I'm sure many of you are thinking, "What is good about tube feeding, other than the whole saving his life thing?" You're right. The obvious advantage of tube feeding is that it has saved my son's life. But that's not what I'm focusing on in this post. I'm going to focus some other positives that might not be as obvious, and some of them might be even humorous:
- I get more sleep than a typical mom. Jayson's feeding bag will hold 6 hours of food at a time, so I haven't had to wake up at night to feed him. In fact, I don't have to wake up early in the morning to feed him. Anytime he is sleeping, I can sleep. I don't ever have to wake him to feed him. When his machine goes off, I pour some more milk in and go back to bed.
- It is a lot easier to keep a tubie hydrated when they're sick. I don't have to worry about Jayse refusing to eat while he's sick or even nauseous. In most cases, I just keep his feeds running and he stays hydrated.
- I didn't have to feel a lot of shame when I quit breastfeeding; instead I was a hero. Jayson stopped eating by mouth at 2 months. This was so sad and hard, and I was determined to keep pumping. My supply really decreased, but I continued to pump until Jayson was 6 months old. At that point, I decided I was done. I didn't want to keep pumping, and my supply was nearly gone. Instead of feeling guilty, embarrassed and ashamed that I quit, I felt proud. Nurses, friends and family admired the fact I was committed for that long.
- I haven't had to hear Jayson's cry due to hunger. This little fact has diminished the number of reasons why my child might cry during the day. It may explain one of the reasons why my son has been such a happy, easy baby. His body is constantly getting nourishment.
- I never have to worry about how much he is eating. I actually know how much to the very milliliter that he is eating each day. This makes it very easy to manage his weight. Little J was failure to thrive until about 5 1/2 months old, and since then he has been steady at a perfect 50th percentile. If he's going through a growth spurt, our doctor will instruct us to increase his rate. If he's gaining to quickly, we level off his rate for a while. It is great!
- Ever had a hungry baby screaming in the back seat of the car as you're driving as fast as you can to get home to feed the starvin marvin? Nope, I haven't. :) Tubie takes care of that for me! And roadtrips are a breeze!
- Feeding tube supplies are good for many things beyond tube feeding. You can use syringes of all sizes for making pancakes, baking cookies, frosting a cake or cookies, squirting your husband or misbehaving cat, or they make very fun bath toys! I have also used Jayson's medical tapes for many household fixes.
- Although I missed this bonding experience, no one needs to hold the baby or the bottle while he eats. He can play, roll around, sit, sleep, watch a movie, and kiss his mom all while getting some nums.
- Because Jayson is exclusively tube fed, insurance has been providing our formula for us over the past couple of months, which saves us hundreds of dollars!
- I've cleaned many neglected places in my house due to "tube sprays"... the walls, the ceiling, behind pictures, the blinds, the windows... you name it, it's been sprayed.
- It is easy peasy to get Jayson to take his meds. I just put them through the tube! We have never had to force meds down our child's throat, hide them in his food or convince him they are tasty. Down the tube they go!
- We haven't tried this one yet, but I'm pretty sure the tubie will get us to the front of the lines at an amusement park!
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