My son was born in December with a cleft of his soft palate.
We tried breast feeding, but to no avail. According to the
surgeon our son is seeing, very few cleft palate babies can
create the suction necessary to latch on. We have decided to feed
our son with a Haberman Feeder and we use formula. Please let me
know if your grandson is using this bottle as I received some
good tips from a occupational therapist regarding the use of this
bottle. We were told that our son would have trouble with ear
infections due to the cleft, which may be the same problem that
your grandchild is having. Luckily, my son has only had one ear
infection, but it made him very aggitated and his appetite seemed
to wane.
I have to agree with the other response you received. Cleft
palate babies are high maintenance. However, due to the extra
time that must be spent with them, I truly believe that you will
feel closer to him than other grandmothers. I know that this is
true for my mother.
Please contact me at
tcwashburn@msn.com if you would like to
talk further. I would be glad to share with you everything I have
learned as well as point you in the direction of some very good
resources.