To prevent messy clean-ups when your baby spits up or has a "wet burp," you might want to place a towel or bib under your baby's chin or on your shoulder. You may also experiment with different positions for burping that are comfortable for you and your baby.

Cleft babies drool more often than normal, for obvious reasons. It’s highly recommended to have an adequate supply of bibs available. One bib has about an hour before becoming thoroughly saturated in drool.

The extra saliva can cause your baby to occasionally cough or gag. This is usually nothing to worry about as long as your baby seems fine and shows no signs of a cold or flu and does not run a high fever.

Keep your baby in an upright position for 10 to 15 minutes after feeding to help prevent the milk from coming back up. But don't worry if your baby spits up a few times. It's probably more unpleasant for you than it is for your baby!

Even though it seems the child is going through a traumatic experience with this foreign device installed in the roof of her mouth. There is no actual pain from the tightening of the screw. The parent is more traumatized in the actual turning of the screw each evening than the child.

In the winter months, if you have radiator, or baseboard heat, the air tends to get a bit dry for your child. Try using a humidifier to put some moisture back in the air, so your child can breath easier at night.

If you look inside you baby's mouth, you will see a gap in the roof of the mouth. If there seems to be a lot of mucus build up, gently insert a Q-tip to cleanse the palate.

Also try to lightly moisten the Q-tip, so not to tickle the roof of the baby’s mouth. Gently insert Q-tip and work mucus forward to front of mouth, then wipe off with bid.

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Dr.Halofsky is Stella's Pediatric Dentist.