21/07/2023
Just read this post And love it for my tubies!!!!
There are actually countless things I wish I knew before my five-year-old had a G-tube stuck into his belly. But in the spirit of keeping things concise, I'll kick us off with ten:
🏥 When they tell you feeding-tube placement surgery will only mean a night or two in hospital, don't believe them. Pack enough clean un**es for a week.
🤨 They'll start your kid on a diet of commercial formula and send you on your merry way. If things don't stay merry on that formula, there are other options.
🍎 One of those options might be blended real food. If you want to explore this, find a medical team that will support you to do so.
💉 Reusable syringes exist and are about a million times easier to push blended food through than the single-use ones. Plus, planet saving.
🫧 Prime that line! Seriously woman, stop pushing a tube-full of air into your kid before every meal.
🌱 Befriend the Boon Grass drying rack. That spikey sink-side wonder just happens to work a treat for syringes and other bits of tube-feeding kit.
🚙 Stash a spare G-tube, extension set and syringes in your car glovebox.
💊 To avoid zombification, give at least one syringe of food BEFORE the cocktail of meds.
🧁 ‘Naughty’ stuff blends up very nicely. Because why should tubies miss out on birthday cake?
🌏 There's an ENORMOUS community of people and families who, like you, are making tube-feeding a part of their lives. Find them, learn from them, ENJOY them!
So, what else do we wish we'd known? x
[ID: A navy tile with white writing reads: 10 things I wish I knew when my kid started tube-feeding].