Infant emergencies can be frightening for families.
Even though a six-month-old cried most of the day, his doctor said that was normal. In my world, nothing about this child was normal.
He was always unsettled and had sleep issues. He also had reflux, gas, colic, and constipation. This baby was a classic case of our wheelhouse of fussiness issues.
He was induced at 37 weeks and delivered via cesarean section because he was stuck in his mother's narrow pelvis. But there was a defining moment in his life.
When he was in his dad’s arms, he fell about four feet and landed on his head, striking a hardwood floor. The ER doctors found that his left parietal bone (a skull bone) and collarbone were fractured. They said not to worry because they would heal on their own.
That thinking needs to change. Yes, they would appear to be fully healed in time, but his unseen craniosacral fascial system would still be holding that trauma along with his untreated birth traumas. If I were in his body, I would be miserable all day, too.
He presented with a zero-second brain cycle and strain throughout his body. He also had a tongue tie but was breastfeeding fine—no surgery needed at this time.
As his body started to release the strain in therapy, his brain cycle opened to a robust eighty seconds. I expect him to do well over a series of visits.
In my world, he would have been cleared of strain at birth and checked after the fall. Gillespie Approach Training is a must for all newborn providers.
