I posted several weeks ago about a very clever baby who was managing better
than most to feed with a partial cleft of the hard and soft palate.  I spoke
to the parents on Fri. this week, and want to share their progress, as
several people have queried privately about this baby.

The baby is well. No sign of respiratory illness yet, in spite of the fact
that there is occasional nasal regurgitation. To put this in perspective,
infants I have seen with clefts  often are receiving partial formula feeds.
The average on-set of first respiratory infection in my experience is 4-6
weeks pp. Baby has gained weight WNL and has increased length and head
circumferance beautifully.  She is getting more adept at feeding (human
milk) from the Haberman.  Parents are very happy about this as it is more
flexible to go out in public with that device than with the feeding tube
device.  They continue to use the feeding tube device at home to encourage
baby's orientation to the breast.  Mom tries to nurse unassisted and
occasionally baby can make it work for a swallow or two before she loses
suction.  I am encouraging them to persist at the breast, because I think
the early days are the hardest.  As baby gains strength and learns new
tricks, I believe she will become more competant feeding in all these
various ways.  She is certainly demonstrating good flexibility. They all
appear to be in good spirits.

Barbara

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Private Practice, Austin, Texas
Owner, Lactnews On-Line Conference Page
http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html