So what do you think happened here? Was it:
- The baby threw up.
- The syringe malfunctioned.
- The med port popped open.
If you guessed #2, you were right. Sticky syringes can be annoying if not down right disastrous. Has it happened to you or is it just me and the mom of this baby? I have had to clean walls, ceilings and floors because I forced a syringe filled with medication or oils. You know the drill. You use a syringe, wash it, let it dry and forget about it until it’s time to reload it. When bolus feeding a blenderized diet it can cause a sticky syringe within in 1 to 2 uses. We all know tossing our syringes after so few uses is out of the question. You have to use those syringes 5-6 times a day minimum for up to a week so what do you do? The answer: Lubricate the plunger.
I use coconut oil for 2 reasons: 1) It was recommended to me by another Tubie mom and 2) when I used olive oil it still got stuck. So here’s the process:
- Starting with a dry syringe and plunder, dip the plunder into a bowl containing slightly warm coconut oil.
- Make sure to coat all surfaces of the plunger.
- Insert the plunger into the syringe and move the plunger up and down inside the syringe several times while turning the plunder.
- For the 60cc syringe, I sometimes use my finger to lubricate the inside in addition to the plunger. This is helpful if the blend is fairly thick or the syringe has been reused a number of times.
Now you are ready to load your feeding. It is very important to give the feeding immediately after loading it. It has been my experience that, if you set the syringe down and come back to it, the plunger will be stuck. And what happens when you have a syringe full of a blend and you try to force into the extension tube? Refer to picture 1.
If you are feeding on the go, I suggest you carry the coconut oil with you in a small vial.
It is solid at and below room temperature so you will want to keep it somewhere that is fairly warm. If you can’t do that, you can still use it on the plunder but you have to do step #3 until the friction in the syringe melts it.
I would love to hear what works for you. Please leave a comment. The more information we have the fewer, “Nooooo!” situations we will have.
