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Original poster

Cranial osteopathy for terrible sleeper

18 replies

Catarinah · 07/01/2021 08:11

Hi everyone. So my 1 year old is a terrible sleeper, has been since birth. He still wakes 1-2 hourly pretty much every single night. Hes not hungry/no reflux/no tummy pain /no gas... he latches on for comfort to go back to sleep, which only takes 5-10 mins ish, but he is cranky in the day from poor sleep and I'm exhausted. We have tried everything under the sun to help him sleep. When he wakes, a lot if the time it appears like he's crying in his sleep as if hes having a nightmare, which wakes him. He was born early at 37 weeks. I was induced because of the onset of pre eclampsia and him being small... I was induced 9am and he was born 5pm, which I was told was unusally quick/rare labour for a 1st baby at 37 weeks.
He has a tt snip and the private consultant who snipped it at 4 weejs told me he'd benefit from cranial osteopathy due to tension but I thought she was just selling her services for some more money but now I'm thinking whether it's worth revisiting. Anyone have any experience of cranial osteopathy? Is it worth a shot? Is it expensive? How many sessions did you have before noticing an improvement?

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 07/01/2021 08:14

We tried it with DS2, is was a very unsettled baby, didn’t make any difference whatsoever for our DS, but worth a try, hopefully another poster may come along with a more positive experience.

Ostryga · 07/01/2021 08:16

I did it with Dd, but she was about 3 months. It made such a difference. She went from a cranky little thing that wanted to cluster feeding constantly (ow!) to being really settled.

It did take 5/6 sessions though, and I took her once a month up until she was about 8 months. She loved it.

pawivy · 07/01/2021 08:16

Yes I used it with dd1. About 30 for 2 minutes.
She was section and he thought tension from birth. A bit like being asleep and someone chucking ice on you and you would tense.

She did improve. Didnt sleep overnight fully till 15 months. She saw him 6 to 12 weeks weekly.

Then annual check ups.

I was impressed. It got me from 5 minute wakes to maybe 3 hours.

He was very good and baby specialist. Scotland.

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Original poster
Catarinah · 07/01/2021 14:10

Is he a bit old for it now, hes 1?

OP posts:
edgeware · 07/01/2021 14:25

Honestly cranial osteopathy can be utter quackery. If he is still feeding in the night he has a feeding to sleep association, trying to break this will probably benefit you more. Does he feed to sleep at bedtime? I stopped feeding in the night at 11 months - 2 nights later DS slept through!

Gleps · 07/01/2021 15:02

Hi OP. I had a very cranky 5 month old (now 7months just to show you how recent it was). Similar situation at night as with your DS and heard similar things about the cranial osteopath. I went for it as decided it was worth a try, worst case scenario it was an expensive massage. We had two sessions as they said she had some tension in her back and I’d say that immediately I saw an improvement in being able to put her down on the floor during the day without her screaming but I’m not sure if that’s just from the good nap she had after.

I think the big difference was that I started following a sleep training expert on Instagram and watched her free YouTube videos. I learnt about sleep associations and implemented some of her sleep training techniques and we’ve gone from almost no naps and seeing every hour of the night to 2/3 naps a day and only waking every 4 hours. Still a way to go but such a big improvement.

Lots of people don’t like the thought of sleep training but I promise you, I have not once just left the baby to cry it out. It was more about changing the habit of sucking to sleep, you need to teach ds to self settle.

FenEel · 07/01/2021 15:08

Tried cranial osteopathy with DS1, who was a terrible sleeper, out of desperation. There was a sale on at the time, think it was being funded by the local council (there was a lot more money around 13 years ago). I had high hopes but realised almost immediately that it was utter nonsense, it made no difference at all, although I only did one session.

WeeMadArthur · 07/01/2021 15:18

We tried it for DS when he was 6 months and a terrible sleeper. I wasn’t overly impressed by the first appointment, although I’m not sure what I expected, more hands on manipulation maybe, but whatever she did really worked because he slept through for first time that night and was much more relaxed generally. It may not work for everyone but I wish I’d gone months before.

Original poster
Catarinah · 07/01/2021 15:43

Mixed results then I guess.
Oh I'd love to break that association and trust me... I have tried, he gets absolutely hyaterical if i try and cuddle/kiss/sing/shhd/beaker with water.... To the point where he cried hyaterically for an hour, even with ne laying next to him, and it actually felt like CIO and I was breaking my heart afterwards... Not sure what a sleep consultant would suggest that I havent already tried :(

OP posts:
pyrdhppu · 07/01/2021 16:12

That's a biologically normal sleep pattern.

Gleps · 07/01/2021 16:48

@pyrdhppu how was your post helpful to a mum who needs more sleep?!

OP there is some truth to that albeit not delivered in a useful way at all. Everyone, including adults, naturally wake up roughly every 2 hours but you dose straight back off and don’t normally remember it. With a baby, they wake up after that time and if they haven’t learnt to self settle they look for what settled them the first time round. In this case it appears to be the sucking motion.

Original poster
Catarinah · 07/01/2021 16:55

@Gleps thank you. Yes I agree that it's natural, hence the fact that I've not trained my baby... But surely 12 times every night is excessive at 12 months, no? :s

OP posts:
Harrysmummy246 · 07/01/2021 19:31

@Catarinah

DS was also the child who woke sometimes as often as that. I bedshared and just waved a boob at him when he grumbled. Didn't even think about nightweaning til 18 mo as I couldn't bear the hysterical screaming or the thought of having to do something that would actually fully wake me up. Sleep did improve after we nightweaned, yes, but it wasn't instant.

Original poster
Catarinah · 07/01/2021 19:57

@harrysmummy246 was it as hysterical at 18mo? I just dont know of a way ill ever get him to stop needing boob to sleep without hysterical crying!

OP posts:
pyrdhppu · 08/01/2021 02:21

[quote Gleps]@pyrdhppu how was your post helpful to a mum who needs more sleep?!

OP there is some truth to that albeit not delivered in a useful way at all. Everyone, including adults, naturally wake up roughly every 2 hours but you dose straight back off and don’t normally remember it. With a baby, they wake up after that time and if they haven’t learnt to self settle they look for what settled them the first time round. In this case it appears to be the sucking motion.[/quote]
Because she may think it's abnormal.
If she understands it's normal then she will see there is nothing that needs changing.

pyrdhppu · 08/01/2021 02:21

[quote Catarinah]@Gleps thank you. Yes I agree that it's natural, hence the fact that I've not trained my baby... But surely 12 times every night is excessive at 12 months, no? :s[/quote]
Not excessive.
I'm 3 years down the line and it's similar.

AuntyJack · 08/01/2021 06:22

Two solutions

  1. Give a dummy/pacifier
  2. Sleep training
Harrysmummy246 · 10/01/2021 14:55

@Catarinah Yes hysterical for a long time if DH went in ever. Only occasionally now at 3y6mo is daddy acceptable (or even called for. )

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