Katherine Heigl shares details of her son's difficult birth

Katherine Heigl shared an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday about the delivery of her son in honour of his first birthday.

The actress revealed she underwent a difficult labor with 1-year-old son Joshua Bishop Jr. as she shared a topless photo of herself with her baby bump.

“At 9am one year ago today I had @joshbkelley take this photo of me so I could remember how incredibly pregnant I was right before we left for the hospital and my 12pm scheduled cesarean,” Heigl wrote in the caption.

At 9am one year ago today I had @joshbkelley take this photo of me so I could remember how incredibly pregnant I was right before we left for the hospital and my 12pm scheduled cesarean. Joshua Jr had been in the breech position for over a month and had still not moved an inch a week before his due date so I made the decision to have a cesarean and was incredibly nervous and a little scared this time last year. I had never been hospitalized or had ever had any kind of surgery and had no idea what to expect. The second photo is right before I went in for surgery. Trying to look cool, calm and collected! They numbed me up, gave me some morphine and opened me up. My doctor struggled to get him out because he was really wedged in there and not quite ready to leave the womb. When she finally pulled him out at exactly 12:33pm he didn't start breathing and they worked quickly to get oxygen in him and start his tiny lungs. @joshbkelley was standing with them when he finally took his first breath. That day, as I slowly came out of the morphine haze and clutched my tiny man to me I thanked the heavens for his breath, his life and for making me a mother three times over. As evening settled in Josh and I got cozy in my hospital room, found one of my all time favorites #SweetHomeAlabama on the tv and just relished in our perfect newborn son. He was so tiny and new, so fragile and tender. As I lay him down to sleep that first night in his very appropriate "welcome to the world" sleep sack I thought the moment would last forever. Yet here we are, a whole year later and it's only the photos that remind me my brute of a boy was ever so new and small! Now he's 26 ponds of rolling, tumbling, grasping, giggling, shouting, curious, jolly energy! He is everything and more than I could have hoped for and he has brought our family even more joy, love, laughter, abundance, bliss and yes, exhaustion and exasperation too! It's been a hell of a year and I could not be more grateful for it or him! Happy Birthday to my little man! Maybe I can make this next year go a little slower!

She continued, “Joshua Jr had been in the breech position for over a month and had still not moved an inch a week before his due date so I made the decision to have a cesarean and was incredibly nervous and a little scared this time last year.”

The former Grey’s Anatomy actress who had never “ever had any kind of surgery” wrote that she was nervous before her C-section and said the doctor “struggled” to deliver her son as he “was really wedged in there and not quite ready to leave the womb.”

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“When she finally pulled him out at exactly 12:33pm he didn’t start breathing and they worked quickly to get oxygen in him and start his tiny lungs,” Heigl wrote of the terrifying ordeal.

She said her husband, musician Josh B. Kelley, witnessed their son take his first breath and that she “thanked the heavens for his breath, his life and for making me a mother three times over.”

Little man got bored during movie night so @joshbkelley crawled into the play pen with him. Now that's a good dad! I think Jude Law agrees! By the way we're watching one of my all time favorites "The Holiday" Does anybody have any favorite holiday movies they want to share?! We've been picking one a night to either watch as a family or after the kids go to bed. We're starting to run out of all our favorites and need some suggestions!! 🙏

“He was so tiny and new, so fragile and tender,” she wrote. “Yet here we are, a whole year later and it’s only the photos that remind me my brute of a boy was ever so new and small! Now he’s 26 pounds of rolling, tumbling, grasping, giggling, shouting, curious, jolly energy!”

She added, “He is everything and more than I could have hoped for and he has brought our family even more joy, love, laughter, abundance, bliss and yes, exhaustion and exasperation too! It’s been a hell of a year and I could not be more grateful for it or him! Happy Birthday to my little man! Maybe I can make this next year go a little slower!”

Heigl is also mother to daughters Nancy Leigh, 9, and Adalaide Marie Hope, 5.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, the star shared multiple photos of her adorable children, writing, “Pretty excited to be celebrating Mother’s Day with this crew! I’m exploding with gratitude for these gorgeous kids and for all the joy, laughter, love and grace they have brought to my life … but more importantly … I wonder what they’re getting me! 😏😉.”

Just creeping up on a baby...#creeper #thoseheavenlydays

How do I take a moment like this and truly, gracefully savor it? How do I make as many moments count as possible? How do I make sure I'm the mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend that I hope to be? Well, I've written a deeply personal post that's up on the blog now (link in bio) about the actions I take to help me live my right life with grace and gratitude. This ones for anyone, like me, who's felt a bit adrift or lost in the day to day hustle. It's for anyone who has lost the spark of gratitude that keeps all the good stuff front and center but are desperately trying to get it back. My post is all about how I cultivate more good days then bad. More bliss, joy, laughter and love.More of Those Heavenly Days if you will 😉❤️ #thoseheavenlydays #sacredspaces thoseheavenlydays.com

This article originally appeared on PEOPLE