34 weeks

We originally had an 11:30 appointment so I took a 1/2 day off. Karyn's coworker had made plans a month in advance to not be in the office but K forgot with so much going on. We changed our appointment to 3:30 so I had some time to waste around downtown Knoxville. I went to a little store called Mast. It's one of my favorites. I had a gift card so I took the time to finish up some Christmas shopping. Once I escaped the store (I say escaped because it is less than a week until Christmas and people are crazy), I decided to grab some lunch. So here I am. Eating sushi and writing this blog post.

This appointment is just a checkup and we most likely won't get an ultrasound. We do have a lot of questions. Karyn has been having a lot of painful contractions and so we want a professional opinion. She is as tough as nails so it's hard to gauge what's Braxton Hicks and what's really real. I truly believe the babies will be on their way out and she'll think it's gas. She still hasn't been sleeping much. Audrey and Bailey are trying to push their way out. I took a video of her stomach a couple nights ago and you can see the girls rolling around inside of her. It's an amazing sight. I don't see how anyone could see such a sight and deny the existence of God. It's such a miracle and I'm thankful to be a part of it.

I arrived in the parking garage at the hospital about 2:45. Still 45 minutes until our scheduled appointment. Karyn won't be here for a while. I usually just hang out until she gets here but since I've been fighting off a cold/flu, I will take this opportunity to catch a little nap.

The nap didn't happen but oh well. Here we are. In the doctor's waiting room. Waiting for my lovely wife's name to be called. With as much money as we're paying this place, they should at least offer wifi. I like to stay connected. It's 3:35 right now. There's a few other women in here. One expecting mother is rocking a shirt that says "Tis the season to be pregnant.". It would appear to be the case. I notice every pregnant woman right now. Mostly because I fear them. I don't care how insensitive it sounds, hormonal women are nuts. There's only one other confused looking dad so we're greatly outnumbered. Dr. Phil is on the TV again. It makes me glad I usually work at this time of day. His voice reminds me of a penguin in pain. Speaking of penguins... time to waddle on back. I'm hoping they want a sample from me because I have to pee.

They didn't want that sample. Of course. They were kind enough to let me use the restroom so we're both good to go now. They weighed my bride, took her pee sample, and sent us on to exam room 5. They checked Karyn's blood pressure. Looked good. We discussed contractions with our nurse. We struggle with what's a contraction and what's not. I asked if we could take one of the little machines home that monitor contractions. They said no. Probably best since they would charge us twice for it. Yes, I did say that to them. The nurse left and now we're waiting on the doctor. We're seeing a different doctor today. Karyn's regular doctor is on vacation. Better now than for the delivery. There's a good chance Karyn's doctor won't deliver the twins. It'll be whomever is on call when she goes. Karyn hasn't come to terms with this yet but she will. When it happens. She said she's going to have the babies on Friday, January 6. She says her doctor will be available then. No idea how she knows this but I believe her.

The doctor came in. A lady we've never seen before. She saw that we mentioned contractions so she wanted to do a test that will tell us if she's likely to go into labor within the next 2 weeks. It'll be a couple hours for the results and we're not waiting here for them. They will call us after hours. I should be able to include the results before posting this blog. The doctor said Karyn's cervix is still closed so that's good news. She said the pains could be just the active twins instead of contractions and the main thing to look for is water breakage or spotting. We'll be on the lookout. That can be tough, Karyn said, because of middle of the night potty breaks. There are a lot of those done in the dark. What part of this whole process isn't a challenge? A wonderful, exciting, breath-taking challenge. We love it. Through ups and downs, we wouldn't trade a second of it.

We will now be making weekly doctor visits since we're getting closer. Next Tuesday is our next. Everything is going great. Keep those prayers coming. I will keep taking care of Mommy (when she's not trying to take care of one of us) while my babies grow stronger. Every day is a blessing. We're so thankful.

((Update: the nurse called with the results of the test to see if she's within 2 weeks of going into labor. She said negative. BUT with twins, it can change at anytime. We'll be on the lookout for her wetting herself (or other signs). That moment when we know. We'll keep you posted.))