the blended diet

For the past three months I have been blending Grayson's food up in the blender. I also keep track of his calories in a food journal. It takes extra time, but I feel like it is completely worth it. Up until this point of this new diet I gave Grayson a infant or toddler formula, this is truly easier, but he gagged and gagged almost constantly! He can't throw up because of his nissen ( a surgery for the stomach which keeps kids from being able to throw up and asparate which is very dangerous for trached babies). We also had him on a continuos feeding pump every night for about 8 hours. This pump was what was delivering the majority of his daily nutrition. So, Grayson would wake up full, how backwards and unnatural is that? Don't get me wrong, I am glad that there is this option because at first this is how he got his nutrients. But for a child that already doesn't want to take food by mouth to wake up and never feel hunger and then to gag everyday and be miserable. So I had to do something different! He was losing weight and developed a hernia so I prayed that God would give me a better way of feeding him, that did not include synthetic formula or a pump. So I began learning how to blend natural food that your body digests more quickly thin enough to get through his gtube. This definately has its own set of issues because the tube is very small. After talking to our nutritionist and figuring out his dairy, protien, carbs, and liquid requirements I began the blended diet. Some days its better than others, but no matter what he is happier, healthier, and all these other things started happening, like his hair came in thicker, he has more energy and stamina through his therapies as well as he has been sick less often! yeah:) My blend for a full day for him goes something like this, it varies from day to day, 1 box of boost( down from three) 1 avacado(pureed with apple juice), 1 jar of baby food chicken, 6tsp of olive oil, 10 tsp of whole grain infant cereal, 3 oz of pureed fruit, and 2 oz of yogurt and 4 tbsp of syrup for extra pack on the LB's calories. This makes a lot for his little tummy to handle, but because its more digestable foods and not so heavy it digests better. Tomorrow he gets weighed and that always wears me out because I need that scale to show good weight gain! Its so hard not to measure my success as his mom by that darn scale! I never counted a calorie in my life and now I am a total freak about it. So we will see. Sayin prayers tonight for a good day with the nutritionist tommorow!