"This is what life's about"
New Idea, Sep 1993
by Jodie Carrette

Rebecca Rigg and Simon Denny find their first child is bliss ... despite the drama of her arrival.

New parents Rebecca Rigg and Simon Denny had planned to "dance to reggae music" and "go for a slow walk on the beach" at a dinner party to farewell Los Angeles-bound friend, actress Naomi Watts. But the showbiz couple had to change plans when Rebecca's first childbirth pains arrived before the entree.

"Twenty minutes after we arrived, we had to turn around and come home," Rebecca recalls. "At first I thought they were just braxton hicks (contractions) but I knew I was kidding myself because they were painful and I couldn't talk."

The contractions were coming three minutes apart when Simon began the hour's drive from Sydney to their northern beaches home, where Rebecca's mother and a midwife were standing by to assist the homebirth.

"As you can imagine," says Simon, "it was a pretty exciting trip.
"Rebecca was calling the shots; she'd tell me when I could speed up and when to slow down. She kept reminding me to watch the bumps."

"Oh, the bumps!" Rebecca laughs, remembering. "It was bliss between contractions. If you can hang onto that euphoric feeling, then it energises you to handle the pain."

The couple made the journey home "in record time" and Rebecca, ever resilient, gingerly climbed the 59 stairs from the car to the front door. "I had one (a contraction) in the middle of the stairs," she says, again laughing.

Five days ahead of schedule, shortly before dawn on August 8, Simon and Rebecca delivered their beautiful 3.25kg daughter Stella Breeze Baker after seven hours of labour.

"During second stage, I got in the bath and time seemed to go really fast," Rebecca recalls. "Stella was born about five o'clock in the morning. It was just exquisite. I was totally overwhelmed, completely and utterly. And elated.

"The joy I felt was truly exquisite. I couldn't believe this was our baby in my arms."

Simon says: "Childbirth has got to be THE most underplayed miracle. It was so amazing. When Stella was born the sky was just turning that light grey colour before the sun comes up. Everyone packed up and left just the three of us, hugging one another in bed."

It had been almost 24 hours since Simon and Rebecca had last slept, but neither was prepared to miss a second of Stella's first day of life.

"Every second was too precious to miss," says Rebecca. "That afternoon I was amazed at how great I felt. I didn't sleep all that day, all that night, or the next day either - even though I was exhausted."

The birth of their first child has marked a dramatic turning point in the lives of Rebecca, 25, and Simon, 24.

"Finally, I understand what I'm doing here," says Rebecca. "I wonder now what I was doing with myself before I had a baby. It's almost like I was simply going through the motions.

"Stella has given my life such motivation and purpose. It may sound like some new-age wank but it's true. This is what it's all about for me. I'm fulfilling my needs spiritually and emotionally."

Adds Simon: "It blew me out that a perfectly formed little person can come from such a simple, yet intimate, moment. How many people make love to get their rocks off without being spiritually moved by the potential to create human life? We all take sex for granted."

Simon, whose sister is a doctor with obstetric training, says he didn't want Rebecca surrendering "the last bastion of womanliness" to a team of doctors and nurses. Her excellent health during pregnancy enabled them to choose the sanctity of their own home for the water-birth of Stella. "Being first-time parents, we rely on intuition a lot," Rebecca explains.

"Because of hospitals and doctors and the worry of strange surroundings, women are quite often disempowered during childbirth. That's why we decided to have Stella at home. We were booked into a hospital (15 minutes' drive away) just in case something went wrong."

Rebecca's pregnancy was confirmed shortly before she visited the U.S. and caught up with long-time friend Nicole Kidman and Nicole's daughter Isabella Jane.

With Simon counting down the numbered days of the Ten network soap E Street, Rebecca - who had just finished filming on the American telemovie Mercy Mission - spent the last few months of pregnancy painting abstract oils and gazing at the spectacular leafy view from the balcony of their home.

The couple's "one big night out" was spent dancing the night away at a Sydney gig performed by their close friends, the Honky Tonk Angels (featuring Kym Wilson, Loene Carmen, Justine Clarke, Miss Monica and Toni Allayialis).

"It was a great night," recalls Rebecca. "It really feels good to dance and it somehow feels right for your body."

Rebecca and Simon realise that raising a family requires time and patience as they pursue their careers. Simon recently appeared in the ABC drama GP and is about to begin a nine-week role in Seven's Home And Away.

"Acting is a business that is easier than most to accommodate a baby," says Rebecca.

"You can have a friend or family member with you on set. There is actually very little standing in front of a camera. Most of the time you are waiting to be called.

"It (my work) will depend on when it is, what it is and what Simon has going.

"Everything will be taken on its own merit."

Simon and Rebecca enjoy a "very conventional, loving, monogamous relationship" and are in no hurry to marry.

"Just because we haven't rushed in to have it signed, sealed and delivered doesn't mean we're not committed to each other," explains Rebecca. I usually refer to Simon as my 'husband' anyway. 'Boyfriend' conjures up images of a pimply faced youth you've been dating three days. He is my friend, my lover, my soul mate."

Simon lovingly takes her hand and flashes his cheeky trademark smile: "I'm all yours, baby!"