First day on an ND tube

Like lots of people all over the world, Max spent last night throwing up. However, unless there's been a sudden increase in the popularity of barium-based cocktails, I think Max was vomiting for a completely different reason than, say, the college kids who live next door to us. Max's swallowing study yesterday required him to drink some barium-laced milk, which can cause stomach upset. I think he settled down starting with him 8:30 AM feeding.

Max also got a different kind of feeding tube installed today. The NICU put in what I believe is called an "ND", or nasal-duodenal, tube (as opposed to the previous "NG", or nasal-gastric, tube). If I have this right, the tube passes through the pylorus and delivers food to duodenum. The idea is that this reduce Max's habit of inhaling the contents of his stomach that pass up the esophagus because of his reflux. The NICU team think that this "reflux aspiration" is affecting his lungs. They hope that the ND tube will lessen the reflux and give his lungs a chance to develop.

In the spirit of the season, a picture from one year ago today (we've got to quit spending the holidays in hospitals):