Trying Something New
Despite following the advice of Eric's former feeding specialists, Eric has yet to eat. If anything, letting him control everything, made things worse. He is very stubborn and if he doesn't want to do something, he won't. A friend did make a very valid point: how is he going to know that food is going to make him feel better if he doesn't in anyway associate food with feeling full?
After several days of Eric only being tube-fed while sleeping and crying in distress during the day, I knew things had to change. I do agree that just forcing him to eat will only cause problems later, so we are trying a gentle method of force-feeding.
It works like this: Cris gently holds Eric in his arms. This keeps Eric from resisting as much, but still feeling comforted. I give Eric 3.5 ounces of pureed food. I give Eric every chance to open his mouth. Sometimes he does, but if he doesn't, I pucker his lips and he opens his mouth. I spend the entire time being encouraging and praising each spoonful. He gets lots of kisses and cheers for each mouthful that he opens his mouth willingly for. I stop if he gets too panicky or starts to gag. He sees the container and how much is in it all times. He knows that this is all he has to eat.
Eric was relaxed towards the end of the second session. He had big smiles and the cheek-squishing became a game. He only gagged a bit once and swallowed the rest. There was no vomiting with either session. I especially liked how he was licking his lips during feeding.
I'm very encouraged by Eric's behavior. It also proves that he just isn't making the connection that food is good. He wants to eat but needs encouragement and help.
We'll keep doing the 3.5 ounces of pureed foods in the morning. During the rest of the day, he will be offered food without pressure. We'll take our cues for the next step after a couple of weeks.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
|
Labels:
tube-weaning
|
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment