figuring out a blended diet

So I just kind of wanted to give a little update on what feeding Jonah looks like these days. Our schedule goes a little something like this -

7:30 or 8:00 to 9:30 - Dressing Change
9:40 - 10:40 - first meal
10:45 - 12:30 - nap
12:30 - 12:40 - bolus 2 ounces of water
12:40 - 2:15 - window to get out if we can
2:30 - 3:30 - second meal
3:45 - 5:00 - nap
5:00 - 5:10 - bolus two ounces
5:10 - 6:30 - hang with dad, play time, set up for tomorrow's dressing change
6:45 - 7:45 - third meal
8:00 - bedtime, overnight drip of water

So... life is busy. But good. Better. No more puking. I have to get his feeds to thick yogurt consistency. As long as I do that and push it (usually around eight ounces) slowly over 45 minutes to an hour, he does fine. I start the feed with a one ounce flush of water and end with another one ounce flush just to get some additional liquids in him. The "meal" usually consists of four to five ounces of solids mixed with three to four ounces of liquid (formula, Lactaid whole milk, orange juice with calcium, apple juice, or V8 fusions). Each meal is anywhere between 280 to 350 calories.

This is what we ate last night. I made Mushroom Stuffed Chicken (from Cooking Light), egg noodles, and green beans. I kept up with the total calories as I cooked, took 1/3 of the green beans, 1/4 of the egg noodles, and one of the six pieces of chicken, and figured the calories for just that amount.


Then I blended it, with a little chicken broth, in the awesomest blender in all of creation...


And Voila! I put it into ice cube trays and divided the total calories by the ounces it made. So now I have little frozen 43 calorie blocks of chicken/noodles/green beans for Jonah's future eating not-so-pleasure.


And this is the Taco Salad I made tonight (minus the chips, plus some sour cream for added dairy and calories). Doesn't it look so tasty??? Whatever. Forty-eight calories per ounce.

And this was his dinner tonight - two ounces of Baked Ziti (from last week), one ounce of Avocado (LOADED with all kinds of healthy stuff and 50 calories per ounce), one ounce of Spinach, one ounce of Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, an ounce of Lactaid whole milk, two ounces of formula, and one teaspoon of Flaxseed Oil (65 calories!).

And at the beginning of each feed, we offer yogurt by mouth. Some feeds he loves it, some feeds he cries, gags, and pushes it away. More dairy. Usually an additional 50ish calories. In addition to his meals he gets Polyvisol with iron, and Zinc, Vitamin C, and Protein supplements every day.

And he also enjoys a bite of his remote control (Thanks, Rory and Quinn!) every now and again.

And he watches the Baby Einstein Newton DVD and plays in his high chair (usually pretty happily) while we do 10 cc's at a time. Isn't he the cutest?

So that's it in a nutshell (20 calories... just kidding). It's a ton of work but completely worth it. Jonah isn't throwing up, and he's getting all the calories he needs without all the liquidy volume he can't handle. And with the overnight drip of water, we're still having plenty of pee pee diapers each day and crying real tears, so he's plenty hydrated.

Things, for now at least, are good. He may not be getting the "complete nutrition" his formula would give him, but I guarantee he's eating healthier than 99% of 15 month olds. He's definitely eating healthier than I am. :)

I know several of you may be facing the same issues and maybe the decision about the blended diet. It might not work for everyone, but so far, it has been a lifesaver for us. It is VERY hard, extremely time consuming, and I have the most ridiculous spreadsheet you've ever seen, but it is SO worth it. And I think it will get easier with time. Thanks to Andrea for all the help. I can never thank you enough!

better today

Today was better.

Jonah only had one big throw up this afternoon, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I was giving him yogurt, 1/4 of a banana, and two ounces of formula. It was very liquidy, and I think I might have pushed it too fast. And he may or may not be able to tolerate bananas. That's yet to be determined. I know he can't handle banana pudding, but I thought it was the sweet flavor. Maybe not. So it was either the bananas, the formula, how liquidy it was and/or me pushing it too fast. It was a fluke. I'm sure it was a fluke. It had to be a fluke, right?

I ordered my Vitamix 5200 today. I have read The Simmons Family Blog, and she highly recommends this blender. It will pretty much blend anything to liquid. Right now I can do veggies and fruits that aren't seedy in my Magic Bullet, but I have to use baby food meats. I can't do rice because it's too thick and pasty. And I haven't tried beans, but I think I would have a similar problem with those. The Vitamix can do rice, beans, meats, and grains to liquid. AND I could just blend up whatever we're eating - casseroles, lasagna, steak - whatever, and give it to Jonah. I'm excited. It's expensive, but there's a medical discount of 25%, and I ordered a reconditioned one instead of a new one. It also comes with a seven year warranty. I'm committed to trying this for Jonah, and I just don't feel like I can give him the protein and grains he needs without a better blender. And I definitely can't risk having chunks and clogging his tube. So the Vitamix it is! I'm pumped.

Life's an adventure, I guess. It seems like we're always trying to figure something out.

Thanks for all the continued prayers and support. You've got to be exhausted.

And is it just me or is this episode of Glee even more weird than usual? That Lady Gaga is a strange bird.