What do birth and boxers have in common? Nothing. However, if you have attended my classes, you might have heard about this timeless birth story of Bentley the Boxer.
Having had boxers since I was 13, this breed holds a special place in my heart. We had Max the father, Sam the middle girl, and Lucky, the son of Max and only survivor of the lot, hence his name.
When I was still living with my parents, the father and son team would be pulling a 5 month pregnant me for a walk, making me look like I was riding a chariot without the chariot itself! Lucky, the defiant one, would always sleep at the foot of my bed instead of his designated mattress in my parents’ room. Once my brother came into my room in the middle of the night, he bit my brother with the intention of protecting me!
When I moved back home for a short period after giving birth, Lucky still slept with us. Now that made 3 in a single bed! Lucky had a soft spot – he needed human contact whenever there was thunder. So when Kieran was less than 6 months old, my mom found Lucky sleeping alongside with Kieran for comfort during the stormy afternoon!
So by the time I met Bentley the boxer, I was unfazed… until he knocked me over onto the couch with his enormous size – blame his Australian genes! So whenever I went to Aileen’s house for our prenatal sessions, the first thing I needed to do was to sit down before I get knocked over.
I was at the barber’s at Holland Village waiting for Kieran when the phone rang. “Ginny, does surges feel like menstrual cramps?”, Aileen asked. I asked a few questions and said it sounds like she was in early labor, and as I was on the way home, I told her to call me whenever she needed me to go over.
Halfway through my dinner, Andrew was on the phone panicking “I can see the baby’s head!!!”
”Where is Aileen?”, I asked.
‘She on the toilet seat!”
“Get her off the toilet seat! I am on my way!” as I grabbed my house phone to call for a taxi. It’s a weekday evening and Aileen lives in the East. Because of peak hour traffic, what would usually take 20mins would take me 45-60mins to get there.
By the time I got the her place, Andrew had his family deployed and they all waited anxiously for me to arrive, lined up in 2 rows leading to the stairway up to their room. Although I have never been married, it sure felt like I was walking down the aisle!
As we were getting ready to be transferred to the hospital, Andrew and Aileen were recounting their 45min birth story to me. When I asked Andrew to get Aileen off the toilet seat, he managed to get her in bed in the all fours position just as baby was coming out and landed in the safety of his hands. At that moment, Bentley the boxer came into the room, in a frenzy from the smell of blood and the birth of the baby. Not knowing what else to do with his newborn in his hands, Andrew turned to Bentley and bit him!!! Bentley got a shock and whimpered out of the room. Andrew quickly passed his daughter to Aileen and closed the door!
Whenever I share this story in class, everyone will be holding on to their seats waiting to hear what would happen next as Aileen still holds the record for the fastest birth of a first time mom at Four Trimesters. And at the end of it all, the class will burst out in laughter!
This morning, Bentley the boxer passed on. Even though he is gone, he lives on in this birth story and in the hearts of many parents who have heard about and laughed in delight of good ol’Bentley!
Condolences to Aileen & family. This birth story is printed with permission from Aileen.
