Button your Button

I have never really been afraid so-to-say of having a child with a feeding tube. Vivien's g-tube was placed when she was only 2 months old and now that she is approaching 16 months it has become just as much of my daily routine as brushing my teeth. I promised that I would not let fear hinder me from caring for Vivien and all of her needs. I've always prayed that God would grant me the strength to accept and complete the task at hand. Little did I know that would include changing her button and dealing with the lovely stomas that occur every once in a while.

Sunday morning as I was just waking from slumber, still hugging my coffee cup and wishing the caffeine would kick in soon, the girls were upstairs playing in Laura Ellen's room. It was about an hour or so before we needed to leave for church. I never heard any whimper out of them when all of a sudden Michael ran into the room in a panic and telling Laura Ellen to stop (can you say he's the one that panics much quicker than I do;) As I ran upstairs we found Vivien laying on the ground looking up at her sister with a face that expressed "hey, this kinda feels pretty good, thanks sis!" Laura Ellen had pulled her button out. There was a clean hole right where her button had been. I am assuming the  conversation went a little like this...Laura Ellen to Vivien..."Vivien, lay still so I can fix yur 'buntton'" Honestly, I can see Laura Ellen playing a mini doctor with her play stethoscope and other "medical" accessories.

I am amazed that Vivien did not cry when it was pulled out. Not one whimper, not one flinch, not one vocalization about the fact that it was uncomfortable.

I loved how she just laid there as if she knew she was supposed to wait for one of us to place it back in for her. I think she was even instructing Michael what to do & how to do it. Or, maybe she was saying "Look at that thing! That totally just came out of that tiny little hole!"

The balloon was still intact and wasn't bad, so instead of using the "backup" we have in the cabinet, we felt as if it was better for us to "reinstall" the prior button. So, with clean hands and accessories in hand, Daddy did. He's my hero, always ready to tackle any job.

Now that is when she flinched a tad bit. But the cry lasted as quickly as it took for Michael to place it back into her tummy. *I should note here, we deflated the button before placing it back in the hole

Back in place and working like a charm. She also did very well considering. I almost wonder if she was crying because she didn't want it back in & she wanted to be able to eat a cheeseburger by mouth. If only she didn't aspirate, that could be a possibility for us, but for now, we will keep her well fed by her button.

The excitement was over quickly and we were all smiles again playing barbies & dress-up, legos & cars 

I am blessed with 3 children that all have unique personalities and love to explore and play make-believe. There is never a dull moment in our house and the laughter always ensues after even the most stressful moments.

Not to loose the excitement from earlier in the day or loose a dull moment, later that night while hooking Vivien up for nighttime feeds, the trusty 'ole Joey Pump gave us the *blue screen of death...* It went completely blank. Luckily, Michael has the pump down to a fine science and was able to remember what buttons to press from memory.

I was able to call our heath supply company and they were eager to swap the pump out for a new one. Thank you Kangaroo Joey Pump for one faithful and amazing year, you have truly gone above and beyond, may you find rest or either a renewed operating system and are as faithful to someone else as you have been to us.

We are glad we are able to Button our Buttons