Considering a Feeding Tube for your Child?
Feeding Tubes: Here's what you need to know
One of the things that gets people's attention is that Emma has a feeding tube. Initially, she had an NG tube, a feeding tube that goes down the nose. That was a nightmare. She yanked it out frequently which meant trips to the hospital to have it put back in. The adhesives to hold it in place caused tissue breakdown. Sometimes it wasn't positioned properly so the formula got dumped into the esophagus instead of the stomach. It was nothing but trouble and grief. So when they said she needed a "permanent" g-tube, I panicked.
Little did I know that g-tubes and NG tubes are vastly different. The g-tube makes life easier. The NG tube made it a nightmare. Here's what you need to know if your child has or is going to have a g-tube.
1. As you can see from the video above, the g-tube is surgically implanted in the child's stomach. It's small and doesn't interfere with anything. It doesn't hurt the child at all.
2. When it's time to feed you just screw in a connecting tube and use a large syringe as a funnel to put their food into the tube. Compared to feeding a typical child it's a breeze. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes. There's no spitting out food, either, because they don't like the taste.
3. On the go? No problem. Just take your connecting tube and syringe with you. I feed Emma all the time this way, at the grocery store, at church, in the park, in the car, even while we're camping. It's quick and easy. It's a lot cheaper at restaurants too.
4. What about meds? This is where the g-tube really helps. No more spitting out the medicine. No more crying. Just put the medicine down the tube.
5. Gas and burps: Babies fuss when they need to burp and your feeding tube is an answer from heaven. Just as easy as the formula goes in you can knead their tummy gently and the air comes right out.
6. What do they eat? Many use a pediatric formula but you can also put regular food in a blender and add water.
7. Is it permanent? There are 2 sides to this question, the button and the child.
A. The plastic buttons implanted in the stomach don't last forever. They wear out and have to be replaced. Emma's is replaced every 3 months. Originally she had what is known as a Bard button and that had to be replaced at the hospital but now she has a Mic-key button and that's so easy we replace it ourselves. OK, so it wasn't so easy the first time but that was just because I was so scared of hurting her. Believe me, it doesn't hurt her at all and it's easy to do. The button has a little water balloon inside you inflate or deflate and you just apply a little KY jelly to the button and it slides right in or out. I can change Emma's mic-key button in less than a minute.
B. The second aspect of this question is whether or not your child will be tube fed forever. In our case Emma is still on her feeding tube, Hope is not. The process is simple enough. A little KY jelly, slide the button out, and the hole heals on its own. All Hope has left from her feeding tube days is just a tiny scar on her tummy.
8. Let's have some fun. Children are fascinated when I feed Emma. Adults are too, they just hide it better. Not only can we use this curiosity to educate them, we can have some fun while we're at it. A child will frequently ask a question, to which I frequently respond, "You got to be kidding. You eat with your mouth? I thought everyone ate with their tummies." Another favorite is, "Emma has 2 belly buttons. How many do you have?" The best is, "That's how Emma burps, through her belly button. Wanna hear?" The demonstration is sure to amaze even the most straight laced adults. With the tube and syringe connected you just knead the tummy a bit and when the air comes out the syringe acts like a trumpet, amplifying the sound considerably.
Wikipedia: feeding tube
