Monthly Medical Supply Order!

Every month I place an order through our DME (Supply Company) for Mel's medical supplies. In this post I will show you what our normal supply order consists of and how I store it all!

Our normal supply order

• A month supply of food bags. Our DME is very good about making sure we receive exactly how many bags we need for each month. I have seen other people post online that their DME sends 30 bags a month regardless, which is ridiculous to me!
• Feeding tube extensions. We receive 4 bolus and 4 continuous extensions a month. This is plenty for us since I am able to clean the continuous extensions and they last quite a while and we only use the bolus extensions for venting!
• Pre-cut Gauze 2x2 pads. Each box of these contains 60 2x2s. On days when Mel's tube is leaking more than normal or if I need to clean her button more often I go through a few of these! Every month I have to make sure that these are on our order or we don't get them! 
• Syringes. We receive 6 of each of the following sizes, 3mL, 5mL, 10mL, 20mL and 60mL. I use the 20 and 60 mL more that the other sizes but I still get them every month just so we will have them!
• 4 Pulse Oximeter Probes. Mel is still on a pulse oximeter at night to alert us if her heart rate or oxygen dip to a dangerous level. When we were using the pulse ox 24/7 we ran through these probes like crazy! I was lucky if I could get one to last a week. Now that we are only using it at night I can get one to last around 2 sometimes 3 weeks! (I use posey wraps and a sock over Mel's probe, it helps keep it in place and also cuts down on outside light allowing the probe to read better!)

We used to also receive Suction canisters, hoses and tips. We don't use the portable suction as much as we used to so after creating quite a stockpile of these items I decided to hold off on them for now!


After I place our order with our supply company it usually take about 3 or 4 days to receive our supplies. I recommend that if you are new at tubie life to call your DME and see what their normal processing time is! That way you don't get stuck using 1 food bag for 4 days! (Which can be done if in an emergency, just clean very very well with hot water and or Coca-cola!!)

Storage

I have seen some pictures from other moms that have all their supplies neatly put away with adorable little labels on each bin and its legit Pinterest worthy. I'm not that mom. I simply have 2 plastic 3 drawer containers, it works for us!

This is a pretty minimal supply order and storage area compared to some people, depending on different medical equipment such as trachs and ports. Also some people receive their child's formula and Real Food Blends from their DME so they have much larger orders!


Do you have a lot that comes from your DME? How do you store your medical supplies? I would love to hear your feed back in the comments!!

Squeeze those little people of yours tight this evening it gonna be cold outside!!

Love until another day,
Shelbi

Cleaning your tubies Stoma!

When Mel first had her feeding tube placed I was super intimidated by it! Up until that point I had never seen a G tube in person or even a stoma of any kind. And I did not want to hurt my little nugget by doing something incorrectly. Since then I have grown very comfortable with Mel's site and in this post I will show you and explain how I clean and dress her site daily!

I would like to preface this post with the fact that I am not a doctor and I have had no formal medical training. Everything I know is from my own research, being shown by medical professionals, and what works best for our family. If you have any concerns about your child's stoma or button I suggest you consult your child's physician.

I clean Mel's stoma every night before bed and also every time I give her a bath. This is the first step I take in her nighttime routine so that I can insure my hands are freshly cleaned every time!

Gather every thing you will need and have it laid out beside you so it is easy to reach. I don't like to leave the button exposed to go grab something I forgot because Mel loves to pull on it! if I do forget something I cover her button back up with her onesie and then go grab my forgotten item!

The Items I use every button change!

Q-Tips, baby soap, warm water, Desitin, 2x2 split gauze and a fabric tube pad. 

 WASH YOUR HANDS! Your child's stoma can become infected just like any other opening into the body. Stoma infections can be very serious and lead to complications. 

• First I take off the dirty fabric tube pad and split 2x2. I just set these to the side for the time being.
• I then dip a Q-Tip into the baby soap and I clean around her stoma. I make sure to get all the "tube boogers" loosened up.
• Then I take a clean Q-Tip and I dip it into the warm water and wipe around the stoma to further remove any crusties and make sure the bottom of her button is clean.
• After it is clean I take a dry Q-Tip and make sure I dry off the whole area really well, sometimes this takes more than one Q-Tip.
• Next is the Desitin or whatever barrier cream you use. I like to pull our Desitin up in a 3 mL syringe so I can "pipe" it around Mels stoma! is is so much easier and way less messy!
• Place the clean 2x2 around the stoma.
• Finally place the clean fabric tube pad over the 2x2.

I like to use a 2x2 and a fabric tube pad for a couple reasons. Desitin is some crazy stuff and it is hard so wash off of our tube pads. Also I feel like using both pulls Mel's button up to where it is snug and it does not move much. 

Desitin or barrier cream is used so that if the stoma leaks stomach acid or the button leaks formula/food the healthy skin around the button will not get burned and irritated. 

Ever since Mel was converted to her GJ tube she has had a decent amount of Granulation Tissue around her stoma. This is a very common thing with stomas and some cases are worse than others. Granulation tissue is not painful but it is very very vascular so it bleeds very easily. Some doctors and parents like to treat granulation tissue with Silver Nitrate. Which looks like a long matchstick with silver on the tip. When the silver touches skin it cauterizes the tissue. A lot of people have had great results with silver nitrate and had minimal discomfort. When Mel was about 7 months old we went to a GI appointment and he used the silver nitrate. Mel screamed like she was in pain and her stoma was sore and irritated for days afterward. Also I saw little improvement with her granulation tissue. There are other ways to treat granulation tissue if needed. (Always consult your child's doctor about any problems with your child's stoma or any treatments.)

Steroid Cream- We have Triamcinolone cream that we were prescribed for granulation tissue. this cream can only be used for a few days at a time every couple weeks.

Alum & Calmoseptine ointment- Alum powder can be purchased from the grocery store in the spice isle and the cream from the pharmacy area. These 2 items can be mixed into a paste then placed around the stoma. I have yet to try this method but I will be soon and I will update on how it works!

Essential oils- I have read that a solution of 1 drop Frankincense, 1 drop Lavender and Coconut Oil are good to help heal granulation tissue. I have been using this method on Mel for 2 weeks now and I see slight improvement but not much. I wanted to try this method as it is more natural. I just placed a drop of each essential oil in a 10mL roller bottle then filled the bottle with fractionated coconut oil. ( I saw no improvement with this method, I will be trying the Alum and Calmoseptine soon!)

I tried to get pictures as I was going through the steps but umm wrestling a 16 month old while protecting a G button and trying to take pictures is NOT easy! I will work on getting pics and will add them if I am ever successful!

As always if you have any questions put them in the comments and I will get back with you!! 

Hug your little people tight and have a big ol' glass of wine ladies!!

Love until another Day,
Shelbi