Well, actually a lot has been going on in our life. I guess I avoided posting about this out of fear. After Losing Cooper last October Clay and I decided that whenever God was willing to give us another baby that we were willing. Well, after preconception counseling in January 07 and meeting with my regular OB we decided we would wait at least until Cooper's due date had passed to even think seriously about trying again. Well after his due date things got extremely busy with work and just life in general. We were also very busy with the upcoming March of Dimes walk and wanted to do very well in Cooper's memory and so I completely threw myself into that. The walk took place at the end of April and Clay and I were scheduled to leave for a beach trip for just the 2 of us the following weekend. It was the Friday night before we left that I realized I was pregnant again. We were extremely excited but very cautiously optimistic. I phoned my OB's office while we were at the beach and they wanted to see me as soon as we returned into town. Clay and I decided that we wouldn't tell anyone until at least 12 weeks this time, even our family but that didn't last long. While we were at the beach Clay was talking to one of his best friends and told him that we had to go to the doctor when we returned. Let me just say that Clay is HORRIBLE at keeping secrets. Especially one this big. He just gets so excited and has to tell someone. Well they eventually figured it out along with my mom around 8 weeks and then his family shortly after that. This pregnancy was different from the very start. I was extremely nervous as we never knew the exact reason why I went into labor with Cooper so my OB decided that we would be very cautious. I was pretty sick the first 12 weeks and I started to show a lot sooner this time around. I was doing everything in my power to not let other's realize that I was pregnant and that was getting harder everyday. In June I went to Cardiac Kids Camp with LeBonheur again and upon returning I had an appointment with the Maternal Fetal specialist for some first trimester screening. At the appointment they did a thorough ultrasound and check of my cervical length and he placed me on light duty and part-time at work just based on my history. The blood work and US looked great and within a week I found out that this baby looked perfect so far and that my chances of Trisomy 18 or Downs Syndrome were 1:10,000. I was so happy. It was after this, that everyone at work realized the reason I had been wearing scrub tops and big t-shirts :)
I feel like I was going to the doctor almost every week after I reached 12 weeks. Between scheduled appointments and the many times I phoned in fear that something was going wrong. Everyone in the office knew me by name about this time. I felt like I was driving everyone crazy but I just didn't want to miss something like I did with Cooper. My OB decided that we would do cervical length checks beginning at 16 weeks and scheduling them every 2 weeks along with appointments every 4 weeks. Things were going well physically until around 20 weeks when I started having painless contractions. We had just moved in with my mom after selling our house and Clay was out of town playing softball for the day. Mom and I had been shopping at the Collierville mall and I just wasn't feeling right. I phoned my doctor's office and they told me to go to L & D (since it was a Saturday afternoon and the office was closed). Upon arriving they hooked me up to the monitor and did not record anything for quite a while but I was still feeling something. My OB happened to be on call that weekend so she decided to do a UA to make sure I didn't have a bladder infection, and complete an US to check my cervical length. The UA was negative and my cervical length was good, but upon returning to my room after the US the monitor started to pick up some irregular contractions / irritability. My OB decided to admit me over night and give me IV fluids to make sure that I wasn't dehydrated. I was discharged on Sunday morning and sent home on strict bedrest with plans to see the specialist the following morning. I continued to contract / have uterine irritability for the remainder of my pregnancy and was placed on a terbutaline pump and off of work completely at 24 weeks. I was told to rest as much as possible and continued to have 1-3 contractions an hour even with the terbutaline pump. Along with the pump I also monitored my contractions at home with Matria healthcare by attaching myself to a contraction belt for 1 hour twice a day and sending it to the Matria nurses via phone line.
Clay and I eventually found a house and closed in early November and within one week of moving at 31 weeks 4 days gestation I woke with slightly painful contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart. I knew something was different when I monitored that morning with Matria and when the nurse phoned back I decided we were going straight to L & D. Upon arriving there I was indeed having contractions and again my OB was on call. I was given an IV and fluids in case I was just dehydrated and when that didn't work I gave myself a bolus of terbutaline from my home pump and that still didn't work. It was then that I was started on the dreaded Mag sulfate again but at that point I was asking for it as I wanted to speed things up to get the contractions stopped so they would have as little effect on my cervix as possible. This time they stopped with the Mag, or at least were back to 1-3 an hour like they had been since 20 weeks. I was transferred to the antepartum floor within about 24 hours where I stayed until that following Wednesday at 32 weeks gestation. Upon a cervical check before leaving the hospital by cervix had thinned some and I was considered 40% effaced and not really dilated any. I was sent home on strict bedrest and only allowed to shower once a day and get up to go to the bathroom. I was told to drink ton's of water and stay laying on my side.
At this point I began to see my OB weekly and we also were doing BPP twice a week because as if this pregnancy had not been enough already my amniotic fluid levels were slightly low. She decided to send me to L & D the day after Thanksgiving for a BPP since the office was going to be closed and again I almost had to spend the night. My fluid was the lowest it had been at that point and Babygirl Burchett was not practicing her breathing so I got a bad score on my BPP. I was scheduled to have a baby shower the following afternoon so I was devastated. The OB on call decided that we could repeat the BPP that evening and I needed to try and hydrate myself that day while lying in L & D. On the repeat my fluid was up slightly so I was sent back home with the same restrictions and the shower was back on. :)
I saw my OB the following Thursday and we decided that I could come off of bedrest at 35 weeks and that we would turn my terbutaline pump off at 36 weeks. I was so glad to get off of bedrest as I had so much to do to get ready for this little girl's arrival. I had a feeling that upon turning off my terbutaline that I would pretty quickly go into labor so I wanted to get everything done before that happened. On Wednesday December 12th, at around 10:00 am I turned off my terbutaline pump and was just sitting on go. Clay had to go see one of his dealer's that day and I went to the mall and lunch with a friend. When I got back I down on the couch and realized around 3:00 that I was having more consistent contractions. I called Clay to make sure he was back in town just in case and started to make sure our bags were packed to my liking. (You see, my bags had been packed since about 16 weeks just in case we made a trip to the hospital) I also packed a bag for Clay and began baking cookies for the doctor's office as I had an appointment the following morning at 10:45 am. When Clay got home I told him about my contractions but they were still anywhere from 5-20 minutes apart so I knew it wasn't time yet. When I woke up the morning of the 13th though I knew it was time. The contractions were more painful and they were anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart. After shower's and getting a few household chores done I realized I couldn't wait until my appointment at 10:45 like I had wanted to and I didn't think I could even wait until the office opened at 8:30 so around 7:20 we headed to L & D. They took me to triage and hooked me up and indeed I was having regular contractions. My OB came to see me and decided that we would give me fluids and try 3 doses of sub-q terbutaline to see if the contractions would stop. I was 36 weeks 1 day gestation but the longer I kept her in there the better. The terb stopped the contractions for about an hour and then they were back at full force. Since this baby was breech my OB didn't feel comfortable sending me home so she just decided to watch me in triage and checked me every few hours to see if I was progressing. Around noon upon checking me I was 2 cm and 80% effaced. She said she would be back in a few hours to see if there was any change and if not she may admit me to antepartum and place me on by mouth terbutaline. Around 2:30 she came back and I was around 3 cm and about the same effacement. At that time she asked me if I was ready to have a baby and I just lost it. I was bawling like a baby and she started to cry too. I was just so worried about her being born at 36 weeks and whether or not she would be ok. We decided that we would schedule my c-section for 4:30 but if things changed and my contractions slowed down we would cancel the section. For the next 2 hours they were getting me ready for my section and I spoke with the anesthesiologist and CRNA. I informed them how nervous I was about having a spinal and they answered all of my questions and tried to calm my fears. At 4:30 I was taken back to the OR and Clay met me shortly after that, and at 4:55 pm on December 13th Lilliana Elise Burchett was born weighing 5 pounds 6 ounces and 19 inches long. She has a head full of hair and is just the love of our lives.
I feel like I was going to the doctor almost every week after I reached 12 weeks. Between scheduled appointments and the many times I phoned in fear that something was going wrong. Everyone in the office knew me by name about this time. I felt like I was driving everyone crazy but I just didn't want to miss something like I did with Cooper. My OB decided that we would do cervical length checks beginning at 16 weeks and scheduling them every 2 weeks along with appointments every 4 weeks. Things were going well physically until around 20 weeks when I started having painless contractions. We had just moved in with my mom after selling our house and Clay was out of town playing softball for the day. Mom and I had been shopping at the Collierville mall and I just wasn't feeling right. I phoned my doctor's office and they told me to go to L & D (since it was a Saturday afternoon and the office was closed). Upon arriving they hooked me up to the monitor and did not record anything for quite a while but I was still feeling something. My OB happened to be on call that weekend so she decided to do a UA to make sure I didn't have a bladder infection, and complete an US to check my cervical length. The UA was negative and my cervical length was good, but upon returning to my room after the US the monitor started to pick up some irregular contractions / irritability. My OB decided to admit me over night and give me IV fluids to make sure that I wasn't dehydrated. I was discharged on Sunday morning and sent home on strict bedrest with plans to see the specialist the following morning. I continued to contract / have uterine irritability for the remainder of my pregnancy and was placed on a terbutaline pump and off of work completely at 24 weeks. I was told to rest as much as possible and continued to have 1-3 contractions an hour even with the terbutaline pump. Along with the pump I also monitored my contractions at home with Matria healthcare by attaching myself to a contraction belt for 1 hour twice a day and sending it to the Matria nurses via phone line.
Clay and I eventually found a house and closed in early November and within one week of moving at 31 weeks 4 days gestation I woke with slightly painful contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart. I knew something was different when I monitored that morning with Matria and when the nurse phoned back I decided we were going straight to L & D. Upon arriving there I was indeed having contractions and again my OB was on call. I was given an IV and fluids in case I was just dehydrated and when that didn't work I gave myself a bolus of terbutaline from my home pump and that still didn't work. It was then that I was started on the dreaded Mag sulfate again but at that point I was asking for it as I wanted to speed things up to get the contractions stopped so they would have as little effect on my cervix as possible. This time they stopped with the Mag, or at least were back to 1-3 an hour like they had been since 20 weeks. I was transferred to the antepartum floor within about 24 hours where I stayed until that following Wednesday at 32 weeks gestation. Upon a cervical check before leaving the hospital by cervix had thinned some and I was considered 40% effaced and not really dilated any. I was sent home on strict bedrest and only allowed to shower once a day and get up to go to the bathroom. I was told to drink ton's of water and stay laying on my side.
At this point I began to see my OB weekly and we also were doing BPP twice a week because as if this pregnancy had not been enough already my amniotic fluid levels were slightly low. She decided to send me to L & D the day after Thanksgiving for a BPP since the office was going to be closed and again I almost had to spend the night. My fluid was the lowest it had been at that point and Babygirl Burchett was not practicing her breathing so I got a bad score on my BPP. I was scheduled to have a baby shower the following afternoon so I was devastated. The OB on call decided that we could repeat the BPP that evening and I needed to try and hydrate myself that day while lying in L & D. On the repeat my fluid was up slightly so I was sent back home with the same restrictions and the shower was back on. :)
I saw my OB the following Thursday and we decided that I could come off of bedrest at 35 weeks and that we would turn my terbutaline pump off at 36 weeks. I was so glad to get off of bedrest as I had so much to do to get ready for this little girl's arrival. I had a feeling that upon turning off my terbutaline that I would pretty quickly go into labor so I wanted to get everything done before that happened. On Wednesday December 12th, at around 10:00 am I turned off my terbutaline pump and was just sitting on go. Clay had to go see one of his dealer's that day and I went to the mall and lunch with a friend. When I got back I down on the couch and realized around 3:00 that I was having more consistent contractions. I called Clay to make sure he was back in town just in case and started to make sure our bags were packed to my liking. (You see, my bags had been packed since about 16 weeks just in case we made a trip to the hospital) I also packed a bag for Clay and began baking cookies for the doctor's office as I had an appointment the following morning at 10:45 am. When Clay got home I told him about my contractions but they were still anywhere from 5-20 minutes apart so I knew it wasn't time yet. When I woke up the morning of the 13th though I knew it was time. The contractions were more painful and they were anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart. After shower's and getting a few household chores done I realized I couldn't wait until my appointment at 10:45 like I had wanted to and I didn't think I could even wait until the office opened at 8:30 so around 7:20 we headed to L & D. They took me to triage and hooked me up and indeed I was having regular contractions. My OB came to see me and decided that we would give me fluids and try 3 doses of sub-q terbutaline to see if the contractions would stop. I was 36 weeks 1 day gestation but the longer I kept her in there the better. The terb stopped the contractions for about an hour and then they were back at full force. Since this baby was breech my OB didn't feel comfortable sending me home so she just decided to watch me in triage and checked me every few hours to see if I was progressing. Around noon upon checking me I was 2 cm and 80% effaced. She said she would be back in a few hours to see if there was any change and if not she may admit me to antepartum and place me on by mouth terbutaline. Around 2:30 she came back and I was around 3 cm and about the same effacement. At that time she asked me if I was ready to have a baby and I just lost it. I was bawling like a baby and she started to cry too. I was just so worried about her being born at 36 weeks and whether or not she would be ok. We decided that we would schedule my c-section for 4:30 but if things changed and my contractions slowed down we would cancel the section. For the next 2 hours they were getting me ready for my section and I spoke with the anesthesiologist and CRNA. I informed them how nervous I was about having a spinal and they answered all of my questions and tried to calm my fears. At 4:30 I was taken back to the OR and Clay met me shortly after that, and at 4:55 pm on December 13th Lilliana Elise Burchett was born weighing 5 pounds 6 ounces and 19 inches long. She has a head full of hair and is just the love of our lives.
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