Sunshine and Spoons: A Few of My Favorite (Tubie) Things!

This post contains referral links which means that if you purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

For 16 months of his life, my son Davy had a hole in his tummy.

He got it when he was two months old and was unable to eat enough to grow. His G Tube was a little button that was inserted into the surgically placed hole or stoma in his precious little tummy. Eventually, he learned how to eat and when he was 18 months old, we were able to remove his G Tube, leaving a little pucker on his stomach that resembles a second bellybutton.

During Davy's time as a "tubie," I compiled a list of things that I found especially useful or just really cool and am excited to share them with you. Please keep in mind that everyone is different and what works for one person, may not work for the next.

1. Calmoseptine
This barrier cream is made for tubies (it says so right on the tube!) and is great for keeping a stoma looking and feeling healthy. It also works great for diaper rashes.

2. My Tubey Books by Rhiannon Merritt-Rubadue
Rhiannon has five books available that make it easy for kids to read about and understand feeding tubes. These are a great resource for teaching your child's class at school about his or her tube or just for normalizing tube feeding for your little one.

My Tubey Books for kids with feeding tubes

3. Taylor Hart Designs
This Etsy shop features designs for girls and boys that are g-tube friendly, plus the shirts, dresses, etc are really cute! Unlike a lot of special needs clothing, Taylor Hart Designs is affordable as well.

Taylor Hart Designs features g-tube friendly clothes for kids at affordable prices.

4. Granulotion
A lot of tubies struggle with granulation tissue on the tube site. Davy had it almost constantly until I started using Granulotion on it. After that, we never had another problem. It's not cheap, but a little bit goes a long way, and it's worth every penny.

5. Special Needs Medical Binder Printable
Staying organized is vital when you have a little one with special needs. I created this printable medical binder specifically for kids with g-tubes with input from other tubie moms.

Special needs medical binder printable with over 30 pages

6. Tubie themed shirts from the Sunshine and Spoons Shop
If you've been hanging around my blog for very long, than you've probably noticed that I have a shop where I sell a variety of special needs themed shirts.

Right now, my manufacturer is switching over some brands so I don't have sizes 2-12 for kids available in my shop at the moment, but they will be back soon so keep checking back! In the meantime, there's a wide selection of tubie shirts available for adults and babies.

7. Tubie pads
Davy always had drainage from his stoma when he had his g-tube and that caused a lot of irritation. We used g-tube pads and they kept his tummy looking and feeling much better. Plus, they came in really cute designs. The older kids enjoyed picking out Davy's tubie pad every moring. There are a lot of places out there that sell g-tube pads. For Davy, I found that thinner pads without the tight embroidery stitch around the sides were the best. You may have to try out several different kinds before you find the right style for your tubie.

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A Few of My Favorite Tubie Things! + a Giveaway: http://bit.ly/2ktQeUX

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8. Tubie Pockets
We never used these as Davy only had his ng-tube for a few days before getting a g-tube, but they would've come in handy during that time! The end of a nj or ng-tube can be tucked inside the pocket which is then pinned anywhere you want. This keeps it out of the way and can cut down on accidental pullouts. Plus, they come in a variety of cute designs to make them fun for kids.

9. Welcome Home Kit
This "Welcome Home" kit from My Tube Feeding Kit is awesome and I wish it had been available when Davy got his g-tube. It includes resources for the parents and child. You can ask your doctor or healthcare provider for a kit.

10. Complete Tubefeeding by Eric Aadhaar O'Gorman
Written by a tubie for tubies, this book covers everything from blended diets to troubleshooting tubefeeding problems. If you have a lot of questions about feeding tubes, this book is a must have.

11. My Belly Has Two Buttons by Meikele Lee
Another good book for kids, tubies or otherwise, this one is written by a tubie mom to help kids understand the whys and hows of feeding tubes. It uses easy to understand language that presents feeding tubes in a non-scary manner.