Camping and Blending.

We did it.  We went camping as a family of four.  Last summer it was out of the question because Beauty was on oxygen.  But this year, we were determined to go.
For our first time, we went somewhere not too far from home, so that if we forgot something, we could easily return to get it.  Definitely recommend staying close to home for the first time.

We brought our awesome blendtec blender.

A pan for washing dishes, tubes, syringes, etc.

Three coolers for foods/liquids.  (Our big has food allergies as well so it makes the adventure even more fun).

This cooler-specifically for medicine.

We made certain to take extra tubes and syringes.  We got a sight with electricity and water.  And we blended our morning feed at night time so as to not disturb the whole campground.
Our biggest fear was that our neighbors would be annoyed.  While the noise of the blender turned some heads, nobody seemed to care that much (Although one lady did come over to find out if we were making margaritas.  She was disappointed, and uncertain of how to respond when we told her what we were blending.)
So, our family of four successfully tent camped for three nights and four days with our blenderized diet tubie. What/where are some of the odd places you have blended?

Hospital Stays.

A few weeks back we had a scheduled, 48 hour E.E.G. for our beauty.  This wasn't our first stay with the blender in tow.  The first time I had to explain, and re-explain how I feed my child, until eventually everyone just told me to do what I do, and didn't ask anymore questions.
This time was pretty easy.  Nobody seemed as alarmed or surprised by the idea of it.  Nobody asked about calories.  The stay itself ended up being sort of hellish, and extended.  But that's not the point of this post.
You see, after they unhooked all of the leads from Beauty, and we got on the elevator to go downstairs, she began having a cluster of seizures.  We landed ourselves in the e.d., and she hadn't had anything to eat yet that morning.  After a few hours of being there, and waiting on a room, I asked the nurses if I could feed her.
With full support of everyone, I blended a meal for my daughter in the emergency department.
We ended up being re-admitted on a floor we haven't been on since Beauty was all formula fed.  The dietitian who saw us remembered us.  She could not believe the difference from then to now.  She told me she had to write something down for every child, but felt like I was doing a great job with her and didn't need exact details.  She was completely supportive.  She came back after doing some work nearly bursting because she had plotted the height and weight on a growth chart.  She was ecstatic to see how well she was growing, and went so far as to say she might encourage some other families to try this.
I've heard horror story after horror story about doctors being unsupportive.  We've had our share of hesitancy and misunderstanding with the medical community regarding the diet.  However, there are doctors, nurses, and dietitians who are willing to cheer you on.  You may have to look , or you may be lucky enough to stumble across them, but when you find them, they will be some of your biggest cheerleaders. There's nothing like balancing a horrible hospital stay with being told that something you are doing for your child is so amazing.

Comparing tubes and mouths.

I get wearied sometimes by the number of doctors who need to know.  I need to know how many calories she's taking in each day.  I need to know how much water, how much whole milk, what's her totals.  I roll my eyes and do my best to respond kindly so the doctors know that I'm competent, and that I'm not going to give in to their push.
The biggest frustration is that nobody asked me when my oldest daughter was eighteen months old what she hate, how many calories, how much milk, and how much water.  I was given some guidelines.  Some 'children of this age need this much milk' sort of suggestions.  But nobody was ready to freak out over my daughter's water intake.  Mostly, because if she chose not to drink, there wasn't a lot I could do to change that.
So, being the researcher that I am, I decided to compare what a day looks like in my Beauty's food and water intake, to that of a typical eighteen month old, who eats by mouth.

Beauty:
8 a.m. 4oz water.

8:30 a.m.  breakfast blend.  308 calories. 20ml (1/3 of an oz) water flush.

11:30 a.m. 2oz water.

12:00 p.m. 2oz whole milk, 1/4 cup roasted chicken, 1/3 cup broccolli, 1/3 cup raspberries, 1/2 slice g.f. bread. 206 calories. 20 ml water flush.

5:00 p.m. 2oz water.

5:30 p.m. 2oz whole milk, 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter, 1/4 cup peas, 1/2 slice g.f. bread, 1/2 cup frozen peaches.  271 calories. 20 ml water flush.

8:30 p.m. 8oz whole milk. 150 calories.

10:00 p.m. 4oz. water.

calorie total=935  whole milk total=16oz  water total=13oz

18 month old who eats by mouth (I don't have times, but that doesn't matter so much).

1/2 peanut butter banana muffin. 113 calories.

8oz whole milk.  150 calories.

2oz. cheddar cheese. 228 calories.

1/2 chocolate graham cracker. 33 calories.

A few bites of grilled pork chop. Approximately 5 calories.

2 oven fries.  6 calories.

Low fat, mozzarella string cheese. 70 calories.

1/4 cup goldfish crackers.  200 calories.

8oz. 3/4 water and 1/4 juice mixture.  Drank around 1/3.  10 calories.

calorie total=815 calories.  whole milk=8oz. water=around 3oz.

The second child is growing, and has great parents.  It's okay that he didn't eat tons.  It's the plight of small children.  Some days they eat.  Some days they don't.  There's not a lot you can do about it.  However, my Beauty eats healthy, balanced meals everyday.  She has no choice in the matter.  So the next time a doctor decides to push me to count calories, I will kindly point them to this post, and tell them we are just fine, thank you very much.  Feel free to do the same.

Oops.

Saturday, for lunch, we were in a hurry to get everyone fed before we left for a wedding a couple hours away.  I put all of the ingredients for the blend in the blender, pushed the button, and walked away.  (Milk, rice cake, sunflower seed butter, bell pepper, and a plum.  In case you were wondering).
My husband took over when it was done, putting it into two bottles-one for lunch, and one to take to church for lunch on Sunday.  As he's scraping it out of the blender, he pulls something out, and asks, 'what did you put in there that had plastic on it?'
I was wracking my brain trying to figure it out.  The rice cakes come in a plastic bag, but I knew that wasn't it.  Nothing else had plastic.  After he finally dug all of it out, and pieced it together a bit, we were able to solve the mystery.  I decided to share it here, as a lesson in blending for everyone else.

ALWAYS, always, remove stickers from produce BEFORE blending.

Fillers.

I have written a post already about things that can add calories to a blend without adding much volume.  There are tons of options.  The list I posted is by no means extensive.  I'm certain there are tons of things I have missed on it.  We aren't really in need of extra calories anymore here.
I, however, am a medical nerd.  I read medical journals, drug trials, and nutrition information about my children's diagnoses.  If I meet another family, I research their child's diagnoses.  I just want to understand things.  In all honesty, it gives me some illusion of control, that I don't have at all.
In my research for the blenderized diet I came across an article written by doctors at the University of Cincinnati  and Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  They were specifically looking at the effects of the b.d. on children with a fundoplication.  After reading this though, I researched a little more for recipes for a blenderized diet.  I talked to a few other people.  I was sort of shocked by what I heard.
In order to increase calories people are being given recipes that add sugar, corn starch, or corn syrup.  I can't quite understand why there is need to add three tablespoons of sugar to a blend, aside from increasing calories.  There are so many other ways to increase calories, that are much healthier.
I have a desire to make tube feeding much less medical.  While a g-tube is a medical device, my daughter's eating is not a mathematical and medical formula that needs broken down and figured out.  Once again, I am aware that some children have things that require a very specific diet.  Lots of families though, are being told exactly what they can and can't feed their child, only because they have a g-tube.
If you would not use sugar, corn starch, or corn syrup to increase calories or fat in a typical child's diet (and I almost guarantee that a doctor would not tell you to use these to increase calories) then it is not necessary to use it for a b.d.  I want to empower you, if you are using a recipe with one of these things, to try something else.  Look around.  You CAN feed your child enough calories, with healthy foods.  You don't have to use fillers.  Remember, when someone feeds their typical child, they do not sit at each meal making it a stressful math equation.  They offer them balanced meals.  The child then chooses to only eat cheese for three days.  When you are feeding your tubie, you get to offer them a well balanced meal, and they will get all of it.  They get much less choice.  My seventeen month old eats much healthier than any of her peers.

Have you ever used these fillers?  Did they work well for you?

Help Wanted.

I'm still really excited about this blog.  I would LOVE to hear more about what people want to read about.  I also would be interested in other people who might want to tell their blenderized story.  I've been racking my brain for a topic for a few days now.  So comment or e-mail (imamann at gmail dot com) to throw out ideas, or let me know if you have a story to share.

The little Extras.

I don't know if everyone does this or not, but when I blend, my beauty gets the extras.  For example, the other night, we had chicken alfredo (the sauce i made has TONS of calories if you're in need of that), with a salad.  Beauty got the pasta, chicken, and alfredo sauce, spinach, carrots, celery, croutons, craisins, and then I put in some salad dressing.
This was definitely not a  meal where I was looking to give her any extra calories.  However, if she were eating by mouth, I would give her all of the veggies, and then put the dressing on the side for her to dip things in.  And, like most toddlers, she would likely devour it.  So she gets it in her blend.
If we eat pancakes, waffles, or french toast, she gets butter and syrup.  Biscuits get butter.  Tacos get sour cream, as does chili.  We also like our chili piled on top of corn chips.  Beauty's chili gets corn chips with it.  I try hard to give her what she would likely be getting, if she were to eat by mouth.  Even down to my oldest daughter, and husband's favorite banana chocolate chip muffins.
I have yet to blend anything like a cupcake or cookie to give to her.  If she isn't eating by her second birthday, we'll see what I decide to do for her party.
Overall, we eat really healthy.  Most of the extras she gets are good fats.  We want her tube to be her mouth, and so we do our best to give her the things she would be eating.

What are some extras you add to blends?