Blended diet, our first recipe!

We have been slowly introducing different foods to Faith, through a basic recipe of foods we know she can eat and we haven't had any problems so far. We have changed from a lactose free milk to a full cream milk and it hasn't caused Faith any problems. Faith's overnight feeds are no longer running (yay!) and she has been sleeping longer until she got a UTI over the last week. What we have noticed is that the blended diet has helped her be more settled in the tummy while she had a UTI. She still had the usual increased vomiting and was sleepless and extremely restless but the blended food did settle her tummy. She wasn't as sick as she has been with a UTI in past so that is great. The antibiotic makes her feel so bad it is the only way to get rid of the UTI. Today, is the first day without the antibiotic in a week, and she is sleeping better already and is happier.

I received the Homemade Blended Formula Handbook in the post last week and have been madly reading it to learn as much as I can. What a great book, not only does it have a wonderful amount of information about a blended diet but about tubefeeding in general and talks about all the different stresses on the child and parents with tubefeeding. It also looks at ways to help the improve the tubefeeding experience for the child and parents, but talks of really good techniques on helping children become better aquainted with food. It looks at social situations and different perspectives from dietitians, speech pathologists, parents and doctors. It is so good, I would highly recommend it if you are thinking about a blended diet or what to know more about tubefeeding. It has encouraged me so much to look at ways to make tubefeeding a more positive experience for my daughter and myself. It encouraged me to make quite a few changes and offered fantastic ways of helping Faith experience food in a more positive light. There are some great worksheets in the book and it makes figuring out a blended diet so much easier as the guidance is there and it leaves the food decisions to the family to decide. It does encourage seeking professional help with the blended diet as each child will experience the blended diet in a different way. I still haven't even got to the end of the book yet, though I keep flicking through and reading other bits too.

We haven't removed formula feeds as Faith's weight is so delicate we have to do things so much more slower. I am blending up a total day's worth of calories and dividing it over two days. We give the blend over the day before a formula feed as it seems to help keep the formula down and have a small break before we start the formula feed. She definitely seems more happier after a blended meal. It will be exciting when we remove one formula feed.

This is what we did. We are still very much experimenting.

• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 1/2 cup of pasta
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables, sweet potato, peas, corn and avocado
• 1 cup of mixed fruit, pear, white grapes, blueberries and apple
• meat
• 3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Full cream milk

I found the worksheets really helpful, it gets my mind into the way to think. I am finding learning about nutrition really fascinating and interesting. I have been learning so much I have even changed my diet as I can see the value of different foods clearer. I look forward to giving Faith this new blend later today.