Buddhababy has battled reflux on and off since he was a month old. At one month, our pediatrician noticed that his colicky behavior appeared to be because of reflux so I changed my diet and we made sure he slept at an incline all the time. This helped enough for it to be manageable and for us to avoid medication.
As I have previously written about, Buddhababy has since outgrown his sleeper and we had to find a new place for him to catch his baby zzz's. He is currently sleeping mostly in a co-sleeper and sometimes with us. That is only important information because it means that he sleeps flat and since he started sleeping flat his reflux came back with such a vengeance that we were all on a downward spiral of exhaustion. I think that Buddhababy literally had 2 straight weeks of fuss. At first we just thought it was regular baby fussiness and that it would pass, but it didn't. It just kept getting worse and was really starting to scare us. Watching a baby suffer from reflux is scary and can make even a calm parent think there is something neurologically wrong. Realizing that the arching back and horrible noises are due to reflux is relieving on one hand but then its time to figure out what to do. I knew that Buddhababy's 4 month check-up was coming soon and if we went in there like that the ped was going to start talking meds. This is not the route I am interested in, if I can help it. So we said enough is enough... we are going to the chiropractor!
It is funny how the anticipation of the pediatrician can lunge me into action. Yes I admit it, I only go to the pediatrician because I want to be "responsible" and make sure we are meeting all the appropriate milestones. Other than that, I am not interested.
Buddhababy's first adjustment went great (this was actually his second adjustment- he was adjusted once about 6 weeks after birth), he was happy and aside from not being super excited about his neck adjustment, he was very receptive to the doc. I didn't want to expect too much from his first visit because I know that resetting the body can be a process but the change was pretty obvious. The first night after his adjustment was a little calmer but by the third night he slept for six straight hours- this is HUGE! After he was adjusted he almost instantly became more vocal and within a day he began rolling from back to front, which he hadn't done before.
So it has been a week, 3 adjustments later and its like Buddhababy has a whole new disposition. Don't get me wrong, he still cries and gets fussy and well acts like a baby BUT that happy baby that I knew was in there is coming out more and more. He is on the move, he knows he can roll and he is ready to rock and... he sleeps, oh man he sleeps and sometimes he even takes naps! He laughs up a storm and he looks around constantly taking in his environment while telling you all about it. It is hilarious! He has always had such an emotive disposition but now he has more mobility to go with it and he clearly loves it. Not to mention it is like he actually has a neck now (which he is so excited to move around and stretch).
I have known since before Buddhababy was born that chiropractic care would be important for him but I just got so wrapped up in the day to day of raising an infant that I let it fall to the wayside. This was a mistake and I feel that had we started earlier he would not have suffered with reflux as long as he did. But, that is the past and I am over it. I am not saying I think that there is one be-all answer to wellness... this just happens to be one aspect of our wellness that I will not overlook anymore.
I have definitely had a few people question my decision to bring our baby to a chiropractor (as you may be) and I get it. As a whole, our society views chiropractors (and TCM practitioners) as "pain managers." This is incorrect and in fact on my end when people ask me about pain management using needles I often steer them towards things like gua sha, but I digress. I also can see people envisioning the doctor "cracking" our little one's neck and back in extreme ways... this is also incorrect. It is very gentle and you would have no idea what was being done were you not told. But, I think it is important to remember that just as with western docs, TCM practitioners and chiropractors are not all created equal. Find out what's right for you, talk to people you know who have used a chiropractor for themselves and their children. Talk to me. If you are in Palm Beach County or Jacksonville I can lead you in the right direction but that's all I've got. You are looking for a Whole-Body minded doc, because.... well isn't it obvious? We want to treat the whole body; there is no such thing as isolating treatment in the human body, everything is connected.
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| Buddhababy and Dr. Ian |
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