• 4th Tri Bodies Gallery
  • Events / Participate
    • Tour Schedule
    • Event Schedule
    • Participate
    • FAQ
    • Previous Cities
  • About
    • Mission
    • Ashlee Dean Wells
    • Laura Weetzie Wilson
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    • body. breast. baby.
    • Portland, OR
    • Chicago, IL
  • Book a Session
  • Buy Merch
  • Contact
  • Mailing List
  • Media
  • Sponsors
  • Menu

4th Trimester Bodies Project

  • 4th Tri Bodies Gallery
  • Events / Participate
    • Tour Schedule
    • Event Schedule
    • Participate
    • FAQ
    • Previous Cities
  • About
    • Mission
    • Ashlee Dean Wells
    • Laura Weetzie Wilson
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    • body. breast. baby.
    • Portland, OR
    • Chicago, IL
  • Book a Session
  • Buy Merch
  • Contact
  • Mailing List
  • Media
  • Sponsors

Katie Freeman

September 30, 2015 in 4th Trimester Bodies

The fabulous Katie Freeman with her son Sebastian (2) and daughter Keating (10 months). Katie and her husband were able to conceive Sebastian just as they'd decided to start trying and she went on to have a very healthy and enjoyable pregnancy. She carried to 42 weeks when her midwife decided it was time to induce. The induction went well but after 14 hours on Pitocin, it was time for an epidural. The epidural allowed her to get some rest and she pushed without it for quite some time before she felt done. The midwife mentioned needing to go get the doctor and Katie asked for her to give her just a minute. The epidural had been turned off so she felt everything and let out a primal scream, but she got her baby out. Katie says the transition to motherhood was amazing and she cried every day the first few weeks because she was so incredibly happy.

When Sebastian was about 8 months old, Katie had just run a relay marathon, their lives were generally busy and in flux but she remembers telling her nanny she was so tired, the last time she'd been so tired was when she was pregnant. She didn't think anything more of it until she threw up one morning and a positive pregnancy test soon followed. Katie cried, when she found out, not because she didn't want another child but because she didn't feel prepared. She had always been a planner and this wasn't the timing she'd imagined. Her pregnancy went well, though she says she does feel she wasn't able to enjoy it much.

Her labor and delivery with Keating were very different than her first experience. At 41 weeks she went into labor on her own and progressed without intervention while she labored in the water. She only had to push three times and says that it was "downright orgasmic". Her birth was beautiful but she knew while laboring that Keating has passed meconium and the NICU team was standing by. Her baby was whisked away and suctioned. The team told her they had never seen a baby ingest so much meconium. Katie overheard worry that Keating wasn't pinking up and shouted out that her husband was pale! They realized that Keating's lips had regained color but she was indeed just quite pale.

Transitioning from mom of one to two has been amazing and amazingly chaotic but Katie says she couldn't love it any more. She's recently transitioned to staying at home and while she finds that space when she needs some me time, wouldn't have it any other way.

Katie struggled with her body image for much of her life. She developed early and while her mother was very positive and supportive she didn't feel comfortable in her skin for quite some time. She says she was so innocent, the girl that believed in Santa Claus until she was twelve, and having hips and breasts just felt uncomfortable in comparison. Her mother always told her that she would grow into her body some day and it wasn't until adulthood that she realized how amazing it was.

Positive body image is something that Katie believes deeply in and she feels it's amazingly important to cultivate the fact that it begins on an emotional level. If you can't learn to love yourself separately of your external appearance, you will never be happy with any external shifts or changes your body undergoes. Katie hopes to continue to support this personally and cultivate the same notions with her children.

Tags: New Orleans, Induction, Epidural
Prev / Next
  • January 2019 29
  • December 2018 16
  • November 2018 27
  • October 2018 50
  • September 2018 28
  • August 2018 14
  • July 2018 34
  • June 2018 34
  • May 2018 5
  • April 2018 9
  • March 2018 20
  • February 2018 8
  • January 2018 6
  • December 2017 22
  • October 2017 13
  • September 2017 26
  • August 2017 19
  • July 2017 17
  • June 2017 7
  • May 2017 10
  • April 2017 2
  • February 2017 1
  • January 2017 25
  • December 2016 2
  • November 2016 17
  • October 2016 17
  • September 2016 38
  • August 2016 14
  • July 2016 26
  • June 2016 33
  • May 2016 16
  • April 2016 33
  • March 2016 28
  • February 2016 20
  • January 2016 26
  • December 2015 30
  • November 2015 30
  • October 2015 48
  • September 2015 23
  • August 2015 34
  • July 2015 24
  • June 2015 51
  • May 2015 29
  • April 2015 40
  • March 2015 35
  • February 2015 75
  • January 2015 53
  • December 2014 32
  • November 2014 47
  • October 2014 46
  • September 2014 54
  • August 2014 45
  • July 2014 65
  • June 2014 50
  • May 2014 22
  • April 2014 43
  • March 2014 73
  • February 2014 46
  • January 2014 34
  • December 2013 9
  • November 2013 20
  • October 2013 39
  • September 2013 22
  • August 2013 31
  • July 2013 3
  • June 2013 6