The Birth Experience

The short version (by dad/Brenton): Hazel Rose Buxton was born 17Mar09 at 22:45 pm at North Austin Medical Center via C-section at 3.21 kgs, and mother and child are fine.

For those with more morbid fascination, below is a detailed 'blow-by-blow' -- apologies if we shared too much!

Brandy felt light contractions Sunday, but we rested fine throughout the day. by 4am Monday they were interfering with sleep so she simply napped until her doctor's appt, where they said it'd still be days away (1cm). The exam and fate apparently changed that course, since at 4:30pm her water broke on a walk with Ringo (our dog). She was admitted at 6pm, still at 1cm, and was shortly on Pitocin to induce labor.

They ramped up the dosage too fast, however, producing painful and unproductive contractions. In addition, an unfortunate accident jolted her with over a milliliter -- needless to say, we were not amused. That little trauma (and lack of progress) led to an epidural at 5:30am (Tuesday), which shot her BP down to 60's over 30's. Panic, ephedrin, liters of fluid, and tangled oxygen cords ensued. We finally reached quiet equilibrium, and pain-free contractions and minor progress marked the day. Brandy's family arrived in the evening (Sammy & Gloria; Paula, Daniel & Daniel).

That said, at 9:30 that evening Brandy had gotten a tad tired, the progress had plateaued (4.5cm), and infection was imminent. We had a C-section, and discovered that Hazel had turned her face up as though trying to peer out of mommy with her left eye. No wonder progress was slow. Her head is a double-bulbous mushroom shape which we're assured will fade within weeks, but which we nevertheless recorded for her high-school friends.

After the birth we spent eternity in the recovery room. Hazel received her first feeding at 1am, and by 3am we were finally left for sleep (albeit in tiny increments). Why do they tell you things like, "You should rest -- I'll be back to check up on you in fifteen minutes?" And why on earth do people wake you up to ask if you need anything? And why are all anesthesiologists such grumps?

For me (dad/Brenton) it was 44 hours with 3 hours sleep; for Brandy it was far worse, with tiny bits of sleep over a much longer period, punctuated by incredible effort, pain, and incredibly good disposition. We're now resting for our three days in neo-natal, etc.

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