Lucy is 7 months now - and perfect and beautiful and sitting up and really, really close to crawling. Of course we always thought she was perfect. She was born with torticollis, which we didn't discover until she was 2 months old. We were in the trenches with a newborn and a 13 month old - it was all we could do to survive one day to the next. The #1 goal was keeping babies alive, so we totally missed seeing that Lucy always laid her head to the same side. I mean, don't all newborns lay their head to the side most of the time? Anyways, the pediatrician's nurse practitioner caught it at her 2 month well check and pointed out some asymmetry in her face and head as a result. WHAT - my baby had a crooked face?!? Damn. She recommend we "keep an eye on it", do lots more tummy time and "we'll talk more at the 4 month well check". We didn't see the doctor on that visit but we had seen this nurse practitioner before and I liked her and trusted her. But I'm not really the passive type (no, really :) ), so waiting 2 more months to address this was not gonna happen. I went home and used Dr. Google to first learn what the heck torticollis was and then figure out a plan of action.
Our Game Plan:
- Oils! I asked the members of my oily facebook group for any testimonies or experiences and several mommies recommended Valor. It's a blend that contains spruce, rosewood, blue tansy and frankincense in a base of coconut oil. Young Living calls this blend "Valor" because this is the same blend of oils Roman soldiers used in ancient times when going to battle. It's original intent was to "increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity" (from the YL website). Over time, people have come to realize that this blend of oils is great for so many more things as well- sleep, snoring, achy muscles and stiff necks. STIFF NECKS - BINGO! Valor was in the starter kit I got over a year ago and I had plenty left. It's already in a base of coconut oil, so I didn't feel the need to dilute it for Lucy. I put some in a roller bottle (ordered mine from Amazon) for ease of application and swiped her neck as often as I could remember. With every application, I would also give her a little massage. I noticed she would relax her shoulders a bit and her neck was less tense and drawn up.
- NOTE: I only use Young Living oils on my kids - especially on my newborn. I trust the Seed to Seal process and that everything they say is in the bottle, is in fact in the bottle and that it's the ONLY stuff in the bottle - no additives or synthetic materials.
- Physical Therapy - This is the most common recommendation you'll find on Dr. Goggle. I called around and found some therapy places that specialized in kids and booked a consultation. They basically did everything Dr. Google said they would and gave us some "exercises" to do at home. We dutifully booked weekly appointments for the foreseeable future. But over time we came to realize they weren't doing much more than the exercises we were doing at home so we eventually quit going. Not to mention the $60 per visit ($240 per month) was a hit to the wallet we were happy to reclaim.
- Chiropractor - Yes, I took my 2 month old to the chiropractor. I used to think they were quacks until one changed my life forever after a freak hair blow drying accident (I know, it takes a special kind of clumsy to injure yourself blow drying your hair). Ever since that "accident" my neck will sometimes revert back to what my husband affectionately calls my "hump neck". It hurts bad, gets swollen (hence the hump neck term) and sort of paralyzes my movement. That's when I go to the chiropractor and get fixed up in a jiffy. Lots of the moms in my crunchy mom groups solely use chiros for their kids since main steam doctors make us crunchy moms feel like losers. So when I read that chiro care was a protocol for torticollis, I didn't hesitate. My husband was skeptical - he didn't want Lucy getting "cracked" or her neck getting whipped around like you envision when you think chiropractic adjustment. But infant adjustments are NOTHING like adult adjustments. They are very gentle and slight. You could almost think the chiro isn't actually doing anything because he's barely touching her. But I believe this had the biggest impact on improving her torticollis. We went weekly and he even adjusted Ellis to help with teething, which in turn helped her sleep better. I love our chiro!
- Helmet - a lot of the Dr. Google research talked about using corrective helmets to address the asymmetry issues caused by them holding their soft head in the same direction all the time. This was one route I wanted to avoid at all costs. No way were we getting a helmet. No sir, not gonna happen. Well, I have to learn this lesson over and over, but never say never. As time went on, both the physical therapist and the chiro were suggesting it. We were kicking the torticollis' butt, but all oils, PT and chiro adjustments in the world were not going to fix her crooked face. So I scheduled the consultation with a big wall up - I was still not 100% convinced. At the consultation, they took all these crazy pictures with pantyhose on Lucy's head (controlling her crazy hair) and when they showed them to us, it was very eye opening. Holy cow, she was so wonky. How had we not seen this? I cried and felt like a huge failure for letting this happen. After seeing the pictures, it really stood out to me when looking at her and now that's all I could see. Ugh, OK. I'll take your stupid helmet. It was crazy expensive and insurance only covered part of it. But how could we let her walk through life all wonky like that. We got the helmet on May 5th and graduated from the stupid thing this week. I love it for what it did for her but hate it for the pain in the butt that it was. She had to stay in it 23 hours a day (one hour out for bath and hair drying). It made it awkward to hold her and uncomfortable to snuggle her but it was a necessary evil. Also, you can decorate it really cute!
So there it is. This is how we choose to tackle torticollis and a wonky head. We are very pleased with the results. If I had to do it again, I would do most of it the same way (except the not noticing it part of course) - maybe we would quit the PT sooner because for us, it didn't seem to be helping all that much. But these were our choices as parents. Please seek your own research, medical advice and go with your gut. We love our pediatrician's office, but doctors and nurses don't always know everything. Don't wait for someone else to take action for you - be your own advocate...or your kid's advocate. If we had waited another 2 months as suggested by our pediatrician's nurse practitioner, correcting her head shape would have taken a lot longer as her cranial bones wold have been harder and more difficult to manipulate.
Here she is right before the helmet images. I did not see at the time that her cheeks were totally different and wonky. She looked totally perfect to me.
Crazy imaging process
Decorated
Going through the airport, getting lots of stares. Ellis' giant purple bow headband
was a nice balance to the helmet.
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DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.
