VISTA, Calif. -- It is his faith and photos of his deceased child that has carried Thomas Boettger through.

Already teething, son Thomas Jr. also had colic, and Thomas and his wife, Lorrie, turned to over-the-counter medications to help ease his pain.

The 6-month-old boy died on Oct. 25, 2006.

Thomas and Lorrie face charges of second-degree murder and have been painted by the prosecution as giving the boy "a drug cocktail."

"We were very careful with everything we were doing and in no way did we think these medications hurt our son," said Thomas.

The couple never had time to grieve, he said, before they were locked up.

The couple's attorney, Merle Schneidewind, said, "To compound losing your child by being arrested and being held apart in jail, it's just devastating to this couple."

Meanwhile, shackled to a desk in a visitor's room, Lorrie said in her wildest dreams could she have ever envisioned this.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco told 10News, "A reasonable person would have known not to give their child Unisom, Benedryl, Motrin, Zantac in a drug cocktail."

Lorrie said, "No such thing ever happened."

She said, "When people hear that, it's like they think we gave our child heroin or something."

Lorrie, like her husband, carries a picture of Thomas Jr. with her everywhere.

"I could lose my house, I could lose anything, but not losing one of my kids and that by itself was indescribable," said Lorrie.

On top of that, Lorrie said she also lost custody of another child from a previous marriage.

Since her arrest, the Food and Drug Administration recommended no over-the-counter medicines containing antihistamines be given to children under age 6.

It is too little too late, Lorrie said.

"I'm certain (we) were not the first people this has happened to and that's really sad to me," she said.

Thomas and Lorrie Boettger are each being held on $1 million bail.

The couple said they hope to change the amount at a bail review hearing next week.