25%

My little heart baby, who didn't surpass his birth weight until he was 12 weeks old, whose very own cardiologist lovingly called him "chicken legs", is now sitting in the 25% for height AND weight. 31.5 pounds and 38". There is no doubt in our dietician's mind that Luke, heart defect or not, would be this exact same size. In her words, "Luke is boring." And everyone knows a boring heart kid is a good thing! I thank God every day that Luke is a good and consistent eater, that he enjoys food and that we have had Judy to walk us off panic ledges time and time again. I think I've said this before, but Rog and I give her tons of credit in helping us trust Luke, which in turn leads to him trusting us and his own body. We are even at a point where we can "make" Luke eat a few more bites. "Two more peaches and one more drink of milk. Then you can be excused." And because food hasn't been a power struggle between us, he'll do it.

I am not going to lie and say I don't still have tendencies to control what he eats, but as more time passes, the more I recognize that there is not a whole lot you can do to make a 3 year old eat if he doesn't want to. It is one of the hardest things I've ever done as Luke's mom — trust him and let go. Obviously, that doesn't mean I don't offer him "meaningful" food (high in calorie and content), and that doesn't mean I like it when he doesn't seem as hungry one day, but at the end of the day, Luke has proven he knows what he needs to grow and thrive.

In high school, I struggled with anorexia. Struggled to the point of 78 pounds. It is so God to use my history and all the tools I have learned in recovery to work hard to make sure Luke has as positive relationship with food as possible. Isn't that just like God? He continually layers His lessons on our hearts, so we don't forget. So we can practice. And I get lots of practice, considering Luke eats 3-5 times a day!