Tips for Feeding Your Cleft Lip Baby

As with many mothers, I was shocked when I learned in the delivery room that my baby had a cleft lip. I can still remember it vividly. The doctors were reassuring me that everything would be fine, but that my son did have a cleft lip. As they handed the bright pink screaming baby boy to me, my baby boy, I didn't care. He was healthy. He was mine. And he was here! I wasn't sure what would happen, but I promised my baby that we would get through it together. But I wasn't prepared for the feeding difficulties that would accompany his cute little crooked face as my husband calls it.

I had always planned to breastfeed my son, but now I wasn't sure. While in the hospital we had to bottle feed him, because he refused to nurse (my milk hadn't come in yet). It was a trying time. He took in so much air when he ate. My son has an incomplete left cleft lip, so as I cradled him in my left arm, I held the bottle with my right hand and was able to wrap my pinky finger around the nipple and cover the gap in his lip. This helped to reduce the air dramatically, but he was still very gassy and fussy because of the large amounts of air that filled his stomach. He burped often six times or more during each feeding, and the air still filled his tummy. He wasn't able to eat enough because of it. He would get hungry very frequently, but only be able to eat small portions.

When we got home from the hospital, I began feeding him with the Avent Newborn bottle. The nipple is very large and was able to mostly fill in the gap in his lip. Once my milk came in a few days later, I began nursing him. The Avent bottle no longer worked for him because the effort of getting the milk from the bottle became too much for him and he would tire quickly into each feeding and fall asleep. I nursed him exclusively for two months. It was wonderful. My son grew well and took in very little air when he ate because my breast made up for the gap in his lip. At first, it was difficult for him to get a secure latch and he would become impatient. The lactation and speech therapy departments at the hospital where I delivered worked with me to help him to latch correctly. I had to alternate the holds I used while nursing him based upon his mood. The football and traditional cradle hold worked the best.

But as my son turned two months old, he began eating more milk than I could produce. It was very frustrating for the both of us. I began the trial of supplementing with formula, but the inconsistency was too much for him to handle. He would sometimes want to nurse and then others would want the bottle. I struggled with the decision, but finally decided with my husbands support that bottle feeding would be best. I tried the highly recommended VentAire bottles by Playtex, but the nipple was too hard and small. My son became gassy and fussy again due to the large quantities of air he too in. I switched again to another system, one I remembered my mom using with my youngest sister who was also sensitive to air. The Playtex Drop-In system has done wonders for my son. From the minute he began using them, I could hear that no air went in as he sucked on the bottle. The nipples are large and soft, very similar to breastfeeding, and this combined with the drop-in bags that shrink as the baby drinks, no air gets in his tummy.

Unfortunately, he still was fussy after mealtimes and spit up frequently. He was on the Similac Advance Infant formula that the hospital recommended. I switched him to the Similac Sensitive Formula, and the problem was solved once his body had time to adjust to the change in formula. After a month of strictly bottle feeding, he is now eating homemade baby food that I prepare for him. Teaching a cleft baby to eat from a spoon was no easy feat. It was and is still very messy. But it was worth it. I bought the rubber coated infant spoons and started him on fruits and rice cereal. Patience is the key to spoon feeding. I began slowly introducing foods, only about a tablespoon at a time. He loves the sweet taste of fruit, but he still has a strong need to suck. At first I would spoon a little food in his mouth and he would gulp it down like milk. After about a week of that, he learned to use his tongue to move the food in his mouth and he now swallows normally. However it is still very messy. The food always moves through the gap in his lip and up into his left nostril as he eats. I have not found a way to prevent this. I simply clean his nose out with a q-tip after every other feeding. And like all babies, food drips down his chin to his clothes. A healthy supply of bibs will save you from having to change baby's outfit after every feeding. Once he finishes his now 1/2 cup of baby food, he drinks about 4.5 oz of formula.

It is amazing how far we have come to have our happy, healthy baby. I no longer dread feeding times and the subsequent fussiness and gassiness that used to occur. Now, my son is very content after each feeding and is gaining weight rapidly. At three and a half months, he is almost double his birth weight of 7.3 lbs and has outgrown much of his wardrobe. I strongly recommend the Playtex Drop-In bottles and introducing baby food to your child at the appropriate time. I hope my experience helps you have a happy feeding experience with your cleft baby.