Adjusted.

A miracle has transpired in our house. A MIRACLE. Its called Chiropractic care. Call me crazy but I have totally crossed over to one of "those alternative people". Im not changing my name to karma, or going vegan....but I am making some pretty significant lifestyle changes.

It all started when Brigitte was born. As you may recall...she was Rosemary's Baby. The screaming. The colic. The Insomnia. She nearly killed me as a first time parent. Her pediatrician called her "spirited" and suggested I join a support group. haha. But no, she was serious.

As most of you know, Brigitte is WILD. She would wake up around 2 am and sing and play LOUDLY until 5am. Nothing we did helped her to stay asleep. We skipped daytime naps, we kept her up later and later. We even tried a small dose of melatonin. I swear all those things just egged her on. And then....Spencer was born. Straight up - girlfriend didnt sleep for 3. solid. days. And then I lost my mind.

Spencer was perfectly content and quiet for the first two weeks. And then, it was like a switch flipped and he was broken. His pooper quit working for days at a time, and when he did go it was slimy and green. His tummy was rock hard, and he cried. ALL the time. It was like Brigitte the sequel. I still distinctly remember sitting downstairs at 4 am rocking a crying baby, turning on yo gabba gabba for Brigitte who was running around like a madwoman....and myself. Clutching a diet coke while I cried right along with Spencer. I knew Gabe would be leaving for work soon and I had to pull the wagon all alone. Rock bottom my friends.

I briefly considered prozac. Or shock treatments. And then realized I really wasn't suffering from depression...I just couldnt cope with my out of control kids. Somehow by the graces of divine intervention - my incredible friend Bonnie called one day to just check in and see how I was doing. It was obvious that I had reached the point of no return with my kids because I offered them to her on the spot. For keeps.

Bonnie is the type of mother that I always wanted to be. Organic, nurturing, easy going. She had all four of her gorgeous babies at home with a midwife. She even home-schools them occasionally when they arent attending their family centered christian school. And...she strongly believes in chiropractic care. I nannied for her about 10 years ago and remember watching her 2 year old Hayden make believe he was the chiropractor and gave his dad Brian an adjustment. It was super funny - but honestly I really didnt get what the big deal was. How could adjusting your small children be of any benefit? 

Bonnie asked me over the phone: Have you considered taking them to a chiropractor? A light bulb went on. Oh yeah, the CHIROPRACTOR! No I had not even thought about it. She basically asked me what I had to lose by trying it out. My only hang up was what if they somehow broke my babies! What if they cranked their necks right off and crippled them for life?? She laughed at me. My babies were already broken, remember?

So I booked an appointment with her family's chiropractor Dr. Dudley. He was the same one I had taken her boys to years ago when her oldest was Brigitte's age. A nice, LDS, dad of 5 - I figured as far as I could tell he was the safest choice for us! I told Gabe we were going in and forced him to come along. I wanted him to see and be comfortable with the treatments. And...ok, I wanted him to be equally to blame in case it failed :)

So we went in. The kids got scanned. The problems were obvious. We compared a normal spine to theirs and saw the differences. Dr. Dudley basically told us that if the sleeping issues and colic were at all related to the misalignments in their spines, that they would resolve in about 2 weeks if not sooner. I was skeptical....yet hopeful. We agreed to a 12 week treatment plan and began taking Brigitte and Spencer both in 2-3 times a week. 

The adjustments were nothing what I thought they would be. There was no giant cracking of their necks. In fact, Dr. Dudley uses an activator (what Brigitte lovingly refers to as the "clicker") and he just touches it to their spine and "clicks" it back into place where it should be. Its hard to explain. But I was excited and relieved when I saw what little it was going to take to get them properly aligned. 

 

Brace yourselves. IT WAS MIRACULOUS! Spencer's colic resolved 100% by the end of the first week. He pooped with ease. Bright yellow mustard poop! He cried no more. He even slept through the night! My gentle loving fat baby had returned!!!

Brigitte - well what can I say. By the second week she was completely sleeping through the night. COMPLETELY. No more late night parties!!! And she was taking a great 2-3 hour nap in the day. She was like a whole new person. Still wild and crazy - but better. MUCH better! My family couldnt believe the changes in her they were so drastic. My mom said - Christy, you HAVE to blog this! Its unbelievable!

So we are definitely believers. The kids are on maintenance now, getting adjusted monthly or as needed. In fact last week Spencer was fussy for 3 days so I took him in. Dr. Dudley said yup, he's tweaked a little bit! He adjusted him and Voila! Back to normal. 

This experience has been so fascinating - and completely lifesaving. I dont really know what I would have done if I had endured months and months of the craziness that had erupted earlier this year. Dr. Dudley is a miracle worker :) So much so that Gabe is now going regularly and I even went in for a week when my neck muscles froze. We've crossed over.

I was surprised at how much coverage our health insurance gave us. 20 visits per person every year. Its not cheap - but its worth every penny. And I consider it preventative maintenance. Id much rather pay now for chiropractic care, then have hospital bills later for my nervous breakdown :)

Its amazing how much this one act has changed our every day lives. It makes me want to cook healthier (we've gone mostly Organic now whenever possible, and Ive been downing green smoothies by the gallon!) and just the awareness of taking care of our bodies gives me a sense of satisfaction I really can't explain! 

Ever since Brigitte was born we have been on the fence about giving her immunizations. Now with Spencer in the picture we are revisiting the options. I am still researching on that and would love any feedback you and your families have on the subject. I know there are pros and cons either way, but until we decide for sure, we have chosen to not give them any more shots. Im not sure if I want to spread them out, wait until they are older, or withhold them altogether. Again, I know the risks both ways. Im just curious how many of you out there possibly went your own route like we might do. 

Anyway. There you have it. We are well adjusted now. HALLELUJAH!