The last few days I've been thinking about how and what I feed Noah has changed over the years. He got his gtube when he was 5 years old. When it was put in we were shown how to use it maybe once and we were sent home. I remember feeling so overwhelmed with it all. At that time Noah was fed over night via a feeding pump and didn't have anything at all during the day.
Before he got his gtube I would rock him to sleep every night and would put him to bed after he fell to sleep. It was my very favorite part of the day. After he got his gtube we were afraid that he would move around in his bed at night at pull out the tube, or worse get it wrapped around his neck. So we decided to put him in his green feeder seat, lean it back and strap him for the night.
The first several nights were so hard for myself and Noah. Being rocked to sleep was no more. We had to hook him up to the feeding pump after he was strapped into the chair. It was a big adjustment for the both of us with many tears shed. It was so hard.....
I would say this was our routine for probably 2 1/2 years and I started thinking ( I don't why it took me so long) How odd for Noah to be only eating during the night. I then got the idea to feed him his formula throughout the day. I would still put his formula in the feeding bag but I wouldn't have it go through the pump. I would hang it and let it gravity feed into his belly. This process still took about 45mins to drip in. Not very convenient if we wanted to go anywhere but Noah could finally actually lay down in his bed and bit on a normal eating pattern like everyone else.
At that time I had the habit of watching medical shows. I happen to be watching a documentary called A Girl Without A Face it was about a little sweet little girl named Julianna that was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome. At one point in the show they were taking Julianna to one of many appointments and had stopped along the way to feed her. She too had a gtube. Her Mom was feeding her in the car at a rest stop like this:
And I start thinking, Wow what a great idea!!! It was a lot quicker process then using the feeding bag. We did that for awhile. Maybe 2 years, when my mind start turning on overtime again. I know pretty scary....
What's wrong with feeding Noah real food? Why does he have to have only formula in his gtube? On to the long road to getting his doctors to except the idea that Noah is better off with a blenderized diet, instead of just formula. We bought a Vitamix and haven't looked back.
The best part of blending Noah's food, it almost feels "normal." I can make his food and pack his lunch like all the other Moms. Noah has been a lot more healthy and isn't congested all the time.
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