After scouring the Internet for different kinds of feeding tube backpacks we quickly found that there aren't many out there. I talked about the Super Mini Backpack and The Feeding Essential Kiwi backpack and there are only one or two other backpacks out there for small kids. So Ken and I decided to try our hand at making a backpack for L. We bought an Elmo backpack at Wal-Mart that was really small but quickly decided that is wasn't going to work for a feeding tube backpack. The straps weren't padded and didn't get tight enough so he could quickly slip out of it. The back material was not really strong enough to hold the weight of the feeding tube and bag either. After searching Amazon and researching backpacks we decided to get a Littlelife Runabout Toddler Daypack. It was small, had a chest strap, padded shoulder straps, is super cute and is just the right price! It was $28, so compared to the $80 we paid for the Super Mini Backpack it was a steal. Thanks to my mom for helping us make this backpack into a feeding tube backpack. She did all of the sewing and work...we just told her what we wanted and she made it happen. Here is what we did:
1. We had some Toy Story ribbon that we had bought on clearance from a previous (failed!) project that we used to tie the bag. We doubled the ribbon to make it more sturdy and then put it at the top so the feeding bag would hang above the pump. I wanted it long enough to tie a bow but Hubby thinks it is too long...It is a perfect length! I decided I wanted to do ribbon instead of velcro because I think it will last longer than velcro. The super mini backpack's velcro doesn't stick anymore and pretty much after 10 minutes the feeding bag has fallen down.
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2. My mom did an extra big button hole on the back of the backpack on the left side. The fabric was a little hard to get a nice clean button hole but it works and doesn't really get seen!
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| One thing to note is we ordered the blue backpack with the dinosaur on it and got this one instead so just beware you might not get a dino backpack. The hedgehog is cute though! |
That is all we had to do! There was another backpack that I thought about getting but it didn't have a chest strap already so the Littlelife backpack won. It wouldn't be hard to add a chest strap to a backpack but for our first time we wanted to make it as simple as possible. The backpack is really small so figuring out how to get the pump and bag and emergency supplies in it took a couple of days to figure out. The supplies sit in the bottom of the bag, the pump sits vertical with the side where the tubes come out at the bottom, and the bag hangs from the ribbon. The weight distribution is similar to the super mini backpack, so it was an easy transition for L to make. We (I and the teachers and the therapist--Hubby is still unsure) actually like this backpack the best out of all of them because it fits him so well. It isn't bulky, sits perfect on his back, and is even a little more compact than the super mini backpack. L has a favorite rocking chair at home that he couldn't sit in when he wore his super mini but he can sit and be comfortable in it with the Littlelife backpack. It is also easier to cuddle with him with the Littlelife backpack!
