One of my favorite things to do for Winnie’s health is make her food. That may sound silly, but most tube fed people rely on commercial formulas for their nutrition. Many doctors and dieticians are not well trained in nutrition so parents are left unaware that blending real foods for tube feeding is even an option. 

I make up a batch every day so that Winnie can have a wide variety of fresh, healthy foods that support whatever is going on with her at the time. I can tailor her food for her specific needs. I am able to add vitamins and minerals in their whole food form so that they are more bioavailable. 

Commercial formulas are a far cry from being food at all, even some of the organic ones. If this sounds insane, it is really as simple as making a smoothie. If you know anyone who cares for someone with a feeding tube, please ask them if they know that home blending is an option! If they don’t, send them my way! 

Another simple thing we do is refer to her food as “food” not “formula”. We say Winnie is eating when she is being fed. We call it a meal and not “a feed”. It don’t necessarily bother or offend us if someone uses those terms, but we prefer to use the same words that we would of anyone eating by mouth. She is eating food, just via a different route 😄.