Feeding Challenges

When we first started feeding Bethany solids at 5 months of age it was quite hard for her to manage getting food past her cleft and not in her nose. It would normally be a 20 minute struggle to get a couple of teaspoons of rice cereal past her lips and thrusting tongue. Most feedings ended with much of the food being expelled equally out of her mouth and nose with a lot of sneezing and snorting involved. It took two long months before she became proficient at maneuvering the food to avoid such catastrophes. There were times along the way when I wondered if she would ever accomplish this task and if it was worth the effort. There was counsel to "just feed her foods through a bottle until her surgery", but I was not comfortable with that and felt it important for her to learn to eat from a spoon while she was still young and willing to continue trying. This spoon that attaches to a squeeze bottle was a very good compromise and really helped her, perhaps because of where the food is on the spoon. Also, we started giving her Gerber Puffs at 6 and a half months old and those were really good practice for maneuverability and helped considerably with eating pureed foods as well. It did take a long time and lots of experimentation from Bethany and us. We learned what thicknesses and amounts she could handle and where to put it in her mouth; she learned how to maneuver the food around to avoid her nasal cavity being assaulted with peas and carrots! Occasionally there is still a struggle but we will continue to persevere until her next surgery.