One of the reasons Lucy has been a hard baby for me is she always seemed to be in pain. Even when she was rested and fed. Maybe it was acid reflux or allergies, cue the pediatric allergist appointments. Maybe it was neurological or connected to that weird jaw wink, cue the pediatric opthamologist. Maybe it was her immune system and propensity to asthmatic conditions and enter the nebulizer. But everything was a temporary fix. I could take care of the tiredness or hunger or acid reflux or dairy sensitivity.
This kid was driving me insane. I would hold her for hours and hours. She would scream if I put her down to play by herself. I understand Lucy is more sensitive and introverted than you are Nora. I understand shy and to increase her processing time to help her comfort level. Something in my motherly instincts was telling me she just wasn't right. Oh she smiled and played and would reluctantly leave my side if torn away. But she abnormally sought out comfort from me.
I met a baby with glasses at our Wednesday storytime on March 14th. She had never attended our class before. I haven't seen them since, I wish I have so I could thank them. I struck up a conversation with her mom about her glasses since this will be a real possibility for Lucy. Long story short, this mom's baby sounded exactly like a Lucy, irritable and uncomfortable for no apparent reason. Her brother-in-law recommended that she take her baby to a chiropractor. She thought it was a lot of mumbo-jumbo but was desperate. She said it changed her baby completely.
Hmmmm, the wheels in my head were spinning. I was desperate. I was at the end of my rope, not having a full night's sleep in over a year since the third trimester of pregnancy. I live in a fog. I went home for lunch a did some Googling. I had never heard of an infant chiropractor before. Turns out, most chiropractors will treat infants. I called an office right around the corner from our house. They asked how soon I wanted to be seen, not sure of the wait, I asked for as soon as possible. "How's 5pm today?"
We met Dr. Jeff and Lucy was a bear. Typical. He explained to me that c-section babies do not get the chance to have a natural alignment from the birth canal. Makes sense. Lucy would not go to Dr. Jeff or allow him to even touch her. So he had my lie on my back on the table and put Lucy on my tummy facing me. He picked her up three times by her feet. Lucy loved this since she thought it was a game as she would blast off into the air and come back down with her arms outstretched to me. Then Dr. Jeff took this baby actuator thingy which felt like someone gently flicking you. It barely felt like anything. He tapped Lucy twice on the back of her neck and said see you back on Friday. The last thing I said to him before he walked out the door was, "Will this help her?" And he gave me some mumbo-jumbo about the body's ability to heal itself from within once it's in proper alignment. Huh uh. It looked like he didn't do anything to her. And these visits were not covered by insurance since Lucy was under 12.
So Wednesday night at 5:30pm we left the chiropractor, weird since 8 hours before I had never heard of infant chiropractic adjustments. By 7pm Lucy had started her transformation. I put her down on the floor and she crawled away from me. She crawled all around the house. She played by herself, she went to your father and Trish and Kevin next door. She even sat contently with Kevin in his chair for almost 10 minutes. That night she slept 11 hours straight. Thursday she woke up and she was like a completely different baby. Yes, she was still shy and yes, she still needs more processing time. She still startles easily. Those are a part her personality but whatever pain she was feeling was gone. She was happy. She began to talk and make noises like never before. She now says Dada and da for dog and sssssss for cat and mmmmmmmmm for mom and huhhuhhuh for Nora. It's like she was awoken from a haze. People immediately notice this shift: the caregivers at the gym, Ms. Patti, friends at a playdate. Everyone commented on how happy and alert she had become overnight. Thursday night she slept 10 hours. Her naps were becoming longer too.
It couldn't have been this easy. It looked like Dr. Jeff did nothing at all! We saw him that Friday and Lucy was like a different baby. She smiled and waved at Dr. Jeff and let him pick her up and play. This is the same baby who wouldn't leave my arms two days ago. He flicked her with his actuator thingy a few more times.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!?! It took me 8 months of Lucy's life to find her some relief. I feel horrible that she was in pain. Lucy is now adjusted and doing quite well. Her transformation has been remarkable. We are even doing a testimonial for Dr. Jeff's website. He says that her story is one that should be shared. He says he has seen his fair share of miraculous recoveries in his practice and Lucy is one of them.
Who knew a chance encounter with another mom would lead me to seeking out non-traditional forms of treatments for my angsty baby? Who knew all that mumbo-jumbo was true? I'm glad my mind and my heart were open. I'm so thankful for Lucy's sake.
Now if there was only a cure for teething.... infant acupunture perhaps?
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