I took Maysa in this morning to her second cranial sacral therapy appointment with Frances Demmerle. She worked on her for about half an hour and noticed right off the back that she didn’t look so stiff. She asked if I had noticed anything since our last visit and the truth is I have. Aside from the fact that Maysa has been doing so well in her DOC band since she got it three and a half weeks ago, I have also noticed some changes in her that I can only attribute to CST.
Ever since Maysa turned 3 months old, she started stretching her legs at a 45 degree angle, crossed at the ankles then her arms at the same degree angle while holding her hands together and she would rock them up and down with her teeth/jaw clenched and breathing hard through her nose. I really wish I had a picture of her that I could show you. Anyway, at our last appointment, Maysa got into that position while Frances was working on her. I had never seen any baby doing that before my daughter and neither did Frances, but she said that after her first session of CST, she might actually stop doing so.
I really didn’t think she would stop. Maysa had been doing so for 7 months, everyday, several times a day. It made changing her diapers quite a challenge because she would always stretch and cross her legs at the ankles. Try putting a diaper on a baby like that! Anyway, the next day after our first visit, Maysa did the same move almost ALL day long. It was a little scary, I mean everywhere: on her high chair, on her exersaucer, on the floor, in her crib, in the bath tub, you name it. I thought to myself, what has happened!?
Then, she got a really bad cold and an ear infection, so she was really miserable for a few days. She is now doing a lot better but I have to admit that after that one day of getting into that position non-stop she hasn’t done it once, and that is amazing to me! After seven months of doing this on and off several times a day, to one day of doing it all day long to not doing it at all…
When I asked Frances, she told me that when she saw her in that position she looked stressed out and like she said she hoped that whatever work she did on her would help her relax to the point where she wouldn’t do it again. Well, like I said, she hasn’t done that in days now.
Another thing I noticed is that Maysa sleeps so much better at night and during the day. Her daycare provider sometimes tells me that she sleeps for three hours in a row, sometimes more. At home, she went from waking up two to three times at night to only once to nurse, and then she goes right back to sleep.
Is she just growing up or is CST really working on her? I don’t know but I like to think that it is. Today she worked on her as well, but Maysa was a little fussier. She usually goes right back to sleep after waking up for an hour in the morning and Frances was messing up her schedule. Frances started with her lower back and hips, then her upper back and then her head. Maysa wasn’t a happy camper today and she looked more irritated than in pain, to me.
When I asked Frances about what she thought about Maysa’s progress, she said that her head and her body now feel more like a jellyfish rather than a hard stick… I never thought I would compare my daughter to a jellyfish but funny enough, I like that idea a lot.
Our next appointment is in two weeks. I will keep you posted.
