Toddler feeding Recommendations

I go through these phases. 

I read about "normal" toddler feeding recommendations of amounts and foods and think cool I'll try this or that and maybe Whitney will like it. 

After a couple of days I think what is the point!  It's a waste of food, time, and money.  In one minute it will all end up on the floor, or she cries and cries till I take it away and give a toy instead. 

Later, I read more about what "normal eating kids" like to eat and how they eat and when they eat and I will get all depressed.  "What's the point" I remember that she will not touch it.

Then, after another few days, I think that I would like to try some of that stuff and get all excited and go out buy a bunch of things for her to try.

Maybe she'll like it or seem interested in the new foods at first, and get my hopes up again.  She might take a bit of yogurt or apple sauce or play in the noodles.

In a couple days though she'll cry and cry again about the food. 

Then the cycle starts all over again.  But sometimes it changes, it can go fast or slow, and is very unpredictable.

I don't know if she doesn't like it because she's not hungry, she's afraid of it, or just doesn't want it. 

I've tried for about 4 or 5 months now (ever since she's been on the blenderized diet) to figure out a good feeding schedule.  Sometimes I think that if she doesn't throw up, then she is still hungry and not satisfied.  Or is she does throw up then I feel really bad about giving her too much food.  Sometimes I can't tell if she threw up because it was too much food or because she was bouncing or jumping around too much. 

She obviously has very slow motility and doesn't help at all at trying to gain weight, because she can't handle much volume. She still vomits 1-3 times a day and it doesn't even phase her anymore.  She'll just be sitting or standing there not crying. Just waiting for me to come clean it up. 

SO my paper here says (for eaters) offer 2-3 snacks and 3 meals ever day at 2 1/2 to 3 hour intervals.

I feed Whitney every 3 to 3 1/2 hours 5 times a day. 

Eat 150 to 200 calories at each meal and snack! 

I feed Whitney four to five oz of her 30 - 40 calories per oz meal.

The paper also says stuff like offer all the different food groups at different times.  Offer at least three different tastes and three differetn textures.  Offer sweet tastes at the end of the meal.  Do not force feed toddlers.  Avoid distractions during meals like tv and toys.  Make feeding fun!  Build things, change things, use food coloring and cookie cutters, be creative.  BTW there are so many cool blogs out there with great ideas about being creative. 

We play with the teddy grahms and she'll nibble of a leg or ear.  We play with the gold fish crackers and she might taste it.  So honestly, I'm the eating all this junk!

Well making it fun is obviously my goal but when I spent so much time and effort and money and it ends up on the floor, then I get back into my "phases"!

From MY personal view point, feeding "normal" kids is so dang easy!  And I have no empathy for "picky eaters" or kids who don't like tomatoes.  Or kids who only eat junk food, at least they are eating enough to gain weight and not die!! 

I do like to hear about the kinds of things "eaters" eat and when and how often so that I can get an idea of a "normal" kids eating habits and routine. 

Also I've pretty much "given up" on the whole praying for Whitney to eat.  I've been doing that for way over a year and nothings changed.  So again, pointless. She'll eat when she's ready, not because I want her too. 

Again I'm very grateful for the feeding tube.

Whitney's recent blends:

Fruity Blend:

2c. Goats Milk 300 cal

1c. Rolled Oats 300 cal

1/2c. strawberries 25 cal

1/2c. mixed berries 30 cal

1/3c. crasins 130 cal

1/4 sesame seeds 200 cal

Veggie Blend:

2c. Goats Milk 300 cal

1/2c. Brown Rice 320 cal

1/2 Avocado 150 cal

1/2c. peas 60 cal

1/2c. spinach 15 cal

Both blends make about 3 1/2 cups (more or less)  and she needs to get all of within two days. 

Whitney's tube feeding schedule:

(food is her blenderized diet alternated between the fruit and veggies)

730am 1oz food 2oz Water & meds

800am 3 oz food 1 oz Water

THERAPY

1100am 1oz food 2 oz Water

1130 am 4 oz food 1 oz Water

NAP

230 pm 1oz food 2 oz Water & meds

300pm 4 oz food 1oz Water

ERRANDS/CHORES/PLAY TIME

600pm 1 oz food 2 oz Water

630pm 4 oz fodd 1oz Water

BED TIME ROUTINE

1000pm 1 oz food 2 oz Water & meds

1030pm 4oz food 1oz water

If I wake up late, the times change.  If she vomits, the times change.  If we have appointments, the times change.  If we're lucky, we keep a really strict schedule. 

Glad I could write my "thinkings" down. :)

FT, OT, & ST

Feeding Therapy is going pretty well!  Whitney has been drinking water from a spoon for a really long time now.  So this week, the Therapist pulled out some applesauce.  Whitney was not interested in it and she got anxious.  We do love our therapist and she does a great job with Miss Whit.  I like recording every other session so that I can see for myself how she really has improved! Now that I think of it, Whitney use to gag and vomit with the littlest peice in her mouth!  And now she can bite and chew tiny peices of Veggie Stix with out gaging!!

Whitney has been to her Occupational Therapy about 4 or 5 times now! It's once a week and it's in the same building at her feeding therapy.  The OT is really nice.  BUT Whitney cries and cries the entire time.  It's not a scary place, no one is wearing scrubs or a white coat, and nothing hurts her!  I really don't understand it but for some reason she cries the whole time!  They are just playing with toys and Whitney will just cry and eventually vomit!  Anyway, hopefully one day she will enjoy it.  Whitney is very sensitive to new situations and new people.  That's one reason why she really needs OT. 

Speech Therapy comes every other week.  For this program, a child has to be 50% delayed in the category to qualify.  I really don't think Whitney is but they still want to work with her on her speech.  She works on Whitney's sign language and tries to get her to repeat sounds or rhythms. She doesn't repeat very many sounds, just "Bah" and "Dah" and sometimes "Mah".  Whitney definitely babbles a lot more than I've seen other kids do her age.  She also knows over 25 signs!  Like More, All Done, Up, Down, Please, Help, Eat, Sleep, Dog, Duck, Mouse, Butterfly, Hat, Phone, Shoes, Bye Bye, Hi, Bubbles, Bath, Ball, Book, Car, Cat, Home, Baby, Water, and Music. She will only do the sign when she means it or wants it.  She also knows all her body parts and the actions to a ton of songs!  I'd definitely say her brain is growing and that she is not really malnourished!

Whitney's recent Blenderized Diet:

2c. Goat Milk 300 cals
1c. Rolled Oats 300 Cals
1 banana 100 cals
1 apple 95 cals
1/4 c. Sesame Seeds 145 cals.

makes 3 1/2 cups total

2c. Goat Milk 300 cals
1/2c. Quinoa 300 cals
1/4c. Peas 25 cals
1/4c. Spinach 25 cals
1 Avocado 300 cals
1/4c. Walnuts 160 cals

Makes 3 1/2 cups total


these make about 40 calories per an oz! 

Occupational Therapy

Today was Whitney's first day of Occupational Therapy.  The car seat was still in my moms car because my husband was too tired to move back to ours.  So my mom drove us! 

 I sat in the back and fed Whitney while she slept.  The appointment was at 11am which is usually her nap time.  We were running late so we got ther 20 after. 

When we got there Whitney stayed asleep in my arms for another 15 mins or so while I talked with the therapist and I eventually gently tried waking her up.  She is a very nice (pregnant) lady. 

When Whit awoke she was very nervous at first.  She has been in that room before but with a different therapist (her regular feeding therapist).  Also she was still really tired. 

 Eventually Whitney walked around the room and got in to the bean box and played with the OT...5 minutes later it was time to go.  We go again next week but this time it will be earlier! 

I might get Whitney's weight checked tomorrow.  I suppose that even though Whitney didn't gain much weight at all in the last 2 months she did gain  4 oz in the last two weeks.
 I think the difference was that when she vomited, we feed that amount back to her so that she didn't lose any calories.  Before, I just waited till her next feed which probably wasn't best. 

She threw up three different times today.  First was about 2 hours after her meal and she was just standing by me.  No crying or burp or gag or retching.  Just a random spew.
Next was in the car. I think she got car sick for sure. 
Last was when she was crying shortly after a bolus feed. I feed her while she was asleep at 3pm.  Whitney woke around 5:30pm and around 6 she was crying and vomited about 3oz or more.

Whitney's Blended Food Formula tonight for the next two days:

2c. Goat Milk

1c. Rolled Oats

1/2c. Mixed Berries

1 med Banana

1 med Apple

1/2c. dried Cranberries

ABOUT 980 cals in 3 cups

2c. Goat Milk

1c. Granola

1c. Mixed Vegetables

1/2c. spinach

1/2c. sweet potato

1 avocado

ABOUT 1,000 cals in 3 cups

These blends are what Whitney will get for the next two days. I also add in multivitamins, probiotics, and nutritional yeast.  I pray this will help her grow and be healthy and not vomit. 

Another change in feeding schedule

As you all can tell, I change up Whitney's schedule quit a bit.  I tried to go back to 6 oz four times a day (meals every 4 hours) but Whitney gets tired with that schedule, and seems hungry. She was still vomiting doing the 4 oz six times a day (meals every three hours).  Either way it's 24 ounces of "blended food formula" a day.  So starting tomorrow, I'm going to feed Whitney 5 oz five times a day (every four hours).  It adds an ounce to the day and it's right in between the other two schedules!  So hopefully this one will work out the best!!

Miss Whit had better be tube free by the time I have another little one.  Other wise Whitney will have to tube feed herself, and I've heard it's impossible to teach a three year old to do that! HaHa!  But seriously, It takes 30 minutes to sit there and slowly push it in. (4-6 times a day)!  The blend is way to thick for the pump or gravity.  Plus it takes me a long time to make her blends, but recently I've been making one batch for two days, so I only make it every other day!  Recently I've decided to just do two different blends, instead of three.  Works out just as good and takes less time! 

Blend #1: two days worth: 

1 1/2 cups Goat Milk

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup strawberries (substitute mixed berries)

1 banana (substitute 1 apple)

1/4 c. dried cranberries

ABOUT 850 cals in 3 cups

Blend #2 two days worth:

1 1/2 cups Goat Milk

1/2 cup dry quinoa (cooked)

2 c. mixed veggies (including broc., peas, spinach, carrots, ect.)

1 avocado

ABOUT 950 cals in 3 cups

850 + 950 = 1800cals /2 = 900 cals a day

I bought Whitney these new cups called Playtex insulator with the flip cap and straw.  The speech therapist said these were the best and that once she can drink through a straw to get rid of the sippy cup.  I think it's funny that I still see kids Whitney's age drinking from bottles! But this cup is pretty hard to suck through and it's heavy holding a whopping 9 oz!  Whitney only drinks about an ounce or two herself during the day, so we do a night drip of water.  It's about 8 oz at night and she also gets 2 oz bolus of water 1/2 hour before each meal and then 1 ounce with her meal, so I'm hoping that's enough.

NEW feeding schedule

 Whitney started vomiting again. It was a few weeks ago but is getting worse! I can't figure out what I did differently.  I write everything down about when, where, and what I feed her.  But it was kind of around the time I slowly transitioned from just the Goat Milk Formula to a Blenerized Diet.  And also at that time I was weaning her off of the night drip.  So the GI doctor told me that Whitney should be able to tolerate 8 oz of BD at a meal, which she never has in her life....  So I decided to feed Whitney 6 oz 4 times a day, 24 oz of the BD.  She recently started throwing up twice a day so I asked around.  Some people thought it was dairy, but Goat Milk isn't Really dairy.

  So one friend suggested:
"In my opinion, it would probably be less of a change for her to be fed the same blend you're already doing in smaller portions more often first, and then if that doesn't change anything maybe try switching up the blend to less ingredients to see if maybe something is bothering her."
And some didn't agree with her, I didn't at first either,but when I thought about it longer, it made more sense to try that first than to change up Whitney's entire blend!
Another said:

"I don't know if I agree. It may be a food that you are feeding that is not agreeing with her, if her currents blends aren't working then you may want to reevaluate what you are feeding her. Remember, an intolerance is different than an allergy....she may have a hard time with something that you are unaware of. I would almost suggest going back to basics, simplifying your blends and seeing what she tolerates. Less more often should help if it's a motility issue. Have you had a gastric emptying study done? Does she have any constipation? I know this is all tough, trust me! We dealt with vomiting for 6+ mths, I was almost defeated, but we stuck with it and found what works for William. Good luck!"

 

 

Anyways! For a couple days now I started feeding Whitney 4 oz 6 times a day, So it's still 24 oz total, but smaller meals more frequently.  You know,like a regular oral eater! snacking all day!  And she is doing much better with this!  She's only vomited twice since and one spit up because she was crying a lot.  So hopefully this will be it, haha, but I doubt it!  (It'll be something new bugging her in a couple weeks, I'm sure).  Also I think that she may have motility issues/delayed gastric emptying plus an overly sensitive gut (because of her being born with CDH, all of her insides being moved around so much).   My friends told me about how thier sons eat and this is what they said:

"Chase is almost 15 months old. He has four 5oz bottles of milk a day and 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner). For breakfast I usually feed him a grain & dairy (like a cereal bar & string cheese). Lunch is a meat, fruit, veggi and grain. Dinner is the same as lunch along with a little dessert (chocolate graham crackers or something lol) . If he seems hungry in between meals ill give him his sippy cup of either water or a little juice. My child is a chunkster though and has always loved all foods... he is 28lbs! I just let him eat however much he wants. Sometimes he barely wants anything and at other times will be eating for a half hour straight. When he's full he let's me know!"


 "boys are pretty picky. Even at that age. Braxton has hardly ever eaten meat. So he gets most of his protein through peanut butter and eggs. Nixon doesn't like eggs but will eat meat. They eat 3 meals a day. Small breakfast, good sized lunch and an average dinner. They always have a 10am snack(crackers, fruit, cheese, yogurt, or applesauce, that kind of stuff) and a 3pm snack as well. They have to have snacks in between or get really cranky. I keep their snacks small tho or else they won't eat their next meal. At mealtime tho I do the same as faith, let them eat as much as they want. I've got one chunkster and one skinny winny. But they both eat a lot so its just how they're built! Good luck"

"Unless Caleb was in a serious growth spurt I could never get him to sit and eat a straight solid meal (he'd push it away SCREAMING). So life at our house was a series of snacks - he'd get up and have a sippy cup of milk, 30 mins later he'd have a cup of yogurt or maybe eggs and toast, an hour after that he'd have fruit, an hour after that he'd have cheese and crackers. Then usually it was nap time and when he got up I might be able to get a half a pb&j into him (its HARD to get this kid to eat protein so I usually have to go dairy or peanut butter), hour later more fruit or maybe a veggie (if we're lucky), I could usually get a small serving of whatever we're having for dinner down him and then usually one more snack - crackers and fruit or some more cheese, then another sippy of milk (he drinks water during the day) and then to bed. I tried doing 3 squares and that just doesn't fly with him. From birth he's been a grazer."

I thought it was so fascinating!! I can't even imagine what life would be like if Whitney ate food by mouth!! It's funny because my whole life I knew that kids eat!  They eat normal foods all day and grow healthy and strong, just fine! even if they are picky!  But know that my daughter doesn't eat, it's so interesting to me to see other toddlers eat! And of course I really really wish Whitney would!  But I know, that one day we will get there, but not anytime soon. 

Also, Whitney got an Occupational Therapy evaluation!  I really hope she qualifes (I know that sounds weird) so that they can work with her sensory issues!  I think it will help out a lot!  It sucks for me though because then I would have to drive to scottsdale (30 min) twice a week instead of just once. Oh well, Whit's worth it! 

Tubie BFF photo shoot

First I want to say that Whitney finally got approved for the synagis shot!  The way way expensive one that prevents RSV!  She got her first one tonight.  After the surgeon, GI, cardio, and pediatrician writing  notes to the insurance company!  Yay!  Now I feel more comfortable that she won't get sick the year either! 

I'm still in the trial and error phase of this whole Blenderized Diet for my tubie Whitney.  I keep making too much volume out of the calories she needs.  I have finally completed weaned Whitney off of the night drip or night times feedings of formula.  Now I'm feeding her 4 bolus meals of 6 oz each (180 mls) everyday. At 9 am, 1 pm, 5 pm, and 9 pm (she is asleep for the 9pm feed).  She also needs more fluids so last night I tried a slow water drip from midnight to 7 am and she did really well with that!  It was about 200 mls of water...very wet diaper in the morning!

The Regsitered Dietician said that a variety in Whitney's diet is a very good idea, I'm just still worried that she's not getting enough calories.  For example, Quinoa (keen-wa) has a lot more calories than brown rice, but they are both really good sources of whole grain.  But I wouldn't eat quinoa every single day and neither would a kid eating by mouth!  The RD said that as long as she's gaining good weight, then it's all good.  So I guess we will see how this is going when Whitney gets weighed next week, I'm very much want to know how much she gained...or lost.

  Whitney is eating way healthier than a regular kid could too.  For example, the other day she got brown rice, avocado, pumpkin, sweet potato, banana, cucumber, pear, blueberries, goat milk, pro biotic, multivitamin, flax oil, and nutritional yeast.  Of course it made way too much volume.  And another day I blended quinoa, chicken, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, banana, avocado, sweet potato, tomatoes, and goat milk with all the other stuff listed earlier.  I'm definitely grateful to be able to feed my daughter real food!

I've heard everyone say that there is no wrong way to make a BD but that's not entirely true!  Just because kids like to eat chicken nuggets and french fries doesn't mean you should blend it up for your tubie! Haha.  Or like a bunch of empty calories like crackers and chips and cookies!  Anyway, my goal is to just make sure I give Whitney her grains, fruits, veggies, dairy, and meat and a little oils.  I'm not saying that mouth eaters don't eat this good stuff, because I'm sure they do too!  Just not a large variety.

Whitney is still throwing up at least once a day.  So no, tube feedings are not perfect nor ideal in any way!  The RD told me that she shouldn't throw up because it's real food.  Guess she was wrong there.  And I don't really know why Whitney is so vulnerable to vomit!  It pretty much sucks. 

To figure out how many calories kids need daily: 

Take the weight in pounds (lbs), ex Whitney is 18 lbs 10 oz which is 18.62 lbs

then divide that number by 2.2 which equals 8.5 kilograms (kg)

She needs 100 kcals per one kg.

100 * 8.5 equals 850 cal a day

Now that number is to maintain and steadily grow.  So it is safe to say that my FTT child could use 900 to 1000 calories a day to gain catch up weight.  So when Whitney reaches 20 lbs she'll need about 900 calories a day. 

Anyway,

Here's the fun part about the tubie Best Friends Forever!  My friend Rachel, has a friend Alix, and her daughter, Lily, has a feeding tube! I meet them earlier this year when both our girls were on NG tubes.  Now me and Alix are pretty good friends and love to talk about our miracle babies!  Lily is 6 months younger than Whitney but they got along really well!  So far Lil is undiagnosed but has allergies among other GI issues.  She is so cute!  I love how they are opposites in there hair, eyes, and skin color!

Whitney was doing Pat a cake Pat a cake....and throw it in the oven for baby and me!  It was the only way we could get them to look up from the book!  So adorable!

 Wearing matching skirts that Rachel bought for them! 

They loved laying down on the cool wooden floor!

Aww BFF

They were so nice to each other! It was so sweet!

Lilian

Whitney K. 

Gaining weight on BD

Whitney weighed 18 lbs 9 oz on Tuesday 11/15.  She gained 8 ounces in 2 weeks!!

We just got the awesome Vita mix blender at Costco the other day during a their 'roadshow'.  My dad saw it and asked me if we wanted it now and if he should get it.  So I called up the company and asked about their special medical discount.  They said that a Doctor has to write a note on his letterhead about the child's condition, why the blender is needed for them and a signature.  Pretty simple.  They would fax it to the company, then the company said they would call and set me up with a reconditioned blender for about $300.  Pretty good deal.  But reconditioned means that they would send me one that has been used for their roadshows.  Unfortunately I have issues with anything used.  So my husband agreed to get the one at costco for $435. 

The blender has been working really well.  My first blend consisted of

1/2 c. cooked Quinoa

1/4 c. frozen green peas

1/4 c. steamed sweet potato

1/4 banana

1/4 c. thawed strawberry (3)

8 oz Goat Milk

It didn't put any meat in it because I think that that would give her too much protein.  It made 16 oz of formula and was a thin consistency.  I think I blended the Goat Milk a bit too long because it was kinda frothy.  Whitney threw up the first time she got it.  She was playing outside and chasing the dog, just got too wilded up I guess.

The next day I made: the same Quinoa, 1/2 c. frozen mixed veggies (broccoli, carrot, celery, and edemane), 1/2 c. mixed fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and pineapple), and 8 oz GM

The first time she threw that up too!  But that's because I gave her too much.  SHE actually signed to me that she was ALL DONE at 5 oz into it.  She's never done that before so I though silly girl, not yet!  So I gave her the last ounce.  The she took a 30 min bath, she was upset to get out and started to cry and got that look on her face and threw up all over her towel and into the tub!  Gross!  Bathed her again she then she took a three hour nap! I feed her the blend for the next two meals and again she told me all done and this time I listened!  I stopped! 

Whitney's speech therapist came over during a feed and Whitney loves it! She's coming along good in her speech and learning new signs.  Basically Whitney has lost some oral motor skills because she doesn't use her tongue and lips like oral eaters do. 

Also, I got a phone call from Ellen the nutrionist/RD in Tuscon saying that the OT, Marsha Dunn Klein is not seeing patients right now for personal reasons..... okay, I've been trying to get in to see her again since august!  Whatever.  So  Ellen said that we could just talk on the phone about Whitney's blenderized diet instead of us driving down there. So I still have a bunch of questions and will ask her on Monday. I let you all know the answers too!  I'm not going to try to get in to see Marsha though. 

Working on Blenderized Diet

WELL for the past couple of weeks I've been giving Whitney some blended foods, mostly from jarred puree's that I already had. I'm doing more research about blenderized diets. There are so many different recipes out there and I was very confused on which one to base mine from. I finally figured it out and it's very simple.  Figure out what your child's daily nutritional needs are, choosemyplate.gov is a great source! It will tell you how much of each category they need based on their height, weight, age, gender, and activity level.  It gives lots of examples of that food too! This is the basic's that every blend I've seen incorporates.  Every one needs:

GRAINS

VEGETABLES

FRUITS

DAIRY

PROTEINS

Whitney needs 1000 calories a day. 

She also needs 3 oz of grains:ex: brown rice, rolled oats,quinoa, millet, couscous, wholegrain barley

 1 cup veggies: ex: spinach, broccoli, tomato, carrots, red or green peppers, squash, peas, zucchini

1 cup fruits: ex: banana, apple, strawberry, blueberry plum, pineapple, peach, pear, cantaloupe

2 cups dairy: ex: Milk (Goat or Cow), Cheese, yogurt

and 2 oz proteins: ex: chicken, turkey, pork, beef, salmon, ham, tuna, egg, any nuts

She also needs probiotics and multivitamin daily. She'll also require about 1 more cup of fluids daily.

So now the challenge is to figure out what goes best with what (taste and nutrient wise)!!  It's very important to make sure that tubie's get enough (and not too much) of all the nutrients!  I also think a variety will be great! 

I have this program called mydietanalysis.com  which I got from being in my food and nutrition class.  I costs money, I'm not sure how much,  but if you really want to know exactly what is in what then it is a great source! 

I've already come up with some ideas to blend and I put the foods in the diet analysis and none of them quite equal up to 1000 calories.  So I will ask her dietician about it when we see her in a couple weeks in Tuscon. Plus I have no idea how much volume it will produce so I predict a lot of 'trial and error' as usual! There are so many options. You can do one or three or even 7 different combinations! I will probably do 7 different blends and rotate them every day throughout the week! Make it the night before and refrigerate it for the next day.

Meanwhile trying to wean Whitney off of the night time feeds. I want her to take all her boluses during the day like a normal kiddo!

 I plan on purchasing the Vita-mix 5200 standard blender soon!  It's about 450$$ and buying all this food will be expensive (compared to the free, ins. covered, formula)!  This adventure will be exciting and frustrating I'm sure! But well worth it!  I bet you'd wish all your kids (and you) could eat this healthy!! 

I figure that once we get this well on the way and with no vomiting and healthy weight gain... then I will focus on weaning her off!

Mic-key button change & Start BD!

Went to the pediatric surgeons office on monday to have whitney's g-tube mic-key button changed.  Everybody there loves Whitney and her long hair and her tap dancing!  My mom and I held Whitney down while the surgeon changed the button.  Whitney started crying when we held her down so I don't think it really hurt her.  I got to see the hole.  It was dark inside, lol, what else.  Not much to look at but very interesting.  The change wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  But I don't think I'd be able to do it on my own yet.  It's not like the NG tube were they make you change it in the hospital till your comfortable doing it yourself at home.  So I think I'll have the surgeon do it again in three months.  I technically know how to do it if there was an emergency.  It's just like I explain in a previous post. 

Whitney gained 2 ounces this week.  Now she weighs 17 lbs 9 oz. I've increased her volume to 1000 ml's. Pretty amazing, I never thought she'd ever tolerate this much!

12-1 AM 150 ml's

4-5 AM 150 ml's

8-8:30 AM 180 ml's

12-12:30 PM 180 ml's

4-4:30 PM 180 ml's

8-8:30 PM 180 ml's

ToTal = 1,000 ml's

wearing a makshift belly belt

Also!... today I started the blenderized diet (BD)!  I added 1 oz of jarred baby puree (sweet potato)  to 5 oz of her Goat's Milk Formula.  I blended it for a second and it was a little bit frothy.  I ran the 6 oz in the Joey pump over half an hour as usual.  Half an hour after that, while she was just playing and walking around a little, she threw part of it up!  I was pretty disappointed.  I thought she wouldn't throw up real food!  She hasn't throw up in a few weeks!  That was her 8 AM meal sitting in the high chair.

The next meal was just the formula.  At her 4 PM feed though I decided to add oatmeal cereal.  I blended up 2 tbsp of cereal and added it to 6 oz (180mls) of formula and blended it a little bit again.  Whitney tolerated that!  Yay, no vomit!  Although at the end it did get clogged in the bag because I used the Joey pump.  Hopefully by the time we get to full BD, she'll be able to tolerate it faster via sryinge bolus.