Basekamp Laundry Mountain

Here we are. February 4th. The day after our nutrition appointment where they asked about my thoughts on placing another GTube. My thoughts: FEAR. TERROR. TORTURE. My son experienced an incorrectly place GTube that no one realized was blocking the exit to his stomach- for 4 YEARS!! He experienced constant, sustained, SEVERE pain that took him until 3.5 to be able to communicate. We have a little over a month until our GI appointment where they will bring it up again. We have work to do. We need new strategies. This post is going to be about “Step 1”.

Step 1 for us is going to be to try to make food in our house more about “yes” & less about force & control. I know for those who don’t have a child with special developmental & medical needs, you are thinking: “Force & control? That’s MESSED up!” And you’re right, it is… But it’s a long & winding “Failure to Thrive” road that gets a family like ours to this place- & we need your support & encouragement, not judgment.

As my 27-week preemie trached twins head to their 6th birthday in March, they continue to have slow growth & development. FINALLY my 4.5y.o. has a “green light” on her exit from the “slow growth & gain” train. Our February of “YES”.

We have 25 more days of February & we are going to try being more of a “yes” family with food.

YES you can have a banana after waffles at breakfast

YES you can have a couple ounces of water first thing in the AM before hi-calorie Peanut Butter Formula

YES we can talk at the table and try to still get food in

YES you can have a lo-cal orange as your breakfast after finishing PBFormula instead of sausages which give you more calories at your “best meal of the day”…

YES to getting milk & food at the SAME TIME vs. “Fluids first, food after”

YES to veggies & meats delivered at the same time at dinner vs. “Meat first, veggies after” (My kids are the ones who see salad as a dessert food)

My goal in the “Month of YES” is not weight gain- that would be nice, awesome, but not my goal. My goal is changing the culture if meals from “torture to be endured” to … anything less noxious- something I don’t yet have words for. Wish us luck. Wish us “YES”.