As a parent, I understand it can be overwhelming to know where to start when your child faces challenges, whether it's eating, sleeping, pooping, development, or immune challenges. It can be difficult to figure out where to turn for help.
I want to help unpack some of these challenges. From my experience as both a parent and a healthcare provider, I've learned that the little things, such as eating, sleeping, and pooping struggles, can be tied to more significant challenges like sensory challenges and behavior troubles.
At Pinnacle, it’s not uncommon to see behavior and sleep issues linked or sensory and digestion challenges correlated. Therefore, before we move forward, we need to take a step back and look at neurodevelopment. By doing so, we can help our kids engage in their healing journey and facilitate their progress.
Every child's healing journey involves going back through their developmental milestones, which is critical to see and help them get better. It may sound simple, but it's essential. Therefore, I want to focus on three crucial aspects of your child's health: eating, sleeping, and pooping.
I will explain why they're so important and the correlation between them and the birth and development process. Additionally, I will highlight how all these factors tie together to help children be their best selves.
Eating
Let’s start by addressing eating. Proper nourishment is critical for a child’s health and development. If they struggle with eating and nursing, it can lead to issues later on. It is so important to ensure that the neck and head control, rooting reflex, and muscles needed for eating and digesting are working correctly from the start.
Sleeping
If they don’t have a full belly, they may not sleep. Similarly, sleep is a crucial aspect of a baby's development, and it's common for parents to struggle immensely when their baby can't sleep well. It’s so common for me to talk to a parent in our office who says they can’t remember the last time their baby slept well. Poor sleep patterns can start early on, even from birth. The birth process may cause tension, arching, and discomfort right from the start, leading to sleep struggles. Eating and sleeping go hand in hand, and a baby who isn't eating well is likely to struggle with sleep as well.
Digestion
Finally, digestion is what ties everything together. The autonomic nervous system helps the body process food and move it through easily. If a baby can't digest food properly, it can cause issues with everything else. The first four months of development are crucial for eating, sleeping, and pooping on autopilot, and if a baby isn't doing these things properly, it's likely due to issues with the nervous system.
The nervous system and brain controls all three of these functions, and if something is off, every other system will struggle. So often, standard pediatricians chase the symptoms - the sensory challenges, behaviors, etc. But we need to go back and look at the simple yet crucial aspects of your baby’s development - how are they sleeping, eating, and pooping? By looking at the nervous system, we can help babies with any issues they may have with eating, sleeping, and digestion. This is where neurologically focused pediatric chiropractic care comes in.
If you aren’t local to us in the Bradenton/Sarasota area, take a look at our directory to find a trained PX Doc near you and connect with a pediatric chiropractor who can help unpack your baby's development, identify any issues, and get their nervous system back on track.
Remember that your baby's body is fully capable of working through issues and healing itself. Other positive results will follow by addressing the root of the problem and getting their nervous system working at its full potential.
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