Poor Little Man
My mom and niece were here over the weekend, and seeing other people’s reactions to Ace’s “colic” made me realize that I need to really figure out what is going on with the poor guy. I had already completely eliminated dairy from my diet, and that wasn’t making much of a difference. I decided that the next step would be hypoallergenic formula to see if I needed to eliminate more from my diet.
Unfortunately, the only thing that did was make him smell like cat food and give him a horrible diaper rash. The poor little man’s bum was so sore it was bleeding. As if I didn’t feel bad enough not breastfeeding him for three days, he didn’t stop crying and now he’s got that awful rash.
Feeling pretty hopeless, I commented to my mom how he always seems to keep his head to the side and not looking straight ahead. She said she had noticed it, too, and I started thinking more about it.
I know there is a condition called torticollis, but when I Googled images of it, the heads tilted ear to shoulder, not like Ace, whose head is turned to the side. I decided to call our chiropractor anyhow.
I told him everything that was going on and set up an appointment for Monday. When Dr. T looked at him, he said that not only does his head turn right, it does tilt a bit right, too. I’ve probably never noticed since as I said, he rarely looks at you with his head forward.
Dr. T also said his top vertebrae was shifted to the right and his neck muscles were so tight that he couldn’t manually adjust him. He adjusted him with an activator and we are to go back Wednesday and again Thursday. Dr. T feels confident that a lot of Ace’s “colic” is due to his neck and that we will see improvement in a week or two.
I asked him about the formula and if he’d keep him on it or go back to breastfeeding, and Dr. T is confident enough in his observations that he said he’d resume breastfeeding. I was glad to hear that and happily resumed when we got home. Ace’s poops have gone back to normal breastfed baby poops, so hopefully, his rash will be gone soon.
A friend told me that the rash is a red flag for a food sensitivity, and the formula I was using had milk proteins and soy (so how that makes it hypoallergenic is beyond me, but I digress…). I am willing to bet it’s the milk because before I cut out dairy, he had a similar bad rash that was on the verge of bleeding and was very hard to get rid of.
I did notice that today, Ace had more periods of quiet alertness, and even looked right up at me while he was on his back n the floor — something I haven’t noticed him do before. I hope it’s because the chiropractic is helping. I’m anxious for our next appointment tomorrow. Hopefully we can turn this poor little guy into the happy baby he deserves to be:
Popularity: 33%
What a face! I really hope this works for him Sommer. Oh and I agree about the formula. I never could figure that out!
Poor guy. I am so glad you are able to BF him again, and the chiro is working. Good job for figuring it out Mom!
Awww…what a face. I hope he gets to feeling better. He’s too cute to be frowning all the time. Take care!
Oh! That picture is so precious, poor little baby! You are such a good mama, Sommer, he is so blessed to have you xo
I hope that this will be the answer you are looking for. Poor Ace. I just want to hug him up!
Yeast, yeast, yeast. Try eliminating that from your diet, too.
Good call on the chiropractor. I hope Dr. T is able to help you.
Oh my! How heartbreaking. Hopefully the chiro works and he feels lots better.
Poor baby! I can totally relate! It took about 2-3 weeks to see a difference after I cut out dairy…now he is such a happy little boy. I’m sure yours will be too! It takes time for the intestines to heal too. Keep up the good work! I know it’s hard, but you’re doing a good job!
My son also has/had torticollis. His ear was not touching his shoulder, but he did have the side tilt and would only look to his right.
He went from a 90% problem, and now at 14 months old he has less than a 5%. Here in Mass. we have Early Intervention and they come out to our house and give him PT once a week and it is all covered by our insurance.
It seemed to be an easy fix and he has no lasting problems from it.
Good luck and I hope this helps Ace.
awww, look at that little face!!!! i hope the treatments help him!
Hi Sommer!
My daughter (now 2) had torticollis and her head turned to the side. I can send you some pictures if you like. We had to go through Physical Therapy with her. We did a lot of repositioning and stretching of her muscles. Although she hated it…I think it was harder on me…her Mom. All of her PT appointments were covered through Early Intervention which (I think) each state has and each child is covered up til age 3. Today, she no longer needs PT & we only notice a slight tilt when she’s very tired or sick. We call her Little Miss Titly Head (in a cute way).
If you’d like to see pictures to compare “tilts” and “turns” just let me know.
Smiles,
Jen
Oh my goodness – I could just cry. I’m so sorry he’s dealing with so much right now. I hope all the changes you’re making will help him!
Hi Sommer… following you through this journey. I have twins too.. they are 1.5 now. :) Wow!
anyway.. wanted to comment on this b/c I take my wee ones to the chiro too… and she was able to help Jason A Lot. He had a different issue than Ace did, but the chiro corrected it 100% over a short course of time. The good news is that babies respond quickly. Good luck. Also had to eliminate dairy from my diet for Lily… the things we do for our little ones.
I look forward to updates on how the treatments go for Ace and how he changes as a result. I know Jason was much less fussy after he’s neck/back stuff was corrected.
My chiro said it can be tough for twins b/c they are so cramped in there.. Good luck.
I really hope the Chiropractor works. Poor little guy. I will be sending good thougts your way.
I just have to post b/c that picture is the most adorable and heartbreaking thing I have ever seen! Poor little baby! I am so glad he’s got such an attentive and resourceful Mama. Sommer, it sounds like if there’s anyone in the world who will figure out how to make this baby happy, it will be you – good luck!
Oh what a sad little face. :( I hope the chiropractic works for him. He’s such a cutie pie. Your whole family is so sweet! Just wanted you to know that you and yours are never far from my thoughts. {{{hugs}}}
poor little guy. I hope he feels happier soon!!
Sounds like the chiro will really be a great help! The hypoallergenic formula was a complete disaster for my son (severe food allergies- long story)- BF is definitely better, no matter what. Another thought would be to rid yourself completely of regular dairy and switch to all raw and cultured raw dairy products. Quality raw milk and it’s products are WAY better for us and not nearly as allergenic. The process of pasteurization and homogenization make the milk VERY allergenic (and gives some people lactose problems that actually aren’t lactose intolerant). Going to raw and fermented/cultured raw dairy has been a wonderful experience for my whole family. Look at the benefits at http://www.westonaprice.org. They can help you find safe raw dairy in your area.
HTH
Jen
Awww, sweet baby. That picture speaks volumes. GL with figuring out what is bothering him.
Sommer,
JT also had torticollis and we did PT for it. I wish that I’d have thought of the chiro!! It never occured to me…
Such a smart mommy!! ;)
Oh, and the hypo-allergenic formula that we used didn’t have any milk or soy…that’s odd that some do.
Poor little guy! Hope the chiropractor can help and that he starts to show that he really is….hang in there!
Poor little guy – but that face is so adorable, even though he’s not happy. That photograph is a keeper Sommer.
It sounds like you’ve found the answer.
We also had a mild problem with this. We were taught neck stretches by the PT and though they hated the actual stretching time it totally made a difference. I agree with another comment that you should be able to get PT to come to the house to help you with stretches. Good luck!
that’s like the saddest face ever! Awww… poor guy, I hope that the chiropractor works out and his sadness is replaced with giggles and smiles.