Harper's Story

Harper was born with a moderate VSD and a large Omphalocele. She spent 3 months in the NICU and had an NG tube from birth. We transitioned to a g-tube at 3 months of age to get discharged from the NICU. She is now 8 months old, and weaning took about 6 weeks.

We purchased the 'Lite' weaning package with Growing Independent Eaters. Harper gained weight at the same rate during the wean as she did on full tube feeds, probably because she previously vomited about 8 times a day due to suspected overfeeding. Vomiting stopped on day 3 of the first phase of weaning, and on day 3 or 4 of the second phase, her intake picked up!

We successfully weaned to spoon feeding, sippy cups, and bottle feeding. We mixed formula with everything -- yogurt, cereal, and purees. Weaning brought a lot of changes to our family! During the wean, for example, Harper began to wake more at night because she began to feel hungry, and our night routine faced a major change with every decrease we made. We are currently on a feeding every 3-4 hours around the clock schedule, as typically eating babies often do! We also battled constipation and croup while weaning, but GIE coached us through taking it safely and slowly. Harper's overall intake continues to increase, and she is really finding confidence in feeding herself.

We would not have been able to do this without GIE, namely Olga, Becky, and Elisabeth! We learned that the hardest part of weaning is weaning yourself, and learning to trust your baby. We were so grateful to be able to build a community around us of people who understand how demanding and frustrating weaning can be. Good luck to all other families thinking about weaning! There is light at the end of the tunnel!