Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Cleft friends to the rescue!!!!

It's Ellie's mom.....
Ok, so I feel a little dumb even asking this question...but I need to! Since we have started feeding Reid solids (some days are better than others), I have heard from many of my cleft families to use saline solution in the nose afterwards. Can any of you guide me in the right direction here? Do you complete feeding...then spray? Then, do you suck everything out with a bulb syringe???? I am at a loss. I have never done this, and am wondering the best way that this works. Does this help with fruits that are more acidic? He tolerates almost no fruits without screaming. I know they burn. Then, the feeding session is over...because he gives up, as do I. He also spits almost everything up afterwards. I am not giving him much...but he just really has issues tolerating solids. He is almost 7 months...so I know he is hungry...but with his reflux among other issues...feeding has been hard. He is obviously thriving....but mostly on formula. I don't mind...I just wish that he could tolerate the solids a bit better than he is. If you have advice or suggestions...I am open to all. I am very curious about the saline. Thanks in advance for your help. You are all great!!!!!!

4 comments:

Mary said...

I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll try... The spray works well after feedings, but I usually just use the bulb to get any leftovers in his nose. I have found that thicker foods, like the DHA 2nd foods from Gerber, do better. I add cereal to the ones that are runny, like carrots and sweet potatoes. I hope you can find something that works for Reid! On another note, the saline spray is very important after surgery to help clean out those new little nostrils.

Darcy said...

I'm not much for helping in on this. We were blessed to not have the problem of food coming out the nose.

kellyliz82 said...

Jordan has all sorts of things come out of her nose! We use just the bulb also. I've found that the thicker her food the less I see. So I use a little cereal in most of her food. One "fruit" she loves is avocado. It doesn't have to be cooked, just cut open, mush, and serve. Jackson used the Nuby cups, they worked great for him. I haven't bought one yet. I tried one of Jackson's take and toss cups and she can use those so I bought the little 5 oz ones for her. It's all trial and error, I think Jackson owned one of each cup so we could see what worked. As far as post op, my only advice is dno't expect anything. Each child is different, some are a breeze and some are a little tougher. Go into it with a clear mind, not any pre-expectations. Hope this helps!

LifeWithTheFerrells said...

The doctors at Shriners told us not to put any saline in the nose. They said it dries up the nasal passages too much and will cause bleeding. I think every doctor is different! I did notice Makenna had nose bleeds when I did use the saline. I just use a bulb syringe to clean her out. NOTE: Since yesterday (palate surgery) we have not had any food out the nose!!!
God Bless! Talk to you soon. Pictures came Yesterday so I will get those to you this weekend!
Tina

Hello, and welcome to my page! I am so glad you are here. I am going to try and show you the average life of a 5 year old from my perspective. Mommy and Daddy will help me along the way if I get stuck.

Let me first introduce my family to you. I am Ellie. I am a 6 year old. I live in Ohio with my Mommy, Daddy, little brother Reid, and dog, Sophie. My mommy is a teacher. She teaches nine and ten year olds and loves it. She has been teaching for twelve years. My daddy works with computers. He works hard everyday.

We all love spending time together. I have wonderful grandparents and a terrific extended family. I am a very lucky girl. Thank you for visiting my page. Write to me any time. I love getting mail!!!

Many blessing to you all.

Love,
Little Ski (Ellie)

Mommy and me having cuddle time at Hocking Hills.

Told ya, my hair can be wild! And you thought I was kidding!

Hmmm, Blue's Brother's perhaps?