# High Palate?



## dido1 (Aug 12, 2004)

I'm trying to get some info for a friend who is really struggling to keep bfing her 3 month old who has a very high palate and doesn't latch well. He has not been gaining weight, so they are on tube fed formula in the hospital right now. She really wants to continue breastfeeding though.

Does anyone have any experience with overcoming nursing challenges due to a high palate?


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## jerawo (Jan 28, 2003)

DS has a high palate and our main resulting problem was very painful nipples for me. His latch wasn't the best in the beginning (fairly shallow) but is much better now, so his palate might have affected that as well. He was very slow to gain weight, but he was also very sleepy. Once he stopped being so sleepy and grew a little, he started gaining weight like crazy.

Has your friend seen a LC about the palate?


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## jerawo (Jan 28, 2003)

double post


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## sarahwebb (Feb 12, 2002)

My second son is a high palate baby, and I lost my supply because he wasn't nursing well. I started pumping first with an Avent Isis then switched to a Medela Lactina so I could double pump hands free. I too lots of herbs, ate oatmeal and took domperidone. Once I rebuilt my supply, the dom seemed to be the only thing I had to keep taking.

I used an SNS then a Lact-Aid to supplement my baby at the breast, but the tube would get lost in the bubble. I'd have to latch and relatch, and it would take hours to feed him a full bag of supplement. Finally, what worked for me was feeding him bottles of ebm during the day and nursing him during naptime and overnight. I pumped for him for a year.

Now, at 15 months, he's still nursing at naps and during the night.

We got help from several LCs, an ENT clipped his frenulum twice, and we did occupational therapy to get him to open wider and extend his tongue.

Although my son was not able to exclusively nurse, some bubble palate babies can. I wish your friends good luck.

Sarah


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## dido1 (Aug 12, 2004)

Thank you both for your advice. I'll pass this info along to my friend.


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## lisser (Oct 11, 2004)

I was having latch issues w/ my high palate baby, and I was taking him to the chiro to get craniosacral therapy for his overlapped skull plates...

Well she worked on his pallate and skull plates and his latch DRAMATICALLY improved!

Lisser


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## dido1 (Aug 12, 2004)

Thanks Lisser, I've passed your suggestions on to my friend as well


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## JoAida (Mar 29, 2003)

I exclusively pumped for my high palate baby. It was a pain, but worth it.

I used a Ameda Purely Yours pump (actually got it free from WIC), and it worked very well.


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## mamaverdi (Apr 5, 2005)

Often the tongue is tied. Someone mentioned this above. And the tongue tie may be more extensive: extending into the muscle.

The tongue actually sweeps open the palate while the baby is growing in utero, so tongue action is fairly important for forming the palate in the first place.

Was the baby born by forceps or c-section or vaccuum? CST (cranial sacral therapy) also called Osteopathy can really help this.

My own ds#1 had a high palate that was repaired with Osteopathy. He went from no weight gain for several months to a pound a week.

My ds#2 has an unresolved frenum problem. He could only gain weight with donor milk. I also take domperidone, etc.

Good luck to your friend!


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## dido1 (Aug 12, 2004)

Thanks so much for all these wonderful suggestions. My friends baby is getting better, and I know this advice will be helpful to her.


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