Mom Stories

Back in May, we made a considerable move to be closer to Chad’s work. Imagine our surprise to learn just two days after moving into our new home that we’d be expecting a fourth baby in January of 2024. The next 8 months passed in the same way that I imagine most mothers would describe a pregnancy – glacial when you’re in it, but at breakneck speed when looking back.

Levi Eric Thornton joined us on January 11. Suffice it to say that a fourth baby at my age was not on my 2024 Bingo Card. Yet, the Lord can be trusted. Four kids five and under, y’all. Send me your tips! And your caffeine.

As always, extra special thanks go to Natalie Wommack and her team at Katy Birth Center not only for their vast expertise, but for their deep, deep care for us.
Their diligence, attentiveness, determination, and courage for me, with me, and on my behalf when I couldn’t muster it myself cannot be over-described or praised enough.

There will come a day quite soon that I exit their doors for the last time (and I’m crying just typing about it), but that place and the women inside it will be tied up in my heart as long as I have left on this Earth. God has His hand on that team and that place in a special way.

When I reflect on this entire experience I can’t help but acknowledge how fortunate I feel to have been referred to the Katy Birth Center. The prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care we received was incredibly professional, empowering, and genuine. The passion these midwives pour into their families is admirable – I have never seen anything like it. We are so grateful to our midwife whom we’ve come to know and love (Connie Blokkum) and the entire birth center for supporting & guiding us through this experience literally every single step of the way. I can only hope that healthy, low-risk, pregnant women know that places like this exist because this experience was everything to me.

I knew before I got pregnant that I wanted a natural birth. Unfortunately the Birth Center was not open during my first pregnancy and my husband was extremely nervous about home birth and I ended up having our first son in hospital and I have always wished we hadn’t. I was thrilled when I found the birth center during my 2nd pregnancy. I was so privileged to work with Connie Blokkum. She provided wonderful prenatal care, taking time to focus on my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health throughout the pregnancy. I had a lovely birth at the birth center with Connie and Cathy Rude attending. The care I received after was also amazing.

Having had such a wonderful experience with Connie during the birth of my second I choose to continue under her care for the births of my third and fourth sons both of which were born at home. I was privileged to receive care from Jackie Walker and Cathy Rude at the birth of my fourth due to him being over a week late and Connie being out of country (a possibility I knew of since the beginning of my pregnancy). I have enjoyed working will all the midwives. They are wonderful. The office staff at the birth center are also wonderful. They are knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Recently my 4 month old was struggling with weight gain and Connie had me come in to do a weigh, nurse, weigh test to determine how many ounces he was taking in while I nursed. And then the birth center let other birth center moms know that there was a baby in need of breast milk to supplement until I could sort out my low supply. The response was amazing and I got so much milk to supplement while I increase my supply. I am so grateful. The birth center, staff and midwives have gone above and beyond anything I could imagine wanting or needing in a healthcare provider! I love the Katy Birth Center!

I gave birth freely, labored according to my body, caught my baby, had my husband fully involved, had delayed placenta cord clamping, and went home the same day. My midwives Natalie and Jennifer were an awesome support team and respected my wishes for birth. They coached me through the whole birth and showered me with love and prayers. I cherish the relationship we built. They are like family to me now. Super grateful, super blessed, looking forward to having my next baby at Katy Birth Center. PS prenatal checkups were very personable and were not rushed. You actually spent quality time with your midwives starting from your first check up. -I love that they have natural alternatives (i.e. teas, herbal tinctures, oils, supplements, etc) -They have a great assortment in their library including books on pregnancy, newborns, postpartum,etc. -They offer many classes like Birthboot camp, breastfeeding class, newborn care class, etc. -I’d also like to give a shoutout to Lynn who is an awesome office manager and guided me through the insurance process. She is very efficient in replying to emails and very informative and helpful. Katy Birth Center Rocks! ❤️

I loved everything about delivering at the birthing center. I had my other two girls with the midwives at TX Children’s Pavilion in the med center. I decided to try something different with #3 because my first appointment with the Pavilion left me in tears. I came to the birthing center with high expectations, due to friends referrals, and had an amazing experience. I wish I had my other two girls there too. I think my favorite thing other than the advice and care was being able to go home a few hours after delivering. It was so nice being able to come home to our other two littles and being able to sleep in our bed. If we decide to go for #4 we will definitely be coming back.

I love Katy Birth Center! I ended up having complication with high blood pressure and couldn’t even deliver there, but even if I had known that ahead of time I would never have gone somewhere else for my prenatal care. All the midwives are fantastic! Cathy was so wonderful at every single appointment. She never rushed me through, she always took the time to treat my whole person- emotionally, physically and spiritually. Jackie was with my through labor and delivery at the hospital and she always knew just what to do. She kept me grounded when the doctors there made me panic and she massaged my back in just the right spot and said just the right things. I have loved everything about my time with them from beginning to end. Highly recommend!!!