Sweet Little Larkin

Oh, how I love him! Larkin is doing so well and hopefully will be home on Saturday. His infection seems to have cleared and his breathing is now normal. He is basically just hanging out in the NICU getting his antibiotics and giving the nurses a fit about every 3 hours. :) Every time I get there, they are anxiously waiting as he is always ready to eat! I have been able to nurse him twice a day and he eats like a champ. It's hard because he seems so well and "ready" to come home but we just have to wait for the round of antibiotics to complete. We did find out that we will have to stay with him overnight on Friday night so in my mind he will be "home" on Friday.

It has been a tough week but Joe and I have been able to see the "silver linings" in all of this. We have also been overwhelmed by the amount of calls, emails, blog comments, and texts we have received and know that our little man has been thoroughly covered by the prayers of many! God has been so gracious as we know this infection could have been so much more serious, but thankfully it was caught VERY early! The dr's have been incredible and I will forever be grateful to the nurse who on the first night of Larkin's life felt the need to personally monitor him and run some tests as she felt that something just wasn't right.

Please continue to pray for Larkin and for us as we await his homecoming. Pray that everything continues to go as planned and for complete recovery. Also pray for Joe and me as we are anxious about getting him home. While I am SO excited I know that I will be very watchful and worried in the initial days home. I am praying for a peace and trust in our God as I know Larkin is in His hands! Thank you all.

Larkin is Here!

Samuel Larkin Denson

7 lbs 9 oz

21" long

born 7/21/2010 8:54pm

It has been a crazy 3-4 days. We wanted to post some pictures to share with everyone. As many of you know, Larkin is currently in the NICU with an infection. Please continue to pray for healing and strength. So far, he is improving which is a huge praise. We are so thankful for the outpouring of prayers and support from family and friends. We can't wait for many of you to be able to meet Larkin.

Still Counting...

We are getting closer and closer. There is even a slight chance that next week I will be induced! I am not getting my hopes up but due to the size of Larkin and the fact that I have measured at least a week ahead throughout my entire pregnancy, my dr. feels good about inducing if I have progressed more. So PRAY for that progression! :)

Larkin's room is still somewhat "under construction", so those pictures are still to come. I did want to post one last picture of me in all my hugeness! As you've probably noticed I chose to slack on posting prego pictures. In fact, I have pretty much run from the camera this last trimester. However, I think you have to see it to believe it....this is going to be one big baby!

Countdown to D-Day

We have been so busy lately and blogging has been the last thing on my mind. We have officially begun the countdown to Baby Larkin's arrival. 26 Days and counting! We also are realizing that there is a good chance he could be early (or I like to think so). At our 36 week ultrasound this week, he already weighed 7lbs 1oz!! It is comforting to know that if he does come early, he would hopefully be healthy and well-developed. We are so excited as his arrival gets closer and closer.

We still have a lot to do in preparation. As Joe put it this week, we are emotionally prepared, but there still are so many logistical things to take care of. The nursery is coming along! I've posted a few pictures of the progress and will update once we get it totally finished. We've also been "showered" by our friends and family and seem to have everything we need to welcome little Larkin. We are so thankful for everyone's generosity.

Well, I will keep everyone posted! Have a great and safe 4th of July!!

** I tried loading pictures from showers, but it's not cooperating so more to come...

Baby Larkin in Claymation

I still have so many pictures from different events to post, but I just can't find the time to sit down and blog! I did want to post a few pictures from our 4D Ultrasound. A friend put it well when she said that 4D pics look like Claymation...you know the old Christmas movies where the people are made out of Play-doh. Anyway, while Larkin looked like those little clay characters he also looked pretty cute in some of his little pictures. Everything seemed healthy and he was right on average in all of his dimensions. We are now just counting down to meet him. Here are some of the pictures:

Here we see an arm and foot trying to cover his face...he's a flexible little guy.

This is his foot...all 5 toes!

This is him with one fist up...he is nestled next to the placenta, so that got in the way on several of the pictures.

Sweet little Larkin is smiling...again covered by the placenta.

This one looks like he's sucking on his lower lip...either that or he looks like Bart Simpson. :) This was definitely my favorite b/c of his cute little nose.

Pray for Albertville

I actually have a lot of updates coming...This weekend was very eventful as my friend, Ashley, got married. Along with the events of the wedding, there was some eventful weather across Alabama. I didn't realize until Sunday morning that my hometown, Albertville, had been hit by a tornado in the night and that there was extensive damage. Thankfully, my parents were fine and there was no damage to their house as they live a few miles away from the heaviest hit area. However, there was a lot of damage to the downtown area, the high school and middle school, and several homes along a portion of downtown.

- The lunchroom of the Alabama Avenue Middle School.

I have had a hard time really understanding what has happened as I haven't visibly seen the damage...I've almost had an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality, which bothered me. I do not live there currently, but Albertville will always be my hometown and will carry so many of the memories I've had in my life. The streets that I used to ride my bike through are now bare as many of the hundred year old trees are down. Good ole AAMS (Alabama Avenue Middle School) where I walked the halls during those awkward middle school years has piles of rubble throughout most of the building. I've now seen pictures that are making the reality of the situation sink in and making me realize the urgency of my need to pray for this city.

- These are some houses across from the high school.

I do ask for prayer for the Albertville as they begin to "rebuild the city". Mostly, I ask for prayer for those who lost their homes or will have to undergo major renovations to fix the damage. Thankfully there were no fatalities, which is a miracle. I feel like this will be a situation the Lord will use for the city to become stronger through the devastation it has faced. It makes me sad (as cheesy at it sounds) to think that my little boy will not see Albertville as I saw it...the old, beauty of so much of the landscape that truly made it such a nice place to grow up. Thank you all for your prayers!

- This is on East Main...the oldest and prettiest street in Albertville.

- This is of the High School, the campus used to be covered in trees.

**All of these pictures were taken courtesy of Kathy Baugh**

And he shall be called...

Samuel Larkin Denson

Joe and I had a successful "naming retreat" at the beach. I think Joe went in with his mind made up on the name, but I needed some time to talk it out. We had decided that we wanted to call him Larkin, but we were unsure of the other name. Not a lot goes with Larkin as it is a bit unusual. However, we love it! It's Joe's middle name and has been in his family for a few generations. His grandmother was excited to hear the name as Larkin was her father's name, so that was very special for her.

As for Samuel, we have both loved Samuel since praying for our child early on. We both felt strongly about going with family names or names with significance to us. The story of Hannah praying for Samuel has carried a lot of meaning for many people we know who have prayed for God's blessing of a child. We felt that it was fitting as that story and the faith of Hannah's prayers encouraged me often as we hoped for a child.

So little Larkin is kicking up a storm and growing like a weed. I had a great dr's visit today and everything continues to go right along as it should. I do think Larkin is nestled nicely on my sciatic nerve which sends shooting pains down my rear-end, but at least he seems to be enjoying himself in there. I am thankful that this pregnancy has been somewhat of a breeze and hope it continues as the hot weather draws closer.