Katherine Heigl Explains Why She "Never Saw" Her Daughter Naleigh Right After Adopting Her

Katherine Heigl is looking back on her early days with her daughter Naleigh — and the fears she had as a new mom.

Back in 2009, Katherine and her husband, Josh Kelley, adopted Naleigh as an infant from South Korea.

In the months that followed, Katherine says she had to go back to work on the set of Grey's Anatomy , and she worried it would impact her bond with her daughter.

"Naleigh came to us at 9 months, and three days later I got on a plane and went to work in Atlanta," Katherine shared on The View .

She continued, "At the time, becoming a new mother, I was just like, 'I got it! I can handle this.' They've told us we can have it all. We can have careers and have families, and it's all going to be great."

Unfortunately, Katherine was left feeling as if she "never saw" her little girl.

"I never saw that baby. I was at work with three triplets who were playing my goddaughter, and I spent more time with them than I did with my new daughter," Katherine admitted.

She continued, "She bonded with my husband, of course. He was with her. So, I was always afraid that I had missed that opportunity to really bond with her and that she didn’t love me."

Coincidentally, it was another appearance on The View nearly a decade ago that help ease some of her parenting fears.

During the 2012 interview, when Naleigh was just a toddler, the little girl ran onstage to be with her mom — which helped Katherine see that they did share a bond.

Watching the clip back during her recent appearance, she teared up, acknowledging just how meaningful it was.

You can hear all that Katherine had to say below.