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When the NICU staff suggested a g-tube, I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I was thrilled there might finally be a light at the end of our NICU tunnel. We had been at a standstill for a while waiting to see if my little man would stop aspirating. But I’d never even heard of a g-tube before and had a lot to learn.
For the record, I am not a doctor and my tips are all based on my experiences with my baby.
There are a lot of little things that have been helpful that I hardly think about anymore. Here are a few things that might help you on your g-tube journey.
Onesies
One of my big worries is the button coming out. I was able to replace it with the doctor’s help at an appointment but hope to never have to do it myself. Keeping the tube site covered has been the most helpful in this area.
I’m glad my little man is still young enough to wear onesies 
Diaper Changes
Speaking of my baby grabbing his button, diaper changes are a bit of a struggle. His hand finds his button so fast! I’ve found it helps to keep something for him to play with nearby. Sometimes I have small toys. Sometimes I just give him the baby hair brush or a clean diaper to play with. Babies love things that aren’t actually toys, so there are so many options here.
Bathtime
I also worry about his button when I bath him. Not only do I have to watch for him grabbing it, but I also have to be careful about how I hold him without a pad and onsie to keep his button in place. I like to cover his stomach with a
Water Syringes
When my son first came home on a g-tube he was on continuous feeds over an hour starting every three hours during the day. I would hook him up to the pump and by the time the feed was done I would end up holding him while he slept. When I learned the importance of flushing water through the tube extension, I often felt frustrated that I needed to get up and fill a syringe with water when my baby was fast asleep and comfortable on me.
I eventually started preparing syringes filled with water when I prepared the milk. I could easily stick the syringe in the pump backpack and not worry about it. Then if I ended up somewhere I couldn’t or didn’t want to move from, I could still flush the tube.
Pump Backpack
Speaking of the pump backpack, use it! It may seem clumsy and annoying, and it may not stay upright, but the IV pole is worse. At first I liked the pole. It was easy to access the bag and pump, which was especially nice when I was first learning how to handle everything. But the base of the pole is wide. The pole was always in the way and a pain to carry up and down stairs and through doorways.
The first few weeks I only used the backpack when we were leaving the house. My baby was fed so often and for so long that we needed the pump just about every time we left the house. It saved me a lot of time and effort when I started keeping the pump in the backpack. I’d just hang it on the IV pole and plug it in at night. It was nice to be able to just grab the bag and walk around the house with my son and no pole. I just had to make sure to lean the backpack up against something so it didn’t tip. I was even able to babywear!
Gravity Feeds
After a few months of no oral feeds, we started on thickened feeds. After weeks of thickened feeds, my little man started taking more than half his daytime feeds by mouth and I was able to gravity feed the rest. It was amazing to not need the pump during the day! Gravity feeding was so quick. However, watch out for flies! It may seem silly, but they like the milk. I found them in used bottles waiting to be washed on more than one occasion.
I had only been doing gravity feeds for a few days and was happily holding the 60ml syringe up and watching the milk drain into his tummy when a fly flew straight down into the syringe and buzzed around smacking its sides. I was so mad! I had to throw out that milk and make more. After that incident I started holding a hand over the syringe opening during gravity feeds, especially when we were outside.
Jammies
PJs with snaps! Total necessity for children who need feeds at night. When I had my first baby I quickly learned that snaps suck in the middle of the night. I distinctly remember snapping and resnapping the same snaps on jammies and being so incredibly frustrated when I couldn’t think straight to do it right. There were nights I left snaps undone and just swaddled my first. I thought I was being smart buying all zipper jammies for baby #2.
All I can say is, I’m glad we still had some snap ones from my first. With snaps it is easy to leave the tube on when I put my baby to bed and just have it poking out from between snaps on his leg. I have made some of the adorable zipper jammies work and plan on posting about that in the near future.
Sleep Sacks
This is another thing that changed with my second. I loved swaddling my first, but sometimes it was a pain to keep his arms in. One of our NICU discharge classes talked about not swaddling babies. I was a little sad, but after the first day having my baby home, I realized how worried I was after all of his struggles. Sleep sacks give me so much peace of mind.
We used the swaddle ones
Carabiner
Get a carabiner! The ones are the larger side are more versatile. The home health person who delivered our feeding pump mentioned using a carabiner, and it was such a great tip. When I used the pump in the backpack, I loved having a way to hook it up somewhere. I used the carabiner to hook the pump to the headrest poles in the car, to the diaper bag 
Nighttime
My son has been on night feeds since the day he came home. Maybe I’ve been missing something all these months, but that feeding pump light is bright at night! I haven’t seen anyway to dim it down, so I’ve created a solution. I wrap a
There are so many little details of life with a g-tube baby and so many things to figure out. These are just a few of the things I’ve learned. I would love to hear any tips you may have!
Also, check out my post on g-tube mistakes I’ve made that you may just be able to learn from!
