Trying a Functional Feeding Program

I just finished filling out the exhaustive paperwork necessary for getting an evaluation at the Functional Feeding Program at the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh. You have to fill out the paperwork and fax it in before they will schedule you for an evaluation. It sounds like it will be a very in-depth evaluation so they probably need as much information as possible.

In the past couple months we have noticed less resistance to tasting foods and sometimes some good interest in the foods tasted. Hopefully, his new openness is coming at a time when we can take advantage of it.

Tasting Easter candy, not a big fan actually.

Tom recently got a new dietician and she has had a couple ideas to push us to make Tom eat by mouth. We always offer him tastes of food but we were not very structured about it. And we had been avoiding the highchair since it was the scene of so many failed feeding. For a while I felt like he was mad as soon as he sat in the chair because he knew it was time to eat. But I think that association has faded because he had been doing good in the highchair lately. And it's nice to not feed him in the living room anymore!

We are now putting him in the highchair twice a day for meals. Then I subtract what he eats by mouth from his g-tube feeding. I have also been spacing out the feedings to allow him to feel very hungry. He is still getting the same calories, it's just a longer, more drawn out process. I'm basically feeding him double, twice a day (4 g-tube feeds, 2 high chair feeds, plus snacks and sippy cup). Let me tell you, I spend a lot of time getting food ready and cleaning it up. But it will be worth it if we can get him to eat by mouth!

We just faxed in the paperwork so hopefully we will have an appointment at the Children's Institute soon! Click here for more information about the Functional Feeding Team and how they can help.

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