Eureka!

I am having another weight-has-been-lifted, clouds-are-retreating kind of day. :) Olivia had her first appointment with a craniosacral therapist today, and it was amazing!

I'm getting ahead of myself. I should explain some things first...

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY

"Craniosacral therapy if a light touch manual therapy that uses no more than the weight of a nickel of pressure to release restrictions in the body. These restrictions are often structural in nature. The CranioSacral system includes the membranes and fluid which surround the brain and spinal cord and extend to the bones of the face, down to the sacrum and tailbone. This system directly impacts the nervous system."*

FOR INFANTS

"Pregnancy and the birth process can put stress on the baby through the many obstacles and compression forces placed on the baby's system. A baby who spends an extended period in the birth canal or a baby born Cesarean section without the natural forces of gravity can be at risk for possible problems down the road. A baby who has difficulty nursing is in need of craniosacral therapy to assist with managing oral motor skills and alignment issues."*

FOR OLIVIA

Olivia has had a couple of pretty tough months, and we have been struggling to find ways of making her more comfortable and well. We have had her on and off of a couple different kinds of medication for reflux, but they just didn't seem to be working (in one case, it seemed to make her worse!). I regularly to go a mama/baby group at Happy Bambino and have been sharing our struggles with other women there. Just this past week, a woman recommended a craniosacral therapist as a new option. We thought we'd look into it.

I nabbed a cancellation spot this morning at 10 a.m. Olivia and I headed out and had our first session with Patty. We filled out some background information, and Patty talked to us about our experiences, about why we thought this work might help Baby O. At the appointment, Olivia spoke for herself, too!

The work Patty did was pretty cool. She examined Olivia's skull, neck, spine, sacrum, and because of Olivia's reflux woes, felt for her digestive organs, too. The areas most worked on today were the digestive organ sphincters, the cranium, and the neck. Patty found a lot of tension in all areas. She believes that the vacuum extraction that was part of Olivia's delivery is a key contribution to this tension.

THINGS TO TRY

I came home with a great set of new tools, things to try with Olivia in the next week or so before our second appointment. First, inversions! Yay for upside-down baby time!! Hehe. This encourages spinal relaxation and may allow Olivia to work some stuff out herself as she squirms around in the air. Second, spinal massage. Patty showed me how to encourage relaxation in Olivia's spine as she is upright in my arms, especially in her super-tense thoracic region.

The most interesting light bulb that went off in my head today was about Olivia's posture. She likes to be upright most of the time, is prone to arching, and is generally uncomfortable on her back. Patty explained that the tension is such that Olivia gets temporary relief in these positions, even though they only exacerbate the problem in the long run. Our third thing to work with Olivia on is getting more comfortable in flexed positions, the opposite of her tendency to arch and remain rigidly upright. I have a sling I am going to try with her that I can lie her down in and try to encourage more of a cradle posture for her.

Tummy time is also a good thing. Now that Olivia is so strong, she has been holding herself up on her hands and knees lately, and this is a great way for her to use different muscles and get in healthy developmental postures.

LUCK BE A LADY

Alrighty, we'll keep everyone posted on how this all goes! Fingers crossed!

* Taken from Patty's literature on her practice.