Re: Bilateral cleft lip/palate

My 3.5 month old daughter was born with a bilateral cleft lip. Addy's cleft was a complete surprise until her birth. She has a genetic condition called van der Woode syndrome. Her palate was completely intact though.  She had her lip surgery at 9 weeks.  Now we are almost 7 weeks post op and she is doing wonderful.  Her surgery was about 3 hours long.  The toughest part for me was seeing her right after surgery...I was not expecting her whole face to be swollen and she looked so different without the cleft. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me.  I know it can be tough.  People tend to get judging looks when they see a baby that "doesn't look normal". I was super emotional about it at first, but then I just starting explaining the cleft when I noticed people staring.