Blenderized Diet, Week 1: Welcoming Momma Bear

After doing quite a bit of research and finding the infinitely helpful Yahoo Group called Blenderized Diet, I convinced Brock to get on board and give doing a Blenderized Diet (BD) for Reide a try.  When I first learned about BD, my gut told me, "This is RIGHT for Reide!" but after talking to her occupational therapist, we thought waiting until after her tube weaning attempt would be best, as to not change too many factors prior to her tube wean.  Also, the dietician who has voluntarily helped with Reide was completely unfamiliar with BD and suggested I contact Baylor's dietician to see if she would help us.  So, I contacted Christine, the Baylor dietician who we have kept in touch with since Reide's discharge from there and low and behold, she's VERY interested in BD and actually had just ordered the Marsha Dunn-Klein book on BD....cool, very cool!  So, thinking I had time to continue my hunter-gatherer phase of info collection on BD, I searched and read, searched and read info on BD.

Reide's intolerance from her Neocate Jr. formula continued to worsen and on Tuesday, November 16 after Reide had vomited every single feed for over 24 hours, I just couldn't do it anymore.  There she sat, in her highchair watching Baby Einstein, tasting a ton of food and even using her spoon to lick baby food and I'm staring at a cup of formula like it has cancer or something and I couldn't do it.  I just couldn't do it.  I thought, "She's doing everything we're asking of her and I'm going to make her puke.  No, I won't do it anymore.  We have another option."  I stood up right then and made a quick blend of baby food and pushed it in.  No problems, no funny faces, no reflux cough, no vomit.  She was actually HAPPY after being fed.

So, I've started doing two blends, one sweet, one savory that together last around 3 days.  I've included my "recipe".  It's nothing special.  Most BD people have a Vitamix blender that costs around $500, but we're waiting until after the wean attempt to see if A.  She's going to eat enough on her own or B. We need to buy the blender and keep doing BD for Reide to supplement her oral eating.


Reide was weighed today after 7 days on BD.  Note:  Reide had not gained one single ounce in a month and a half.  Today, she was up 10oz in 8 days....YIPPEE!!!!  Dr. Pistorius (her pedi) also ordered a Complete Metabolic Panel (CMP) on her, so they did a blood draw for that.  The results showed that her diet is fine and all levels were normal for a child her age.

My intuition that BD was right for Reide has been confirmed.  My intuition that WE, Reide's PARENTS know what's best for Reide has been confirmed.  Reide's therapist said, "I'm glad to see your Momma-bear is coming out.  Good for you."  Yes, I'd say Momma Bear is here to stay.  My confidence our choices and abilities as Reide's parents is unwavering.  I'm a different person today than I was even 3 months ago, and I'll continue to embrace the clarity that I'm experiencing.

We travel to Atlanta on December 7th for Reide's appointment with a GI specialist, so that will likely consume the next post.

Happy Thanksgiving ALL!

Recipe:

Savory Blend - makes approx 39oz; all baby food is Beechnut brand

4 - 2.5oz jars beef with broth
4 - 2.5oz jars Stage 1 veggies (I try to use 2 jars of green veggies and 2 jars of orange/red veggies)
2 - 2.5oz jars Stage 1 fruit
1 whole avocado
2 tbsp wheat germ
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1.5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp powdered probiotic
1/4c Beechnut baby oatmeal
2oz - 20cal/oz juice
2oz - 25cal/oz Gerber yogurt juice

This came out to 34.3 calories/ounce.

Sweet Blend - makes approx 34oz; all baby food is Beechnut brand

6 - 2.5oz fruit (I usually do 4 jars of pears/applesauce/bananas and 2 jars of prunes)
3/4c Beechnut baby oatmeal
2oz coconut milk
4oz goats milk - concentrated, undiluted
1tsp powdered probiotic
1tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp flaxseed oil
1 tbsp wheat germ
2 egg yolks
4oz - 20cal/oz juice

This came to 32.25 cal/oz.

We normally do 5oz of the sweet blend at breakfast and dinner and 5oz of the savory blend at lunch and snack.  Basically, for every 2 savory blends, we give one sweet blend.

Her BRAT blend that I did today bc Reide had a mild stomach bug that her poor cousin, Landry had was as follows:

1 jar applesauce bf
1 jar bananas bf
3 tbsp rice cereal
5oz pedialyte

We did 5oz every 3 hours and she handled it like a champ!

The dreaded first post.....

So, over the last 12 months, I've been asked by several people (believe it or not) to start a blog so that our friends and family can keep with Little Miss Sassy Pants and her medical/feeding/tube stuff.  I read other peoples blogs and think, "Nothing I have to say will be interesting or stimulating" but over time, I've felt that I'm actually HELPING alot of fellow tube moms with the things I've learned in my quest for a cure, the unbelievable amount of internet hours I've spent learning, digging, searching and the common sense approach that I *try* to take towards Reide's health issues. 

I had someone tell me once, while laughing/ridiculing me for giving Reide "paci time", that we were "ridiculous with Reide".....  THEN, I smiled, felt embarrassed, questioned my abilities as a mother, questioned Reide's temperment as abnormal.....NOW, I'm certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, no questions asked, that I've always given my daughter everything she needed, that I'm a fabulous mother.  NOW, if someone were to make the same gutsy comment to me, they'd be the ones leaving with their dignity disturbed and their abilities in question.  I've gained/learned unbelievable strength, stamina, knowledge and perseverance over the last 12 months.

So, what's next?  Well, we'll take Reide to Atlanta, GA to the Children's Center for Digestive Health Care (http://www.ccdhc.com/) on December 7th for a consultation and see if they have something to offer her and her poor tummy.  We're curious to know the state of her Nissen, whether her reflux is still as bad as we think it is and what our next move is.  We're also planning a home-based, Graz-style (http://www.notube.at//) tube wean beginning December 17th.  We've got so much riding on her wean....that deserves a "Post" of it's own.

Till then.......

Goodnight.....the 2am tube feed awaits me in 2.5 hours.....*sigh*