Cleft Family Favorites

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Things that actually helped us.

I'm a cleft mom. Our son was born with a complete cleft lip and palate, and his first year was feedings, appointments, and surgeries on a loop. In those early weeks, the most useful thing in the world would have been a short list from a mom who'd just done it — not advice, just: these are the things that helped. This is that list. Everything here is something our family genuinely used.

Feeding

Specialty feeding supplies — the syringes and feeder basics every cleft family ends up stocking.

A small notebook for the diaper bag — feeding notes, weights, and questions for the team, captured in the moment instead of reconstructed in the parking lot.

Appointments and paperwork

A binder or accordion folder for the medical paperwork — referrals, operative reports, insurance letters. It piles up faster than anyone warns you.

Home, after surgery

DuoDERM under the tape — a small square between the tape and his skin saved us a lot of soreness.

If you're reading this in the first hard weeks: it gets more ordinary. Not easy — ordinary. That counts for a lot.