A baby with cleft lip/ palate may be unable to create the suction needed to get milk from the breast or regular bottle. Your baby may tire easily, take longer than 45 minutes to feed and still not take enough to gain weight properly. To make it easier for your baby to get enough milk, we suggest using the Mead Johnson plastic squeeze bottle and premie nipple. It will probably take you and your baby a few tries to "get the hang" of using this so don’t worry. It is important to relax and get to know your baby's feeding habits. Here are a few tips that may help you:
- Before putting the nipple in your baby's mouth, gently squeeze the bottle so you can tell how hard you need to squeeze to get an even flow.
- Aim the nipple downward and away from the cleft in baby's mouth - try to find a hard area on the roof of baby's mouth so baby can squeeze the nipple against it.
- Squeeze the bottle as soon as you begin the feeding. Don't wait until your baby is tired to begin squeezing the bottle.
- Squeeze the bottle as firmly as baby can easily keep up with the flow of milk.
- If baby starts losing milk out of the mouth, then don't squeeze quite as hard.
- Do not squeeze milk into baby's mouth while baby is resting. This could cause the baby to choke. It also disturbs the natural suck/swallow pattern.
- If your baby falls asleep, you may want to unwrap the blanket, tickle the feet or try other ways to wake your baby.
Here are some more suggestions to help feeding:
Relax! Hold your baby in an upright sitting position to help prevent milk from coming through the nose during feeding. If this does happen, use the bulb syringe or cloth to gently clean the area.
Your baby may swallow air and need to burp often – usually about every ½ to 1 ounce. However, be careful not to stop too often because this may tire the baby.
When you leave the hospital, your baby should be taking about 2 oz. in 30 minutes. Check your baby’s weight within the first week after going home to make sure baby is gaining enough. Most babies are back to their birth weight when they are 10 days old.
If you have any questions please call the nurse coordinator, Mary Breen MS, RN at (512) 324-9999, Ext. 87123.