Devastated Luton family fundraising for headstone after beautiful baby girl ‘born asleep’

A brave Luton woman who experienced every family’s worst nightmare when she was told that her baby daughter would be “born asleep” is fundraising for a headstone and cemetery plot.
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Georgina Hill, 23, gave birth to Lexi Rose South on March 25 at 10.35am, less than a day after she was informed by hospital staff that they could not find her little girl’s heartbeat.

Because Lexi was still born, Luton and Dunstable Hospital paid for the funeral, and now mother Georgina, father Paul, and their families are fundraising for £2,000 to pay for a headstone and a cemetery plot.

Georgina said: “When I was giving birth to Lexi in a way I was in my own little world, because I’d had an injection for the pain.

Georgina and Paul are fundraising for a headstone and plot in memory of Lexi.Georgina and Paul are fundraising for a headstone and plot in memory of Lexi.
Georgina and Paul are fundraising for a headstone and plot in memory of Lexi.

“But I knew I wouldn’t have her the way I wanted to have her.

“When she was put on top of me for skin contact, I looked down, but it didn’t really click. Then I heard: ‘she’s here!’

“That’s when I started crying. Paul was crying, my mum was crying.

“I was just numb. I wanted to see Lexi cry and move.”

Baby Lexi. Photo taken by Lisa McGill.Baby Lexi. Photo taken by Lisa McGill.
Baby Lexi. Photo taken by Lisa McGill.

Georgina had had a normal pregnancy and she and Paul were looking forward to the birth of their daughter, whom they’d nicknamed ‘little lamb’.

However, on March 24 Georgina noticed that her stomach was softer at the top than usual and that Lexi’s movements had slowed down.

At Luton and Dunstable Hospital that evening, a scan confirmed their worst fears.

Georgina said: “I just thought Lexi was being a little so and so, but at the hospital maternity ward I could see it in the lady’s face.

LexiLexi
Lexi

“The moment we were told, Paul was in the corner. He broke down, I broke down.

“We rang our mums, I was trying to get the words out, but just couldn’t.

“My mum asked the hospital if there was anything else they could do. Lexi was her first grandchild - it hit her hard as well.”

Georgina describes the L&D staff as very caring, wanting to help her have a normal birth.

Lexi with her parents.Lexi with her parents.
Lexi with her parents.

The next day whilst at her partner Paul’s house, Georgina describes feeling a “pop” at around 6am as her waters broke, and after a visit from paramedics, she was rushed to the L&D to give birth.

Lexi was born weighing 7lbs, and the hospital had arranged a professional photographer to capture the precious moments, as well as a camera for the couple.

Georgina said: “My partner cut the chord, Lexi was rubbed down, we put her on the scale, bathed her, washed her, put her clothes on. We weren’t treated any differently.

“She had a good head of hair - really dark brown/black - and a button nose.

“My partner and I now have these photos and on a bad day we can go back and look at them, remembering our time with her.”

The family were then allowed to spend three days together in a bereavement suite, located on the maternity ward, where Lexi was kept in a “cold cot”, so as not to damage her skin.

Lexi and Paul.Lexi and Paul.
Lexi and Paul.

She was then moved to the Chapel of Rest at Neville’s funeral parlour, Luton, with Georgina arranging special teddy bear roses for the ceremony.

The service was held at Stopsley Crematorium on April 10, and Lexi made one final journey with her family to the ceremony in Paul’s car, the vehicle she had always had rides in whilst in her mummy’s tummy.

Georgina said: “At the funeral I had Paul beside me, saying take your time saying your last goodbye. That’s when it hit me - ‘I don’t want to leave’.

“But Paul said: ‘You have to let go’.

“I just said to Lexi ‘goodnight little one, I love you loads, see you soon’.

“Mostly Paul did the talking for me - ‘Mummy wants to say this, but she’s crying...’

“I know I’ll get her back one day.”

Georgina added: “When we were in the bereavement suite friends and family came to visit and said ‘she’s so beautiful, the wrong one to be taken’.

“Paul’s dad Chris passed away last year from cancer; we always say the people upstairs are looking after Lexi.”

The family would like to say thank you to the L&D staff, especially midwife Natalie, Neville’s, and everyone who has supported them and/or donated.

Georgina and Paul are planning to bury half of Lexi’s ashes and keep the other half in a special shelf above their bed.

Here they also keep some of Lexi’s teddies, and a special memory box made by ’4louis’, which contains items including two teddies, Forget Me Not flower seeds, and cards with Lexi’s birth details on.

The couple now need to raise £630 for the plot, £200 for the plot to be dug up, and £1,530 for the headstone.