>>G-TUBE FREE

So, the great news around here is that Clover finally got her g-tube taken out!!  This has been a long time coming.  There were times I felt like she would never be able to eat and that she would have her feeding tube forever!  We look back to when we were in the NICU and trying to bottle feed her.  We would be SO EXCITED when she would eat 5ml.  I would call Curtis on the phone and be like, "guess how much she ate??!!  FIVE mls!!"  We would think she was doing so awesome!  Now we laugh at how naive we were.  Seriously, 5 ml is 1 teaspoon....we were freaking out about her eating 1 teaspoon!

It was a really hard day for me when she had her g-tube put in.  I was SO worried about her having anestetia and going through a surgery.  I didn't want her to be uncomfortable or be in any kind of pain.

 This picture was taken the morning of her surgery.  I remember just staring at her and crying being so worried and so scared.  Before they took her away, I was holding her and she had her eyes wide open looking at me (which was rare....her eyes were closed most of the time), but I remember just looking into her eyes and being so sad that in a few minutes she was going to be taken away and cut open.  It broke my heart.

They got her all situated in her little isolette and wheeled her off for surgery.

I was a wreck the whole time she was away.  It went by fast though....just 45 minutes later they called and said she was done and that everything went well. 

This photo was taken the day after surgery.  Look at how puffy she is.  Poor little thing! 

It's no secret that I hated Clover's g-tube from the very beginning.  I will admit, I was thankful she had it so she could eat and get all the nutrients she needed, but I struggled with her feeding tube.  It was a constant worry for me.  I didn't want anyone else holding her in fear they would somehow make the tube come out or hurt Clover by putting too much pressure on her tummy.  I didn't like Clover having much "tummy time" in fear of it being uncomfortable for her because of the tube.  It was a lot of work to hook up the feeding tube bag, take it down, clean it out, clean all the tubing, etc...which was done every 3 hours even through the night.  We also had quite a scare with the feeding tube, which led us to several doctor's visits and 2 trips to the ER.  We eventually ended up in Denver where the doctor's finally figured out what was going on.  The tube she had was too big and her stomach was trying to digest it.  This was a very scary time for me and Curtis....more scary and stressful than anyone really knew.  Clover's tummy would get really distended, she wasn't pooping or peeing, she would projectile vomit and her g-tube would get "sucked" into her belly.  I was a complete wreck during the couple weeks this was going on.  I felt very alone because no one could seem to help us.  When the doctors at Denver Children's Hospital finally figured it out and placed her with a much smaller g-tube, I was finally able to breathe again.  That time in our lives was probably one of the most stressful for me since the kids were born. 

I was hoping that Clover would maybe have her g-tube for a few months....6 months at the most.  But it turns out for her, 14 months was the magical age that she would start taking all of her feeds my mouth.  The day her tube came out for good was a glorious, magical day!!

I love kissing and rubbing her bear tummy.  I love that there isn't a big 'ol button in the way.  I love that I can put her on her tummy and not think twice about it.  I love that I can put her in the bath without holding her arms down the whole time so she won't pull her tube out.  I love my little girl and I love that she is g-tube free!!!