I can share the frustrations of babies born with a cleft, since I have one of 
the lip and hard palate. I was born in 1966 before IBCLCs and specialty 
feeders... my mom fed me by a demitasse cup (which she says took forever, 
that's all she did all day).  After many procedures and 9 years of braces, I 
have a wonderful result (lots of people tell me they can't tell) however I can't 
drink well out of a McDonald's straw (it's too big!) or blow up a balloon without 
a lot of effort.  Imagine trying to drink out of a straw with a hole in it, can't be 
done. That's not to say that we can't adapt in some way, I find that I 
compensate and make most things work though I don't know how I do it.  My 
plastic surgeon said it was a miracle that I could play the flute in middle and 
high school.  She said no matter how good we think we do the repair, 99% of 
the time there is still a hole.  And a little hole still allows air to leak and is 
difficult to achieve a seal.  It's a perspective that unless I had one, I wouldn't 
be able to understand.  Thanks to all of you that encourage mommies to nurse 
a baby as I do... some little ones can and others can't because the clefts and 
repair methodologies are all different.

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