Midnight Snack

We started feeding Jonathan during the night while he sleeps. Since we're pretty far behind, we're going to try a slow drip the entire night (from about 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.). We are hopeful that this approach will get us to where we need to be. So far we're not there. Also, this will mean we'll have to feed him less during the day. After the last feeding at night we are leaving the small tube connected to him. That way, we can sneak in and connect everything when he falls asleep.

One of the biggest drawbacks for us is that it means we'll each be waking up once during the night to check on him. Sometimes this can last an hour if things don't work out and he wakes up. Like many little boys, he moves around a lot at night. The tube inevitably gets tangled around him. These are the two main reasons why we haven't tried to do this until now...sleep and safety. The tube is very stretchy and connected to an IV pole that is very light. He's at an age where he can easily sit and stand up. The biggest worry is that somehow he'll find a way to wrap the tube around his body and/or neck. Even then, it's not very likely to happen. Between our sleep schedule and waking up to check on him, we're peeking in every 2.5 hours, probably not long enough for him to wind up the entire length of tubing.

Feeding him overnight can almost get us halfway each day. The first morning he woke up in a great mood. He was happy, full of energy and personality. The problem will this approach is that he's not hungry for most of the morning. We've tried to figure out how to best approach this, but it still seems like we're not going to be able to get there if he's going to be too full and/or continues vomiting. We're going to have to try a different formula if it doesn't improve. I think we're running out of options if the night feedings don't work.

I'm getting to a point where this appears like a simple case of trying to squeeze too much through a narrow opening. No matter how many different ways we try, the bottleneck is only going to let so much liquid through at a time. If that "flow rate" is too slow, we'll never be able to get there. Technically speaking, I guess we could easily find out the answer to that question. That would involve continuously feeding him over a 24 hour period at the same rate we're feeding him at night (38 ml/hour). That would answer the question of whether or not he can tolerate that much in one day.

We'll keep you updated on how this works out. I'm hopeful but not convinced it's going to make enough of a difference to meet the requirements. If not, it's going to be time to repeat some tests and/or get a second opinion.