Your experiences please- Cranial Osteopathy for crying babies?

[pendulum]

I have an 8 week old DD who is very colicky.

Lots of people here and in RL have recommended CO and so I have had 2 sessions so far.

After the second session the osteopath said he'd done some good work and I should see a considerable improvement in the next few days.

However, there is no improvement, in fact I think she's getting worse!

I have a third session booked for Monday. I am quite strapped for cash and would really rather put the £40 towards my car service if the CO is not going to work- I remain rather sceptical about its benefits. But maybe the third session is necessary to achieve the benefits?

Would love to hear others' experiences of using CO for colic and views on whether it is a miracle cure or merely snake oil!

TIA

p

Our youngest had a few sessions of CO and it was fantastic. It wasn't for colic or crying though.

Very good - ds1 had it for crying not colic. He was horrendous for 48 hours after 2nd session and then markedly better. My neighbour also took her dd who had colic and said she saw improvement although it didn't cure it. HTH.

Hiya, I don't think CO is either a miracle cure or snake oil, sorry! My dd2 had it when she was about 6 weeks old. She wasn't colicky but she was the sort of baby you could never put down... she always noticed, however fast asleep you thought she was, and would always cry till she was picked up again. The CO made no difference after the first session, but after the second session she was noticeably better and after the third session a bit better again. We stopped after three sessions. It wasn't a 'miracle cure', in that she was still the sort of baby that preferred to be held rather than just lying there (unlike dd1 who'd happily fall asleep anywhere), but it did make a difference. I am very sceptical about alternative medicine normally, but I am sure that it was the CO that made a difference to my dd. (I had a long second stage of labour, kept pushing her head out a bit then going back in again, so it made sense to me that she had been a bit squashed in the process.)

It didn't work for my ds.

I think it helped dd but its hard to say as she may have got better anyway. She cried a lot in the early weeks especially in the evenings so the HV said it might be colic. A friend recommended CO and after 3 or 4 visits things were much much better. I do seem to remember them getting worse to start with though. Luckily I didn't have to pay as the college treated under 3's for free.

why don't you ring him and say your dc is worse when he said there should be improvement. I do think cranial is not snake oil and you can't rule out that your LO is unwell at the moment making them worse IYSWIM I do think I would go for the 3rd session and be brutually honest and say that you feel like you've wasted your money - you can always hope for a discount

thanks- very interesting- keep them coming! Gosh MN is a temperate place- no-one willing to denounce them as charlatans

Ellbell, my DD is just like that. She will only sleep on me, day and night, and cries whenever put down. It's driving me bonkers and DD1 is insanely bored and jealous. How long did it take for you to be able to put her down for a nap and walk away (please tell me you now can!)

Cargirl, good suggestion, I might just try that.

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does she cry all the time, does she sleep much???? Is there a slight possibility that it is silent (acidic) reflux as my dd3 was like that - she only slept about 9 hours out of 24 and I think she was sleeping through the pain due to exhausation!

Quick hi-jack - Cargirl - I have found what I think are the P&T raincovers. No labels on them so I am not sure. Can you email me on [email protected] if you still need them. Sorry for delay - caused by slight health problems in late pg and birth of ds2...

On the subject of CO, I was so convinced that it worked that I took ds2 when he was two weeks old. Nothing wrong with him, but it was a very quick labour and he came out with bruising all over his face so it was a precautionary measure. I only took him twice.

Not for colic, but my cranial osteopath made my son's head round and his eyes straight.

AMAZING!!!!

Pendulum... Yes, my DD is fine now... but then, she'll be 6 in March, so she's a bit beyond naps these days ! It was so long ago now that I can't remember exactly, and I know that she did sleep in with me for quite a while, but I was able to put her down during the day more after the CO. I also invested in a good sling (the Wilkinet worked for me) and just lugged her about everywhere with me.

I'd definitely do what has been suggested here and ring the osteopath and say that your baby seems worse and you're not sure whether to go back for the 3rd treatment and see what s/he says.

The person I saw was in Pangbourne, near Reading, and specialised in babies. I think that's important.

My DD now 5.5months I took and it was so worth it for Colic...

However also recommend the book (that I found from someone on heres recommendation) "Dr Harvey Karps, Happiest baby on the block" and his principle is the 5 S's!

I wasn't convinced that my DD had colic as imho the HV say its colic if they cry for more than 3 hrs over 3 weeks

Good luck

My DS2 had cranial osteopathy because he had 5 burst ear drums in his first 5 months of life. the lady told us that if she couldn't help him in 3 session then that was it.

In 3 sessions she did it.. he had 11 months until his next burst eardrum. and according to the bupa consultant (ENT Specialist) he couldn't explain it but his ears were draining better and therefore not becoming infected!

I don't know what it is like for crying babies but all the people I have known who have taken this path have found it to work well.

It did take all the three sessions to make a difference.. If I were you I would go back again if you can afford it.

i took ds for about 6 sessions and it made no difference. it was evilly difficult to park too so we did not go back for the 7th. i still feel bad about that, she was so keen and nice.

Hi,

Bear in mind the reflux possibility. Most of the symptoms would be consistent with that and many refluxy babies were labeled as colicky.

I went for reflux to a CO but wasnt realy convinced. Thought that if the meds didnt work would go back.

Hope things improve

hello again,
am going to call them to discuss on monday as suggested.

re: reflux, it's def not the 'classic' form as she is nt at all sicky. Have heard a lot about 'silent' reflux lately but it souns a bit like colic in that it is difficult to diagnose, some docs don't believe it exists etc... and am loathe to start the dietary changes, gaviscon routine etc 'just in case'.... DD1 was also v colicky and I drove myself mad cutting stuff out (nothing worked) then ultimately gave up b'feeding at 3 months because i was obsessed with the idea that it was 'something in the milk'. Part of me thinks that babies just do cry and i should tough it out as someone suggested.

Those of you who have experienced silent reflux, what are the key symptoms to look out for to distinguish it from general screaming? DD cries a lot during the day but mostly in the evening (between 7-10 is the low point). She seems to find it v difficult to go to sleep and has lots of wind. She is in my lap as i type, squirming and complaning, but desperately in need of some kip. However once she drops off at night she sleeps peacefully from 11-6ish, apart from waking for feeds which she does without crying. So she is OK on her back for that extended period, which i thought would be unlikely if she had reflux?

Hello Pendulum, I have a five week old DD who from the age of two weeks screamed and screamed with Colic for twelve hours a day (4pm to 4am) basically until she wore herself to sleep. I tried Infacol at first which didn't helf the colic, we went to a Cranial Osteopath which didn't help at all. We then started to add Colief to her milk (a herbal remedy from the chemist which you add to the formula), which she still has in her milk now but the day that the Dr Brown's Anti Colic bottles arrived in the post was the day that the colic stopped and she slept through twelve hours that night and at least seven hours every night since. It is like having a different baby and due to having a good nights sleep ever since I am a different mother too. Good Luck!

Hi Newbie here.
My ds (9 yrs old now!) did non stop crying from a week old. No sleep, well it felt like it at the time, for 3 months! At around 4 weeks old I took him for CO and after the first session it was horrendous! Absolutely non stop crying, both of us. When we went back for the 2nd treatment the Osteopath told me that it goes one way or the other with the 1st couple of treatments, great, I got the screamer. We went every week until he was just over 3 months and he actually started sleeping, during the day too. The MW said it was just coincidence as colic calms down at 3 months, yet they had not given much help throughout that time. DS was breastfed until he was 18 mths, not particularly sickie baby but even at 9yrs old he is a demanding child and some just are. My DD who is now 4.5 yrs had CO at 2 weeks old, I was not going to take any chances! She was so undemanding as a baby apart from the fact that she breastfed until she was 4 yrs old!!! I would definitely recommend you go back for the next one though I think it is worth finishing the course so to speak.

Good luck and don't forget to sleep when baby does.

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my experience of silent reflux - she would wake up crying, get her up and loads of trapped wind, when she possetted it was always very rancid and curdled even though it had been in her tummy for all of 60 seconds. It wasn't being held that stopped her crying it was being held in a certain way with pressure on her tummy. Yes she was worse in the evening because she didn't nap during the day so was exhausted and in pain once she fell asleep for the night around 10-11pm if she woke for a feed (very rare) then it was a quick feed and straight back to sleep.

We tried gaviscon in desperation at 6 months, within a few days the screaming stopped and the waking up to burp stopped and she started to smile. I was told that gaviscon won't harm them so it's safe to try it for several days to see if it helps. My gp also told me the fact that it worked kind of diagnosed it was acid reflux.

Ds2 is very much like cargirl's dd. I put him down to sleep/nap on his tummy (I know it's against present medical recommendation) and that seems to help him sleep better.