My son Heath used to be 100% dependent on a feeding tube. I kept this blog from shortly before he was born until he was three, documenting our journey from a perilous birth, through the NICU, tube feeding and weaning at 14 months, a cerebral palsy diagnosis at 18 months, and beyond! As of spring 2017, he is eight years old and loving life! Tube weaning is a distant memory...
Blogging was a great outlet as I struggled with the early years of unconventional motherhood. I gradually felt less need to post as we adjusted to parenting our wonderful, hilarious, sweet, observant child with a disability. It seemed like a good idea to keep the blog alive as it contains copious, obsessive (!) details about our tube weaning experience under TUBE RESOURCES in the sidebar.
If your child is tube-dependent, I hope you find support, information, resources, and evidence to share with your child's medical team, if you believe he or she is ready to eat. Check out How Can I Help My Child Wean if you are looking for a professional to assist you or preparing for a wean with your local team. Join the Facebook Group Home Based Tube Feeding and Weaning for excellent, moderated advice.
To read Heath's story from the beginning, start here...
Good luck and good eating!!