Thomas Jacob

And lest I forget, we had a baby.

Thomas was born in November and is now 6 months old.

Newborn and one month

He is a sweet boy and Jacob's mini me in appearance. He loves to be around people and he loves all food. He laughs and coos and sits up on his own. He is my dream baby who nurses, but will take a bottle of formula if need arises.  He is good natured and lights up around his sisters, Mom, and Dad.

Three and four months

However, he is not a great sleeper. He goes down well for a nap, but often wakes up prematurely and unhappy. He was waking up 2-3 times a night up until last week when we threw down the gauntlet and let him cry.

2.5 hours later we all fell asleep exhausted.

Tommy had a rash the last month and at his 6 month check up this week the doctor said he has eczema like his sister Ada. His waking up and crying may have been due to his skin itching more than his need to be fed or coddled.

So last night we put on a steroid cream and he slept for 10 hours straight.

I couldn't believe it.

He woke up to eat and then fell asleep again for another two hours.

Miracle of miracles, we hope this is a turning point.

Five and six months

Tommy has been a huge blessing during this period of our lives. His smiles light up our day. His innocence helps us forget about J's cancer. His needs help us focus on someone other than ourselves.

Jacob and I have said over and over that we are so grateful that Tommy came to our family at this time.  I have also felt more than once that the Lord prepared him for this assignment and he was willing to come to our family under these circumstances.

Tommy's birth and first few weeks were a joy and we are so grateful that the cancer train waited so that we could fully enjoy the newness of our little boy.

We all love Thomas and soak up the wonder of this baby every chance we get.