I had my third child August 2017.  This was not the perfect  delivery wanted by every mother.  If you have a minute, read the post I wrote about it.  This was traumatizing on our newborn, myself, and my family.  Never did I imagine things would go so very wrong.

My lovely little dude got stuck.  They wouldn't listen to me when I said "I build big babies" (yes he's my third so I think I have a little evidence to support this comment)  He got stuck so bad in my pelvis that three nurses had to literally jump on my belly to pop his shoulders out.  It was insane!  He came out bruised and swollen from head to toe.

Now lets fast forward to the moment we brought him home.  He was a very sad and angry baby.  However that is to be expected.  We also completely believe in Chiropractic so began regularly seeing our Chiropractor from the moment we brought him home.

I said from the beginning I think he's angry.  I honestly felt he came out angry.  Doctors said he was fine.  So I began researching on line "birth trauma therapy".  I was looking into many alternative healing methods.  Bodytalk, Reiki, and Cranial Sacral Therapy.  This little guy was upset & crying at least 80 percent of his day.  He also was up 6 to 7 times a night while our other two kids were such great sleepers.  We hadn't changed our style of parenting and this little baby was rapidly changing our happy family.  As time went on, the other two kids were definitely feeling the stress of a crying baby.  As his mom I could say this to friends and family that the crying and anger was hard.  Even something so simple as nursing, he wasn't happy.  Although he nursed fine, latched and ate well, there was never that relaxed content feeling.  He never relaxed.


Finally one day my husband came home from work to a wife who had had enough.  Let's just say as a stay at home mom, who works part time, and home schools......I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!  He is so supportive and said "love it's worth us trying something".  So I began to look into recommendations online.

I found a woman who was a trained Paediatric Chiropractor,  and also practised cranial work.  She does a lot of "other" things and is completely trained for this exact situation.  Now we made an appointment and sat down with her.  I was definitely in tears when she looked at my baby.....the one I had been looking at for a full year and said "Absolutely just looking at him! He has some issues".  This made me sad but at the same time very hopeful.  So we began to discuss his behaviours and treatment options.

Well.. I said with a long pause, He cries or is angry 80 percent of the day, doesn't sleep, doesn't eat solids and just throws his food.  He's not just a demanding baby because he's not happy,  if you put him down he screams, but is not happy if you hold him.  I have friends who can attest to this miserable little man.

So she checked him out.  She felt his little body.  She even showed me that absolutely he has some nerve issues and that he actually probably isn't sleeping because he loses his limbs at night and wakes unable to feel where they are.  This seemed shocking, but she showed me a test and he actually didn't even feel anything in one foot.  Holy! She also noticed a ton of tension in the meningeal tissue (this is the connective tissue that anchors and protects the whole central nervous system aka. brain and spinal cord).  This tissue has strong anchors to the bone in the head, upper neck, and at the sacrum at the bottom.  She was so helpful to explain this in simple mom terms. If you hold a towel at both ends and twist it either way, you will end up with the tension along the whole towel.  This underlying tension can be disruptive to the clarity of the signals throughout the body, leaving a baby in severe discomfort.

She often hears of colic, tummy trouble, latching concerns, poor sleep, inability to lie still or be "content".  Later on the symptoms seem to change and hears complaints of drastic mood swings, anxiety, headaches, or behavioural issues among other things.

So we began treatments 3 times a week. The first time she really put pressure on different spots in his body.  She explained that she would use a mix of techniques, but all are low force tension holds, similar to pressure points.  She blends at least 4 different chiropractic techniques. This was unlike any other chiropractic treatment previously experienced. Now, let's not kid ourselves.....a child who is miserable constantly, isn't really going to be the biggest fan of these treatments.  I was asked to lay him on my chest while I laid on the table, and all the while he would be screaming and flailing.  Then, during our third treatment, I felt something I have never felt in over a year. Relaxation! He went from full blown screaming and crying to quite and calm and still. He has never ever just relaxed, or sat still for that matter. I felt his weight shift from a muscly flail to a still, soft and relaxed baby. A first time experience for the both of us...he had never felt so content....even while nursing.  This made me cry.  Then we got in the car and he slept all the way home.


So after our first week I felt like we had found a miracle.  She said "This will be a process so be patient, as it might take a little time".  I ended up having to take a trip to Edmonton for work and was so nervous because I didn't want to miss a treatment.  She allowed me to even come to her home at 8 am on my way to the airport because she knew I was serious.  I was dreading flying on my own and struggling through the airport with 2 kids.  This trip was amazing.  He was happy and smiling.  He even slept through the night twice which seemed insane to me as we were in an unfamiliar place and sleeping in a playpen.  Hooray!

Now it's been a month and we are down to once a week and she is thrilled with the results.  He is happy almost all the time.  He's up once a night and eating so much better.  She explained to me that he is no longer stuck in "fight or flight mode" and that unfortunately the best way to describe it was that he had a headache or built up tension from the day he was born.  Could you imagine how angry we would be as an adult?

Many of you could think "oh yes just a hippy dippy mom saying her kid is now happy", however I can't fake this.  I can't make this up.  I can't make up the fact that is he no longer up all night.  Or that everyone around us has noticed he is not constantly crying.  We are actually hearing him full blown belly laugh, all the while smiling from ear to ear.

If you are located in Kelowna, BC and are interested in seeing this amazing woman who has helped our son and our family find peace.

http://www.ohpkelowna.com/about-ohp-kelowna/our-practitioners/mandy-downie-dc/