Ida Marie, almost one year old, has been tube-fed since birth due to her complex medical history. After medical approval for weaning, the tube weaning process began in the summer of 2025.
Ida Marie, from Germany, had been fed via a tube since her first day of life because of her complex medical condition. The long period of tube feeding often caused frequent vomiting, and she showed little interest in eating by mouth. Her parents were very worried and decided to join the Netcoaching Programto support Ida Marie’s eating development and help her transition off the feeding tube. From the very beginning, Ida showed great motivation and quickly increased her oral intake with puréed foods. Gradually, her drinking skills also improved. Because of this positive progress, her feeding tube could be removed just five weeks after starting treatment. Since then, she has been eating entirely by mouth, maintaining a stable weight. Her parents’ worries have eased, and the whole family is enjoying Ida’s newly gained eating skills.
Tell us about your experience with your child’s mealtime situation (with or without a feeding tube). What was it like before, during, and after treatment? How did you feel during the program? What was difficult; what was easy? What kind of changes did you notice in your child? Share what is important to you with other parents…:
Before joining the Netcoaching program, mealtimes at home were the biggest source of stress for all of us. We already knew that eating would involve lots of crying, food refusal, and, unfortunately, frequent vomiting. Once Ida’s tube feeds were reduced, it didn’t take long before the vomiting stopped. Her interest in food grew quickly, and she wanted to do everything by herself.
At first, we felt uncertain because the doctors at the hospital had put a lot of pressure on us about how much we “had to” feed through the tube. Deep down, we knew that Ida was being overfed, but how could we possibly manage that without professional help?
Those fears disappeared quickly because we could ask questions at any time.
All of a sudden, we had people who truly listened to our worries and helped us work through them. Over time, we as parents were able to approach the topic of eating more calmly and Ida noticed that, too. The tension lifted, and within just a few weeks, Ida no longer needed her feeding tube. In the beginning, it felt strange not to monitor and record everything, habits that had become second nature, but now that phase is behind us. These days, we move through our days with ease and no more feeding-related stress. Drinking from the bottle came a bit later, but that’s also going really well now. For us, choosing NoTube to guide us through such a sensitive process as tube weaning was absolutely the right decision. You’re truly supported in every way here. Thank you for being there!