Hi Lactnetters - Judy Steele here.  I'm an LLLL in Aurora, IL and also
Coordinator of Leader Accreditation for LLL of IL.  My professional background
is in speech and hearing science.  Sorry, my area of expertise is the opposite
end of the age spectrum from infant swallowing/feeding!  Have really been
enjoying the experience and wisdom on Lactnet.

I was lured out of lurking by Gena's post about milk coming out of baby's nose
with no cleft palate.  Nothing scientific here - just a personal experience with
my second baby.  He dripped milk--rapidly, almost a stream--as a newborn. No
cleft palate or other abnormality of the oral mechanism - like most
speech-language pathologists, I had finger-checked the integrity of his palate
before I counted fingers and toes!  My interpretation of this somewhat
alarm-looking occurrence was that he was coping with my overactive let-down by
simply allowing part of the flow to go upwards and out the nose (rather than
choking and sputtering as many babies do).  Rather ingenious and laid-back of
him, I thought.  It looked awful, was messy, but didn't bother him at all.  Even
a slight raise of his head from the horizontal (e.g. my arm under his head when
lying side by side) slowed or stopped the milk from escaping from the nose.  It
only lasted a few weeks, as I recall.  For what it's worth!

Judy Steele, MA, and LLLL in Aurora IL
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