Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

Hi friends, Evie is 6 years old and has had a feeding tube all her life. Yesterday was the first day ever that she had no formula put through her g-tube.   At 5 weeks old, we broke out of the NICU (finally!) after getting a g-tube placed in her stomach so that she could gain weight at home. We started from using an overnight feeding pump and feeds every 3 hours on Pediasure formula, and praying she wouldn't spit up or set off her pump alarm overnight.   We then figured out how to space out the feeds to transition from a NICU schedule to a real-life schedule.   We then dealt with feeding aversion, with Evie turning away or crying when offered the bottle. As she got older, she accepted a little food by mouth, but not enough to sustain her.  I furiously searched Facebook groups and read articles, trying to figure out how to help her leave the tubie life.   We switched from Pediasure to Real Food Blends to let her body get used to less milkshakes and more real foo...

First Mommy, and then a note from Evie! Mommy says: At this time a year ago, we did a happy dance if Evie opened her mouth for any food.  She started eating more purees from pouches, and showed a love for apple and mango flavors.  But we were only counting the number of bites she took last August.  Fast forward to June, and we are counting the number of ounces she eats.  She averages 12-14 ounces a day, plus 2 boluses of 120 ml of Pedicure Peptide during the day. She is still mostly on purees and yogurts, but we are now mixing in mashed egg yolk and blending real foods like chicken thighs and rice and mac and cheese. She still won't pick up any food and put it in her mouth, except for deigning to lick something once in awhile.  She is also sipping more liquids by mouth too, although we are counting by sips and not ounces.  She has shown that she likes my flavored seltzer water.  That wins the record for most sips! I read on one of my many Facebo...