From the time we become pregnant, us mothers have a way of planning for everything. We want this stroller, these bottles and those pacifiers. Little do we know (more so with our first child), planning what babies will use, wear and eat, is pretty much impossible.
I planned on using the free fancy Similac bottles I had got along with formula for my older son,(JJ) for my second son Isaac.
We found out he was a boy at 14 weeks along in my pregnancy. At 28 weeks we found out he would be born with a bilateral cleft lip. A week later the hospital confirmed he had a cleft palate as well. I remember how it felt to find out that my little boy I had been envisioning would not be what I thought. The only knowledge I ever had of cleft lips or palates was the Operation Smile commercials I had seen on TV, and that my husband Joey had two cousins who had some form of a cleft.
We both new that it would be very hard to have our little boy go through multiple surgeries before even reaching the age of one. Between the two of us we had had some wisdom teeth pulled and a few stiches. To think of all that our son would have to go through was daunting.
Once we got home we did what I imagine many parents would do... we took to the internet. So here I am to create a compilation of information I wish I had found that day.
If I can answer one fathers question, or calm one mother's fears just a little bit it will be worth it.
