hi! I'm considering taking our 19 month old son to a chiropractor to help with his sleeping. he still wakes up at least 4-5 times every night and he seems generally cranky when he wakes up, sometimes he seems startled.,have any of you taken your baby to see a chiropractor? if so, would you mind sharing your experiences?
I've taken my son to Whole Mama Whole Child for chiro and cranio sacral work. We had a good experiences and will go back now and again for wellness adjustments.
I've taken my son to one, but one tat specializes in children/babies & especially does some kind of bodywork, not just cracking that most chiro do. I would actually go to Carol Grey, she does a type of bodywork called craniosacral which works great for babies & toddlers helping them deal with birth traumas, etc. She's the expert if you wanna go to one: http://www.cstdoula.com/carolgray/About_Carol_Gray.html Good luck.
Hi S.,
We've been taking our son in for cranio-sacral therapy and what we call "baby chiro" since he was 2 weeks old. (Scoliosis runs in my husband's family and we wanted to give him the best start possible.) We've been seeing Dr. Elise Hewitt at Portland Chiropractic Group pretty exclusively, and have no complaints.
I've noticed that it's really helped when he's starting to come down with colds; adjustment lets his body's immune system rev up and symptoms increase, letting us know that his body is now able to fight off the virus.
I should also say that the first visit was informative. The way children release stuck energy or "unwind" in stuck spots is to shudder and shake a bit at times. This can be a little scary if you don't know what you are seeing at first, and while my son cried (more from being touched by a relative stranger) for many visits, he's very used to it now and asks to "go pop-pop" after visits. He's 2.5 y.old now and very verbal and doesn't complain about pain afterward at all.
It's very weird to see a toddler be adjusted, but a good chiro will tell you what's going on. As we didn't have a significant pre-existing issue (sleep, colic, digestion, etc.) I can't make any great claims, other than he just does better after adjustments and he doesn't get sick a whole lot. I credit this to a healthy, balanced immune system and common-sense diet.
I have known one mother who had a terrible experience with another chiropractor for her son; the doctor's language was provocative/not thoughtful and she wasn't prepared for the shuddering and crying as her son was unwinding. I credit this mother's reluctance to try this option again to the practitioner's poor personal skills and not the administration of the adjustment itself.
Treatment for sleep issues may also take a series of adjustments, before righting themselves, and if the issue is not related to alignment, you may not see the result you were hoping for. Sometimes chiro is about ruling something out to get to a real cause, and there are so many reasons children don't sleep well.
Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. And good luck!
H.
It was the best thing I ever did for my daughter...her auntie is a chiropractor..even though I was skeptical at first..it helped resolve some of her breach issues with her chin placement and put her ears and chin back in alignment after she was born folded in half and breach...Later it has helped her with her asthma and even helped in the diagnosis of a hereditary blood disorder condition because we were there once a week and she was noticing several of the same things I was...skin color etc..so I highly recommend it....my sister specializes in young children and prenant ladies...Wellness Within in Hillsboro, Oregon!
Good Luck
