Having a child with a G-Tube is not your typical motherly experience. Your lifestyle is… different. Not bad, just different. Whether your child has a g-tube because of genetics, prematurity, or an illness, it is an unexpected curve ball. I know you can’t plan for everything, but having a g-tube emergency kit is an absolute must. It will ease your mind, trust me. You have enough on your plate as it is.

Here are the g-tube emergency kits I have created. The first is one to toss in your diaper bag. The second is one to keep in your cars for the big emergencies, like a long trip and potential strandedness.

Some might think having two different ones may be much, but in my opinion, you can never be too prepared when you have a special needs child.

Mini G-Tube Emergency Kit

This little box is perfect to stash in your purse or diaper bag. It is big enough to house the essentials in case you need to replace your babe’s button, but small enough to not take up so much space in your bag.

The essential things you need to have with you in case of an g-tube emergency:

1. Alcohol wipe You never know when you’ll need it, especially if you have dropped any items
2. G-tube button Ours is a AMT Mini One
3. Lubricant I got this from our g-tube kit, but you can easily use chapstick, or so I am told
4. Blue Tee Not exactly sure what this is technically called but it looks like the tees you use in golfing. You use this to insert into the button to keep the shape’s integrity as you insert
5. Syringe I include a 5ml syringe so you can inflate the balloon with water
6. Extension Important if you forget yours, lose it, drop it in nasty stuff, and need to give baby some meds, food, water, etc.
7. Gauze Something clean for absorbing or wiping away the area
8. Bandaid This is important in case your balloon has malfunctioned and you need to tape down a button into the stoma so it does not close up. The stoma can close rather quickly if nothing is inserted, so it is important to keep the stoma open to avoid another surgery

Big G-Tube Emergency Kit

The next G-tube emergency kit is for the bigger emergencies, like being stranded on a trip without supplies of any sort, or you need to something to hold you over for 24 hours.

This is a Red Cross First Aid case I got from Target one year. It was free as long as I purchased three first-aid items (e.g. bandaids, Neosporin, etc.).

I just love the cute colors and design!

 

 

Here is my big emergency kit opened

All of the items in my big emergency g-tube kit:

• Nourish ready-feed meal replacement L uses this as a part of her daily diet. We feed this plus a homemade blenderized diet
• 60ml and 35ml syringes I bolus feed L’s feed now via syringe, other syringe is for water flushes
• Infinity feed bag I have this in here just in case I need to use our pump (not pictured, and assuming I have it but if I don’t, I have my large syringes) to feed over long periods of time
• AMT Mini One Extension
• AMT Mini One G-tube
• 5ml syringe to inflate g-tube balloon and/or administer medications
• Lubricant for inserting button
• Antiseptic wipes
• Split Gauze To dress her stoma
• Waterproof Bandaid In case we plan on getting wet
• Tape If the balloon will not inflate and I need to tape the button into the stoma so it won’t close

 

There you have it folks. Both of my G-tube emergency kits, big and small… both of my sanity savers. I remember in my early tubie days, I used to feel so anxious about things going wrong and not having the tools on hand when out and about. After being a tubie mom for 15+ months, I have had to use these a handful of times. Thankfully, I never needed to scramble or freak out too much because everything was right there.

Now, I never leave home without either of them, and I no longer feel anxious about potential tubie emergencies.

I hope this was helpful to some, and that maybe you will feel a bit less stressed as a tubie parent. 🙂

 

xx, Mary

What’s in your g-tube emergency kit? Leave a comment below 🙂