Here An Ounce, There An Ounce

My MIL asked me the other day if there is a limit to how much/how many times Sloane can drink a day. It was a good question because I guess I never addressed that. Sloane can drink as much or as frequently as she wants each day as long as it is a safe consistency for her. Right now, that means 5 1/2 ounces of JU to one packet of Simply Thick. 

When I speak about ounces added to the Simply Thick, it isnt about increasing the amount of liquid in the cup although the more volume Sloane drinks the better. She does takes 15 ounces of milk by tube daily, so it would be great for her to be able to drink that amount or even 10 oz. (since we are creeping up on 2) in a thickened consistency by mouth. The BIG PUSH is for her at the very least to drink one cup of JU which is 5 1/2 oz. The sippy cup of JU comes everywhere now..in the car, in the stroller, on the tri-cycle, on play dates, to restaurants, on errands, ...somedays, its like where's waldo!!!

What the ounces added to the Simply Thick are about is consistency. The more liquid/more ounces added to the Simply Thick, the thinner the JU becomes. The goal here is for Sloane to safely drink all liquids in their natural form.


We started at 4oz to one packet of Simply Thick and by the swallow study on May 8th, we are hoping to be at 6oz to one packet of Simply Thick. If Sloane can safely or rather when Sloane can safely drink 8oz of liquid to one packet of honey consistency we can move on to nectar consistency. Nectar consistency Simply Thick I have heard is the same thickness as a drinkable yogurt.


All this counting ounces is getting crazy. Sometimes I think because Sloane has a gtube and her milk is pumped into her, we have been over the top obsessed. I was talking to my friend yesterday who has a 18 month old. She told me she is lucky if her daughter drinks 4 oz of milk a day and the majority of her milk daily comes from an 8oz bottle at night before bed. I have been force feeding or force pumping 15 ounces into Sloane everyday since her 1st birthday.


In our house, we have made so many positive changes in terms of the feeding tube over the past year that I am confident more are to come either in terms of timing (it is still 35 mins long) or in terms of volume (there are still three 5oz tube feeds a day). I am hoping that when we go to the feeding/nutrition clinic (they manage the gtube & oral feed intake) next week, we can either:

1. shorten the tube feed in terms of timing since Sloane is ready to jump out of the high-chair most days. 35 minutes is TOO long for her to sit. the length of the feed seems to be escalating her 2 year old table manners.
2. eliminate a tube feed daily taking her down from 15oz to 10-12oz daily.


Let's hope, our nutritionist is blown away when she sees Sloane and hears about her daily food intake and makes some changes in regards to the feeding tube. If not, it's going to be like "where's momma" in our house because soon I am going to be running for cover as the food starts flying!!!