Today's topic for feeding tube awareness week is pictures before and after.
Naomi was quite thin before her tubes, you could count her ribs.
Now you've got to tickle her to find those ribs.
If you want to see more, I created an album on Facebook that shows several before and after tube pictures. Perhaps one day we will be able to show an after picture of Naomi tube-free. We are hopeful for that day but realize there is a lot of work, mostly on Naomi's part to get there.
Today we answer the question... What is the most positive benefit your child has received because of tube feeding? Reduced stress and positive eating experiences. Before Naomi's feeding tube our lives revolved around her eating. We worked overtime to get as many high calorie foods into her as possible. We took away water (at doctor's suggestions) and only let her drink super high calorie formula. We put butter, oil, honey and sugar on everything and Naomi hated it. If she asked for a fruit or vegetable it came drowned in a high calorie dip. We were constantly coaxing her for one bite more. Now with the tube, we still want her to eat, but the pressure is off. She can learn and develop at her own rate and we have bought extra time to figure out why. Meal times can be fun again and I don't have to worry about making it super high calorie for her and somewhat nutritious for the rest of the family. The other major positive is energy. I never realized Naomi was low-energy until after she got her tube and suddenly had boundless energy. She loves to play and now has the energy to do it.
I can totally relate to the struggle with food and Allie. We were like you guys - adding as much high calorie food to her existing diet and begging her to eat just one more bite. It was such a struggle before the tube days. I have to admit, I think Allie got tired of us always trying to put food in her mouth and that made her refuse even more. Thank goodness for the feeding tube - it has relieved a lot of stress for meal times in our house too!
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