Naaman Gray Kinney

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Isaac Allen Kinney

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Labor- Day 5

It's Monday afternoon and I am still in the hospital awaiting the arrival of our babies. I have made it past 34 weeks- 34 weeks and 4 days to be exact, and the Dr's couldn't be more thrilled.

Though my water broke last Wednesday, all is well in my body. There are no signs of infection, fetal stress, or any other health problems. I have been in labor on some level for the last 3 days. Contractions really started getting stronger and more frequent yesterday evening and into the night, but this morning and afternoon things have calmed down quite a bit.

We met with our Dr. and midwife this morning and I was slightly surprised to find that they wanted me to continue to keep them inside for as long as possible. I am not surprised that they think it is best for them to continue to grow and develop in me; just surprised because I had started to shift my focus yesterday from prevention of labor to encouragement of labor.

It's been an interesting journey thus far. I have to say that I never imagined being in the hospital for such a long time before the birth of our twins, but as I sit here blogging I realize that I haven't really thought about it that much anyway. I think its better that way- not to think too much about it. The more expectations I have in this process, the more potential there will be for disappointment and stress. And right now, I am in as much of a mental waiting game (or more) as I am in a physical waiting game.

It would be really easy for me to grow weary after sitting in the same hospital room day after day, slipping in and out of contractions and wondering if labor is really starting. So it's really important to remain in the moment and not concern myself with what I had envisioned or what lies ahead. I didn't imagine or "mentally prepare" for pre-term labor, but I am in it and trying to apply the same principals and approach that I would with any other labor- let the body do what it needs to do and allow the process to happen. Obviously I have to apply other thought and wisdom to the unique situation that I am in, but the core remains the same.

With the decision to try to keep them in a bit longer, we have had to change our game plan a bit. I will take it very easy and avoid labor inducing measures for as long as physically comfortable. If contractions overwhelm me and pain sets in- I will work with it and move and be confident in the labor process. If it stays at bay, I will encourage that process as well. For now, my body seems content to slowly labor, so I am assisting that process by resting on my side, listening to music, and visiting with a friend soon.

I sent Phil out this afternoon with our driver to get some food and other necessities. The poor guy has been going a bit stir crazy (5 days in 1 room will do that to anyone), so I thought it would be good for him to get out and blow the stink off so to speak. We have been incredibly fortunate to have great friends who are visiting us, bringing us necessities and supporting and encouraging us through this process.

Thanks to all of you!

Phil and Jen

Labor

I'm 34 weeks pregnant today and sitting in the hospital waiting for labor to kick in. I thought it would be a good distraction to do a little blogging while my contractions are light and manageable. I also thought it might be a little novel to blog while in labor. I mean how many women can say they blogged during labor?

I can't guarantee that my thoughts or words will be very coherent, but here they are...

Early morning on my birthday (4:00 am), I had a bit of an indication that my water might have started to break. After going in to the hospital and spending a good portion of the day being monitored, we determined that I would likely be going into labor within the next week, but since I was only 33 weeks and 5 days pregnant- we hoped to prolong it as much as possible. After a shot of steroids to mature the babies lungs, we got to go home for some much needed rest.

That night, some friends of ours came over with dinner and a cake and we got to celebrate my birthday (from my bed).

Hoping for a good nights sleep, we went to bed around 10 pm (I could not fall asleep) only to find that at midnight my water did indeed break. I let Phil sleep for another 30 minutes before I broke the news to him. This time no false runs; we were going in to the hospital for good until the babies would come. So we took our time gathering all the necessary items (and then some), woke our driver from a deep sleep, loaded the car, and went to the hospital.

So now we are on day two in the hospital. Because my water broke and the babies are still a bit early, I will be here until they come. The hospital staff is great about this being a slow process and taking as much time as we need. As my midwife stated- "you are a much better incubator than a machine". I couldn't agree more.

For now, our plan is to relax and do what we can to keep the process slow. But as the day goes on and my contractions increase to every 3 minutes or so- I am beginning to wonder if this will be much longer.

We shall see...