Farewell Mrs. Needle

Mrs. Needle (aka Carson's feeding pole) has been a part of the family (& a fixture in our dining/breakfast area) for 6 years. She has stubbed toes (with her long legs & wheels that stick out). She's caused messes. She's been used as a walking aid (by some of our early nurses). She alerts you if you've forgotten her & left her on (by her beeping). She's traveled the country with us. She's recently been tipped over numerous times by Brody. She was needed & very useful BUT she has NOT been used in one month. It is time for her to leave. Carson escorted Mrs. Needle out of our eating area this past weekend. Carson said...See ya later, Mrs. Needle!!

This was the beginning of our procession
down stairs with the feeding pole

This was a monumental event for Carson & our family. Mrs. Needle is the name we gave the tube feeding pole early on. She was used 6x a day when we first came home from the hospital to give Carson bolus feeds through his G-button every 4 hours around the clock. Over the past 6 years, Carson has worked on eating & drinking orally and we have gradually cut back volume and number of feeds given through his feeding tube. We've been down to one (250 Calorie) tube feeding at dinner for quite awhile but I've always been too chicken to cut it out completely and see if Carson could make up for those calories by mouth. [Yes, he is capable of drinking those calories but they idea for him is to EAT more food. Kids can get in a habit of drinking their calories and then never eat more. He does get two 'shakes' a day - with added powder to his milk to increase calories but he was drinking those even with the tube feeding.] Well, a little over a month ago we accidentally forgot his tube feeding on two separate evenings over a weekend. Preston and I just decided to go with it and give it a try. {Ahem...God works in mysterious ways to give us those little nudges sometimes ; )}

SOOOO...Carson has not had a tube feeding in over a month and has actually GAINED weight!!! We are so happy & excited for him. We still have alot to work on but this is a huge step! There is alot of learned behavior and physical limitations that still make mealtimes hard but we will celebrate this step.  My original plan when we thought about cutting out the tube feedings was to put the ball totally in Carson's court...letting him decide how much he ate; however, I got nervous that he didn't eat enough on a regular basis that it might affect his behavior or attentiveness at school. So, we are still doing alot of encouraging during some mealtimes & most meals take longer than we'd like but for now...I THINK this is the best plan. Once summer hits, I will feel more comfortable letting him have more control without adverse effects at school. We'll see...I admittedly have a very hard time letting go of the reins!


I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted anything...Carson & Kellen continue to do well in school. We had a huge miracle in that Carson did not miss a single day of school, due to illness, during the third quarter. WOW!! After, such a rough fall of sicknesses...I was concerned I might need to keep him home through the worst of the sick season (I'm still holding my breath a little...but am SO thankful!) We did make a trip out to Colorado in February & both boys got to try snow skiing & tubing for the first time. They enjoyed both and we all had a wonderful time, even with a 16 hour drive each way!

This was SOOO much fun!

Give Brody a few years & I'm sure he'll be out there too.

I have scheduled Carson's next set of appointments. He will have another sleep study June 18th & then a scope on June 20th. I'm praying for good news but also for guidance for the doctors and their willingness to take time & explain the next steps/options, etc. We aren't expecting much from this appointment but I am hoping that his airway at least looks back to his baseline (less inflamed than the December scope). And prayers for Carson's peace of mind through it all...he told me the other day that the two things he doesn't like about surgeries are being put to sleep (induction of anesthesia) & getting all the probes put on his head/face for the sleep study. Unfortunately, he'll have to do both this time but we will also have some spare time to focus on FUN! Last thing...you can also be praying I am able to surrender Carson & the outcome into God's capable hands knowing he has a good, good plan for Carson and to leave any of my expectations out.

A few more recent pictures  : )

I know I'm a bit biased but I LOVE these three handsome boys (& their love for each other)!

First Easter! (The eggs were everwhere shortly after this picture ; )

Carson's Easter party at school

Kellen's party! Preston took time out of his very busy day to surprise the boys : )