New due date and new plan... as of today

Well, what a quiet week last week was... until Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and today. I guess that's what I get when I brag about being free of L&D for over a week (our last time was on Friday, October 7). We made it a whole week without a trip to Labor and delivery, and I THOUGHT things were slowing down for a bit. Hoping Jackson realized that NO, he can not come out and play yet... no matter what he tried to pull. Yeah, bragging gets you no where, but back into the world of contractions and trips to L&D. So.. you're probably wanting to know the details so here we go. (And I assure you some things might be "graphic" or deemed at too much info but a lot of the details and crucial to know in the road to labor). So Wednesday, I went to Woodbridge, my normal Ob/gyn clinic, for a follow-up from our first trip to L&D to stop contractions. Originally, the doctor who treated me at the hospital told me I am 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated... yadda yadda... Well my midwife ran another test to check for infections that could cause my early contractions since the L&D only did the fetal fibronectin test (the one that predicts labor up to 2 weeks at a time and came out negative). The test showed I do not have any infections so these contractions are natural. She then checked my cervix and said it was closed. "Uhmm?! What?!" Before this appointment, two DOCTORS told me my cervix was 1 cm and now a midwife-nurse practioner told me it's closed... Whatever, I'm going with the doctors who took their time and check twice both times they told me (before and after my terbutaline shots). Anyways, so I finished up my appointment and came home. A few hours later, I lost my mucus plug (aka mass of mucus serving as a cork in my cervix. Mainly an indication that the cervix is beginning to open up and thin out. Another step to the road to delivery. Sorry, maybe gross to know but it's important.) So that was Wednesday. Thursday was my off day from doctors appointments and I did absolutely nothing :) Thursday afternoon, I began having my same contractions again for several hours at about 5 to 6 min apart. I decided that I would let them be and just drink water, have a snack, and lie down. Well, they finally faded out and I was able to sleep. Friday, I woke up with a few contractions and went about my day. I had an appointment for fetal monitoring at 3 at Ft. Belvoir so I got ready and headed to that. The monitoring went well, Jackson was a happy baby and I finally got to meet with a doctor who took their time explaining my situation and their plan of action *for right now*. My fluid was down a point again to 8 so the doctor said with my history of contractions and low fluid level, they would not let me go full term for the risk of complications with delivery. Instead, they would continue to monitor the baby and my fluid, how he reacts to it and if I make it to 38 weeks, they will induce me. New due date... Nov 21. Okay, that's do-able. I always hoped he would come before Thanksgiving and looks like I'll get my wish. Well, as I was leaving I felt a few contractions come up. I made my way home as my contractions continued and became more frequent. I decided to ignored them yet again because they weren't extremely painful. Plus, it was date night for Michael and I. We got through dinner and that actually helped the contractions. They came back later and tappered off around bedtime. Saturday, I woke up completely energized... first time in months! Michael and I got into a huge cleaning mood and I wore myself completely out. Not to worry, I did things while I was sitting down and Michael did the majority of the active things. Our house is fabulously clean. I was exhausted but we went ahead and got grocery shopping over with. I came home and contractions had returned. This time, more intense. I timed them for 2 hours and they were anywhere from 4 to 5 min apart and lasting over 50 seconds. We called L&D and went in at 9 pm. Our visit was like any other time. They hooked me up to a monitor, took urine, gave me a shot, and hooked me to an iv. The DOCTOR checked me twice, once before and after the shot, and again still 1 cm, which is great. Means the contractions aren't dilating me. The doctor came in and talked to Michael and I for a long time. He said with this being the 3rd time they've had to stop contractions, to be safe they wanted to go ahead and start me on corticosteroid shots (shots administered to help the baby's lungs develop at a faster rate in the case of delivery before 37 weeks). I got one last night before we left and they also did another FFN test. The doctor wants the baby better protected since it looks like I have a greater possibility of delivering before 37 weeks. Mind this, I'll be 34 weeks on Tuesday, which means I'll be 37 weeks in 3 weeks. Anyways, he prepared me with possibilities of what would happen if he did come early, just so I'm informed. Such a super nice guy and so helpful. We left feeling pretty good about our chances of making it to 37 weeks and even better if we don't. The FFN test came back negative again which means I have a 95% chance I will NOT deliver in the next 7 to 10 days. That puts me close to 36 weeks and that's a great reassurance. So we woke up today and to my dismay, I woke up to contractions and bleeding. Completely surprised I called L&D to report and was told to hold off coming in until tonight when I was supposed to come in for the second steroid shot unless the bleeding got a lot worse. It never got worse, it just went on all day, along with contractions on and off but nothing to run to the hospital for. We came back to Ft. Belvoir at 8:30 tonight since I was supposed to wait 24 hours for the second shot and they hooked me up to monitors. Contractions were still coming but nothing regular or intense. I told the doctor about the bleeding and he said it was probably the rest of my mucus plug. He talked with me about my contractions (because everytime I go I have another doctor and I have to explain my entire story.) He said the same thing about getting me through 37 weeks and that he agreed with the steroid shots to help babies chances in case of a surprise arrival. Then they let me go. They did not check my cervix because it causes my uterus to freak out basically and my contractions weren't persistent enough today to make them think it would make any changes. So basically, our new plan is to get me through week 37 and induce. 38 weeks starts Nov 17 :) I'm to continue twice a week monitoring and fluid check-ups to make sure everything is okay and I'm to come in if I have contractions 4-5 min apart lasting 50 seconds or more after two hours of counting. 3 more weeks of worrying over every pain or contractions and we're home free. 3 weeks and I can love and kiss on my baby boy. 2 weeks until mom comes and that makes me feel so much better. If I make it 3 more weeks, I'll have mom here to help me through :) Everyone knows girls need their mommas, no matter how old they get! Well, that's it for now... until next time (which I hope is in another week :) a quiet week with no L&D trips unless it's to deliver a baby... but like I said... I hope it's quiet) Thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughts. God's held our hand through everything thus far, and I'm confident he will help me 3 more weeks :)

Blessings :)
Kaci and Jackson

Impatience.... a double dose!

Well, family members reading this can probably tell what I'm talking about from the title post but for the rest of my lovely readers, Jackson Scott Allgood is an impatient little boy. Most people assume that if one or both parents are a tad impatient that the child will receive a somewhat mild dose of this (or so we hoped), but not our child. Jackson Scott has gotten it honest... a whopping double dose and it's already causing problems haha As some of you know, this all began over a week ago when the doctor told me I has low/normal amniotic fluid and a short cervix. She didn't explain it well at the time, and I learned this a little later from a long trip to L&D. Well this all happened while Michael was on his first outing into the field for 2 nights and I was at home alone for the first time since we've moved here. Scared out of my mind, that Thursday night (the final night Michael was out there) I went to bed early hoping to get this whole experience over with. I laid down for an hour, like I always do, and count Jackson's kicks. Only on this particular night, I felt nothing. I laid there another 20 min waiting and changing my laying positions and still felt nothing. I got up and had some yogurt (which usually gets him going) and drank from water and still... nothing. I officially went into panic mode and had Michael been there to talk me down I probably would have been ok and definitely would have avoided my first trip to L&D. I got there, drank grape juice, and wouldn't you know.. little man woke up and went crazy. Why did he find the need to nap at a time I know he usually is kicking?! Who knows but it literally scared me silly. Did I mention I called Michael and he came out of the field? Yep, the captain of his platoon drove him all the way there and they arrived as I was sitting outside, already discharged from the hospital. Man.... did I feel stupid. They both tried to reassure me that I did the right thing and so did the doctors and nurses but it still didn't change the fact that I felt like a complete moron. Any who, I got to see my husband a little earlier than planned (and caused him to lose a few hours of sleep in the process.. oops) Nevertheless, I learned my lesson and learned the REAL signs of what to look for in an emergency. Sooo, that was L&D trip one. Michael got home the next night and we had a relatively quiet weekend... a few minor contractions and some cramping but it went away with tylenol and the heating pad. We made it to Tuesday, my first fetal monitoring and Non-stress test at Ft. Belvoir. They hooked me up to the monitors, yadda yadda... I'm pretty sure after he's born I could run those machines on my own. Well during the appointment, I started having a few minor contractions, told the nurse, she saw them on the monitor and said she would let the Doctor know. Doctor came in, said Jackson looked good and was reacting well, checked my fluid level (which was back to borderline low again) and said the contractions were braxton hicks and would probably go away in an hour. They cleared me to go home and after sitting in traffic for 2 hours, I finally got there. I was still having the contractions (tightening of my stomach and cramps) the entire time but they were pretty spread out and in no pattern so I dismissed them. I ate dinner when I got home, drank 2 bottles of water, and laid down on the heating pad. About an hour later, they were still coming, faster and stronger, so I started timing them. I texted Michael to let him know that I was laying down and timing them for when he got home. By the time he got home, I had been timing them for almost an hour and they went from coming at 8 min. apart to 4 and from a pain level of 1 to about a pain level of 5, so... time to call L&D, just as a precaution. I mainly called because I wanted to see what else I could do and since I had already been tracking them for an hour and they had been coming for longer, they called me in. By this time, Michael was home, showered, and ready so we picked up my hospital bag, just in case, and headed to Ft. Belvoir. It's a pain it's 30 min away but that's part of military medical care. We got there and they hooked me up to the monitor again, contractions still coming pretty fast and getting more intense. I'm trying to stay calm but in the back of my mind I'm in full on panic mode (but you couldn't tell, I was doing a good job keeping it real up front haha) Anyways, they come in and tell me I'm having preterm labor and that they need blood, pee, pelvic exam for tests and that I need to be hooked up to an IV. Also, they were going to give me a shot of terbutaline to stop contractions. HOLY CRAP! Long story short it took them FOREVER to get my blood work because the "nurse" blew two of my veins (yep, I have the battle scars to prove it) but finally got it and my IV. VERY PAINFUL :( All in all, contractions stopped after two doses of terb. Doctor came in and said my cervix was already 50% effaced (thinned) and I was dilated 1 cm, which is odd for 32 weeks, but not sure how much concern that brings up because they don't really know when most women dilate, they usually don't start checking until 36 weeks. This explained the short cervix. It's 1/2 as short as it should be. Doctor said I should expect a few more trips to L&D for contractions before we actually deliver... GREAT! They did a test (FFN for your medical people) and I'm negative which means I am not expected to deliver in the next 7 to 10 days. So now I'm on bed rest until 36 weeks and still having to go to the hospital 2 times a week. Well, Friday comes and I went to Belvoir for monitoring again. That night I got home and I was having the contractions again... And again, I laid down, took tylenol and drank water and after a while started timing them. Again, they went from 8 to 3 min apart and pretty intense. Michael was home and again we headed to the hospital. I tried calling first before we made the trip but the line was busy?!?!?! Yeah, weird... so we headed there anyways since the contractions didn't stop. We get there and I let them know I've already had the FFN test but I'm still having contractions. Needless to say, this trip was a lot shorter than last time and I had only one shot of terb. Told you... Mr. Jackson is a taaaaad impatient here, but he sure loves the attention. Each time at the hospital he was moving around like crazy.. little punk!!! Well, that was Friday... We're trying our hardest to enjoy our weekend despite my dr ordered bed rest. So glad Michael is off Monday and we have a 3 days weekend to enjoy each other before a wonderful week of training for him and 4 doctors appointments for me. I have my followup appointment on Wednesday so I'm hoping to know a little more about our current situation, so keep your prayers coming. We appreciate them so much and I know that God has our little family in his hands. So, until next time (and lets hope next time I'm updating with NO NEW NEWS haha)

Blessings!!!

Just rub it in, Mr. Beautiful Shiny Day outside... see if I care

I'm back, as expected right? Bed rest, alone and there is only so much Grey's Anatomy I can watch before I'm speaking doctor and wishing I was in a hospital myself monitoring my baby boy. But can I complain for a second? Actually that's more of a rhetorical question, so don't answer that! haha The last few days the weather has been weird. It's been 80, humid and sunny/rain. Talk about feeling at home because I'm pretty sure that is a Spring day in good ole Luzianna!! But what is the weather today you ask? BEAUTIFUL!!!! It's 70, breezy, no humidity, and not a stinkin' cloud in the sky! And where am I? I'm sitting on my couch, facing the huge sliding window in our living room, and being forced to see how amazing the weather is today. LOVELY!!!! Although, yes, this is not my idea of bed rest weather, it is perfect weather for my sweet hubby who is playing Marine Officer out in the field :) At least that makes me happy!

So, these next 24 hours NEED to fly by... Wishing my life away is not something I'm accustom to. That is unless I'm waiting to see Michael or waiting to check on my baby... Well as you know, I'm both waiting to see Michael and check on my baby so DEAR SWEET LORD please fast forward these 24 hours so that I will be at my doctors appointment, understanding more about our predicament, hearing Jackson's strong heart beat, and only a few hours away from seeing my man! Actually, it won't be hours from seeing Michael, I mean he actually might beat me home because I live in the commuting area of Washington DC and my appointment will end around 2:30 P.M.... on a Friday.... during "let's everyone all at once rush home" hour haha So, fingers crossed, hubby will be home waiting for me!!!! :) YAY YAY YAY!

Well, in other news... as per doctors "drink lots of water" orders, I have now consumed 8, yes 8, 16.9 oz (to be precise) bottles of water. Yep, that's me... a stickler when it comes to the ole Dr's orders and Jackson seems to be enjoying the constant flow of H2O.. So much so that he's decided my always full bladder is a new fascination of his because he won't leave it alone... Torture when you're supposed to be "resting"... uhmmmm, hello... how can I rest when I have to tinkle every 20 min?!?! Dr's orders huh? HA! Okay, maybe I took it too literally but then again, I'm also taking into consideration this information I got in an email (weekly email from the hospital I'm delivering with) to drink the bulk of your daily water earlier in the day to help cut down on bathroom trips in the middle of the night so I'm experimenting with that today :) Fingers crossed, it works! And now having wrote this paragraph, I see that might have been information better kept to myself but I'm bored and apparently rambling via blog haha

So.. It's almost 3 Thursday afternoon :) Closer to night time to go to sleep which is closer to waking up tomorrow which is closer to my drs appointment which is close to Michael coming home... But, I did read over the last two blog updates of mine and I felt the need to include the following information about my medical care to y'all, because now thinking about it, I know I'm in good hands. With our medical insurance through the military, I go to two Army facilities, a clinic and a brand new state of the art hospital at Ft. Belvoir, and now adding to the list a Naval hospital in Bethesda. These 3 facilities are excellent at patient care and are probably some of the best medical facilities in the nation. Which comforts me to know I have the best care coming for me and my sweet baby boy and I know they will take everything seriously and handle it appropriately. We're in extremely good hands and very lucky to have this access to excellent medical care. So now we can all take in a small breath of relief in knowing everything will be ok no matter the circumstances or outcomes of any tests we're given. :) However, keep those prayers coming because I know over everything God's care is the absolute best :) And I know he has his hands on Jackson and me... yet another reason to feel at peace with our situation. So I'll end on that note. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon with yet another update from the doctor and hopefully a better way to explain what's going on, why, and the steps they plan to take to get us through this and keep us healthy... so until then be well!! :)

Blessings,

Kaci and Jackson :)

good-bye freedom, hello bed rest... update

Good morning friends! This morning started out a little different than I had planned. As you know from my former post, I went in on Tuesday for Jackson's 3rd anatomy ultrasound where the ultrasound tech informed me of a small/short cervix, lower than normal amniotic fluid, and he's already dropped. She wrote it off as "not a big deal" and told me more radiologists would examine my ultrasound the next morning. Well, I didn't hear anything yesterday from the doctors so I figured "no news is good news". I did end of having to call the dr's office because I was experiencing a lot of pressure pushing down and what I would call pretty bad lower back pain, something I hadn't experienced thus far. The nurse informed me that Jackson has probably settled into a comfortable position for him in my tummy but it wouldn't be that comfortable to me. It's especially uncomfortable for me bc he's so low now. She told me to take tylenol and lay down and that symptoms should improve. If not, I should go immediately to L & D (Labor and delivery... L & D is easier to write). Well, after following instructions I did feel better so I didn't worry much for the rest of the evening. And what a boring evening at that! With Michael in the field, I was more bored than usual haha I went to bed at 8. I slept through the night only to get up for usual potty breaks and woke up at 8 this morning to my phone ringing. It was my doctor/ mid-wife. (I have a mid-wife being at a military hospital/clinic but she's the same as a nurse practioner which is what I saw in LA). Anyways, she informs me that I have low-normal amniotic fluid and a small/short cervix. "Okay, I've heard this lady." She's sending me to the big Naval hospital in Bethesda, MD (where Michael went after he fractured his back last year) for a higher level ultrasound to see more into the womb and also putting me in the hospital at Ft. Belvoir for the afternoon on Tuesday to monitor Jackson's movements, heartbeat, and how he responds to me. Other than going to my appointments tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I am now on strict bed rest and required to drink at least a gallon of water a day. From what I can tell (although I'm only an educator and not a doctor haha) is Jax man is fine... he's still moving as much as he has been and I'm doing fetal kick counts twice a day and getting 10 kicks within 10 min. They ask for 10 kicks in 2 hours... my hyperactive baby is still hyperactive if you as me. :)

Although, these new updates seem mild, maybe, it's pretty scary to me. I've made 31 weeks so far with a healthy pregnancy and you are going to start bringing up possible problems the week my husband is out of reach and I'm alone for the first time since we've moved here? Stay calm, relax and rest is what you tell me but I'm on bed rest now, at home alone. I'm literally going to drive myself crazy!!!! Thank God tomorrow is Friday and Michael comes home but I don't want to tell him this news... He's going to worry and right now his whole focus needs to be on staying fit, healthy, and focused on his training. He doesn't have time to worry about me. And my main concern (besides Jackson, of course) is if his command gets word his wife is on bed rest or having possible complications, they are going to drop Michael from training to be with me... That CAN NOT happen! Soooo, I have a solution... "Jackson, you stay in there!" AND anyone who would like to take a vacation and come visit (aka take care of me) is more than welcome :) haha But any who, that's my news for now, I'm sure I'll have more to talk about later once I get tired of laying down and watching season after season of Grey's Anatomy on netflix. In the mean time, please pray for my little Jackson and me. We have 9 weeks to go, and if I have to do that resting in my bed then so be it... Much love people!

I'm coming out of blogging retirement :)

Welcome back to the Allgood world everyone! It's been ages since I've last posted! Pregnancy is starting to progress pretty quickly so I figured this would be a great way to update everyone! I'm not sure if I mentioned in my last post but Baby Allgood is a BOY! Mr. Jackson Scott Allgood is on his way into this crazy world, and Michael and I could not be more thrilled. Yesterday, September 27th marked 31 weeks for me and Jax man!! I can't believe how fast it's gone by and how close we are. Although, some days I feel like I still have an eternity. But, feeling him wiggle around in my tummy makes me so happy and at peace, time just seems to not matter. Well, that was until yesterday. To give you the short version of a very long story, I went in to the new hospital at Ft. Belvoir (where I'm set to deliver) for Jackson's THIRD anatomy scan. For those of you who don't know, typically anatomy scans (ultrasound measuring the babies anatomy to check to make sure development is progressing like it should) are done at 20 weeks and also the time a mother finds out the sex of the baby. Michael and I went in for Jackson's 20 week anatomy scan, found out it was a little boy, but the little booger wouldn't quit bouncing around long enough for the tech to get all of his measurements. That and I suspect she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. She did the nervous giggle a lot. Yeah, and I'm always suspecting something. Any who, another was scheduled a few weeks later. Time came for the 2nd ultrasound and Mr. Jackson decides he wants to butt (no pun intended) his rear end into the wall of my "tummy" and bury his head on the other end. That time they were unable to get a look at his profile and lower part of his spine. (Yes, those of you who know me are probably starting to think, this child is getting a good dose of his momma's stubbornness out right and he was) Funny thing is, when we have the 3d/4d ultrasounds at home, he puts on a show but for a doctor he won't cooperate. I blame it on the MALE part of his anatomy haha just kidding, guys! Anyways, so here we are 31 weeks, doing our THIRD anatomy scan, which at this point is difficult bc my little tummy monkey is quite large now he decides to finally, half-way cooperate. Everything is looking good, he's head down, he showed his profile, but we had a little trouble getting to see the very end of his spine (reasons being he's bigger than what they are used to looking at and still putting his booty up against the wall of my tummy) Funny thing is though we get to the end (and I'm sorry if this is graphic, it's human nature people) but the tech check's the fluid in my uterus as well as size of my cervix. Fluid is a little low for what they would like but that's an easy fix, drink more fluid. But then the tech say's "Uh oh".. "uhmm hello?! Just measure the cervix so I can leave already" But she couldn't.. little man decided yesterday he wanted to drop lower in my pelvic area (also known as "lightening" or dropping) and has his head on my cervix. Can we sense the impatience here of this child? He's at the door waiting to bust out...but on top of that, the tech says my cervix is short/small/incompetent meaning it's measuring smaller in length and she goes on to explain various options and precautions. Of course she said, other radiologists will have to read my scans tomorrow morning and meet with my doctor but from what her and the night doctor saw, it looks like it's smaller than they want it to be. So, I ask her what this means. Basically, he's already dropped which is the first stages of labor preparations (but this could mean labor is still weeks away) and putting pressure on my "small" cervix which can cause pre-term labor. Labor... she used the "L" word before I'm ready to use it. "WHAT?!" Also, at this point to ensure that pre-term labor doesn't happen, most patients are put on bed rest... "Again, WHAT!? Geez, I know I complained a little when his feet were in my ribs or when I felt like my lungs were so squished that I couldn't breathe but I didn't want him to drop down and get ready for labor. I'm so not ready for this, I don't even know what to do yet. We haven't gone to any classes. His room isn't finished. AND his daddy is in the field for two days and you're going to tell me after a very smooth pregnancy that I'm having problems here at the end the night before I'm about to be BY MY SELF FOR TWO WHOLE DAYS?! Oh no mam!" Of course I called my mom and explained to her, which is probably a bad idea because bless her heart she will worry, and of course I call and tell Michael on my way home (who is preparing to go into the field for two days and leave me alone for the first time) which is again, a bad idea because I know he will worry but gah, I HAD to talk to someone. I was freaking out. But like the tech said (in a very overly calm tone might I add... Maybe she could sense the fact that I was tensing up) nothing is set in stone, after the other radiologists have read the scans, you will be notified on what they will want to proceed with next. Well, I have a drs appt on Friday and she will be able to tell me more then, too. But like I (and the tech said) nothing is set in stone yet, but the cervix is "small". So for now it's a waiting game... waiting for Friday afternoon... waiting to find out how the next 9 weeks will pan out... waiting... to a very impatient person, not only is the term "wait or waiting" in my vocabulary it's like Chinese water torture.. Oh well, I guess I'll manage but for now, I'm at home, drinking plenty of water and "resting" while Michael is out in the field for two WHOLE STINKIN' days. Another thing I have to wait until Friday afternoon for... my husband. Naturally, neither one of us slept well last night and now I wanna kick myself because he's gonna worry, instead of focus on Marine stuff, the entire time he's out there. And stupid me started searching on the internet what a "small or short" cervix means which is stupid bc then I was really worried but at the same time, I just wanted an idea of what could happen, you know, to prepare myself in a way. So on our way to drop Michael off this morning, I assured him that I would be just fine while he was playing Marine. There's a hospital 3 miles from here, people I can call, food to eat, a bed to "rest" in, and worst comes to worst I have a way to contact his company staff if I ABSOLUTELY need him. Which reminds me, have I mentioned the Marine Corps is ruining my life?! haha That I will explain later. But, in the best of my ability, I tried to convince him I'll be fine for two whole days until he's back home and I dropped him off. Off to the field goes my Marine... I'm so proud of him! He's so handsome in camis! Gosh darn, I'm a lucky girl :)

Anyways, I'm writing on this thing to not only update our friends and family on life in the Allgood household but also to talk. My main conversationist aka Michael, is momentarily out of pocket so to keep myself sane, I need to talk. I apologize for the randomness, that's just how my mind works but I'm trying to keep this on topic. "FOCUSSSSS!" Okay, so... my dramatic topic of the day... "The Marine Corps TBS Golf Company is ruining my life". I'm being semi-serious here, mostly because I know what I had coming marrying a Marine and what his training entailed.. blah, blah, blah, but I'm pregnant so I get to gripe right?! Right! So, any who... yep, they are ruining MY life. I'm talking about me specifically because I don't know if they are ruining anyone else's life but they are most definitely ruining mine. First off, they STOLE my husband one Friday morning when he was going to weekly formation before work. Stole him before he could get the second part of his dental appointment (yeah, tell me how DUMB this is. They schedule you for an appointment and only clean the bottom teeth then reschedule you AGAIN to clean the top. Wouldn't it be easier just to get it all done at once?! STUPID... let me run this operation and I'll eliminate unnecessary, stupid things like that). Yep, stole him. So yes, I was happy he was back in training after a year of healing and building himself back up but couldn't they give a girl a day's notice? Alright, so I get over it. My weekend goes from quality time with the hubby to frantically searching for all of his gear and moving him into a room on base... partially moving him and also getting his training junk out of my guest bedroom haha and Monday comes and off he goes. It takes a while to adjust to him being gone from 7 (or sometimes before) in the morning until 5 (or later) in the after noon but I managed, and even got myself off to the airport by myself for my last visit home. Well, I come back at the best time to come back (NOT) Range week... Michael was a zombie every night when he came home to me and yes I say night. Granted, I didn't have to cook bc they fed them there but he left everyday at 4 or 3:30 am, hiked out to the "field", rolled around in the mud or whatever those Marines do, and left work everyday around 7 pm or later! That was last week! Hell week if you ask me but then again I had lots to do in Jackson's room that I was occupied MOST of the time. But by the time Friday came around I just wanted a human to come home to me instead of a stinky zombie who showered, gave me a kiss, and went to bed. So Michael and I planned a date night for last friday. I figured if he got off at 7 or so it would be ok because we would miss the dinner crowd and go right on in and I know that boy would be hungry. Well, Friday finally comes dragging it's butt in and around rolls 6 pm, 7 pm (the anger sharks are warming up) , 8 pm, 9 pm (the anger sharks are really starting to swim at this point) and 10 pm. I finally hear from him... they just got back to the baracks... 10 PM people! Okay, no biggy. I'll go get dinner for us and by then he will be home... well, we decide chick fil a and off I go (keep in mind my tolerance level is pretty much shot at this point but hey, I'm in good spirits... Chick fil a... yummm!) Guess what... it's CLOSED! (Andddddd the anger sharks are frantic) deep breathe, other places are open, we're hungry, just pick something and go.. well I pick Mcdonald's and text Michael to see what he wanted and no response. It's now 10:30 and I'm waiting in the mickey d's parking lot STARVING and still waiting on the MORON's they call "Company staff" to let my husband at least talk to me much less come home! So, whatever, I get him a chicken nugget meal large with a coke and come home. I'm back at home at 10:50ish and I put his food in the microwave and coke in fridge, ASSUMING he'd be home in just a sec. Finally he texts back at 11 something (by then I was over it and over the heart attack salad I ordered at Mcdonald's... Bacon ranch HA More like bacon salad with a sprinkling of lettuce and cheese haha) it's 11:30 and he informs me the MORON staff was fired bc uhmm hello, they are MORONS and it takes another 15 min to figure out how to let these "Zombie Marines" go... my poor husband... he drags in soaking wet.... stinky, to nasty, cold fast food and a watered down coke... and a mentally exhausted wife (mentally exhausted from trying to tame the anger sharks people haha). So that was last week.... LAST WEEK! It's now this week and his training company wants to "try" something new and make the Marine's sleep in the field for two days in the middle of the week on the week I find out some potentially scary news and that was the straw that broke the camels back. I ended my friendship with the Marine Corps (for the time being) because they keep stealing my husband before it's time. I was prepared for later, you know when he's gone for a week but I'm so fat and pregnant that he will be glad he's gone or I'll be glad he's gone haha kidding, I hate when he's gone period. But still... I KNOW that's coming, I've prepared myself for that, but you spring this on me in your usual fashion of last min and expect me to keep my angry sharks ,who are all hyped up on pregnant hormones which is crack to them, tame?! hahahahaha apparently the hormones have made me looney, too. Talking about anger sharks but hey, it's better than saying not nice words :) Well, I did say moron... but that was one... Okay and there you have it. The Marine Corps and I are estranged friends and they still stole my husband. WHEW! All that worked me up a nice little appetite and I'm going to treat myself to Chick fil a waffle fries haha Until next time (which I'm predicting will be tomorrow)... Adios! (That mean's bye in Spanish haha okay, I've lost it!)

Much love and God bless,

Mrs. Kaci Allgood :) and Jackson

Allgood update

Wow, I'm really bad at this blog updating thing :) Although in my defense, it has been a busy month!! At the beginning of June, Michael's parents came to visit us here in Virginia. It was so great having family here, it had been since April that we were able to visit in Louisiana. After their visit, Mom, Aunt Judy, and Maw maw drove up from Louisiana and stayed a few days with us as well. Having my mom close was great and it was fun being able to go and look at baby things with her. Our visit was short and it's always sad to see all of our family members leave, but I will be visiting Louisiana here in the next week!! :) But the big news coming up will be next Friday when we FINALLY get to find out what the baby is!!! It's been the longest 20 weeks of waiting to know whether I have a sweet baby boy or girl inside of me and everyone knows I'm not the most patient person in the world. I'm flying out the next day to Alexandria because I'm holding the gender a secret until I can tell everyone in person. I hate that Michael can't come home with me but I am so happy he will be going with me to find out the sex. We were nervous he wouldn't be able to due to training but his training is a few more weeks off! He's so cute about everything with the baby. He loves going to the appointments and thinking of names. We literally guess on a daily basis what the baby is and our minds change every time. But we definitely agree on one thing, we want a healthy baby whether they are a boy or a girl. :)

I guess the "honeymoon" is over... DRATS!

So, today's doctors appointment went great. I had my first prenatal full exam which was definitely not my favorite but it was over quickly. Michael was able to come with me to the appointment which I was excited about because I didn't think he would be able to with his new job. (This I will explain later) Michael waited in the waiting room until it was finally time for the ultrasound. Once I was hooked up to the machine, we had a hard time getting a steady shot of the baby because it was moving so much. That was such a huge change from my first ultrasound :) This time, not only did we hear the baby's heartbeat (150 bpm) but we saw him/her moving around like crazy. So precious! We finally were able to get a few pictures, especially a very cute one of the baby's profile. I asked the doctor (well midwife) what I could do for my sleeping problems and the last little bit of nausea that I had and she didn't want to put me on medication. They try and steer away from any medication during the pregnancy which is good and bad. But the nausea I've had has been awful, good news is, it's going away so if I've gotten this far without medicine, I can make it through the rest.

My next appointment, my mom will be able to come with me. Although, its only a check up and to continue pre-natal testing, the midwife will hook me up to the ultrasound machine to let mom see the baby :) I did ask when I would be able to find out the sex and got an answer I definitely wasn't expecting, at 20 weeks. Apparently, the ultrasound machine at my normal clinic isn't able to see the entire baby at that part of pregnancy and the people at my clinic aren't able to determine the sex. My appointment is schedule for 20 weeks at Ft. Belvoir where I will be having the baby. The only bad thing about it is, Michael will be in training and I won't have anyone to help me get to this foreign place or be there with me for the appointment. I guess I'll have to put my big girl panties on eventually! haha So to answer everyones question, we're hoping to find out the babies sex in 2 months.. so keep up the patience... I know we're all so anxious!

Well, my honeymoon period is over... And I probably shouldn't be complaining. I've had Michael home with me everyday after lunch since we've moved here to Virginia given a few days, but now the Marine Corps have tasked him out to another job, taking him away from working with our family friend Mr. Jim (who is from home). Now, Michael is gone before I'm awake at 6 and won't be home until after 3:30 every afternoon... Aww man! But it could be worse and I'm looking at this as a step towards how it will be when he's training. Now we can look forward to weekend!!