Sorry for my few days of absence We had some three letter testing for both girls over the last weeks, results that have meant getting used to new meds, and then all the girls of the house got sick.
One of the things that was important to us when we chose to switch our beauty to blenderized is having her be part of family meal times. Before this, she ate every so many hours, and it rarely lined up with when we were eating. This was especially true due to the large amount of stopping feeds because of vomiting.
When we switched her over, we wanted her to eat with us. So we made it a priority. Now it just seems like a natural part of our lives.
We blend whatever we are eating, sit down as a family, and Beauty gets fed through her tube and sits at the table with us. This has also led to her being much more interested in trying what we are eating (she can do so safely. I know that isn't an option for everyone). She associates her belly being filled with sitting at the table as a family, laughing, talking, and enjoying our time together.
Doing this has also meant, for us, that her feeding feels less like a medical process. We have wanted to make her tube a normal part of our lives, and we want it to be seen as eating, just with her mouth being in a different spot. By having her at the table, eating what we are, while we are, we have accomplished this feeling for our family.
When do you do feeds? What are some things that are special about them for you?
We do feeds at family mealtimes same as you. And if we eat at a restaurant, she orders food from the menu too. Now that's trickier, as most places don't have blenders, but we usually find something like mashed potato, gravy and milk, or soup with a sieve. Not the most balanced meal perhaps, but not a problem once in a while. And some places have washed out milkshake blenders to purée whatever we've asked for.
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