Kimberly Perry has officially welcomed her firstborn child!
The country singer-songwriter took to Instagram on Thursday (September 7) to announce the birth of her son, Whitaker James, quoting Psalm 139:13-16 in her caption: “Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out;/ You formed me in my mother’s womb./ I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!/ Body and soul, I am marvelously made!/ I worship in adoration—what a creation!/ You know me inside and out,/ You know every bone in my body;/ You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,/ how I was sculpted from nothing into something/ Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You. The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.”
Perry posted another photo, kissing her baby as she welcomed Whit Costello to the world. He was born on August 26 at 4:01 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee, at 7 lbs and 8 oz. Perry said that “in one short week Johnny and I have moved from a season of BLOOM into a SUPERBLOOM. Our lives have become sweeter, our days have become so much fuller, our sleep has gotten shorter - our house has truly become a home.
“Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes,” she continued. “It’s been such a sweet time getting baby Whit here safely and soundly and acclimating as a new family. We can't wait to show him the world - this bus baby is ready to roll!”
Perry, 40, announced earlier this year that she and husband Johnny Costello were “OVERFLOWING WITH JOY” to have their first child on the way. She’s since shared stunning photos featuring her growing baby bump, including a stunning gown at the ACM Awards earlier this year, her Grand Ole Opry debut, a Nashville dinner party to celebrate the release of “If I Die Young Pt. 2” and more.
The Bloom songstress posted a series of photos chronicling her pregnancy on Friday afternoon (August 25), when she confirmed that “baby boy is on his way,” and she’s “officially at the hospital on Whit Watch.” Perry gushed as she reminisced on her journey to motherhood that she has had “the most wonderful experience of my life sharing my story and getting new music in your hands. …I’m gonna focus on getting little man here safe and sound so we can welcome him Earth-side. Can’t wait to share all of his handsome newborn pics with you! I love you all and will see you on the other side.”
Perry opened up in a mini documentary about the making of “If I Die Young Pt. 2” — an extension of the story The Band Perry tells in their hit ballad that released more than 10 years ago — about her “intention” that she would become a mother. It happened while she and co-writers Nicolle Galyon and Jimmy Robbins were writing about her own mother and a future child of her own: “When we wrote ‘Pt. 2,’ I had actually just gone through a miscarriage a few months before, which was a really sad time. So, in writing this second verse, it was like, ‘well, I would really love to set this intention that there is a baby coming.’ A healthy baby was gonna be here at some point. And it felt like it really held hands with the original version because the entire original version was sort of this romantic plea for all the things that I was hoping for. A few months after we recorded the song, I found out I was pregnant.”
Perry explained in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year that she and Costello selected the name Whitaker James for their son after Perry Googled “beautiful boy names.” That’s how she landed on Whitaker — or “Whit” for short — and said James “comes from my grandfather, and Johnny's grandfather's middle name was James as well. So, it felt like a strong masculine name to bring forward.”
Congrats, Kimberly Perry!