Chiropractic Healthiness

Question:

>To Pam: I’ve never heard of cranial osteopathy, but would be interested >in more info.  

Morgan, Really glad you asked.  Cranial Osteopathy really saved my sanity when my youngest, Jamie was a baby.  He had colic and fussed all the time. Slept very little and didn’t want to be put down.  I literally had to hold him day in and day out or he would just cry and cry.  Even a front pack wasn’t enough, I had to constantly jiggle or sway him to stop the fussing.  Phew, looking back – pure hell. My midwife told me about CO (Cranial Osteopathy) though she herself didn’t really know much about it.   An Osteopath (sort of like a chiropractor but more holistic) can specialise in Cranial Osteopathy which simply put is manipulation of the skull bones.  This sounds really scarey I know but its not as bad as it sounds.   The theory is (basically put because this is how it was explained to me)  that the skull is made up of many pieces that if not aligned correctly can cause many problems, not just as a baby but in later years also.  Cranial Osteopathy is the process of realigning those bones. The first time I went the Osteopath she asked lots of questions about the birth and pregnancy (this can be a cause of the skull being unaligned).  Jamie’s birth was long and he was posterier position – this may have been the cause – we will never know.  Then she lay Jamie on his back and ever so gently held his head in her hands.  As far as I could see she was doing nothing else and so I thought she was just assessing him.  She did this for 15 mins (Jamie screaming the whole time  ) then said "well that should do it for now".  Well I left thinking I had been conned out of NZ$45.  That was on a Wednesday and on Friday Jamie was a totally different boy.  He sat patiently in his pram (never done before), fell asleep easily and for hours (again, never done before) and fed beautifully.  As you can imagine I was really happy.  I have to say it didn’t last more than one day but apparently this is normal as the skull is slowly moving back to position.  A few more sessions and he was like that all the time. Really amazing and I can’t recommend trying this method enough.  It was a really gentle process and by the third visit Jamie visably enjoyed having his head in her hands. Her expanation for Jamie’s discomfort was that a couple of the skulls bones at the back of his head were too close and pinching a nerve that runs down the spine and to the stomach, this caused his stomach pains. Children grow out of colic it is true but she explained that it usually goes on to ear infections.  Once the colic was gone I took Jamie back every now and then after a growth spurt.  I always knew when to take him back because he would start acting aggressive and hit and bite people.  These symptoms always went away after treatment. He’s three now and is a really happy and content boy. They say Cranial Osteopathy can help anyone – although it takes longer to take affect the older the person is due to the bones being set in their ways.  I have a friend who has suffered  headaches his whole life who has had them relieved though Cranial Oseopathy. Hyperactivity, aggressivness in children, headaches, ear infections – it can help them all if the skull is the cause. Another problem solved for Jamie by the treatment was that he was a really snuffly baby and a very noisy feeder – sort of a siren noise when he fed – that dissapeared after the second session. I hope I haven’t gone on too much but I know the desperation of having a colicy baby and this really saved us. Love Pam

Response:

To Pam: I’ve never heard of cranial osteopathy, but would be interested in more info.   To Laura: I’ve survived those weeks of colic, and know where you’re at. Be sure you avoid caffeine and cabbage, as these cause gas (but you probably know that).  The drops my doctor prescribed contained belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, which really bothered me and I couldn’t give to my daughter.  I found some homeopathic drops through a natural supplement company I use.  One is a product for infants simply called "Colic".  It contains, among other things, peppermint, which is useful.  But a note of warning: If you use the over-the-counter products from the pharmacy, BE SURE to dilute it to the proper amount.  My grandparents were once watching my brother and gave him some for colic without diluting it first, and his throat swelled shut almost immediately (he was brought back with CPR without lasting consequences, thank goodness).  I also still use "Children’s Calming" for all sorts of distressing situations, which relieves pain among other things.  These products helped better than the Phazyme and the drops the dr. gave me.  Also try infant massage – you’ll find instructions in most books, including "What to Expect the First Year".  I’m not out to sell you anything, but I can give you product info if you’re interested (I won’t profit from any order you make; I just want to help, honest) Anyway, best wishes and hope you’ll be out of the woods soon, Morgan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hello! >I am a new mom to a beautiful 2 1/2 week old that has a serious gas >problem.  I am breastfeeding and am working on eliminating dairy, etc. >from my diet to see if this helps.  In the meantime, I’m trying to make >her as comfortable as possible.  I’ve been using simethicone drops and >also Hyland’s Colic Tablets. > Laura, > Sorry, I can’t help you with the tablets.  Personally I would be > worried about giving a young baby any type of medication on an ongoing > basis.  My now nearly 3 year old son had colic – what a nightmare, so > I understand your feelings and need to find a solution.  I tried all > sorts of things and nothing seemed to work for very long.  Medical > practitioners seem at a loss to help and I was told things like "he’ll > grow out of it by the time he’s 3 months".  When your baby is just a > couple of weeks old 3 months seems like a lifetime away. > Don’t despair – there is hope.  I finally found the solution in > Cranial Osteopathy.   I started treatment with a registered Osteopath > specialising in Cranial work when my son was about 4 weeks,  by the > time he was six weeks he was a different baby.  My only regret is that > I didn’t find out about it earlier.  The crying stopped, he fed better > and he slept peacefully, he just smiled and smiled – and so did I.  As > a side benefit he was also a very snuffly baby and a very noisy feeder > (I breastfed also) and the treatment seemed to stop this also.  I have > heard of heaps of other successful stories with Colic and also with > other child problems such as hyperactive children, or those prone to > ear infections so I would really recommend giving it a try.  It can’t > harm the baby and it is a non medication treatment. > If you want more info – there is sure to be someone in your area who > can help. > Hope and Love > Pam

– If you choose to reply via e-mail, please use the address below… You figure out how to fix it… Morgan Pfaff

Response:

>Hello! >I am a new mom to a beautiful 2 1/2 week old that has a serious gas >problem.  I am breastfeeding and am working on eliminating dairy, etc. >from my diet to see if this helps.  In the meantime, I’m trying to make >her as comfortable as possible.  I’ve been using simethicone drops and >also Hyland’s Colic Tablets.

Laura, Sorry, I can’t help you with the tablets.  Personally I would be worried about giving a young baby any type of medication on an ongoing basis.  My now nearly 3 year old son had colic – what a nightmare, so I understand your feelings and need to find a solution.  I tried all sorts of things and nothing seemed to work for very long.  Medical practitioners seem at a loss to help and I was told things like "he’ll grow out of it by the time he’s 3 months".  When your baby is just a couple of weeks old 3 months seems like a lifetime away. Don’t despair – there is hope.  I finally found the solution in Cranial Osteopathy.   I started treatment with a registered Osteopath specialising in Cranial work when my son was about 4 weeks,  by the time he was six weeks he was a different baby.  My only regret is that I didn’t find out about it earlier.  The crying stopped, he fed better and he slept peacefully, he just smiled and smiled – and so did I.  As a side benefit he was also a very snuffly baby and a very noisy feeder (I breastfed also) and the treatment seemed to stop this also.  I have heard of heaps of other successful stories with Colic and also with other child problems such as hyperactive children, or those prone to ear infections so I would really recommend giving it a try.  It can’t harm the baby and it is a non medication treatment. If you want more info – there is sure to be someone in your area who can help. Hope and Love Pam

Response:

Hello! I am a new mom to a beautiful 2 1/2 week old that has a serious gas problem.  I am breastfeeding and am working on eliminating dairy, etc. from my diet to see if this helps.  In the meantime, I’m trying to make her as comfortable as possible.  I’ve been using simethicone drops and also Hyland’s Colic Tablets.  I’m worried that I’m giving her too much medicine, though.  The colic tablets seem to help a lot but I’m nervous about giving them to her since I don’t know anything about them.  Her pediatrician said not to use them because he didn’t know anything about them.  But, since they do work I hate to stop using them just because he hasn’t heard of them before. How safe are these things?  Is it possible to give her too much and ‘overdose’ her on gas medicine?  Can she develop a dependance on them, or are there no side-effects?  I just worry because they really seem to knock her out.  I give them to her and while they work immediately at taking away her gas, they also put her right to sleep.  Are they drugging her or something, or is she just relaxing from the absence of pain?  I’m also worried since today she seems to be having trouble pooping and I’m wondering if there is a connection. They contain: Dioscorea (Wild Yam)            2X HPUS Chamomilla                      3X HPUS Colocynth (Bitter Apple)        3X HPUS Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura

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