Catherine Britt’s baby boy!
Country singer Catherine Britt has beaten cancer to give birth to a healthy baby boy
Ifeel like Superwoman, I just feel invincible,” laughs country music star Catherine Britt as she proudly cradles her newborn son Hank in her arms. “For a long time I felt like things were holding me back, and now I feel like I can do anything. It’s a nice feeling.”
It’s been a rollercoaster few years for the 33-year-old and her husband James Beverley. In 2015, Catherine underwent radiation and chemotherapy for breast cancer, before beating the odds to become pregnant in 2017. She got the best Christmas present ever when their gorgeous little man rocked up 10 days early on Christmas Eve.
PRE-BIRTH JITTERS
“It was such a beautiful moment, I’ll never forget it,” says Catherine, who had a natural birth – which she now laughingly describes as “totally unnecessary” – before shocking doctors by delivering Hank herself!
“I saw it somewhere and I thought, ‘That looks cool.’ So when I saw him half out, I just grabbed him. I don’t know what the doctor thought! I just wanted to be the first one to hold him and then James cut the cord,” she says of the incredible memory.
“I know every new mum says this, but you just have no idea how you will feel – everything changes instantaneously.
“When I was pregnant, as someone who is fairly selfish, at least career-wise, I was genuinely worried about how a baby would fit into my life and whether I’d got pregnant at the right time. But as soon as they come out, that all changes immediately. Nothing else matters,” adds Catherine, who was given the all-clear from cancer in January 2016 and will have six-monthly check-ups for the next five to seven years.
“All I could think was, ‘Why did I wait so long to do this?’ James was the same, he was crying and saying, ‘Call him whatever you want!’ It’s all different now, I just want millions of children.”
Catherine says the only challenging part so far has been breastfeeding Hank.
“He’s slept from day dot, but breastfeeding is really really, really hard. It’s my first time, so I didn’t really know what I was in for or how to do it. It’s so complex, even emotionally, but I’m determined because I know how good it is for him,” she adds.
As a result of radiation treatment, only Catherine’s right breast is producing milk.
“I was kind of expecting it because during my pregnancy, the left-hand side of my body didn’t change,” she explains. “And when he came, I kept alternating the boobs and nothing came out. The doctors told me it wasn’t going to happen – but your body is amazing, and my right boob still produces enough milk.”
THE NEXT BIG ADVENTURE
While looking after a newborn baby might be enough of an adventure for most couples, James, 31, and Catherine aren’t resting on their laurels. A month after Hank’s birth, the threesome are hitting the road in their RV – complete with a cute nursery – to travel to Silverton to run a country pub for a month.
While there, they’ll host Silverton Sunsets Music Festival, before heading off on a year-long tour of Australia and kicking off Catherine’s new album tour in Cairns in July.
“I think, when I got sick, it was a realisation that life is too short not to do all the things you want to do. That’s mainly why we decided to travel,” says Catherine. “Everything is about deciding to live the best life we can live, and how we can do that and still pay the bills!”
James agrees, adding, “Opportunities seem to come to you when you decide to have a go.”
‘It’s all different now, I just want millions of children’