Unusual shape or movements

Abundant milk, painless nursing

Baby Lokken made an early, fast entrance into the world. She and her mother, Jenna, labored for just five hours, had a quick transition and fast arrival. Covered abundantly with silky hair, little miss Lokken’s head was cone-shaped from her fast descent. This created nursing problems.

Jenna felt a lot of pain on her nipples and saw that her baby was latching on with a small mouth. This biting latch can be nursing nightmare. Not only is a biting latch excruciating for mom, but sucking with a bite doesn’t bring in the milk supply properly. Many moms give up nursing when it’s just unproductive pain and baby is not gaining well.

With just two craniosacral sessions, baby Lokken opened wide, took in the nipple and easily found a full suck rhythm. Now nursing successfully, Jenna and baby have painless, abundant milk supply.

Your baby may have unusual head shapes or unusual movements, usually due to misalignments from an intense birth experience. Your baby may have been immobile or crowded into one position, due to pelvic or uterine misalignments or one of multiples. Some variations are normal, and of little consequence. However, persistent unevenness in head shape and in movement can be a set-up for long range issues.

Unusual shape of head, eyes or ears

If your baby has uneven eye, ear or head shape, this shows that his cranial bones are displaced. Very small differences side to side may not be a problem. However, even moderate differences grow with your child, and can create problems as he gets bigger. Early intervention can prevent many issues such as ear infections, sinus infections, long term problems with vision and hearing, blocked ear canals, delay in language development and other health and functional issues.

Notice and get help if your baby’s head is still coned beyond the third day, if you find flat areas, or he has prominent bumps or ridges. Pressure marks (reddened areas) that persist indicate that his cranial bones are displaced. If your child’s ears are flared or tilted or are at different levels, get help to head off ear infections.

Your baby’s eyes should be even and at the same level to insure that she will not have eye strain later in life, as she grows and takes on increasing loads of reading. Eye strain may not show up until reading loads become heavy, years down the road. This load stress may vary for any child, from middle school to college. However, by then the bones will be mostly grown and not malleable as they are in the first year. Get help for your baby if her eyes are uneven or tilted, if her eyes appear to be different sizes, or are bulging. Persistent eye crossing is also a concern.

Some of these anomolies may appear to be hereditary, but instead are what we pass along from generation to generation in the ways we use our bodies. If a feature is carried through on the maternal side, consider that our passage through our mother’s pelvis shaped our face, spine and pelvis. My pelvis then shapes my child’s face, spine and pelvis. A woman may have pelvic misalignments that have been passed along to her child, but can be corrected with good care for herself and her baby.

Unusual or uneven movements

In the first year normal babies’ movements are equal from side to side. Your baby should be able to turn his head, arms and legs in each direction, and use his head, arms and legs for activities symmetrically. When your child becomes a toddler, then he will show you whether he is right-handed or left-handed. Hand dominance does not emerge in the brain until the second year of life, when the language center and higher cerebral cortex begins to direct function. During the first year one-sided movement or preferences indicate restrictions in your child’s body.

Notice and get help if your baby has restricted neck movement, or turns or tilts her head in one direction most of the time. In conditions of extreme restriction babies may cry if someone forces their head to the restricted side. While you can give your baby a gentle stretch, no-one should ever force your baby’s movement. Notice if your baby bends or lengthens her legs or arms on one side but not her other side.

Very low tone or very high tone

If your baby is very, very sleepy, floppy, very quiet or passive, ask for an assessment and get help right away.

Get help for your baby if he often goes into a rigid posture or arching back. Your baby may throw herself into a backwards somersault out of your arms. If this happens only rarely, no problem. But frequent back arching indicates imbalances internally. Get help if your baby holds her arms or legs in a stiff position, has persistent leg crossing or unusual feet position.

Sometimes a baby pulls back off the breast. Sometimes moms may interpret this as: “My baby doesn’t like my milk (or my breast or me)”. This is not so. Your baby is designed to love you, so if he is having a hard time relaxing at the breast or in arms, he needs help. Your baby is not able to control these movements. Persistent fisting of hands or feet is an indicator of stress after the 4th month.

When your baby startles, hold him close to you. The Moro reflex is normal in the first few months, and should mature gradually until fully resolved by the end of six months. If your baby startles persistently, this is cause for concern. If this reflex is not well integrated, children may become anxious and have poor attention.

Somatic therapies and education

I provide gentle, effective hands-on somatic therapies and guide your child in playful developmental movements. These somatic therapies provide excellent release and developmental support for babies with these conditions. Babies with very low tone, very high tone, or movement anomalies benefit from myofascial toning.

Craniosacral therapy and developmental movement therapy can help children later who had a difficult start at any age. With articles you can help your baby with body-mind integration from the beginning.

What to expect in a session for your baby

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