The Blessing and Curse of the Tube

1. You must gather all of the necessary supplies:
PH Tape, a small syringe, The NG Tube with Stylet, KY Jelly (yes, you need to lube it up), Duoderm, Tegaderm, Scissors, Non-sting barrier film, sharpee
2. you must swaddle your loved one very tight, so she cannot squirm. Squirming makes things difficult.
3. Precut your duoderm and tegaderm so that you can act quickly once the tube is placed.
4. Apply non-sting barrier to baby's cheek.
5. Place pre-cut duoderm on cheek.
6. Measure tube from tip of nose to ear lobe and then down half way between navel and sternum.
7. Mark that point on tube with sharpee. That's how far you need to fish it down.
8. Dip the end of the tube in the KY Jelly.
9. Take the tip of the tube and began dropping the tube through the nostril. There are two points where it might get stuck: the septum and the gag reflex. If it gets stuck, just push it in and pull it back and eventually it will get through. If needed, blow in baby's face to get her to swallow.
10. Once it is in to the point indicated by the sharpee, quickly use the tegaderm to tape the tube to cheek and pull out the Stylet.
11. Use the syringe at the end of the tube to pull back some stomach contents.
12. Check the PH to ensure tube is in the stomach.
13. Repeat when Myla pulls, coughs, sneezes the tube out.

I hate doing this. I especially hate doing this when Myla is smiling at me right before. She doesn't smile after. She cries. She is such a strong bean though. She recovers so quickly. The day that we decided to place the N-G tube, was the 6th day at our stay at CHOP. We had many visitors that day. Many of our closest friends and family saw me like that had never seen me before. Up until 30 minutes prior to placing the tube, I was still joking, laughing, and having a good time. After that, I spent time staring at my baby's face and crying. I took pictures of her because I realized that these would be the last pictures of her beautiful face without what we now call her "spaghetti nose." Since the tube went in about 3 weeks ago, Myla has gained a pound and a half. At our 3 month pediatrician appointment today, she weighed in at exact 1o pounds. Not a big deal to most parents, but a huge deal for us. Lindsey cried. I smiled and we hugged. Our pediatrician entered the office with a giant smile on her face. We celebrated together. That is the blessing and the curse of the tube. It hurts her when we put it in. It causes a good deal of mucous build up to the point that she coughs and throws it up. It makes her sneeze and itch that side of her face all of the time. It makes her gag. She grabs it and plays with it in her doll-like hands. She tolerates her feeds. It makes her body grow. It makes her brain grow. She was talking up a storm in the car as we left CHOP today. That is the blessing and the curse of the tube.