cleft palate

[Peter Gavaghen petegav@ao]

My beautiful daughter who was born March 31 has a small hole
in her palate.I feel so ignorant about this subject. I'm trying
to gather info to make a list of questions for the doctors by
tommorow and I haven't slept in days. Can anyone steer me in the
right direction?

[Elizabeth]

Congratulations!! Like I told the other father, feeding is the
biggest challange with a cleft baby. My son was born in October
with a small soft palate cleft, and he is having trouble gaining
. He was born 6lbs.10ozs. and is only 9lbs.1 oz.as of this week.
If your wife is breastfeeding, PLEASE ask for as much help as you
can! It can be done, and it is best for her. Make sure you go for
frequent weight checks, and have a lot of patience feeding her.
Good Luck!! Feel free to write to me, jlreale@erols.com

[Mom with husband and son]

My son was born with both a cleft palate and lip 8 years ago.
How bad is the palate? I know that my son had a retainer made to
cover the whole in the roof of his mouth so he could eat better.
He got so much extra air any way that the retainer really helped
a lot. The orthadontist that we used to make the retainer is in
Texas. If you would like his name and number just e mail me and I
will be happy to give it to you. If you don't live in Texas I am
sure his office could help you in finding a orthadontist where
you live. Your baby is going to be fine. Be thankful that this
can be fixed as where a missing limb or a bad organ isn't so
easly fixed. I would be happy to answer any questions or just
talk about it with you. I know all those feelings you are feeling
and it really helps to have someone to talk to.Please feel free
to e mail me at queensheets@netzero.net