The Chiropractor Visit

Now I'm the Mom that takes her baby to the Chiropractor.

Let me explain, from the beginning...

It seems we've been battling Mr. Cough and his friend, Congestion, this whole winter. Kayla's had some intensity of a cold off and on for the last few months. It started in January with her first full blown ear infection (and her first and only fever so far, and that was not fun and very scary but that's another story for another time), which lead to a trip to the doctor and a dose of Amoxicillin. Done.

But what followed was a cough that wouldn't seem to go away. Despite the fact there were no other symptoms and she was eating, sleeping and acting fine, I was still feeling terrible for this horrible cough she battled in her sleep so I casually asked the pediatrician to look at her during a routine visit in March. Dr. Jessica was alarmed at how infected Kayla's ears were and was shocked that she was acting fine, she should've been miserable with those super red eardrums! Even with that dismal news, I managed a proud smile 'That's Kayla. Always happy. Even with bursting infected ears.' No way to wait this out and cure it naturally with time, so that lead to another dose of Amoxicillin. Done and over.

Which brings us to now. Mr. Cough and his friend, Congestion have found us again. Didn't we just get over this? Not again! More tissues. More sniffles. More suction. More Benadryl. More nighttime coughing. I can't bring myself to take Kayla back yet again to the doctor. And I can't bring myself to once again put her on more medicine. I so badly don't want to have the baby with the chronic ear infections. But I can't ignore this either.

I also begin to wonder if Kayla's developing allergies. The symptoms are so similar, runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing. Wait, or is it teething? Those symptoms are similar too. Is that why she's holding her ear? I read about things that make allergic reactions worse: carpet (Hmm, her room is carpeted), pets (Oh dear. Tikki), dust (so I go dust), pet dander (I vaccuum too) and stuffed animals. Well, this one is easy. I clear her room of all her stuffed animals, pillows and blankets and shake them out and sit them out in the sun to air out for the afternoon, already feeling better about helping Kayla, without medicine. And for a few days, things improve.

But, Mr C and C are back in full force. And then I remember what my Chiropractor said to me a few months ago, to bring Kayla in, he can adjust babies too. I nod and smile but think I won't be that parent that takes her baby to the Chiropractor. That's just ridiculous and over the top.

Until today. The thought of Kayla going on Amoxicillin one more time is enough to drive me to call the Chiropractor. Maybe he can do something that gets rid of this once and for all the natural way. Of course he can, I know he can, that's why I call. And so, there we all are crowded in the small room, and Dr. Bob says he can see her favoring her head to the right (How could he tell that?) so that must be the ear. A look into her right ear confirms his hypothesis. So, I lay down on my back on the table, Kayla lays down on top of me and Dr. Bob takes his two pinkys and every so gently touches her neck behind her ears and while Aaron and I hold our breaths, which is the only way you could've heard it, we hear the faintest little pop (imagine a butterfly flapping its wings) behind her right ear, just like was supposed to happen. And that was it, no tears, no screaming, no crying. (Only pointing).

So there Mr. Cough and Congestion! Take that!

Despite her cough we decided to venture out for our daily walk. With a quick glance at this photo, one might think that, A) It was cold out, and B) Kayla was not happy. Very reasonable guesses, but looks can be deceiving...

A) Perhaps its the fact that Kayla is bundled up in a blanket, a winter hat and a hoodie that you might assume that there was a chill in the air. On the contrary, it was a pleasant sunny 70 degrees, but I was being cautious. Maybe a little too cautious. I just didn't want any cold air to touch her ears. Eventually, even I realized it was too hot for all those layers and the hat and blanket were tossed aside.

2) Such a scowl would typically indicate discontent, but that's the serious look she gives when she's concentrating on eating her Cheerios, a matter she does not take lightly. So, contrary to first glance, Kayla is very content in her stroller with Cheerios close by.