It's been a nice relaxing weekend around the Berndt house. Allie had a good weekend and the vomiting stayed away for Saturday and Sunday. Now that she is wearing the pump and backpack so much, it takes a little more effort to go somewhere. On Friday morning Allie and I had to go to the bank and take care of a couple things. I'm still not comfortable taking her in public when she's getting a feeding because her vomiting is so random and you just never know when it's going to strike. Well, the lady at the bank was taking forever and Allie was getting close to the end of her feeding so I was getting nervous that she could vomit. There was a line of people outside our representatives office and everyone was watching us. I'm assuming they were all watching because Allie was wearing her backpack and they were curious as to why she was hooked up to it. As many other tubie mom's now, a lot of people are not familiar with tube fed children and how it all works. From day 1, I have never been comfortable giving Allie bolus feeds in public - the only reason being is her vomiting issue. However, with the backpack her vomiting has reduced quite a bit so I figure we should be safe. Allie had about 30 cc's (1 oz) left for her feeding and she was starting to cough so I decided to turn off her pump. Coughing is the first sign that she is going to vomit. Allie was continuing to cough and everyone was watching us. I was scrambling to find a garbage can because I just knew that in a matter of time the vomiting was going to make it's arrival. Allie continued to cough and say, "no feel good". As soon as our representative returned, I told her we had to leave and if she needed anything else from me, I would come back later. Allie and I rushed out the door and I was relieved when we hit the pavement and she hadn't vomited inside. I figured she would vomit once we got in the van and as many of you know, I could live out of my van so I knew I would have something for Allie to throw up in. I strapped her in and gave her a random bowl from the van. Sure enough, as soon as pulled out of the parking lot, Allie threw up. Fortunately she only threw up about an ounce. After throwing up, she was fine and back to her giggling self! It still amazes me how she can feel so awful, throw up and then be right back to normal. Poor little girl must be so confused as to why she vomits - I just hope Dr. Brown can help us.
Besides this vomiting episode, Allie has been doing great. Of course now I'm still nervous to be in public when she gets a feeding but I know one day I will feel comfortable with it. If Allie's vomiting wasn't so random, I wouldn't mind feeding her in public at all. I think it's important that tube fed children get fed in public so that the general population can become more aware of tube feeding and learn to accept these children. So, I hope that one day soon, I can feed Allie in public with confidence so I can help spread the awareness of tube fed children.
Here is a little video of Allie showing you her backpack and pump.
Allie gets her new pump tomorrow and we are very excited about it. Allie seems pretty excited too - just getting a lighter pump and smaller backpack will make her happy!!!
Hope everyone has a nice night!
The secret to happiness is not in doing what one likes to do, but in liking what one has to do.
- Anonymous
Thanks for the video Jodi! What a sweetie Allie is. She has changed so much in the past few months. Looking forward to seeing you guys in a few weeks!
ReplyDeleteGreat Video!! :) She is really starting to look more and more like her big sister too. She looks to be tolerating her backpack well and the button buddies are a great idea. :)
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