Kathie Lee and Hoda

So I have not blog in a reallyreally really long time. But today I felt the need. More out of fustration thananything else.

If you have followed my blog, whichI am not sure why you would since I have become terrible at updating it, youknow that Riley had a feeding tube for alomst 2 years due to reflux andaspiration. Kathie Lee and Hoda on the Today show seem to think that feedingtubes are something to laugh at. AND I AM PISSED!!!!

Ok so a little back story:

The New York Times ran an article byLinda Lee called "Desperate brides try feeding tube diet."  It's about all these crazy fad diets bridesare using to loss a few pounds before their wedding day. It lists several diets(Master Cleanse, HCG, Atkins, etc.) and gives examples of women who have beenable to lose a quick 15 or 20 pounds before their wedding. 

It then goes on to talked about thisdoctor in Florida who has started offering a "feeding tube diet" topeople who want to lose weight quickly. It’s called the K-E diet"ketogenic enteral nutrition" diet. It goes go about a woman whowanted to lose weight quickly so that she could go dress shopping for herwedding that is a few months away.  Shespends $1500, and the doctor places a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube. She thenis fed a special formula that only has 800 calories per day for 10 days anddoesn’t eat any other food while the NG tube is in.  Does this sound like a bad idea to anyoneelse?  So these women who do this are notvery smart.  I mean come on as soon asthey start eating again they are just going to put all the weight and probablemore back on.

Ok so you might think that would beenough to piss me off.  But Kathie Leeand Hoda had to take it a step further.

They started out saying that thesebrides are doing this a new diet using feeding tubes. Hoda thinks it is"actually kinda sick" (as I diet I don’t disagree with her) andKathie Lee thinks it is "ingenious." They go on to talk about how thewomen get the tube put in their nose and have to carry a bag (which she calls asack first, then a purse, then a bag) with their calories in it.  I mean come on that can’t even do theresearch to find out what is in the back or how the women get thecalories.  They are think that these women have to sleep with it and take it to work with them.  They don’t seems to know anything about thediet, when they are talking about the diet they call it “the whatever K diet.” Didthey do any kind of research about this at all, it sure doesn’t seem like.  This is great journalism NBC.

When they show a clip of. a womanhaving the NG tube place Hoda actually says ; Don’t look, la la la.  Look away but then look back at us.”  Really, really if you are that turn off by itWHY ARE YOU DOING THE STORY!?!  Hodastarts to talk about the risk of infections with the NG tube but then wrinklesher nose in disgust and asks, "And if it gets knocked out? What if youfall down?" THEN LAUGHS. It all a big joke to them.

THIS NOT  A JOKE TO THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDTHESE NG OR G-TUBES OR J-TUBES TO SURVIVE!!!!!

They think it ok to laugh andjoke.  By they have never had to livewith a child who has one of these tubes. Or had to deal with people staring at your child as you feed them througha tube.  And I can you people stare andthey don’t think you notice.  WENOTICE!!!  You have never had to pin yourchild down and the tube up her nose and down her throat while she cries andgags and chokes and screams. Then try to hold it down in place with one handwhile sticking a piece of tape on it with the other hand and then get out astethoscope to listen to their stomach and make sure it's in place.  Or had the fear that a g-tube will be pulledout because you child is being a child and sliding off a couch and have itcatch.  Or had to take you child to theER to have a J-tube replaced.  No butthose are all things that we are parents of tube feed kids go through.

So maybe NBC you should do some moreresearch before you put a story on the news. And maybe, just maybe your “talent”should be more concerned with some respect their viewers and less about upsettingBrad and Angelina by calling them Brangelina. Hmm

Smash session

So I told you that I did a smash session over the weekend with Riley.  I thought I would share some of the pictures.

 

 

This is the cake I gave her.

 She was not sure what she thought it at first.

After the first taste she dug right in 

This is actually one of favorite becuase seh looks so lazy like playing with icing is such hard work.

And that wonderful smile.

 

She had a good time and was such a mess afterward.  But it was so worth it to see her have a good time.

Feeding Tube is gone

I have been a terrible blogger....but I do have wonderful news.  The feeding tube that Riley had placed sbout month after she was born was removed on November 14th.  We are so excited, we have been working toward this for the last 2 years. 

 

Last year on Riley's first birthday she could not have any cake, but this weekend at her 2nd birthday party she will be about to have cake, smash it, and enjoy it. 

I always wanted to have a cake smashing session with her so yesterday I borried my sister-in-law's really nice camera and had a cake smashing session.  And Riley was all about it. When I edit them I will post some here. 

 

Until next time.

Weight loss updated

I have reached the 20lb mark.  People are really noticing now that I have lost weight.  I have hit a plateau right now.  But I have started to add some exercise into the mix and not just the diet.  So I am hoping to start seeing results again.  I am going to Zumba once a week.  Last week was my first and while it was alot of fun I thought I might die by the end of it.

So wish me luck.

Finding the past

So I have been a super terrible blooger lately.  I am truly an ADHD kid at heart.  i get super focus on something for awhile to the point that it is all I can do.  until I get bored with it and move on to the next thing, only to circle back to the first thing.  This summer I went from being into my scrapbooking to reading non-stop.  Now my newest hobby is researching my family history.  I joined Ancestry.com and have been on it every night.  It has been really fun calling all the older members (there are not many left) of my family and getting names and dates.  And some pretty cool stories.  Then entering these new facts on my tree and seeing where it takes me.  A few facts from my Great-Aunt lead me to 3 new generations on my matural Grandfather's side that 2 days before I had hit a wall with. 

 

My cousin wanted to know about her dad's side of the family and in a week she had found family members dating back to the 1500's.  Crazy, right? 

 

So here was short little blog.  I hope to update more regularly but we will see how well I battle the ADHD in me.

Letting the Nurses go

Now that Riley is almost 2 months out from her trach removal, Kyle and I feel secure enough in her airway to let go the nurses, that we have had since she came home from the hospital.  Our last day of nursing will be Sunday.  I thought I would be more nervous about being on our own, but I am pretty calm about it.  Monday night may be different, but right now I am good. 

We just got back from our 1st family vacation last week and we used that as a test run to be without the nurses.  We had Riley sleeping in our room in a pack-n-play (which she did not like sleeping in) and she did well and so did we.  We also have a video baby monitor, which I think are wonderful.  We can look in on her without actually having to go into her room and risk waking her up.  Plus she is still on a pulse ox monitor, which alarms if her oxygen level goes below 92 for more then 5 seconds. 

She has come so far in 18 months that she has been home.

New Milestone

I know that I have not posted in awhile.  Life has been a bit crazy.  I hope to have a longer blog written soon so I can post it.  But I had to share.....

 

 

Riley stood holding on the couch tonight for several minutes by herself.  She had done it for a few second last week, but did it for ALMOST 6 MINUTES TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!