A Trip to the Chiropractor!
At just one week old little Ivan, like his older brother and sister, found himself at the chiropractor’s office for his first (of many) visits.
Getting your new little one to the chiropractor within the first two weeks, is often a suggestion I offer out to my new moms in my yoga studio, simply as a suggestion I offer up from my own experiences, research and past conversations with my chiropractor and other child birth experts, as a mere act of kindness to help ease the tremendous transition your little one just endured from womb to life, in a matter of minutes.
Child birth can be traumatic, not just for the mother and her body, but equally for the little one who just took a major trip down a very small canal and out into the world. A little being that cannot communicate in speech; has his own means to tell his caregivers he needs help in some way shape or form.
In my experience most mom’s never think to take their newborn’s to the chiropractor, yet they regularly take themselves (something I also encourage for pregnant and postnatal moms), seeing an experienced chiropractor who has training and hands on experience with pregnant mom’s and newborns is the first step when considering such services.
When mom’s ask me why I take my kids, and why I would take my newborn baby Ivan to see my chiropractor, I respond, why wouldn’t I? A lot can happen scurrying down that twisty birth canal, and in the event of a long labor, possibly facing the wrong direction during delivery, the use of external force, even a c-section where they are pulled out an opening extensively smaller then they are large, seems less than pleasant.
That journey our little loved ones take is traumatic, to say the least, and as Ivan’s caregiver, I find it is my job to help him in every way, shape and form I possibly can. The chances of misalignment in the spine, especially the neck during active birth and delivery are extremely high, not to mention a dislocated shoulder, a strained hip, or who knows what has happened, they can’t tell us.
The sooner, I believe you can get your little bundle of joy to the chiropractor the better, helping to reduce growth pains, help with sleep patterns, and even help reduce, manage or eliminate colic. Things like ear infections, acid reflux, constipation, gas and sleep issues, all have shown positive improvements when it comes to seeing the bone man (or woman) (from my experience and discussion with local chiropractors and mom’s).
The appointment is painless and most of the time my kids (when young) slept through it. After Ivan’s first visit, several of his vertebrae were out of alignment and noticing his tummy was uncomfortable, just minutes after his adjustments he let out a great puke of relief. He came out turned sideways (baby should be face down when existing the birth canal) to the right and not to my surprise his neck was out.
Having Ivan see our chiropractor is essential, as it is to all my kids health and growing well-being. Kids grow at a rapid pace and babies are at even faster warp speed, to me this type of care has been a pillar in our family’s health from sleep patterns, to digestive comfort, to hereditary issues (leg rotation that seeing the chiropractor has fixed in both my older children), to common aches and pains due to the excessive sitting kids do in school (for another blog post another day). I can’t say enough for a visit to a well trained chiropractor.
So the next time you schedule your chiropractor appointment, schedule your new little bundleof joy, that appointment is just as important as their two week check-up and heck could even help them sleep!
Please note, this is just a suggestion from my experience, I am not a chiropractor and highly suggest that you seek out one who is familiar and works with regularly newborns (and as the proper knowledge to do so). There of course is a lot of information out on the internet and as always content on both ends of the coin, ultimately you need to do what is right for you and your family, I simply wish you well.