E.J.
My son has been tube feeding since he was 10 months old. He did the naso gastric (NG) tube for 9 months before we switched to the more permanent G button. The NG tube is good for temporary feeding, but it can be invasive. You must learn to insert it and it must be changed monthly. It is taped the the child's face and then it is taped to their clothes. If it's a new tube, it can be stiff and cause irritation on the nostril. There is the issue of other kiddos trying to pull on it and the questions many people will give you. I learned some ways to keep the tape from irritating my son's face (feel free to PM me) as the constant tape on the face can be irritating. So, the NG tube is good if you are planning on only using it for 3 months or so...
My son switched to a G button at 18 months after 9 months or so of the NG tube and I WISHED I had switched sooner. It was more discrete, not so invasive, despite it being surgically implanted in his tummy. There are problems with a build up of tissue around the site at times, but I think it's WAY more comfortable for him than the NG tube was. The G button was WAY easier to take care of than the NG tube.
I mostly appreciate that he is healthy and gaining weight, which is what tube feeding is all about. He did tube feedings in the day and was also tube fed at night via a pump. It wasn't that hard. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions as tube feeding has been a part of our lives for 5 years. I'd consider myself somewhat of an expert.
I can give you lots of tips of how to easily insert the tube (I can insert an NG tube or a G button) and lots of things I learned as I was living it. I can say that I'd go to the hospital and nurses would try to do something and I'd be like here, let's do it like this. Not b/c I didn't think they could do it, but b/c when when you do it all day every day you learn tricks.
Good luck! Don't let tube feeding scare you. It can be the thing they need to excel!
