Happy Third Birthday, Natalie

Natalie turned three years old on Sunday the 19th. We made it Her Big Day. She's struggled with the thought of growing up and has been very content with acting like a baby. Believe me, she isn't a baby and has developmentally taken on all the roles of a three year old. From constantly asking "Why?" to her demanding demeanor when speaking to her parents, she views herself as being someone to be reckoned with. I call her my Miss Jackal/Dr. Hyde girl. When she's happy, everyone is happy, but when she is mad, everyone knows it. Sunday was the first day that I attempted going all out with potty training. We had a successful dry day!

We love Miss Natalie for every part of who God made her. That spunk that the nurses saw in the NICU when she was less than 24 hours old has helped to get her to where she is today. She has gone from speaking only a few words last year to speaking in sentences. She still has to work hard at getting the right sentence structure and skips some of her sounds in words, but for the most part is right up there with other kids her age. She did have a speech evaluation this fall and was found to be age appropriate. Physically, Natalie is at or ahead of her three years old. She loves to run, jump and climb. She will chase her sisters till she's panting like a dog. Natalie has also started to color and recognize her colors. I haven't been as proactive as I probably should be in teaching her colors and shapes, but she's getting there. She does get in trouble when she starts to color on her sister's works of art...and then that mischievous little grin lights up her face.

Natalie's oxygen saturation's are all over the place. At her last cardiology visit, the first one they took was 68% and then at the end of the visit they were getting 86%. Sometimes those crazy pulse-ox's frustrate me and I could just throw them out the window. We don't have one at home for that very reason. I watch her color, breathlessness and fatigue level and go from there. I notice that she's the blue-est after she eats, when she's at a high activity level and after her bath. This winter she turned pretty purple when we were outside sledding on a fairly cold day (10F). These days it's been -30F to -40F so we've all stayed inside.

I have to do a lot of layering to keep Natalie warm. We keep our house around 70F inside, but her hands and feet don't stay warm very well. I was told by the cardiologist that this is just the way it's going to be with her. I can see her moving to a much warmer climate someday when she has a choice.Natalie has almost made it to 27 pounds.

She weighed in at 26# 10 oz. and was 36 inches tall. That puts her at the 25th percentile for height and 14th percentile for weight. Why do we watch her weight so much? Well, the next surgery that she has, the Fontan, is based on size. The surgeons would like her to be at least 33 pounds/15 kilograms before her next surgery. At the rate she's been going, it will be at least a year, probably more before she'll get that big. While it would be nice to not have another heart surgery hanging over our head, I don't relish the thought of taking my healthy girl down to Seattle for another surgery. But that's enough talk about surgery.

Natalie eats well, takes her medicine by herself and won't let me forget to give her her vitamin. She is still taking Enalapril and half a baby aspirin once a day. Thankfully I don't have to give her Synagis this winter.

As I think back on these past three years, I am amazed at the miracles that God has showed us through Natalie. We are thankful for friends who have prayed and are still praying for Natalie and our family. I'm always grateful when anyone asks how Natalie is doing. Walking this road, knowing that your child's heart has to work so much harder to make her go, can be a hard one.