“They’re From a Squirrel Store”

Things I Never Thought I’d Say…

Buying supplies from a squirrel store ranks way up there. But, I did. We’ve had issues with Sam’s large 60cc syringes forever. They start sticking after 1 use so I spray them with Pam. Fun, right? Well, I was on my Facebook Tubie Awareness page and someone mentioned their squirrel syringes. I thought it was just a funny name for a certain type of syringe… No, it is a special syringe for feeding squirrels that apparently works amazing well for tubing people too! It just has a different tip so it won’t stick. I felt like I had struck gold and ordered 10 immediately. From a squirrel supply store. Did you know those existed? You do now.

Speaking of Sam’s eating… it’s going well. He is working on chewing with the use of a chew tube, and now we are putting small bites of food in there! He does pretty well, but I don’t think he’ll be eating by himself any time soon. Sam does awesome with self-drinking. I have to fill his pink cup with 3cc of Pediasure and prompt him take a drink–what I wouldn’t give to have him just drink his Pediasure out of a sippy cup! One day…

I think the most frustrating part is that he just has so little interest in wanting to chew. Except for BACON. Bacon. Watch this video:

Also, I thought I would give you a glimpse into my daily life as a SAHM of these three. Well, as a SAHM of Sam 🙂 We are going to start trying Sam on a blenderized diet (vs formula/Pediasure)… Here is some info on that: http://www.blenderizeddiet.com/

Anyway, I spend a lot of time researching, planning, discussing, etc. Here is an email I sent to his dietitian yesterday.

Hi again! 🙂

Wondering how you would suggest to calculate the amount of fat/carbs/protein Sam should get from these 400 calories that we are tubing overnight (just reduced today to 400 from 420. FYI–he’s currently 11.4kg. Want to make sure he’s getting adequate calories in an “ideal world!” Here is a typical breakdown of what he receives on a daily basis: (recipes below)

8:30am

55g oatmeal (45g of oatmeal + 10g whole milk) (see recipe–we do add some coconut oil)

120g Pediasure

11:45am

55g mac n cheese (45g of mac n cheese + 10g whole milk)

120g Pediasure

from ~1:00-3:45 he is tubed straight water… usually averages 4oz water

4:00pm

100g Pediasure

6:30pm

25g chicken breast (25g chicken + 10g water)

30g sweet potato

100g Pediasure

Overnight he receives 420cc of Pediasure.

Vegetables are very hard for him to eat because of the texture, so I’m definitely going to get them into this blended diet.

What I’m thinking of as a blend as a starting point (these are foods we almost always have in our house):

30g avoc (48 cal/4.4g fat/2.6g carb/0.6g protein)

30g chix breast (50cal/1.1g fat/0 carb/9.3g protein)

30g blueberries (17cal/0g fat/4.3g carb/0.2g protein)

15g coconut oil (129cal/15g fat/0 carb/0 protein)

1cup whole milk (150cal/8g fat/12g carb/8g protein)

30g kale (15cal/0g fat/3g carb/1g protein)

blend with extra water to thin out

I calculated this difference:

Total with this blend: Total with 420g pediasure:

409 calories 420 calories

28.5g fat 21g fat

21.9g carb 58.3g carb

19.1g protein 12.18g protein

oatmeal

1/3c oats mixed with 2/3c water + 1TB coconut oil– Sam is given 45grams of this mixture + 10grams of whole milk

Mac n cheese

recipe here: http://www.oprah.com/food/Macaroni-and-Cheese-1-with-Butternut-Squash-or-Cauliflower (*note that we use WHOLE milk)– Sam is given 40grams of this mixture + 5grams of whole milk. If too thick still, thinned with extra water.

yogurt

http://www.stonyfield.com/products/yogurt/yotoddler/fruit-cereal/strawberry-banana-with-dha

sweet potato

45g sweet potato + 5g butter + 5g whole milk

chicken

chicken breast slow cooked, then pulsed/pureed with chicken stock.

Otherwise, the twins are doing great. A few weeks ago when we all were battling the worst flu ever, they had their first dentist appointments. I was positive they would flip, but they did AWESOME. Both boys let their teeth be cleaned, brushed, and get fluoride treatment. I was pretty nervous for Sam’s teeth– Adam took him while Jack stayed home to sleep and barf. But the dentist said his teeth looked perfect! I was shocked. She said she never would have guessed his vomiting issues and grinding tendencies. Yay for Sammers! Jack rocked it too, and only had a meltdown when he dropped his balloon…

We’ve been staying busy with preschool, playdates, and doctor appointments. But we are READY FOR SPRING!!!! 61 degrees tomorrow! 🙂