Almost Normal

Sometimes I forget that Charlotte has a heart defect. I don't think about it or obsess over it. She seems like such a typical baby.

Except for the bottle. I hate the bottle and formula and measuring it and warming it. And throwing out what she doesn't eat. And having to re-work our budget to account for the expense.

And the feeding tube. (Will someone please tell me how to get a baby to take a whole bottle?)

And the meds.

I don't think I've mentioned before that Charlotte gets meds eight times a day. She has two prescriptions to keep her heart rate low and steady, one for blood pressure, aspirin to keep clots from forming around her shunt and two more for acid reflux. I have a nice little chart to make sure we know when she gets what. So far I have only missed one dose, and that was of the prilosec for reflux.

And we weigh her every morning and check her oxygen saturation twice a day.

Other than that, she is almost normal...

But I wouldn't trade normal for what God has planned for our little Charlotte Ruth. Not for a minute.