September Healthy Highlights #1: The In-Cider on Apples
Tree leaves changing color and apple harvest are two symbols that represent autumn. To help kick off the beginning of autumn, we included a simple recipe for homemade apple cider. We hope a warm cup of cider will help you stay warm and cozy on these cool crisp mornings and evenings.
What Kinds of Foods to Offer Your Tube Fed Child
When a child is fully supported nutritionally by their feeding tube, we have no expectation that they will be eating orally. All of their nutritional needs are being met, so there is no expected hunger drive. And no hunger drive, means no eating. But, even in the absence of oral eating, there are some great things we can do to support the journey towards eating, without the actual act of chewing and swallowing.
August Healthy Highlights: Easy Summer Squash Pasta Bake
Because squash is not sweet like traditional fruits, it should be prepared as you would other vegetables and can be grilled, roasted, sauteed, boiled, or steamed. Nutrient retention is best when the squash is steamed. One such recipe utilizing steam as the method of preparation is provided below. We hope you enjoy this light and savory squash and pasta bake.
10 Ways to Stimulate Fluid Intake and Promote Drinking
During and after a tube wean, some children gravitate more towards eating than drinking causing parent’s concern that their child isn’t consuming adequate fluid for hydration. While we can’t “make” or “get” the child to drink more, we can alter the way in which their beverages are served, how they look, and how they taste to make them delicious and visually appealing. Here are 10 tips to promote drinking.
August Healthy Highlights: Summer Squash and Carrot Soup
Squash is actually a fruit because it contains seeds and develops from the flowering part of a plant. Summer squash vary in size, shape, and color but are generally mild tasting. The entire squash (seeds, flesh, and skin) is edible. The soft skin, or peel is where most of the nutrients are found, so it is important to keep the skin on when preparing and eating summer squash.
August Healthy Highlights: Summer Squash
As we continue to enjoy the summer season, we want to keep the spotlight on fresh produce and this month our feature is summer squash, which originates from Central America and Mexico. These squashes grow quickly in the warm summer months as they take about 60 days from the time they are planted to when they are ready to harvest. Examples of summer squash varieties include zucchini, crookneck, calabacitas, and yellow squash.
Employee Spotlight: Lisa Grentz
Growing Independent Eaters Lisa Grentz has worked as a Registered Dietitian for over 20 years. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Washington State University and completed her dietetic internship at Fairview University Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. Over the ensuing 20+ years, Lisa has worked as a home infusion dietician specializing in pediatric tube feeding and weaning and consults for various feeding teams in Eastern Washington. Her expertise and passion lie in providing community-based nutrition services to infants and children.
Hydration: More than Just Water
Every day, we need to consume enough water to replace what the body loses from breathing, perspiring, urinating, and stooling. One common misconception is that the only way to replace these losses, is by drinking water. But that is not the case! There are lots of ways to hydrate the body.
Addressing Supply Concerns for Pumping Parents
Since tube-fed babies receive a certain amount of food through the tube based on calculations, not their own efforts, pumping parents have very specific volume goals to meet in order to keep up with the needed amounts. This can be particularly tricky, as having a tube-fed baby is strongly akin to having twins: you offer the chance for your baby to eat orally, but then have to pump, essentially taking time to do double feedings EVERY time they need to eat.
July Healthy Highlights: Baked Peach French Toast
Peaches are a naturally sweet, juicy, and delicious summertime fruit. A medium peach contains approximately 50 calories, 2 grams of fiber, and is a great source of B-complex vitamins, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Peaches can be added to smoothies, yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, salads, or incorporated into a variety of recipes like the one shared here.
July Healthy Highlights: Refreshing Peaches
Peaches are one of the most refreshing summer fruits, with a high-water content at 89%. We hope you enjoy these peach recipes to help keep you hydrated and refreshed on a warm summer day.
Bolus Tube Feeding
Whether using commercial enteral formula or a homemade food blend, bolusing is an efficient method for administering enteral feeds. Bolus feeding requires the use of a syringe to deliver formula or food blends through the feeding tube. The rate of infusion is controlled by how fast the plunger is pushed or by removing the plunger and holding the syringe up, letting gravity take control and allowing formula to flow down through the tube.
July Healthy Highlights: Peach Chia Seed Pudding
Peaches are a type of stone fruit. Stone fruit means that the juicy flesh surrounds the stone or pit, which houses the seed. Peaches vary in color, size, and shape. When buying fresh peaches, look for peaches that have unwrinkled skin that is a nice yellow-orange color. Use your whole hand to gently squeeze the peach to ensure it has a slight give to it rather than being firm.
Supporting Supply for Pumping Parents
Many parents choose to pump and continue offering their tube-fed child chestmilk, but this can come with its own set of challenges. As a pediatric dietitian, certified lactation counselor, and momma to a former tubie (for whom I exclusively pumped for over a year), I’ve seen and personally worked through a number of hurdles through which pumping parents may struggle.
Employee Spotlight: Becky Keifer
Growing Independent Eaters co-founder, Becky Keifer has been a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in feeding for 17 years. Since graduating from Washington State University with a Bachelor's in Speech and Hearing Sciences and a Master’s degree in Communication Disorders, she has worked with hundreds of clients, specializing in Pediatric Feeding Disorders in Spokane, Washington where she lives.
Talking with your Toddler about Their Tube Feeds
Weaning a toddler can be so gratifying – especially as they begin to explore and enjoy foods that you truly wondered if they ever would! But it can also present some unique challenges, especially as toddlers develop new interests and opinions about the world around them! One of these challenges centers on how aware your toddler is of their tube feeds, and becomes especially tricky when your toddler begins to protest those feeds.
Gagging: When it’s a Problem, and When it’s Not
When our kids start to eat orally, the fear of gagging and choking is ever present with many parents. And initially, as your child explores new foods and textures, their desire for new foods may outpace their oral motor skills. This can bring about a subset of gagging that is totally developmentally appropriate. So, let’s look at what is going on to help determine if your child’s gagging needs more direct intervention or will just be a normal phase that will be over soon.
Keep it movin’: Tips for Managing Constipation while Weaning
All of parenting is a bit of a ‘trial by fire,’ but that is never more true than when you find yourself worried about your tiny person’s pooping habits. All of parenting is a bit of a ‘trial by fire,’ but that is never more true than when you find yourself worried about your tiny person’s pooping habits.
How We Talk About Food with Our New and Learning Eaters
We’ve all heard before that self-talk dictates your outlook on life, can change your attitude, and aid in success. This is 100% true when you are working with your child on their feeding skills.
The Transition from Tube Feedings to Oral Diet is a Marathon, Not a Sprint!
Often, we refer to the process of weaning as a marathon and not a sprint. This can sometimes be hard to conceptualize, so I like to use the example of a sprained ankle.