Several people have asked us how we came up with the name Callum and others have asked why he has two middle names. Josh and I really struggled to come up with Callum’s name since we had already named seven babies before him (Liam Joshua, Asher Caleb, Lucy Dair, Jude, Pax, Scarlet Mae and Nora Juliet.) We are thankful that we found the perfect name for him and we won’t be naming any more babies after this!

Callum is pronounced “Cal” like in California and “um” like in umbrella. We have been surprised to hear lots of variations on the pronunciation (I guess since most people haven’t heard the name much.) We’ve heard “Caylum” and “Collum” a lot. The name Callum is Scottish, and it means “Peace/Dove.” God truly has brought us so much peace through this boy and He blessed me with a supernatural peace throughout my stressful pregnancy. Even while being wheeled into the operating room for a completely unexpected c-section all by myself with a premature baby who was showing signs of distress, I felt overcome by peace and excitement. I pray that in this world of suffering and chaos, Callum will know the deep, resounding peace of Jesus. I pray that God uses Callum’s life to bring peace and comfort to others.

Callum’s middle name, Joseph, means “God has added” which is so perfect. We never thought we would have any more babies after Lucy died, then we were blessed with Nora and even though we wanted more than three kids, we thought we had to stop after having our rainbow baby. God has added yet another beautiful little person to our family and we are amazed at His goodness to us. God has added, He hasn’t replaced Lucy or taken away our grief, but He has added joy, peace and fulfillment to all of our loss through this sweet boy. Joseph is also Dr. Moise’s middle name and we know that Callum wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Dr. Moise. Dr. Moise pioneered the use of plasmapheresis and IVIG for women with extreme alloimmunization during pregnancy (like me.) Callum would not have survived without plasmapheresis and IVIG treatments that kept him alive while he grew big enough for intrauterine blood transfusions. Dr. Moise also helped train Dr. Trevett and is part of the reason why Dr. Trevett is such an amazing physician. Dr. Moise collaborated with Dr. Trevett (all the way from Houston) for my care during my pregnancy with Callum and we are so grateful for his help.

Callum’s other middle name, Thomas, is after Dr. Thomas Trevett, who worked so hard to get Callum here alive.

It is rare to find a physician who is not only skilled at what he does but is also humble, generous and compassionate like Dr. Trevett. He always treated me with kindness and respect, even when I questioned him or when my anxiety bordered on controlling. Dr. Trevett was so cautious with our son’s life. He protected Callum when he was in his most vulnerable and helpless state, and for that we will forever be grateful. I would love for Callum to grow up to be a great man like Dr. Trevett.

A few people have mentioned to us that Dr. Moise and Dr. Trevett probably feel honored to have a baby named after them, but really we are the ones who feel honored to have these men in our lives. We feel honored that Dr. Trevett and Dr. Moise played such an important part in the life of our son and Callum gets to grow up admiring them.

So, that is how our Callum Joseph Thomas was named and he has a lot to live up to and we have so much to be thankful for.