We first came in contact with Mun-H-Center when our son was 6 years old. He had had a "G-tube", or gastric feeding tube, for 5 years.
Samuel was born during the 30th week of pregnancy and weighed 1000 g, but as an infant he both breastfed and began to eat taste portions and even full portions. It was when he was about 8 months old that our gruelling struggle with eating and weight gain began. Samuel put all food in his cheeks and it took an extremely long time for him to swallow it, which in turn meant that it took ages to feed him. Samuel also caught all the colds that came his way, which made it even harder for him to eat. We often had to stay at the hospital. At one year he weighed 5.3 kg. At that point all the referrals started to all the different services available in our medical system to try to determine why our son was so small and grew and ate poorly. It would take many years of visits to hospital, speech-language therapists and habilitation centers before we came into contact with Mun-H-Center. Everyone around us said that Samuel would probably begin to eat (no one can really know that until it actually happens). BUT Mun-H-Center was the first place that we were put at ease. There we felt that we, as parents, got help and that they consciously began to work and build up trust with Samuel. Earlier, when we would sit down at the dining table, Samuel’s standard comment was:
“No!”
“I don’t want to!”
“I don’t want anything.”
The first step in Samuel’s long journey to begin to eat was to change his attitude.
I have many times tried to imagine what it must have been like for Samuel to have to go through what for him was the worst thing possible and have it happen at least four times a day. Of course you have to defend yourself. Naturally you scream “no” as quickly as you can.
To see and experience how Samuel’s attitude slowly, slowly and step by step changed might be thought to be wonderful for a parent, but it is also frustrating. Nothing happened for a long time, then something happened that made us believe that now he was beginning to eat - now he’s started. Then he stopped to rest in that phase. Time and again we have gotten support and talked with Lotta and Lena and been told how wonderful our boy is and how well he was progressing. This has given us hope and strength. You have to be aware that this is a process that takes a long time.
I believe that even Samuel has found a refuge with Lena when it comes to eating. He has eaten there when he hasn’t eaten anywhere else. I have the feeling that Samuel feels that what he has achieved is sufficient. No one stands there and says: “My, how well you’ve eaten! Wouldn’t you like a little more?”
One of the most positive things about it all is that Samuel now often finds a natural pleasure in food and drink. I think that Mun-H-Center and the Chew School deserve much of the credit for this. Their belief in what they are doing spreads to us parents and they do it with such calm. Now we have come so far that we no longer use tube feeding at all meals, except at one and during the night. Samuel now comes to us and says he is hungry and goes to the cupboard himself to get what he thinks tastes good.
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