Hello there

I've just returned from hospital where I gave birth to my first born son - Liam. He was born on 17 April 2008 at the Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide.

He wouldn't feed after birth and a Paed did a 'check' and discovered the undiagnosed cleft palate (only palate - not lip). He has a bilateral cleft of the hard palate. We're not yet completely sure about the soft palate, but the speech therapist didn't think there was any issue with his soft palate.

It was a bit of a shock initially, but he is such a beautiful and special little man to us that his 'specialness' only increases our love for him.

The staff at the FMC were absolutely fantastic and we were so well supported and encouraged there that Liam was only in hospital for 5 days. He had the nasal tube out after day 3 as he had figured out the bottle feeding thing pretty quickly. I'm expressing milk for him, but he still needs a little bit of formula until I get myself all sorted out. I've only managed to get a breast pump today (what a drama!) and now can attempt to provide all his feeds, but am not sure how it'll go. Will give it my best shot!!

It's lovely to hear that there are other members on BB who have 'special' babies. Even though my little prince seems to have less issues to deal with than your precious bundles, I still hope we can support each other.

Look forward to connecting with you all as our babies grow though their challenges!