Josiah Cade, my second child (or he would have been my second child, had Shawn Patrick, my firstborn lived), came on December 23, 2009, in fine shape:  no signs of defect or disability; he entered this world, screaming his head off and weighing 11 pounds, six ounces!  He was a big'un!  Had to have a C-section with him; trying to push him out naturally would have been akin to trying to push a bowling ball out from my birth canal!  *OW*  LOL

Josiah is beautiful:  he has the same red hair and big blue eyes that Shawn Patrick had; I am amazed at how much he looked like his big brother!  He takes after my side of the family:  we have a lot of German-Irish stock in my family gene pool; red hair and blue eyes are quite common.

I am getting used to having a little baby around:  as far as young babies go, Josiah sleeps quite well through the night, and he only cries if wet/poopy or hungry; otherwise, he's as placid as they come.  He loves being read to or held and cuddled.  People are surprised at how sweet he really is!

Unless one sees the baby's crib in the livingroom (kind of hard to miss that!  LOL), the toys on the floor, the baby clothes on the dresser, or the package of diapers near the closet, one would have never guessed that we have a little one.  He's that calm and relaxed.  I couldn't have asked for a better baby!

I call Josiah Cade my Christmas gift because he was.  He was born two days before Christmas!  He's the best gift I could have ever wanted or asked for!  The fact that he was born without anecephaly (which is what his deceased big brother had; Shawn lived for only three hours after birth) is nothing short of miraculous!

I still help out with the local chapter of Compassionate Parents; to share my story with other grieving parents helps me to keep my focus on helping others who are currently facing the same thing I did with Shawn Patrick.  While I may never completely get over his death, I have since long accepted it, and I know now he's in heaven, perfect, happy, and whole.  And I know that one day, soon, we will be reunited; oh, what a happy day *that* will be!!

Well, Josiah is crying again; he must have woken up from his nap.  I will write in here again; until later, this is Gayle Richardson saying so long!  God bless you always!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Gayle.  :)