- Hillary and Ben
- Married with 2 children
- From the Chicago area
Phoenix's Birth Story:
I was 6 days late and wasn't miserable, more just excited to have my little bundle arrive. I remember it feeling like Christmas was
going to happen any day now but I just didn't know when. I decided I was going to walk the baby out and that’s exactly what I did. I walked with Faith (my sister in law) for maybe an hour…which for a prego lady is a lot and then later went to the mall and walked a little with Ben. I had some minor contractions that day but it was more like “is that a Braxton Hicks or was that gas?” HA! I also thought I may have lost my mucus plug but again, wasn't too sure. Needless to say, I wasn't too convinced that I would be having a baby the next day!
Ben and I went to bed late that night, maybe around 11:30 - 11:45 PM. Somewhere between then and 12:30 AM my water broke. I remember putting a pad on and trying to go back to bed because it was just a slow trickle. That didn't last long and I had Ben call the midwife. She was actually at the hospital with a friend of mine who was suffering from preeclampsia so the midwife sent over her Nurse Midwife. I think it was maybe 1:30 or so when she arrived and by then my contractions where about 5 minutes apart. She checked me and I was 6 centimeters dilated so I decided I would walk around our apartment and let gravity do its job. I remember thinking at one point that I had probably walked a few miles by the time I stopped walking.
We also called my sister, Allison, and she came over just before the NM got there. She was our photographer and my source of amusement. I was so happy to have her there.
I think the midwife was finally able to get to our place by 2:30 AM and set up stuff in the bathroom so that she would be ready as soon as the baby was ready. After that I tried getting into the tub but that made the contractions feel worse so I got out and kept walking. Any time I had a contraction I would stop and brace myself on something and rock from side to side. Sometimes I would rest in Ben’s arms and just let him hold and console me and other times I would stare at two things on my mantel. One was a dying flower and to me it represented a dying to myself that would happen as I became a mother. The other was a small statue from Africa of a man’s face and that represented the wisdom that God would give me. It’s funny to think about it now, but at the time it was a very emotional experience to look at them and think of those things.
Finally at 3:45 AM God, baby and I were ready to bring her into the world. (I’m tearing up as I write this). I got into the tub and pushed with all I had every time there was a contraction. At one point I was feeling a lot of pain and frustration and screamed REALLY loudly and I was sure the neighbors herd me and were going to call the cops. HA! Thankfully they didn't. After 25 minutes of pushing her little head came out and I remember just holding it with one hand in the water and marveling. I have a beautiful picture that Al took of her little head with my hand on it. I love it! Within 5 more minutes she was born (keep in mind these are all approximate times). My beautiful little gift from heaven, my darling baby girl, Phoenix Eileen Start was born at 4:15 AM on Saturday, November 14th, 2009.
I LOVED the water birth. The cleanup was so minimal and my body was nice and stretchy because of the water. Phoenix scored a 9 on her Apgar and would have been a 10 if she wasn’t SO blue. I never did ask why she was like that. I didn't realize it until days later when I saw Al’s pictures. I think if I had realized it at the time I might have been worried. “Thank you Lord, for blinding my eyes so that I could relax and enjoy my baby”.
The NM showed me how to nurse which is a disaster of a story that I will not include in here and then after a while I went and laid down in my own bed while Al held Phoenix and Ben called his family. I slept for about 30 minutes and it was SO nice to not be disturbed by any one and to be in my own room. It was also nice to know that Phoenix was being held by her auntie and was happy and content.
The next days went by like a whirl wind and though it was just 6.5 months ago, it feels like a lot of time has gone by. God has given me such a wonderful little gift and I’m so thankful to have the privilege of raising one of His children for as long as He wills that I keep her. My prayer is and always will be that I will teach her all that I can about Him and that she will come to know, love, and serve Him from an early age and on through all the days of her life. Thank you Jesus for my precious gift, I will hold her up to you with open hands!
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