For parents of tube feeding children, ensuring your child is healthy, happy and thriving can be complex. It requires balancing meals and nutrition, medical support, other therapies and your own health and mental outlook.
A big part of that is the support, help and stories that parents say they get from the community of other parents like them, no matter what type of feeding tube or nutrition they use.
For our #TalkingTubeFeeding campaign, we want to celebrate that support and community, as well as highlight resources available to encourage families along their tube feeding journeys.
About tube feeding for children
While the diagnoses requiring feeding tubes are varied – ranging from congential conditions, neurodisabilities, inherited diseases, cystic fibrosis, gastrointestinal cancer and diseases[1] and more – families are focussed on the same thing: giving their child the best start in life.
There are a variety of ways to do that with tube feeding, with methods that can change over time depending on your child’s needs. We’ll be talking about those challenges, along with success stories.
Join the conversation!
At BritMums we’re working with the Talking Tube Feeding site to feature the stories of tube feeding families, provide them with support, and talk about nutrition, formula and blended diets.
A growing number of parents in the UK are exploring blended diets for their children – using liquidised foods made at home.[2] If you’ve ever wondered if this is for you or are just curious, this is a great opportunity to learn more.
- On Instagram: Follow our BritMums families and their stories – see the list below.
- On Zoom: We’re hosting a FREE Zoom webinar where you can share their stories and get support. We’ll have the BritMums tube feeding influencers there along with a Specialist Paediatric Dietitian sharing their experiences of blended diets, talking about meeting varying energy needs and more. Come share your stories – all are welcome!
Tues 10 May at 12:30pm
Sign up here and join us!
- Online: Explore the Talking Tube Feeding site – a hub for tube feeding, focussed on support and stories along with recipes for blended diets (chicken satay or Sunday roast, anyone?). Visit it now! www.talkingtubefeeding.co.uk
Meet our mums
These families will be sharing their stories, the triumphs and challenges, and appearing at the Zoom webinar, so be sure to follow and connect with them.
Jess – Mum to Ben. Jess’s Instagram feed is full of her adventures with her children and shares insights into their day trips, home life and what Jess has learned from being a mother to her disabled son, Ben. Look out for posts about Ben’s blended diet journey. @jessmoxham
Hanna – Mum to George. Hanna’s Instagram feed is full of George’s smiling face and her Instagram Highlights are frank, moving and inspiring! Check out George’s fantastic weight gain under NG.Tube Highlights. @Georges_journeyy
Kerry – Mum to Mila. In addition to Kerry’s Grid posts, her Instagram Highlights really tell the story of both Mila and Kerry’s experiences! For a joyful moment, watch Milestones Highlights and turn on the sound for the one where Mila pushes herself up. @Milas.journey
Lorenza – Mum to Eliza. Eliza’s sign language, activities and snapshots of daily life always bring a smile to our faces – along with Lorenza’s fist-pump/strong mum moments. You’ll love the mother-daughter singing! @ChargeOnwardsandUpwards
We hope to see you and hear more about your experiences as part of the #TalkingTubeFeeding campaign. Share the tag on your social media so we can come say hello!
Disclosure: The #TalkingTubeFeeding campaign is sponsored by the Talking Tube Feeding site.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6797291/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6797291/
More on BritMums
- The joys of being a SEND parent
- Tips for managing expectations and setting small goals
- Mental health advice for SEND parents
- More SEND stories on BritMums
About
BritMums is the UK’s original collective of lifestyle bloggers and digital influencers, fueling the country’s most influential social content. We lead the online conversation with members who are parent social influencers creating content on topics ranging from food, parenting, travel, politics, style and more.