To be willing to spend hundreds on cranial osteopathy

[Passmethebottle1]

Bfing with my DC2 (13 weeks) has and continues to be extremely difficult. I’ve done everything possible to improve things (TT release, bf consultants to work on positioning and attachment) but he continues to pull himself on and off the breast, has the absolute worst latch ever (just sucks and really quite efficiently feeds by sucking the end of my nipple…ouch) I am on my knees with the perseverance and emotional strength it is taking to get through the feeds each day. However, I cannot get him to latch onto a bottle or anything for that matter due to poor gag reflex and what TT clinician believes to be tensions in his mouth due to TT. So AIBU to spend as much as it takes on working with a CO to get DC2 on bottle? Has anyone had any experiences of this issue specifically. Thanks so much from a very desperate mama

Why do you think a cranial osteopath is going to fix it? There's no evidence at all to back it up.

Id persevere with a properly trained IBCLC before i bothered with a cranial osteopath. Osteopathy is only evidenced as working for conditions relevant to joint manipulation etc - back pain and what have you. The rest of the crap about balance & tension etc is quackery.

Ps im surprised he cant use a bottle as there's no real need to "latch" with a bottle.

Have you tried nipple shields

I'm sorry, this must be so awful. I don't believe in CO and think it would be a waste of money. Have you seen a GP? Your money would be better spent on a private pediatrician or actual medical personnel. Good luck, I know you will do anything to help your baby!

Hi OP

I'm really not very woo but was willing to try everything when my daughter had similar issues. She was much worse on one side than the other but was always so angry. TT snip improved things but only a bit.

We did a few sessions as had a place that was near my house and they were great. Not trying to pressure me into booking more appointments than we needed, giving us exercises to do at home etc. They said the tongue is a bit muscle and when there have been issues with it, it can cause knock on effects in different muscles.

Anyway it turned out my daughter had really tight muscles down one side of her body. Possibly due to how she was positioned inside me and in labour (I had really slow labours). Once they pointed out how 'banana like' she was, it was so obvious that now when I look back at pictures of her as a baby, I feel awful that I didn't spot it myself - her legs only bent one way, and it does look painful. They stretched out the muscles through exercises over 4 or so sessions I think and gave us more exercises to do at home to keep her moving so they didnt seize up again.

She was like a different baby (in terms of feeding, still didnt sleep for shit) after a couple of weeks.

So it worked really well for us, I have photographic before and after pictures of how she would lay flat so I know it wasnt all in my head...but I guess it was rather a specific muscular issue so may not work for everything

I took my daughter to a chiropractor when she was a few weeks old (suggested by a friend as she was EMCS) as she wouldn't settle at all (she was in NICU for 3 weeks) and screamed unless someone was holding her. The change in her was amazing, she still liked to be held, but you could actually put her in the pram or a bouncer without her immediately crying. It didn't help with feeding, she refused breast feeding completely (I also did midwife/bf specialist/health visitor /TT) and bottle feeding was a battle. In the end I just tried different bottles until I found one she would take. We used Dr Brown bottles. Expensive and faffy to use and clean (if you move from expressing to formula, you can't shake them) but actually got her to feed.

CO after TT snip really helped with my DC

When my dd was born (19 yo), my midwife suggested CO as she was struggling to latch. It really worked for us.

If you can afford it, why not try for a couple sessions?

It’s 26 years ago but my DD1 was really helped by CO. If you’re in London I believe the Osteopathic Centre for Children, still charge according to means.

Thanks so much for sharing your opinions and experiences. DS gags on even nipple shields.In the past when he did eventually manage to get a grip of a bottle teat, he would just gag and back to square on. GP and other health professionals have all said the same thing “breastfeeding is hard, you just have to power through it”. But my first child is still very young so I remember breastfeeding her very clearly and it was certainly not like this. It was calm, positive and soothing. With DS he writhes away even as we get into position to start breastfeeding and never breastfeeds for comfort only when essential. From watching closely it’s as if he gets frustrated because he can’t get his latch properly. I can hear clicking noises at times too. But strangely when he feeds in the night (half-asleep) he goes on no problem but can still feel uncomfortable. I have powered through for 3 months now, with no other options due to bottle refusal.

My DD was like a changed baby after CO. She had her TT split which helped but we were also given exercises and small changes to make in our routine like changing the way round the changing table was set up as she only ever looked one way! Her latch improved after one session and we only had 3 or 4. There was no push to have more sessions, there was a strict limit.

The clicking noises could mean the tongue tie has reattached, or not been snipped far back enough we had a tongue tie snipped at 9 weeks, and it took about 5 weeks to see improvement. Only Had cranial osteopathy at 15 weeks because we couldn't find a provider near us. He had always seemed "hunched up", and after the session was looser everywhere and lost lots of head control. Feeding improved brilliantly after that. I'd reccomend it, even if it doesn't seem to have a physical benefit, it will give you peace of mind. My child had 2 sessions and was discharged.

Have you had a follow up to ensure the tongue tie hasn’t reattached?

I took my daughter for a tongue tie release and cranial massage she only had one session and then I did the exercises myself.
the thing that helped me the most the was feeding in a laid back position, I found that she was able to get a deeper latch.
I also think it improved has she grew, I had a really difficult start to BF with bleeding nipples, painful engorgement etc.
I used Maam nipple compresses which worked wonders for healing.
im sure the lactation consultant has already gone through positions with you and you have the experience from your first baby.
but have you tried laid back feeding? Or even laid down- baby laid on bed next to you and then you feed side laying?

you could also try to reduce his gag reflex through training by gently rubbing the roof of his mouth with your finger

my daughters tongue tie wasn’t released until 7 months old as it was missed by nhs and I had to go private

I'm a bit sceptical about all that sort of stuff but CO helped one of my DCs with feeding a lot and also helped the behaviour of another. He was amazing- based in London.

I’m the least woo person in the world but CO had very clear results…Dc was getting misshapen head from sleeping with head one way only - one session of CO and they slept equally both ways. I would not believe it If I’d been told but really truly convinced!

I have used CO with dc1 and believe the only benefit it has is placebo and I think it's criminal that midwives and health visitors advocate for women who are stressed and vulnerable to pay out for it.

For both DC, the issues were actually tt and cmpa. DC2's tt reattached twice. If I were you I'd ask a second opinion on whether the tt has been released properly and use nipple shields in the meantime.

Dc2 also had 'tension' (torticollis) but we went to a qualified peadeatric physio who gave us exercises and stretches to help ease neck issues, which worked wonders.

I'm typing this before I forget as finally got an evening and my ADHD brain will forget by the morning!

I had potential allergy/reflux issues with my daughter amd a lovely HV (trained breastfeeding counsellor) listened to the feed and said the clicking suggested reflux or allergies.

I can't remember which one now as it got better. I'm surprised neither of those have come up though as only feeding when desperate suggests it could be painful immediately or after.

Like I said, typing this quickly but I'm sure it's a sign.

Oh and I eliminated milk for ages just in case. Strangely egg is a definite allergy but milk-based products seems ok so not sure if by cutting dairy I inadvertently cut eggy sauces?!,

I did two sessions of cranial osteopathy with my younger DC after her tongue tie snip. After the second session she started feeding much better. This could just have been coincidence and she had "re-learned" how to use her tongue, or it could be that the cranial osteopathy helped. Either way she seemed to greatly enjoy the two sessions and was very relaxed!

I also think one of the issues with CO is that people can't compare what they've actually had done. Some people practicing under cranial osteopathy are doing things osteopaths do (which is a different thing entirely), so when they say "CO worked" then they might not be referring to actual CO which involves very light touches to the head, literally just lightly touching the scalp as softly as you would typing on your mobile.

My child had problems choking when we started weaning and I don’t mean the normal gagging but choking every mouthful. Friend of a friend was a co and offered free treatment. Omg it was amazing and instantly completely different. Still don’t really believe it. I would say go for it! If it works then the money is well worth it!

I had CO myself for sinus issues. I had seen an ENT consultant who said that all he could do was surgery and even that wasn't a guaranteed solution. I went to a CO out of desperation and my sinus pain disappeared almost immediately and has not come back. I wouldn't believe it if it hadn't happened to me. I have no idea how it works but if it is placebo then it's more powerful than surgery!

One of mine was very similar as a baby, including the bottle refusal. I remember feeling so desperate, honestly I really feel for you.

We did try CO but after one session I decided the whole thing was a weird rip-off and didn't go back. Maybe it would have helped if we'd continued, who knows. I don't think there's much evidence for it beyond anecdotal.

We had tt divided twice, many sessions with bf counsellors, also saw consultant for reflux... In the end it got better with time but it was a total nightmare and nearly broke me and I wish I could give you a big hug!

Many years ago my midwife recommended a cranial osteopath for my DD as I had a fairly quick birth. I felt it helped with breastfeeding and DD only needed a few sessions.

So grateful for all the responses. Can I ask for people who have had experiences of CO for feeding issues/choking what does the CO actually do during each session?

I had CO for frozen shoulder which I had had for months—the CO fixed it in one session and next day I was back to normal. I don’t believe you would have to go back for many sessions—I get the impression that if it is going to work you will notice benefits quickly and not many sessions will be needed.