Blenderized Diet: Our Tips & Tricks

Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2015

Little Man has had a feeding tube for over 3 years now, first starting with TPN (IV nutrition via a central PICC line), then an NGT tube followed by his surgery for a G-tube.  The G-tube has normalized his life, living with several food allergies that limits his diet.  The G-tube allows us to provide his safe foods, blenderized, for his daily nutritional needs.  He is strong, growing, and thriving. I wish I could have told myself 3years ago how much the G-tube would change his life.  But, the G-tube itself is only part of the reason of the success he has experienced because of the G-tube.  What goes in the tube is the other part.  He has so many allergies, finding him a safe, nutritionally complete, diet was a daunting challenge of managing his FPIES. At 5 years old, his diet remains limited but his life isn't.  That is because of the freedoms allowed from his G-tube.  For Little Man, he thrives because we are able to do bolus feeds of his safe blenderized foods throughout the day.  We can't use gravity feed or the pump because of the thicker consistency of his feeds, but we have learned the best ways to provide his blended foods through his tube. 

I thought, in honor of Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2015, I would share some of the tips and tricks we have learned to making his bolus/blended feeds more successful, convenient, and less messy! 

First, this is how we dry out his tube- we rinse/wash it out after every feed.  We only get 4 of these a month from insurance, 1 per week, so we must keep reusing the same one as long as possible.   I wish I could take credit for this ingenious idea but I got it by following another great resource Mic-key's on the Go when they posted about it one day. Be sure to follow their page- they post some great things! 

Next is this kitchen appliance I couldn't live without!  We were fortunate enough that my sister donated her Christmas bonus to Little Man's needs one year -- this was needed so we purchased it, even before we knew he would need it for a blenderized diet for his G-tube. 

These two pictures show our storage methods.  The top picture is the every day needs of syringes- kept out on the counter, ready to be used for the bolus feeds. We wash them as many times as we can before the rubber tips wear down and are too tight to be used (wish they would last longer!) The bottom picture above is the shelf in the pantry- handy in the pantry, for quick restock of his supplies, including his tubes/extension sets. 

Next up, mason jars.  Mason jars work excellent for storing feeds- I can keep extra feeds in the freezer for back up and thaw easily in the jar (in the fridge of course). I label the feeds with the date, for food safety.  If it goes into the freezer, I also will mark what is in the jar but these jars are just ready for the fridge.   This is Little Man's current mix of purred pork roast, peaches, and goats milk. 

Next, I would like to share a bag I purchased.  I purchased this from a fellow FPIES mommy via a Thirty-One Sale she was having.  I had actually saw a post for another bag and how easily they fit the same mason jars we use for his blended feeds so I ordered that bag and got this bag half price -- and found this bag to be even better for holding his supplies -- and keeping them at a perfect temperature!  In the pocket of the bag, I keep some supplies handy - some wet wipes (because blended feeds can get messy), an extra tube (because tubes clog!), a syringe, bottles of fresh/safe water.  

This is what the inside of the bag looks like- an ice pack (not included with the Thirty-One bag but purchased separately) designed to hold soda cans, neatly holds our 6oz. mason jars with feeds in place in the bag; while the Thirty-one bag holds up to the frequent uses, washes clean for spills and keeps foods at the right temperature.  (disclaimer: I am in no way involved with Thirty-One sales and am just a happy customer!). 

This next picture shows the syringes ready to go for a 'feed'.   The extension line is 'primed' and ready with fresh/safe spring water, and the 2 syringes are filled with the blenderized feed.  If little man is not in the kitchen, I can easily go to him and I take along a damp washcloth to wipe up any drips (they happen!) 

This is a trick my husband discovered, if you wet the rubber end of the syringe before inserting it back into the tube, it slides in easier (for these repeated uses when the rubber end starts to wear down and make the syringe tight).  

A final photo tip is another one my husband discovered - a clogged tube that will not push through the dispensing end of the tube can be sucked out through the button end with a syringe!  This has saved us from having to throw away countless tubes because of a stubborn clog!  

To learn more about Feeding Tubes, be sure to visit Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation!