Adopting a 3 yr old with cleft palate/questions

[Connie Ford (c_a_ford@yah]

Hi...we are adopting a little girl from China who will be 3 in July. She has a cleft palate, and a repaired cleft lip. I have been trying to do some research and read what I can. Most of the info I find pertains mostly to infants. So I feel unsure of how to care for her as far as food and drinking. We are planning on seeing a team of Drs. at Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis when we return from our trip.
My questions: In China the children are fed Congee with some cooked vegetables in it so it seems most of her foods are somewhat on the soft side. Will she be able to adatpt to eating solid foods when she joins our family. Also will she be able to drink out of a tippy cup or use a straw? She is somewhat small for her age and my little ones here at home use tippy cups just for the sake of fewer spills. I use the free flowing ones, not the ones with a plug that you have to suck on to get the juice out of.
Can you think on anything else I need to know before we travel to China and she is place with us. I don't even know what questions to ask so any help you can offer will be appreciated.
Thank you...Connie Ford

[acrossdeemiles@yahoo.com]

Hi Connie,


I can't offer you a whole lot advice, only that if she has a cleft palate she may not be able to use straws. (Most of us can't until we have surgery to repair it) Sucking and blowing can be a challenge. I blew up my first balloon recently and I'm 25! Sometimes when you have a cleft there is an opening called a "fistual", it can be open to the nose and sometimes and can go further. It really depends on the case. I am including a link to a page that has great illustrations to show you the different types there can be. I also want to commend you on adopting a cleft child. I think you and your family are very special and I wish you all the best. Please feel free to email me with any other questions!


Dawn
Try this site:
<a href="http://choa.org/library/craniofacial/clefts/whatis.shtml">http://choa.org/library/craniofacial/clefts/whatis.shtml</a>

[Calvero]

If her palate has also been repaired then she shouldn't have to much trouble eating regular food. Once my lip and palate were repaired I ate normal food and was able to use a straw. My mom said that I loved my Tommy Tippy cup which seemed to be permantly attached to my hand which was free flowing like the ones you discribed. But it might be a good idea to fix foods to what she's used too and then gradually introduce your food.


Congradulations and have a safe trip


Kim, The Cleft Club <a href="http://cleftclub.cjb.net">http://cleftclub.cjb.net</a>

[Laurie]

Our children (adopted from Russia) were 12 and 20 months at adoption and didn't have either lips or palates repaired yet. I found the Avent sipper cup worked great for them to drink out of. The long 'sipper' is soft and free flowing. I found them at Toy R Us. If your daughter still has a hole in her palate she probably will not be able to suck from a straw or a 'non spill' cup.
As far as food goes - my kids pretty much ate everything before palate repair based on the advice from the plastic surgeon. Soft fruits, vegetables, cold cereal, pb&j sandwiches, and the all time favs - graham crackers and bananas! If she's used to all soft foods I would add textured food or 'harder' items slowly to get her used to them. I tended to avoid raw apples before repair though as our son had a small piece go through the hole in the palate and get stuck coming out his nose - not fun!