Asher's new pump

i'm sure we all remember the fiasco with asher's pump earlier this month. if you've been following the blog, you'll remember my rant about the evils of the Kangaroo ePump. you may also remember that i ordered a new pump for Asher, a different one than we'd had previously.

i've had several people ask when i was going to post about the new pump (which arrived on wednesday). so, here you go. remember, this pump is designed for kids like asher: wee ones with serious feeding issues. and, it's designed not only to feed them, but to blend in with their lives and be almost unnoticeable. so, here you go. i give you, the EnteraLite Infinity!
no, that's not a giant hand holding an average-sized pump. that's my hand, which is nicely average-sized (at least something on me is! lol), and the pump is just that small! and to say it's light is an understatement. honestly, there's almost no weight to it at all! and some further benefits include: if it gets dirty, as a toddler's pump is bound to do, you can run it under water to clean it!!! that was a mother who thought of that, i tell you what. and it's so easy to use. that was a technology-impaired-yet-dependent mother who thought of that, i tell you what. anyway, there it is. the long awaited quality pump. so far, everyone i've encountered whose child uses this pump loves it, and i have to say, i agree wholeheartedly! yup, i heart asher's new pump.

now, i know you're wondering, but heather, that's all well and good that it's small and easy to use and water-resistant and all, but really, how does asher feel about it? well, i'm glad you asked.

i took the kids for a walk the other night. here's some pics from the parkette/flowerbeds we visited:

"gosh, i wish i could get out of this stroller and play with blithe and bram. sigh. the hard, hard life of a technology-dependent toddler. i would so enjoy a daily constitutional without being strapped down in this beast of a stroller. i want to be free! oh, why can't i just be free?!"

so, seeing the pitiful look on my toddler's face, i decided to let him loose in the park. unfortunately, i can't tell you what he thought of that....

because i couldn't catch him! look at him go! but heather, you ask, where's the pump? well, let me tell you. see that black backpack he's wearing? it doesn't hold his favourite magazines or the toys he can't live without. i don't think it would even hold his timmies. unless that timmies was cooled off significantly and it's going through his pump, that is! that's right, folks, that little backpack holds the pump. asher loves wearing it. i think he feels like a big boy with it on, because he sees blithe and bram wearing theirs all the time. and now, because he's not tethered to an IV pole 20 hours a day, he can keep up with them and play with them just like any normal/healthy toddler would! i'm telling you, since getting this pump, he's happy as a pig in a beautiful flower garden with its two older siblings running around equally happy.

and you should see him around the house now. he's so free, and he's in such better spirits now. he gets so excited in the mornings when he puts on the backpack, and he is overjoyed by the freedom he now has. the first time i watched him roaming with it on, i had tears in my eyes. honestly, he's so quick (ok, the tears were partly a what-am-i-going-to-do-now thing, but i was mostly just happy for him) and so happy, and we don't have to worry about the pole getting caught on anything, which means there's less frustration for him, less fear for me, less chance of the pole falling on him (you can imagine we've had a few close calls with that, when it toppled and missed him by less than an inch!), and way less chance of his tube getting caught on something and ripping out. oh, i can't tell you how happy we all are with this pump.

so, to dr bertoldi and steve peters and the people at yureks and keri for offering to fundraise for us and everyone who is even nominally involved in getting him this pump, thank-you thank-you thank-you thank-you thank-you!!!

now i just have to go catch him because he's raced off... again.