Cranial osteopathy - hokum or worth trying?

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Hi all. I have been posting on the Sleep board about my 5mo dS2, who sleeps appallingly. Probably about 4 hours' worth in every 24, when he should be doing 14. That bad.

I am truly at the end of my rope. Routines don't work, as he always wakes up after 20-30 mins, white noise no good, hungry baby formula no good, having a little food no good, chiropractor no good.

I spoke to a baby sleep consultant today who has nothing to suggest except baby-wearing (he sleeps no longer in my Ergo than he does on a bed, on me, in the pram or in the car) and cranial osteopathy.

We tried it with DS1 and it made no difference, and DH says it is quackery. Is it worth a go? Did it do anything for your DCs?

Bear in mind that DS2 was born by elective c-section so no trauma or rushed movements or anything.

My dd was a horrendous sleeper. Running round with energy eg from 12-5am, we were at wits end. Took her to cranial osteopath and it worked. She is calm at night and happy to go to sleep. Saved us!

I tried everything with dd. When she was 16 months old I took her to an osteopath for cranial. She slept on the way home (she'd never slept in the car before) and her sleeping did improve quite a lot from then. We saw the osteo about 8 times over 3 months, and then a couple of times on the year since. There is just about enough science behind it to convince me. Or maybe it just helped dd relax. But it's not cheap! £40 for a 45 min session.

I have no advice to give but contemplating the same, although my little insomniac is almost 10 months.
The Osteopathic Centre for Children has been recommended to me if you are in or near SW London.
Sorry I can't link the website via tablet.

Yep definatly worth it. Imo they work miracles. My ds wouldnt feed properly very bad colic etc, tried all under the sun including 8 different types of teat and bottles nothing worked. 1st session with c.o vast improvement. Took 5 sessions to completly fix, not cheap but worth every bloody penny!

Worked for DS after 6 months of waking up every hour. It was recommended by a friend and it worked. DS slept from 10 - 7 that night and never went back to his old horrendous sleep pattern. If I had another child I would take it to the pediatric cranial osteopath (some specialise in children, some don't) within a couple of weeks of the birth, just to be on the safe side. Best £45 I ever spent!

Oh and choose one that workes with kids as it really isnt the same as working on an adult.

Yep it worked on my ds when he was 3 months old. And I also go to a fab cranial oestopath every 2 months he works wonders with my aches and pains.

Didn't work for my DD - I gave it three shots before deciding it was an expensive waste of money

Didn't work for us. Had 2 sessions and it made no difference at all.

My dd was a horrendous sleeper till as a last ditch attempt we tried cranial and after 4 sessions she was sleeping through. Miraculous. Try it. 2 or 3 sessions are not enough, you really need to give it at least 4.

definitely hookum, and can be dangerous too

www.badscience.net/2004/09/cranial-osteopathy/

www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cranial.html

don't waste your money.

Ours was terrible, upsetting for both us and the baby. Essentially a 'baby whisperer', utter rubbish, i still have strong feelings about it, even though the baby in question has just turned 8 yrs old!

Hokum I'm afraid. But I know what it's like when you're on your knees and will try anything so don't blame anyone for trying anything they think will work.

Hokum.

My experience of it has been fantastic and definitely not hokum.

If you're in London I can recommend a clinic

Utter rot
Expensive
Placebo at best

Do be aware baby sleep consultant is made up term,unregulated hooey

I thought it was hokum and still kind of do, but it did help DS or it at least had some kind of placebo effect on me or him that helped.

Worth a shot if you can afford it IMHO.

Youll never know if it worked,or simply placebo

Went in on a recommendation.
At my wits end etc, etc.

I was open minded, I promise you it is bull shit.

Hold, touch, hug, cuddle your own baby (as in squeeze them top to toe gently) in a warm, really warm, comfortable place. You will get better results than the osteopathy.