Those early weeks of your baby’s life are filled with wonder. You wonder about his personality. You wonder if he has dimples. You wonder if his fussiness is a sign of reflux. You wonder if you should cut out dairy or caffeine.
It’s this kind of wonder that led me to meet with Dr. Heather of Seasons Family Chiropractic in Woodbury. My five-week-old son was a very fussy baby from the start. He only wanted to be held and rocked. Sleep only came in 20-30 minute intervals. He would latch for nursing but pull away frustrated. I began to wonder if he had reflux or colic or gas or any number of other things that 3 am internet searches gave me.
I’ve never been to a chiropractor myself. I had never really expected to take my child. In my mind, chiropractors treated back problems, not fussy baby problems. I told this to Dr. Heather when I met her and she nodded knowingly. She told me that she hears that a lot and that is what she wants to change. As a pediatric chiropractor, she wants to help children be their best and educate parents about what she can do to help.
The initial exam for my son was extremely easy and amazingly gentle. Dr. Heather ran a neurologic scan up and down my son’s spine while I held him. It tickled him but he was otherwise unbothered by it. A graph appeared on a laptop screen to show the nerve pathways of my son’s body. They were color-coded to show where there may be areas of stress in his body. Dr. Heather drew pictures of the body to explain to me what she was looking for and what she would correct through chiropractic adjustments. Her ability to break down her practice in a way that I could understand put me at ease.
My son had several areas that needed help and were likely the cause of his problems. Dr. Heather first showed me just how gentle the adjustments would be for my son by touching my hand and showing me what it would feel like for him. I pat him on the back harder when I am trying to get him to burp! She then began working on my son; a little pressing on his neck while he laid on a pillow and a little bouncing in her arms. I literally watched go from his normal fussiness to a relaxed, calm state once it was over! She even showed me some techniques I could do myself at home that would help relieve the gas in his tummy. I’ve used this several times since our first meeting and it works so well at calming him when he is gassy.
Seasons Family Chiropractic is a comfortable and bright office that puts parents and children at ease. Pictures of the children they care for are on the walls and toys are in the exam room. There is a playroom for children who are waiting and a private room for feeding your baby. In the afternoons, there is someone available to watch siblings of the child getting care which makes it easy for the whole family to go for visits without making multiple trips to the office.
Many parents wait to find a pediatric chiropractor until crisis mode hits – like me. They see their child struggling. They are worried and frustrated. They have seen their pediatrician, they have googled and they wonder if there is more they can do for their child. Dr. Heather recommends changing this to a more preventative approach. The birth process can be very stressful and sometimes even traumatic on everyone and a routine visit to the Pediatric Chiropractor soon after birth – like the visit to the pediatrician – can correct issues before parents and babies get to crisis mode. This is something I definitely did not know. There is a long list of reasons that you may consider seeking pediatric chiropractic care for your baby: fussiness, colic, gas, torticollis, breastfeeding difficulty, sleep issues, constipation, and more. Again, another thing I didn’t know about pediatric chiropractic care.
I wonder what it would have been like if I had seen Dr. Heather sooner in my son’s life. Could things have been easier for all of us? I know that I am extremely grateful for the insight Dr. Heather gave me into the cause of my son’s struggles and ways that I can help him with gentle pediatric chiropractic care.
