A squirrel saves my hand ...

Squirrel Syringes that is!!!

What the heck is that right?
          Yea, I didn't know either for the longest time.

When it comes to giving Jocelyn food and water, we use both a tubing extension set and a 60cc syringe, and use a plunging method to infuse any liquid/food into her stomach. Sounds like no big deal right? Sure, that's what you might think, but have you ever held a 60cc syringe when fully loaded, with super thick food {we make it thick to keep volume low & reflux at bay} and then try to push the syringe without it becoming disconnected from the tubing and splattering everywhere, or push the fluid as often as I have too?

Well, it doesn't take long for it to hurt your hands and wrists really bad. It wouldn't be so bad if I had new syringes every single time -- then it'd be a breeze -- but we don't. In fact, the medical supply company only gives you 6 syringes a month. I can only get the syringes at best to last a week and that's even with dipping the rubber stopper in oil, etc. They just simply become impossible to plunge. I've definitely broken a lot of nails from trying to use them too long {I broke my thumb nail just today and I don't have long nails!}.

 

Statically -- I'm plunging these 60cc syringes AT LEAST 138 TIMES A DAY!!!

I don't care how you slice or dice it, that's a lot of repetitive action on your fingers, hands and wrists. It hurts after a while. Trust me. We won't even talk about how time consuming this is either haha.

Anyways, since we are only allotted 6 syringes per month, we purchase additional boxes of them online since we end up going through approximately 24 syringes a month and that's IF they don't break or wear out before a weeks time {and they are shockingly pricey :s}.

So here's how things have been going for the last year and half when it comes to feeding Jocelyn.

Now, this is our decision to do a blenderized diet and use syringes, but we wanted her on this "diet" so she can have all the wonderful benefits of having REAL food in her body. It does come at a price {quite literally}, but we know this is better for HER in the long run.

Well, for the past few months I would occasionally hear about how some people use squirrel syringes for feeding blenderized diets. I didn't think too much of it at first and figured well, maybe they get something special or different because they live in a certain area, etc. No! They literally purchase and use syringes that are intended to hand feed squirrels. Then I thought, "No way this can be used for Jocelyn ... I'm sure there is something on them or in them that would make it unsafe."

Again, Nope!

People praised these syringes saying "They are the best in the world," "I couldn't do a blenderized diet without them," "They last months and months," "You hardly have to replace them," and the one that really caught my attention "My hand and arms no longer hurt!"
          -- Ok, now I'm sold!

After reading up on things and asking a lot of questions, I decided to buy some. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if these would work for us, they cost even MORE and we would only be getting 25 of them which was like a 1/3 of what would come in a normal box of 60cc syringes. I don't mean to sound cheap, but Jocelyn is EXPENSIVE {I know, kids are expensive in general, but you don't typically have this much medical junk to worrying about within your budget} and she will continue to have numerous expenses throughout her life, so we really have to pay attention to this kind of stuff.

These squirrel syringes arrived the other day and I have been using them for a few days now. Holy mother amazing!!! They slide up and down like butta!! Butta I tell you!!! Not even kidding. Its been a week already and they don't stick, they aren't making my hand go numb, my wrist doesn't have the sharp shooting pain, they are a breeze to clean, no oil has been needed yet ... HEAVEN!!!

I hope we have the same success of using them repeatedly for months like everyone else. That would be AWESOME!!! And on the flip side, if they last longer, we would in fact be saving time, money ... the environment even. Now I'm thinking haha :)

The cheapest place I found them was at Chris's Squirrels & More which is about $10 less than anywhere else. Passing this along in case anyone else can use the help/tip about all this. :)

Just for a visual of the difference in syringes:

{Syringe on the left is the typical BD 60cc syringe we've always used}
{Syringe on the right is the new Squirrel syringes!}

{The structure of the plungers is what makes all the difference. The rubber stopper tip on the left makes it nearly impossible to push after a short period of time. The plunger on the right, with the O-ring, is what allows things to glide more smoothly. Woohoo for learning & trying}

And look what I figured out today! We still have some left over feeding bags from long ago when we used a pump to infuse Pedisure. I dug them out because I thought "Hmmmm, I wonder if the caps from those feeding bags would fit over these new syringes."

Typically, the 60cc syringes {not any kind that I've found or been given} do not come with a lid or cap to keep the tip of the syringe clean and the food from accidentally coming out. Usually, if you can find them, you have to buy them separately.

{Here's the cap that I pulled off the red piece on the feeding bag}

And wouldn't you know it, it's a PERFECT FIT!!!!

{Ta-dah!!! Now I can keep everything clean & germ free-ish! haha}

Wish I would've paid more attention a long time ago and tried them sooner, but that's okay. You live, you learn, you grow and keep exploring I say and you never know what you'll find. :)