Matthew Cedar Puckett - Birth Story

Matthew's birth story is so very different from his older brother's. They both begin in the wee hours of the morning with my water breaking and they both end with love and joy, but the middle parts are night and day. I was very satisfied with my first labor, but I knew that Matthew was his own person and I was happy to labor in whatever way worked for the two of us together. My only major request was that this time, as long as circumstances allowed, he be placed immediately on my chest after birth.

Matthew's official due date was Monday, June 14. Since Daniel was born on his due date, I fully expected Matthew to be early or on time and was really hoping for early since my brother's wedding date was June 20 (tomorrow!). The Wednesday evening before my due date, mom arrived into town because I'd let her know I thought there was a possibility he might come in a day or so, but also realized it could be another week. She had to be in Virginia for wedding preparations the following Thursday, so this would give her a week to wait with me and help out with Daniel as I grew more tired and round. It was great having mom stay and it gave me much needed rest, but it also frustrated me to no end when my due date passed on Monday, and then Tuesday also went by with no major changes. I wanted mom to be with me for the birth!

On Wednesday morning, I woke up with a much better attitude and a little more energy that sent us to Target for a quick shop for snacks and toys for the kiddie pool. We played outside for awhile and I took a little rest in the afternoon while Daniel napped. When Joe got off work, we all piled in the Jeep to get dinner at Peace China. Once home, we walked down the street and back where mom was nearly attacked by a dog. Once inside, I could definitely tell I was full-on waddling rather than walking and was feeling fairly achy and tired. Joe gave me a foot rub and we settled in for a new episode of "In Plain Sight" before going to bed.

I woke up around 1 am, went back to sleep, and then woke again at 3 am to a strong contraction and slight gush. Honestly, I wasn't sure if my water had broken or if I wet myself, but there was slight bleeding so I knew that the cervix was changing. I told Joe that I think labor might have started and to go back to sleep as I'd let him know if things picked up. Matthew was still active, and the trickle had stopped. I went downstairs for chocolate milk and a snack before climbing back in bed and timing my contractions for two hours. I drifted back asleep as they tapered off from 10 min to 15 min. I heard Joe ask me around 6 am how the contractions were, and I hushed him. We both slept until 8 am when he got up and showered and left for work.

I called the doctor at 8:30 am when the office opened and told the nurse that I thought my water might have broken, and because of my GBS+ test, I knew that I needed to have labor get under way and be put on antibiotics soon if that were the case. Contraction of GBS by the baby can be very dangerous, although there was little chance he would contract it. I am allergic to penicillin, and my strain of GBS was resistant to all the non-penicillin antibiotics, so they would have to administer a penicillin derivative with a known 10% cross-over reaction at the onset of labor. The nurse told me to come in first thing, so I called Joe who had just turned on his computer and checked his email. He came to pick me up, and we loaded up the Jeep knowing that there was a good chance we'd be sent on to the hospital.

The test strip showed that my water had indeed broken. I was no longer having any contractions and was only 1-2 cm dilated, which led to the doctor saying the one word I had dreaded: pitocin. We drove to McDonald's on the way to the hospital and then checked in with all our bags. I was relatively calm but a little anxious about the antibiotics and pitocin. I had labored naturally with Daniel, and although I was proud to wear that badge, I was fine with the idea of an epidural this time. However, being induced was definitely not something I had seriously thought was in the game plan. In my mind though, the baby's health was far more important than my comfort, so I mentally prepped for the new plan.

Around 11 am I was hooked up to the IV and started on antibiotics. Everything seemed fine for the first few minutes until my scalp became intensely itchy. This was followed by my rib cage, my palms and finally between my legs. I was clearly reacting to the drugs, so we knew I needed to have this baby in 12 hours to avoid a second dose of the drug.

The pitocin was started around 12 pm, and it took good long while before my contractions became regular. Eventually they were 3 minutes apart and growing in intensity. I was breathing well through them. I turned off the tv and asked Joe to turn on the music I requested (Alexi Murdoch) and I sat in the bed with my back straight up and my feet almost touching in front of me. As the notes filled the room, I silently wept inside at the beauty and intensity of the moment. The second song, "Breathe" was so appropriate and I enjoyed his soft voice as it sang, "In the quiet of the shadow,/ In the corner of a room/ Darkness moves upon you/ Like a cloud across the moon./ You're a-wearing all the silence/ Of a constant that will turn/ Like the windmill left deserted/ Or the sun forever burn/ So don't forget to breathe/ Don't forget to breathe/ Your whole life is here/ No eleventh hour reprieve/ So don't forget to breathe." I rocked to the music in between contractions and then swayed to the sound of Matthew's heartbeat while I blew loud shallow breaths with my chin dropped to my chest as the contractions took over my body before tapering off.

At 4:30 pm, my cervix was between 3 and 4 cm. With my previous labor, I came to the hospital at 7 cm with 3 and 4 minute contractions. Realizing that was only half that far along caused me a little panic. Mom, Joe and I discussed the epidural and we all agreed that I was doing great but that it would be really helpful to be able to relax some in the case that the pitocin needed to be punched up again (as they had been doing every 30 minutes until then) or if this carried on for hours longer. At 5 pm, I requested the epidural, and the fluids were sped up. I also requested the pitocin be kicked back a notch just so I could deal with the hour wait until the relief would come.

Shortly before 6 pm, I had an enormous contraction and felt my waters fully burst. I bypassed the bedpan at this point laughing at how I was already fully drenched anyhow. Right after this, the anesthesiologist with very poor bed manners and the swiftest hands hooked me up in nearly 3 minutes. I was amazingly still for my contraction, so he decided to do the whole deal in one fell swoop. After several contractions the pain was only mild, but I could still feel the pressure of the contractions, which seemed to have taken over my entire abdomen pushing from the top down.

Dr. Seidel arrived around 7 pm wearing cargo shorts and a polo (I think he was coming from his kids' swim meet), and when checking my cervix said that he couldn't find the cervix and that Matthew was at -1 station. He asked me to give a tiny push and exclaimed, "Wait! Not -1, Paige, don't push!" and sent the nurses rushing to get the room ready as he scrubbed up. I told him, "Don't forget the goggles!" I was amazed that I had transitioned from 4 cm to 10 cm in only 1 hour! I asked Joe to support my left leg and mom to support my right leg. While the pain was nearly gone, I tried hard to tune into my body's cues to push and reached down deep to give it all I had. As I pushed, Joe and mom helped pull back my legs and cheer me on. A nurse braced my back, while yet another helped thrust my legs back more. Several times I was told to back off as Dr. Seidel helped Matthew turn once his head was out.

Within three or four contractions with 3 or 4 pushes each, Matthew easily came out at 7:32 pm without causing any tearing and was immediately placed on my chest. He was warm and wet and felt like he might slide right off! The nurse pat him dry as I held him, looking in amazement at this tiny face and body I'd never seen but been so close to for nearly a year. We all marveled at his full head of dark waxy hair. I quickly pulled him up to breastfeed and he did very well. The nurse asked me to let her know when I was ready to have him weighed and measured, but told me I could take my time. After awhile, I handed him over. Matthew was just 2 oz heavier than his brother - 7lbs, 13 oz - and the same length - 20 inches.

His name Matthew means "Gift from God" and Cedar represents strength. Scripture refers to the Cedars of Lebanon many times, one of which is in Psalm 92, "12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."