Abigail's GI Doc and g-tube

Dan and I took Abby to her GI doctor at Hopkins on Tuesday. The appointment went well and the doctor was very happy with the growth she has made with her eating. She said that if she keeps continuing at this rate she will no longer need her g-tube (feeding tube) in 3-6 months. During the appointment the doctor instructed us to keep the amount of bottles she takes during the day the same, but to begin giving her solid foods once a day. She currently only uses her g-tube at night with a continuous feed. The g-tube pumps the food into her belly very slowly all night long. On Tuesday the doctor decided to shorten the amount of time she is fed over night from 10 hours to 8.

I am happy that I decided to have a g-tube put in. It has helped her to gain weight and without it she would be much smaller. The type of g-tube she has is called the Mic-key. It reminds me of a little button. At night we hook her up to a long tubing that pumps the food into the g-tube. It's nice because during the day you can remove the long tubing and close up the button. It hides nicely under her clothes.

There is a con to the g-tube though. A g-tube can malfunctioned. Abby actually had a malfunction a few weeks ago and  it caused her to vomit horribly. It turns out the balloon that holds the g-tube in place under her skin got turned onto its side and caused an obstruction. The doctors explained to me that what happened isn't typically,  but it did cause her to have a 2 night stay at Children's Hospital in DC.

If you are a preemie parent and considering having a g-tube placed in your child, feel free to contact me with any questions.

   You can see her g-tube here in the picture. It is the white button attached to her belly.