Friday, February 17, 2012

Tube Weaning - Day 17

We've been basking in the glow of having a brand new eater. Max is doing so well, and we couldn't be more proud - and relieved. As much as we were very optimistic going into this experience, we always kept ourselves a little guarded, afraid to get our hopes too high.

Watching Max eat, and get excited about eating, is just magical. We're less than three weeks into this experience and already Max is taking all of his calories by mouth. He eats a well rounded breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks. He likes his crunchy snacks, but he still prefers his meals in mushy, spoonable form. He will eat some finger foods at meal times, but I think he likes the speed that the spoon offers him. I'm sure as his self feeding and chewing skills improve this will change as it would with any baby learning to eat. Thankfully I can mix anything together so long as peanut butter is present and he will eat it. So he's getting all of his food groups in a bowl at each meal time and scarfing them down. He is still not interested enough in drinking to keep him hydrated so he is getting water in his tube during meals, and breast milk before nap and bedtime.


We've stopped Max's daily weigh ins, as he was already beginning to gain back what he lost from the beginning of the wean. We'll weigh him periodically to see where he's at, but we can see with our eyes how well he is eating, and obviously thriving. He is so full of energy and seems so happy. A whole new world has opened up for him and he seems to love being a part of it.

It's amazing how freeing it is to not be held captive by his tube feeding schedule anymore. We can pack a meal for him and easily feed him without the hassle of tubes, syringes, and finding somewhere to hang his feeding bag. For the first time ever we were able to leave Max during his meal time and go on a dinner date. The only feeding supplies we had to leave were a bowl and spoon. It's all a very new, and very wonderful feeling for our little family.

We've been asked a few times now when Max's tube can come out. We still don't know, is the simple answer. First Max needs to start drinking enough to keep him hydrated. Then, generally we want to see him get through an illness while maintaining his eating and drinking. Most kids don't eat and drink as much when they are sick, but for tube fed kids it can sometimes set them back a little more, and we want to know that he can still take in enough to keep him healthy enough to fight off an illness. After he does those things then it's just a matter of when everyone is ready, and confident in that decision. We're in no rush, the physical tube is no hindrance to him or to us.

Max still has a little work to do, but for now, we're calling the wean a total success. We are so proud of Max and all his hard work.

1 comment:

  1. I wish blogs had a like button so I could like this a thousand times over. The freedom from the schedule must be awesome. Go Max, go! Good job guys. :)

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