start thinking a lot about what's wrong with you. So to be able to get pregnant right away was amazing. And I was so excited. And ⁓ I do think because I had such crazy hormones with the pregnancy with the twins and then having one period and Directly pregnant again. Yeah that my body still was not maybe totally regulated in some ways Maybe that's part of why you get pregnant easier if you will and So I had a really tough pregnancy actually the entire time there were numerous things that kind of occurred one was that At my eight-week appointment. We had the confirmation. I was so excited to be able to see that everything was okay on that one and it was not two. would have probably been happy with two as well, but just knowing that everything was okay. And then we actually did see that there was an umbilical cord cyst, which is a extremely rare situation. I never heard of that. And it can go one of two ways. It's either going to go away and it'll be completely fine and nothing is wrong with the baby, or it can be a marker for a chromosomal or other type of defect in the baby. ⁓ my goodness. You and your cysts. I know. I know. It's like, and actually now that you're saying that, I remember saying to my mom, it's just like, this is crazy. And so every pregnancy has these things that have happened. At what point do they, ⁓ is it obvious it's going to be one or the other? ⁓ ⁓ isn't necessarily ⁓ an answer to And so I was told by the doctor that I saw to just wait until the 12 week appointment and hopefully it'll be gone by then. Oh my goodness. Just wait a month. Yep. Just let this little baby keep More waiting after the waiting of all the other things. Right. And so much was also going on in my personal life with family health and crises that were going on. So it was a really hard combination of events. ⁓ ⁓ I shared this with my ⁓ and my family, they actually kind of added a lot of stress to this, ⁓ you can probably imagine. ⁓ were not intentionally doing that, but they were worried about their daughter and worried about their grandchild. ⁓ In turn, it created a lot of stress for me in addition to the fact that I basically could not eat for 14 weeks. Oh my God. so, so, so sick. Did you have hyperemesis? Were you throwing up all the time or you I actually never threw up. Just extreme nausea. Food was the most disgusting thing in the world, which is not the case for me. That's supposed to be the fun part of pregnancy. I know. And so I just felt terrible and we ended up deciding for me to go see one of family friends ⁓ specializes in this type of a thing. So went to Charlotte, he was able to get me in and ⁓ usually have to have ⁓ special for this and my doctor actually with me on it to get me an appointment with him and he agreed to it. ⁓ And so at think it was around like nine or 10 weeks, we were able to have a very early anatomy scan to be able to see if he thought there was anything wrong. And I just wanted answers, honestly. there were a few things that we could do to do some early genetic testing if we needed to. But as a part of that appointment with him, he felt very clear that everything was okay. We saw the cyst, it was very much there. and he understood why they were stressed because it was a real situation, but he felt like, let's give it some time and we think everything's going to be okay. We can't give you 100 % certainty because there could be a cleft palate or a possibility of a heart defect or some other things, but from what he could see, there wasn't. ⁓ think it was at the 12 week appointment right around then the cyst was gone. Wow. It just went away. That's so crazy. When you have it go away, that just means that everything's like, okay, it's when they stay into second and third trimester that it generally is an indication that there is something wrong with the baby. ⁓ A lot of stress back to back. Then I continued to feel pretty terrible, like I said, until about 16 weeks. I had these crazy fainting spells where I had really low blood pressure. If I didn't have an electrolyte packet or two every single day, then I would faint. I actually fainted at the Miami airport when we traveled one day. An ambulance had to come. I mean, it was a very dramatic pregnancy. Yes, no kidding. Oh my God. And that's scary because fainting is scary in general, but you don't want to hit your belly or hit your head. especially after all these things. Yes. Oh my gosh. So it was just a really tough year. Yeah. And I had Quinn, I think this whole process of the twins to having Quinn, our second little girl. was like 360 days. Wow. So for basically an entire year, I total madness. Difficult, yeah. And a lot of crazy things going on in my personal life that were very sad and dark. And I might even just talk about myself. was family matters that were going on. Yeah. And she was like this beautiful light at the end of the tunnel and started a new chapter for our family. And even with her name, I didn't want to give her a family name. I didn't want to have any connection to her name because I truly needed for myself and for our little family to start sort of a new leaf and a new chapter. can tell you about her birth story. Yes, I want to hear it. So I, like I said, I was just ready to have this baby. I was so ready to have some some positivity and so at 39 weeks we decided to move forward with an induction. Part of that was due to the fact that we had a little girl at home and my family isn't local and just the planning around being able to know the day we were gonna have this baby. The logistics, yep. Yes, yes. And I had such a great experience you know, the comfort of the epidural the first time. I mean, it was like way too late and I got too numb. But I thought, okay, if we can control this from the very beginning and come in with my hair blown out and a little bit more calm with the situation, this could be really great. I see the appeal. Because the birthing process of pushing and all that was ⁓ pretty smooth with Sloan. And I ended up having the most amazing birth. That's awesome. It was truly magical. I came in, we got settled, you dilated it all. was like maybe two centimeters. ⁓ ⁓ told them, listen, today do not want to be a hero. I want to try to enjoy this. I love that. And I've gone through a lot. So let's just make it comfortable and get everyone here safely and ⁓ meet little girl. I think that's amazing that you knew what you needed and wanted from that birth. that's the most important thing. Yeah. ⁓ I really did need just a positive experience at the end of this. so did. ⁓ We did the Pitocin and- You have to do cervidil or anything since you were already dilated. ⁓ And she started progressing naturally ⁓ pretty quickly. felt ⁓ nothing except I remember calling my mom after the epidural and saying, feel like I'm in Mexico on the beach drinking margaritas. That's amazing. I want whatever you had. That's awesome. real good. And I was warm and toasty. ⁓ that's awesome. December baby. ⁓ Do you remember how far along you were when you got the epidural? don't think I was very far along, like two centimeters or so. Okay, so it's pretty quick after the induction. Yeah. And then the pitocin just worked. ⁓ great. ⁓ got it and progressed and I ended up having her, I went in that morning, I think it was like a 7 a.m. check-in or something, maybe it was 6 a.m. I got hooked up to everything around, I can't even really remember, but pretty soon after that because I said like, just want to try to enjoy this as much as I can. And then I ended up having her around 2 p.m. Wow, that's awesome. I could feel enough to feel the pressure. Yeah. And I said, either I need to go to the bathroom or the baby's coming. That's telltale sign And they're like, the baby's there. my Are you ready? And I was like, I am ready this time. That's amazing. We didn't even have a playlist going at this point. ⁓ And husband Chase turned on some music. And ⁓ I maybe two times or something. my god. That's incredible. It was amazing. It was like the happiest, most emotional, exactly what we needed to heal our hearts or to start to healing our hearts. she was a December 12th baby in 2024. And we had just this magical Christmas with this newborn. And it was just amazing. I can like see it on your face. Just like pure joy. It was so great. Oh, I love that. That's so redemptive and beautiful and just I'm so happy that you had that. Yeah. And I just want to say that sometimes inductions can be positive. You hear a lot of stories where they're not, and that's valid too. And this was my second baby. But even my doctor said, you need to make sure and tell people how great your experience was. Because I would have like 10 children. I mean, not actually. It was just so great that I hope that this next baby due in June is, I hope that we have the same experience because I want to relive that one more time. It was that good. Well, I feel like you're good at manifesting things for yourself. So my money is on you. Thank you. Thank you. So with this third baby, you mentioned that with every pregnancy there's been something unique. Yes. What's going on? This one, this was a surprise, which At the time, it was crazy timing. We had just started to reopen our Buckhead location after a three-month long renovation and operating in a very strange way of our boutique, which is, if you've ever been there before, our front desk experience and our boutique is a huge part of our business. And all of that was closed. So you just came in and checked it on an iPad and went into class. it was a pretty, from my perspective, because I was managing the construction project, pretty hellish time. And it was very complicated in that they were doing a lot of things at one time, including some waterproofing that had some historical issues. And anything to do with waterproofing just complicated. without getting into details that are really boring around that, I had just been working my butt off and in this, again, sort of fight or flight mode of business. And I actually found out that I was pregnant the day before, the night before our grand opening event. Wow. And that was crazy because we were moving furniture and getting moved in the space and about to reopen. I had very little sleep at this time and was just trying to get the business back and going because we had spent a lot of money and- You were ready. Just ready. I think that was right around the time that I met you. So you must have found out you were pregnant right after. Yeah, I think so. Oh gosh. I didn't get pregnant that weekend when we were in New York, but it was shortly thereafter. Yeah. That surprise was like, really, right now? Like, I just kind of am getting my life in order again. And Quinn was how old? She was like eight months old. OK, so yeah, so pretty little. Yes. Yeah. Pretty little. I was also excited in that we thought that maybe we'd want to have another baby. in true Katherine fashion with all of these things, it's just better to. push me off the cliff and say, you think that you want one, go and do this because you're going to overthink it. I'm such a planner. ⁓ not having ⁓ plan around this was just not me, but it was good for me. ⁓ was crazy though was around the same time I started talking to potential investor in my business and I thought, how am I going to possibly go through with this? transaction if it works out being pregnant. How am I going to break this news to them? I have to tell them. We ended up talking about that very early on and I just said, if this is not going to work for you, I totally understand. What was your fear that they would think you wouldn't be present? The investment is to, and we actually just closed the other day. I saw, congratulations. Thank you, I'm very excited. It's been 10 years in the making and it has been my dream since the very beginning over 12 years ago. It's amazing. To have an investor come in before we had been growing locations and other markets to get to this place and had to close some. So I really had to backtrack, unfortunately, and then had two children and it's hard to grow locations when you're growing. It's hard to build a business when you're also being Little babies. Yep. Yes. so long story short, my concern was just around the fact that this investment ⁓ is to grow locations ⁓ and open new locations in both Atlanta and new markets. And I think when you're an entrepreneur, much falls on you. And that's been my history in the past. ⁓ This ⁓ investor is a- ⁓ going to be a true partner and that it's not just me going and being at the construction sites and opening these locations all by myself, which of course I have had a team and amazing employees help me, but it ultimately always did fall on my shoulders. And so I just thought, you know, I don't know if this is going to be for them considering that this investment is to grow into multiple new markets. having another baby just sort of complicates that. I just was realistic about that's kind of how it works in this world. And as a woman in business, it's one of those things that I think you're always concerned that your employees and other people are going to think that you're going to take a big step back. anyway, was kind of all these little things happening at one time. But it felt so much bigger for me than just this happening. It felt like a series of events and Godwinks of, you finally had this opportunity. You've gotten Buckhead up and running again. You created the model that is the model to move forward in this business. And they loved what we did with the Buckhead renovation. And that's kind of the new model. And all this work that I had done in my business, over the past year was, and even 10 years, was cumulative in this moment in that let's have the baby, let's find this partner, and now's the perfect time to have the baby and bring the partner because you need one more than ever. That's so true. And by the time you have the baby, you can then start working on these new locations, and it actually completely does work. And it's not all going to be on you. Yes. Yeah. Yes. And so it's it just feels like it's all supposed to happen. Yeah. And it's a little boy. I know. It's so fun. Yeah. I was saying this earlier, but I feel like older sisters and little brother is like the cutest dynamic. And yeah, well, if he's not sweet and does not treat women in his life very well. He will hear about it from multiple very spicy women. I love that. He's going to be an amazing guy. Definitely a catch. Yes, I think so too. That's so exciting. Well, it sounds like you have a very exciting year ahead and it's going to be wonderful. I just know it. you. Are you going to plan another induction? Yes. Yeah? Right now because Oh, we didn't even talk about what was going on. talk about it. Yeah. Yeah, I just got talking. No, I love it. I'm very chatty. I love that. With this pregnancy, have at around 12 weeks, I had a pretty major bleed and I thought that I was probably miscarrying because of just how significant it was. was actually supposed to go into the doctor's office that day for my 12 week appointment, which I was so excited about it ⁓ and had end up going in earlier. We did an ultrasound ⁓ and baby was completely fine, ⁓ completely didn't know what was going on. It was actually my placenta where it was attaching ⁓ had a bleed and a subchorionic hematoma. This is actually a fairly common situation, but mine was on the more serious side ⁓ and can arrange in size from one centimeter to larger and mine was ⁓ fairly large. And so this was right around Thanksgiving. I basically got put on bed rest. ⁓ my gosh. Couldn't make it to Thanksgiving, even up the road with my family that's pretty close by. My doctor was very serious about just taking things easy and not lifting my kids. And that was super hard. You still have like two little, little kids. Yes. It's so hard. Yes. So my husband really had to step up. I was going to say, that's hard on the partner too. Yes. So it was a tough period there. And we actually had this family trip planned to London. I thought I was going to have to call it off. But things were stable enough to where they said, you can go on your trip. Just listen to your body. and I did and I tried to rest and all the things. But unfortunately, I still have this hematoma situation and also where the hematoma and the placenta are attaching in relation to each other and also the cervix, we're getting like really technical here. ⁓ I love ⁓ a complicated situation. Any of them by themselves would not be, ⁓ it's the combination of them and I do have little bit of a previa. Placenta previa? Going on. that might move. I'm only like 22 weeks now. so- And that's when your placenta is kind of covering your cervix? A little bit. Yeah, a little a But that, because that's where the bleed was, ⁓ concern is if we have a bleed again, ⁓ we could have a major situation. And so ⁓ have not been able to ⁓ out ⁓ all during this pregnancy. And I didn't- during my first trimester because that's kind of like the time that I allow myself to not think about that kind of thing and just like allow myself to rest. And I was very tired and had a lot going on with my business too, reopening. But it's crazy. ⁓ 22 weeks and I have not worked out since September. Wow. That must feel crazy for you. It is. It's pretty crazy. ⁓ with my second pregnancy, was ⁓ also very, very active. so it's just a different experience. But all of these combined, all of these experiences I have had have been so good, again, for me to understand what women go through and the journey that people go through. And I've been very fortunate to get pregnant easily and then have other things that have been difficult in there. ⁓ So I definitely want to recognize that because there are lots of different situations that happen to people. But I can now be an advocate for my clients and understand what it's like to go through pregnancy, pregnancy complications, loss, workout after loss. pregnancies and now I can't work out. And so when I do go back to working out, whether that's in a few weeks, maybe I will get cleared or it might be after this baby. And I might have to start over and it might've been a very, very long time and I have to kind of retrain my body. And in a way I think that that's happening for a reason because then I can experience that. Right. It'll be like being a beginner and then you'll understand what it's like for someone who comes into SculptHouse for the first time. Because we hear people all the time say, I haven't worked out in over a year. I've had ⁓ babies. I've had blah, blah. ⁓ ⁓ kind of am finding myself in that situation now. That was not the case with the first two. ⁓ now I am medically being told that I'm putting myself and the baby in a compromising situation and I'm having to listen to that. And so I'm having to shift my focus into other things right now and I'm putting a lot of my focus into my family and finding peace in other ways. And then I've got a lot going on with work, which is a blessing. I'm so glad that I do have so much going on with work because I can't really do a whole lot. Well, your attitude is amazing. I'm so impressed. you. You're just like a ray of sunshine. And I feel like just… motivated being around you to find the silver lining in everything. Well, ⁓ work out for the first few times after not working out for a very long time, I might not be so positive. with you then. Yeah. Check in with me then. Or how about I'll come take a class with you because I have not worked out like a year. But I think, you know, I will share what that experience is like and just humbly share ⁓ I'm going through and what it's like and that. we all fall off for different reasons and sometimes we're forced to fall off. You should totally journal it. record process. be like, what's it like to get back into it as someone who has been, ⁓ this has been my life and now I'm starting at square again or maybe not square one, but. ⁓ Might be. ⁓ But yeah, no, I think I will. And ⁓ both ⁓ the pregnancies with the girls, I did try to share how I modified my workout, even down to exercises on my stories, and those are like saved in my highlights so that people know that you can change things up and like in real time, what you're going through in your pregnancy. This is how you would take, this is how I approach my workout today at 25 weeks. And here was the workout routine on the mega former, here's how I changed it, here's what I on the treadmill. and just providing a real example of how I felt that day, how I approached that workout. And so I think I will do the same thing when I eventually at some point am able to work out again and get cleared. I love that. And it's just so encouraging. I think it creates such a welcoming environment. I've worked out at other studios in Atlanta when I've been pregnant and postpartum where I haven't necessarily felt encouraged or welcomed. ⁓ or encouraged to modify or go at my own speed or pace. And so it's just great to see someone leading by example. Well, I think that I had to, again, experience that to realize how important that was. And I'm not sure that we have always done a great job of that, but at least I recognize that. And maybe we can influence the way that we're doing things differently as we continue on this journey. ⁓ think that just being humbled in various different ways all these years, whether it's closing businesses and understanding how hard that is or pregnancy postpartum, all the different things have been so humbling for me and have really changed me as a person. And I'm learning every day as a business owner and a mom. Well, willingness to learn and change is the most important thing. You're so right. Not getting it right or perfect the first time. Yeah. Yeah. The strongest people. are able to change their minds about things. Yes, exactly. Oh, this has been such a wonderful conversation. Oh, thank you. Well, I know I talked a lot. No, I love it. But before you go, I always like to ask, can you describe birth in three words, whatever it felt like for you? Transformative. Magical. maybe focused, I really actually enjoyed the experience of sort of the workout of birth and just really getting into my body, even when I couldn't feel things and the focus that I was able to channel to try to safely get these babies into the earth. I love that. ⁓ Well, thank you so much, Katherine. Thank you. You've been listening to the Arrivals podcast. Until next time. How long did we talk for? An hour.