Blending Foods and Cardiology

I don't know why I insist on torturing myself. As if moving and searching for a house (more on that in a second) isn't enough, I decided to start Owen on a blended foods diet this week.

I spend at least an hour a day searching the MLS, private listing, property management sites, craigslist, you name it. All the houses are starting to look the same and I might just have to flip a coin and go with it. I am starting to pack up our home and it looks worse than when I started. Boxes with leftover space for something, piles to go to Goodwill, overflowing trashcans outside and I keep reminding myself that it will be over soon! HA.

Owen went to Cardiology today and his echo shows the same ol' stuff. Decreased function and super leaky Tricuspid Valve. His tricuspid valve is supposed to pump the blood from the Atrium to the Ventricle and then out to the body. Owen's valve is so leaky that it regurges the blood back from the Ventricle into the Atrium and his Right Atrium is super engorged. That blood obviously isn't going to the body like it should. Dumb ol' leaky valve.

The good news is that we can just keep watching him and see Dr Stock in about six weeks. Six weeks after that visit we'll head to Stanford again. I'm pretty sure I'll be needing a vacation by then!

The bad news...

Owen has still been puking on the Pediasure and Peptamin Jr wasn't any better. I spoke with Avery (Bela's Momma) and she has had Bela on a blended diet for about six month and has seen great results. We talked the other night and she gave me all the motivation I needed. It makes sense all of a sudden... why would his tummy feel good with Pediasure being pumped into him continuously when the main ingrediets are corn syrup and sugary goo?

Starting yesterday morning...

I started with yogurt, 1/2 banana, whole milk and lunch turned into almond butter, cottage cheese and apples, then came dinner of refried beans, avacado and a shot of olive oil. He had some other blended snacks in between and guess what?? Not one single puke!!!

It makes perfect sense to me now.

I was always scared to go against the GI doctor's advice, which was "we don't recommend blended formulas because it clogs the tube and there is no way to know how much fluid ounces, proteins, fats and calories you are giving him... why would you want to go through all that work when you can just pop open a can and all the nutrients are there for you?"

I am trying not to stress the details... I think of what a healthy toddler would eat on a day to day basis and throw it in the blender for him. Then I add lots of healthy fruits, veges, oils, grains and I realize that he's probably getting a more balanced diet than most kiddos his age that eat orally. In all honesty.. Kamryn survived on PB&J sandwiches, chicken nuggets, apples, bananas and french fries... look how great she turned out!!

I am still supplementing with formula when needed and I will have my Pediatrician send up an order for Compleat formula which contains real food rather than sugary goo.

I can already see a difference in Owen and it's only day 2! If anyone has information, recipes, advice.... please email me at andreanicolesimmons@hotmail.com. I know I had a post about this in October about wanting to start him on real foods, but the nutrionist at Stanford and GI here said "they recommended against it." At the time he wasn't gaining weight. Now he is up to 27lbs and my Mommy instincts are taking over.

Can you believe that Mister Owen will be TWO tomorrow?? I think I should probably take a day away from packing and house hunting to celebrate!!!