A baby with a cleft lip most likely will be able to breastfeed directly at the breast without difficulty. Basics, tips and tricks for preparing a child for cleft palate-repair surgery, from Parents and Clefts. If the baby has a cleft lip only (with a normal palate), he/she should be able to eat normally using standard techniques. Babies born with a cleft palate alone may be nursed and fed on their sides. ... parents of babies born with cleft palate usually receive an assignment from the surgeon and team. Cups! A baby with a cleft lip most likely will be able to breastfeed directly at the breast without difficulty. If your baby has a cleft lip, it will be repaired by surgery when he is between two and three months old.An operation for a cleft palate is usually done before your baby is a year old.The surgery is done while he is asleep under a general anaesthetic, and he may need more than one operation. You’ll probably be most successful with a soft, silicone pacifier. Often the breast tissue will fill the cleft to create a seal. )and see what happens. For babies with a cleft lip, the size and shape of the cleft may make forming a seal around the breast or bottle difficult. Finger feeding is okay We started with those gerber puffs and Madeleine LOVED it. Posted 02/07/2011. Feeding solids to a cleft palate affected baby. - posted in Babies and Kids With Disabilities & Special Needs: Hi thereI've done a search but not come up with much information. Parents of cleft palate affected babies often ask if they need to do anything different when starting their little one on solids. In babies with a severe cleft, there is a complete separation extending from the lip to the nose (Tolarova 2015). The baby needs to be positioned so that a seal is created. One of the goals of cleft treatment is that affected children have good quality, intelligible (understandable) speech by 5 years old so they can start school with confidence. A cleft palate is when the split is in the roof of the mouth. Babies who have cleft palate have trouble forming the suction that’s needed to keep a pacifier in their mouths. The advice of a breastfeeding counsellor experienced with cleft babies, or a parent of an older cleft baby who was able to breastfeed, may help. The cleft can be one-sided (unilateral) or affect both sides (bilateral) (NHS 2016, RCHM 2010). Feeding a baby with a cleft of the palate may not be easy at first. A cleft palate forms early on during pregnancy when the roof of a baby’s mouth doesn’t close properly. Cups! Without knowing the extent of the cleft, I would start out with small, soft, solid foods (canned fruits cut up small, etc. Cleft lip (intact palate) Babies born with a cleft lip only can occasionally breastfeed. … Cleft Lip and Palate. The cleft can be one-sided (unilateral) or affect both sides (bilateral) (NHS 2016, RCHM 2010). Be prepared that he may not like the texture of solids at first (nothing to do with the cleft), just like many non-cleft babies do. If you want your baby to have a pacifier, you might have to hold it in place for her. Your Cleft Nurse Specialist will help you understand how to feed your baby safely using these methods. Cleft lip and palate – infant feeding To feed well, babies need to position their lips and tongue around the nipple or artificial teat, and create both suction and compression during sucking. This can support the baby’s cheeks and narrow the gap created by the cleft, which can improve the seal on the nipple. Around half of all children with a cleft palate (with or without a cleft lip) will need some form of speech and language therapy to achieve this. We spent five days in the hospital. What is a cleft palate and what is a cleft lip? They are not able to create the … Sippy Cups! Anyone's baby have a high arched palate? This results in an opening, known as the cleft, which extends from the front of the mouth in a backward direction along the hard palate. Weaning cleft palate babies. I was always scared to try finger foods, thinking they'd really irritate her, but this came from a mom with a cleft baby so I figured she knew what she was talking about. These bottles may … Babies with clefts have trouble with feeding because it changes how parts of the mouth are formed and how they work and fit together. Often the breast tissue will fill the cleft to create a seal. She was also immediately stricken with severe reflux. Why do babies with clefts have problems with feeding? My advice, just to confuse you a little bit more, would be to do a bit of both.