My baby is so tense! Will cranial osteopathy help?

[Diryan]

My DS is 14 weeks old, and seems unable to relax. Getting him to sleep by any means is a nightmare, he fights it like crazy. If I'm carrying him upright he always has his head up (and consequently has great head control for his age!) like a meerkat, and he doesn't relax into me, even if he's exhausted. He cries in both the pushchair and the car seat, and just seems so 'rigid' somehow - I can feel the tenseness in his body.

He's unhappy a lot of the time, but I think it's just overtiredness as he finds it so hard to relax enough to sleep, even if I try to get him to sleep as soon as he starts to get tired. He doesn't cry as if he's in pain.

Do you think cranial osteopathy is worth a shot? He had a normal delivery, but it was very fast, not sure if that makes a difference.

I'd try if you've got the money. What have you got to lose?

It's worth a go. We had a few sessions for DD (almost 19 weeks) as a lactation consultant noticed that she couldn't turn her head fully to one side, she got stuck at the shoulders during delivery. It definitely helped us, though some people will tell you it's a bunch of woo!

Have you ruled out silent reflux I.e. heartburn?

Go for it! Fantabulous thing is cranial osteopathy, but give it at least 3 sessions before you decide if you do or dont like it AND find one that is specifically trained in paeds. Try the british osteopathic association to find one!

Thanks everyone. Iggly I did think it was silent reflux at first, but he doesn't cry as if he's in pain & he doesn't seem worse after feeds. I tried Gaviscon but it didn't seem to make any difference, so although I haven't totally ruled it out, I don't think that's the problem.

Dd was a poor sleeper with no underlying medical issues (a lot like yours, didn't drop off in the car or pram, didn't relax, used to sleep with her arms in the air sometimes). We had three sessions of CO, made no difference at all.
Whilst we know people who have vaguely heard of other people seeing some sort of improvement in something or other, we don't know anyone in RL who has seen any change in the sleeping habits of their baby (but we know a fair few who have tried CO).

Unless you have a physical concern with your baby (eg as a consequence of the manner of birth), there is no real science that CO will change the temperament or sleeping habits of your baby.

Unfortunately CO has become a bit of a fad and its real purpose (I don't doubt there is one) has got lost along the way.

My dd (now a toddler) sleeps great. Weaning, crawling/walking, a bit of CC and nursery all visibly contributed to that at different stages. CO didn't.

Cranial osteopathy is like homeopathy - there's no science behind it (practitioners feel/realign a "rhythm" in the head) so it really just depends on whether you believe in it.

I took DS to cranial osteopathy out of desperation (and I can't remember just now what I was so worried about then). Halfway through he did a massive poo. £40 well spent.

This sounds like my dd1- terrible sleeper from day 1, very alert and constantly looking around, cried quite a lot, super busy never relaxes (still doesn't!). In the 2.7 yrs I've had her shes fallen asleep once by herself with no intervention.

We did consider co, in the end I found very little scientific evidence for its use; we implemented a dummy (something I never thought I would do) as part of her sleep routine and a bit of cc. We also had to be super strict about naps and kind of 'pinned her down' to one of us while rocking her to sleep. We had a set routine for all sleeps.

She's actually pretty good at sleeping now.

However, when I weaned her things got worse and after lots of uncertainty we've realised she's intolerant to cows milk - I think this had a massive effect on her from me ingesting it and then feeding her. I think it made her very uncomfortable, pained and very difficult to relax.

I'm not sure how your feeding her or if you've considered your/her diet but might be worth some thought.

Sorry meant to say; your description of being 'rigid' was exactly how the intolerance appeared, a bit like terrible wind, her body was so tense a lot of the time.

I would try it. It fixed my DD who screamed A LOT as a baby and was a terrible sleeper. She sleeps 12-14 hours a night now, not a peep unless poorly. I've taken DS for 5 sessions and its definitely helped him. He was impossible to get to nap and was waking after 5-10 mins but now reliably sleeps for 40mins plus and is much easier to get to sleep in the first place. He's generally happier too. Worth a go.

I meant to say....both mine were fast deliveries and dd had bad reflux and Ds had a touch too.

Thanks for all your replies. I am a bit sceptical about CO, but at the same time I'm getting pretty desperate, so think I'll give it a shot.

I had considered dairy intolerance, but I'm breastfeeding & eat very little dairy products, so discounted it in the end.

Yeah I was exclusively breastfeeding; guess I had milk in brews and cheese (probably a little too much cheese), but other than that very little dairy. She's 2.7 and every so often we try her with a little cows milk at bed, its clear within days it still effects her. I'm pregnant with no.2 so going to be super vigilant this time, although there is no history of intolerances within the family.

I hope you get it sorted and both get some sleep!