NoTube Eating school day 6 (chapter 2)
Elodie woke up on her own again this morning. I will probably be starting with this sentence in all my blogs, because our mornings at home start much later, and I am just amazed by her flexibility. We are already halfway to this eating school! Time flies.
She didn’t eat much this morning and during lunch. But we let her play with her puréed food, normally she doesn’t want to touch or eat it, except for that time at restaurant Aend in Vienna. So, if she touches it or smells it, it’s already a win, it’s good for her sensory development.
She wasn’t in a great mood this morning and got upset quite easily. At the apartment she fell asleep very quickly, so I guess she was very tired. My husband was so tired that he fell asleep as well.
It was raining since noon, and we were not prepared for this weather. We have always had good weather in Graz, even during the first eating school. We got quite wet on the way to NoTube, we even ran to get there quicker. At least Elodie loved it while sitting in her pram.
It’s good to see that Elodie is enjoying the play sessions, she can concentrate longer and understands it more I think. When comparing to last year she has improved development wise. She doesn’t eat large quantities yet, but she is trying a bigger variety and showing more interest in food. That was not the case last year.
Seeing how other parents are feeling is so recognizable, the anxiety, the fear, the helplessness. It’s not that bad for us any more because Elodie’s weight is stable, but less than half a year ago I was feeling all that as well. Our feelings of positivity are still fragile, because we have been severely traumatized.
With NoTube we have made many little steps along the way. It was also interesting to hear that none of the children here sleep through the night. Maybe it’s also a part of their high sensitivity? I was quite surprised.
During dinner, she ate a bit of cornetto, some salty corn chips, and some kinder bueno cake. So actually she tried quite a few new foods again. Yay!
In this NoTube eating school there were a few children with eating problems similar to Elodie’s, some have a tube, some don’t. She can eat but is not that interested in it. It’s nice to share experiences, and to learn about our children together. NoTube helps you get to understand their ‘eating’ world which makes you learn a lot about it and about how to help them.
I think all kids with a tube are tube free now. The parents are happy yet also a bit anxious to let go. Local doctors only look at numbers, weight, food intake, how many tube feeds. This becomes ingrained in our minds as well.
All the kids are trying and tasting new foods, sometimes just touching it is a win already.
One of the mum’s told the horrendous story about her tube fed child who was continuously vomiting, yet the local medics want to increase the quantities, so the child can increase in weight. It’s so focused on numbers, but they don’t take the trauma’s or feelings for the children into account. The parents are delighted to see they are not vomiting anymore, and they are slowly learning to eat orally and be more comfortable around food.
When we had the mother’s session it was interesting to hear that the parent blaming is done by doctors and paediatricians everywhere around the world and all families here have experienced it. NoTube is the first place where I have experienced that they listen to the parents and help the families and children, no parent blaming, it’s not our fault. To be treated as humans instead of bothersome mothers. They have helped me with other problems as well, like sleep training and how to handle Elodie in certain situations (not necessarily food related).
Also, the NoTube approach is child specific, this is not the case elsewhere, there is no ‘one therapy fits all’ because every child is different. Many therapies involve parents being separated from the child, but we didn’t want this anymore it didn’t feel good.
Today a new Dutch family arrived. They were here during the last eating school in March, but had to leave early due to the start of Covid-19. So they are finishing the remaining days during this eating school.
