My daughter is considered failure to thrive. She was a preemie born at 14 oz and currently is 11 months and only weighs 10.5 lbs. I think we need to put in a G tube cuz she isn't gaining any weight. She has battled reflux in the past and I am nervous the dr's are thinking the G tube will solve all of our weight problems and it might not. . Putting in the tube is a very scary thought for me. They want to put in a Mickey thing and feed want me to feed her at night while she sleeps through it. Any support you can give me is greatly appreciated
Oh I am so sorry, this must be so incredibly difficult. I have no real advice I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you. My daughter was born 5 lbs and only gained 10 lbs her first year too, finally hitting 15 lbs at 13 months. And I stressed something awful as she's always (and still is) well below 3%. I know it's not at all what you are experiencing, I just know how much I stressed so I can only imagine how you are feeling. But the good news is developmentally doing great is really fantastic. Here's a discussion board where mom are sharing their g tube experiences: http://www.shareyourstory.org/webx/.ef45342 Wish I could be more of a help.
This is a difficult situation for anyone to be in. I have a 28 weeker who will be 2 in Sept. We were fortunate that she had her feeding tube removed before coming home. I have worked with several differant people with g tubes. They are intimadating at first. Take a deep breath you can do this. This is a way to get concentrated nutriction (sp) to her. The night feedings are actually not that difficult. Ususally this will allow for more freedom during the day. Your doing great things for your little angel.
God bless you and your family.
Beth V
How is she doing on the growth chart? Don't look at the lbs look at the baby. If she is health and developing than she is ok... I was a premeei that never caught up to the average child, at 37 years old I'm about 5" and under 100lbs. Get a second opinion
Hello Erika,
I do not live in your area (in fact, at this time, I live across the globe), but I have a son who has a G tube and it has saved his life. I know it is scary in the beginning, but the truth is, it is not complicated to handle. My son had severe reflux and he had his G tube put in (with a fundoplication too) when he was a month old. Now he is three and he has all his meals by mouth during the day and he receives some milk for a couple of hours at night. We are thinking about taking it out this summer (Southern Hemisphere). The most important thing, in my opinion, is to put in the G-tube and always have an oral therapy to go along. The child must never stop using his/her oral capacity... stimulate it in every possible way and do not accept to wait because you do not want the child to lose his/her natural reflexes. There is a great site for G tube parents you should check out:
http://parent-2-parent.com/forum/index.php
Let me know if you need any help,
Maria
Thanks for the responses. She fell off the growth chart a while back but we were happy as long as she was gaining and one her own slow curve. Now she is no long gaining and has been stuck at 10.5 for a while. She is very active and burns every last calorie she takes in. She is very picky and I can’t change her formula to a higher calorie cuz she won’t tolerate it. I don’t want to do procrastinate and end up damaging her brain in the long run. I get som many mixed opinions that I want to scream.