I have touched briefly on Jenna's head a few time on my blog, but never gave a detailed account. I feel like I won't remember the importance of this event if I don't document it now. I hope that you can see God's hand clearly in this experience over the last several months, as I have witnessed.
When we brought Jenna home from the hospital it was very common for me to find her sleeping with her head turned to the right. At her 2 week appointment the doctor pointed out that her neck was stiff on that side and that we needed to work on helping her turn her head the other way. She assured us it was not severely bad, and should resolve itself with our conscious efforts.
Each time I laid her down to sleep I properly positioned her head. Yet, each time I woke up it was turned the opposite way. I was sleep deprived, having some other health issues caused by healing from delivery and nursing, and was trying to put together a Primary Program. Many things vying for my attention brought me the attitude of , "Oh, well, I am sure it will be ok."
A few weeks shy of Jenna's two month appointment I noticed a fairly severe flat spot on Jenna's head. Again, I just tried to reassure myself, that it would be fine and told myself I would be more vigilant with positioning her. Well the 2 month appointment arrived and the doctor was impressed with how bad her head looked. She really counselled us on the repositioning and stretches she thought we should do to help her. If it didn't look better by 4 months we may have to move to Physical Therapy, and while she didn't say it, I was worried we were on the road to a helmet.
I suddenly became a dictator about the placement of her head. We rolled a blanket up behind her to keep her turning her head the opposite of the flat spot while sleeping and when she was lying on the ground everything was positioned opposite it as well. I constantly stared and worried. A couple of weeks later Justin took me and the girls to Ontario while he went to Maine. Prior to leaving he gave me a Priesthood blessing. I couldn't hear most of it because Jenna was crying, but I do remember hearing him say 2 or 3 different times listen to the Holy Ghost. I figured, "Well, I guess He has got something to tell me so I don't know what it might be."
We had been praying and I had been agonizing over her head. Now please understand, I know a helmet would not have been the end of the world, and there are more severe problems, but I did not want to have to deal with that, and I am the babies mother, so I take everything very hard and straight to my heart.
While there I threw my back out pretty bad while trying to wear Jenna in those fandangled baby carriers. I seriously tried like 4 different ones to help get her up off her head. I tried to tough it out, but after a couple of days decided I needed to see a chiropractor. Last minute I also decided to take Jenna with me. I got my back fixed and Jenna was also checked to see if she was in alignment. She wasn't so they gave her a quick click with the actuator and sent us on our way. They told me to come back if I had time before I left to have her checked again.
The following week I had a strong feeling I needed to go back and when I got there, it appeared to me they were closed. I didn't realize this until both girls were unloaded at the door of the office and I read a sign. So I loaded the girls back up and was about to leave when a man came quickly walking out. He told me that he was a chiropractor who also worked there and would be happy to see Jenna. I was a bit relieved as I didn't want to make another special trip the next day.
This Chiropractor was named Tony and he was very helpful. He checked Jenna out for the alignment of her spine, but then continued to examine her. He commented that her flat spot really was pretty bad and that she wasn't very stable for her age. Which aside from the flat spot, Jenna did have a really difficult time with tummy time and seemed to be in pain whenever she had to turn her head opposite of her favorable side. Tony offered to do some Craniosacral Therapy on her.
Some What? I just pretended to understand and shook my head yes. He gently massaged her head and then did some work inside her mouth as well. He was not certified, but had studied enough of it to do some work. He told me that while her head was pretty bad, he had seen great results for other babies who had the same problem when they had gotten the therapy done.
He advised me to get her in for treatment from a Craniosacral Therapist. He helped me look one up on line and I thanked him and we parted ways. As I left the Holy Ghost told me this was the answer I had been looking for to help Jenna. I cried because I was frustrated with the problem, but also because I felt great peace. Just after those two appointments I saw great strides in Jenna's neck mobility and her ability to hold herself up.
Side note: A definition of Craniosacral Therapy is a system of alternative medicine intended to relieve pain and tension by gentle manipulations of the skull regarded as harmonizing with a natural rhythm in the central nervous system. Chiropractors are not the only ones certified to do this, but others such as Occupational Therapists, or Massage therapists can be as well. It is an additional certification they do on top of whatever other program they have chosen. It is even used to help babies who have a hard time nursing, or people who have major trauma to the head. Therapists massage the head along the growth plates with light pressure. Jenna was never in pain from it, but rather just laid there and enjoyed it!
I called the place we had found in Portland, but it was downtown and they charged an arm and a leg for an appointment. Not feeling that we could do that, I found a certified therapist who was also a chiropractor in Gresham. I scheduled an appointment for the following week.
On our first visit Dr. Chard started working on Jenna and did remark that the spot looked pretty severe. She had had some experience with this and was willing to go to work. We started seeing her twice a week for five weeks. After the first two appointment I saw great improvement in Jenna's head, then it took a while before I saw more improvement. Dr. Chard was also so kind to work with us on pricing and gave us a good discount since we were coming for such a long duration and so frequently.
At the end of the first five weeks, Jenna's head looked much better! I still wasn't sure what the Pediatrician would say, but I was hopeful and knew we had done the right thing for her. At the Pediatrician office, the doctor commented on how good her head looked, that she would not need a helmet, and wanted to know what we had been doing.
That was a huge relief and weight off my shoulders! We have continued to meet with Dr. Chard. We first cut it back to weekly, then every two weeks, and this last week we had our last appointment as we will be moving.
I know that this medicine of Craniosacral Therapy is what helped Jenna's head improve so quickly and helped her gain better stability and mobility in her neck. I know I was guided by the Holy Ghost to find out about this way to help her. I am so grateful for health professionals. Dr. Chard was great at her work, but it was wonderful to get to know her as an individual as well. She really helped me be calm about the situation and was fun and easy to talk to. We will miss seeing her, but are glad we have a couple of great chiropractors where we are moving to!
Justin and Ruth Blazzard
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