Does my baby have an oral tie?

Does my baby have an oral tie?

You may be asking yourself this question if your baby is having trouble latching on to breastfeed.  There are many factors to consider when breastfeeding becomes an issue, oral ties being one of them. If you feel your baby may have a lip or tongue tie that is affecting their ability to latch on, listen to your motherly instinct and find a provider that can help you troubleshoot the issue.

The two common oral ties are:

• Lip tie-  when the tissue connecting the lip to gum line is too short and tight

• Tongue tie- the tissue under the tongue is also tight and can cause issues with the tongues range of motion

Things to Look Out for:

• Excessive gas and burping

• Releasing their latch frequently during feeding

• Pain while nursing

• Hard time gaining weight

• Excessive hiccups

• Does not hold on to a pacifier

• Baby chomps on the breast/nipple/bottle

• Clicking while feeding

• Milk drooling from side of mouth

• Tongue doesn’t have wide range of motion

Who Can Help:

• Lactation Consultant- Can help asses the issues and symptoms you are experiencing while providing helpful tips/support

• Pediatric Dentist- Can release the tie through laser therapy

• Chiropractor- We provide support before and after oral tie revisions to ensure better recovery, oral and cranial work to release tension regardless of revision

When you schedule your baby’s first visit with us one of the things we do during that initial exam is asses their oral structure, cranium and full spine. We can help you identify whether or not your baby has a tie and what you can do to support them. A lot of times doctors pressure parents into getting a laser procedure done without any therapy, we like to take a chiropractic approach and try to release tension in the mouth with routine adjustments and therapy. We prefer this gentle approach however, if a revision is deemed necessary we can connect you to some of our most trusted providers.

Pediatric Chiropractic Care

Think about taking your child to their first dentist appointment at the age of 46, how would their teeth look? What if you waited this long to take your child to the chiropractor? How many issues could be avoided throughout their childhood just by seeing a chiropractor. Starting your child off early with chiropractic care is a sure way to help your child thrive.

What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic comes from the greek words “praxis” and “cheir” meaning to practice or treat using your hands.
According to the American Chiropractic Association, chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health.

Why do kids need chiropractic?

The first year of a child’s life is the most critical. Babies are going through many different stages, from delivery to breastfeeding, rolling over, crawling and all the way up until they can walk. With all of these changes it’s important that the spine is aligned to help children to reach their milestones on time, if not earlier. At our office, we see babies with latching difficulties, lack of sleep, lack of or slow bowel movements, reflux or torticollis. And a lot of the times, we see kiddos with no complaints, who come in for wellness visits to make sure they’re hitting their milestones. The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association initiated a groundbreaking study on the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for children. The preliminary results are outstanding and show that chiropractic care is safe for children. Even more significant is that parents reported three unexpected improvements with their child’s care:
Improved sleeping
Improved behavior and attitude
Improved immune system function

What does chiropractic care involve?

A pediatric session would start with a consultation which goes over any past medical history, issues/difficulties, diet, and physical activity. You will also review any nutritional supplements you or your child may take, eating habits and diet, as nutrition is an important part of a healthy child. Then next step is the exam portion, Dr. Ashtiani will be looking to check for things such as primitive reflexes and depending on the child’s age, and gait analysis. Depending on the child’s age, corrective/strengthening exercises will be given in office to work on muscular imbalance and parents will be given homework to do with their little ones. The next step is the adjustment, any of the following techniques could be used:

Craniosacral Therapy
Logan Technique
Activator
Top three things to take home from the first session typically include: strengthening/corrective exercises, diet changes and/or incorporation of nutritional supplements, and the parents looking for subtle changes from visit to visit (if the child had any complaints).

Does it hurt?

Not at all! With pediatric care, we apply a gentle touch, any pressure is equivalent to you feeling a tomato at the grocery store.

How long does it take?

After the initial visit, any follow up appointments can range anywhere from 10-15 minutes.

Is it safe?

Yes! They key to safety in pediatric chiropractic is education. Dr. Ashtiani is trained by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. She has taken more than 200+ hours including the following courses:

Perinatal Care with Webster Certification
Cranial Eval & Adjusting Protocols for the Infant and Child
The Essentials of Chiropractic: Adjusting the Infant and Education in the Perinatal Period

How can I tell if my child’s spine isn’t in alignment?

Some signs to look for are:
Disrupted sleeping patterns
Breastfeeding/latching difficulties
One shoulder higher than the other
Colicy babies
Tummy troubles

Baby Wearing

Baby wearing has been around for years and is being utilized all over the world! There are so many reasons why people choose to wear their little ones. Baby wearing is when your little one is placed in a carrier that you wear. This carrier can be a wrap, sling, or structured carrier. Some people do it while they are out and about running their errands, others use to put their little ones to sleep, others use it to get things done around the house or at work. 

Here are some benefits of baby wearing:

1. A sense of security for baby. After spending 9 months in mamas belly, the new world can be a bit overwhelming! As you wear your baby, they can feel you, smell you, and see you. 

2. Baby wearing is great for babies who are fussy, have colic, or reflux. Since baby is in an upright position, close to you, and moving they are happier and tend to spit up less.

3. You can breastfeed! 

4. Baby wearing puts less pressure on your wrists, arms, and shoulders. 

5. Great for baby's physical development. This way baby spends less time on their back in car seat, floor, bassinet and swing. 

6. Gives your arm the freedom to do stuff! You can work on the computer, do the dishes, make dinner, play with your other little one. The possibilities are endless! 

7. Great workout! You are now carrying 6+ pounds of weight...now every time you drop something on the ground do a squat to pick it up ;)

8. Easier to get to places. It's hard pushing a stroller around in large crowds or places with uneven ground.

9. Great way to keep strangers and germs away from your baby. Not everyone understands that its not OK to touch a someone else's baby without permission. 

10. It's a great way to bond! This is great for mom and dad! 

Things to look for when purchasing a carrier:

1. Material: you want something thats not too thick. If you decide to get a fabric wrap, make sure its breathable because heat rash is a real thing...especially in this Texas heat!

2. Back support for little babe: Baby's back should be supported in a natural position while their chest and stomach are against yours. Baby should not uncurl or get closer to you after touching their back.

3. Hip support: The baby's legs should make be in a  "M" position, with their knees being higher than their bottom, and their thighs and bottom carrying more weight. 

4. Breathable: You want to keep the baby's airway open by keeping their chin off of their chest. Use the two finger trick to make sure that you can fit two fingers between their chin and chest.

5. Fit: make sure that the baby is snug against you. You want to avoid baby possibly falling out or being too loose in the carrier.

My recommendation:

1. Tuck & Bundle: this is one of my favorite fabric wraps!

   • It's long, breathable and good quality fabric!

   • It comes in lots of cute colors as well

   • Great ergonomic fit "M" shape 

   • And a bonus is that the wrap is from San Antonio, Texas! Shop local ;)

   • I like this wrap for little ones under the 18 months

   • Can wear little ones up to 25 pounds

   • Machine washable

   • They have a great "how to video" 

   • https://tuckandbundleshop.com/pages/instructions

2. Ergobaby Omni 360:

   • I prefer this carrier for little ones after 12 months

   • Grows with baby from week 1 to 48 months

   • Fits babies 7-45 pounds

   • Machine washable

   • You can wear little one in the forward, back or hip carry

   • Great ergonomic fit "M" shape 

   • Has a baby privacy hood, to keep sun or strangers away

Neck Favoring in Infants, When is it a Concern?

Does your little one favor breastfeeding on one side? Do they prefer to sleep with their head turned to one side? Do they struggle and fuss when you try to move their head? Well these are some of the signs that your little one may have a condition that we called torticollis. That's just a fancy term for when the Sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) gets really tight and is in prolonged muscle contraction. 

What causes torticollis?
Babies can be born with it or it can take up to three months for it to show. Unfortunately doctors aren't sure why some babies get torticollis and others don't. Some say that it could be due to the position of the fetus in utero. That can be from a breech or transverse position. During birth, the use of forceps or vacuum devices also makes a baby more likely to develop it. 

What is the Sternocleidomastoid muscle?
This large muscle is located in the neck on both sides. It starts from behind the ear and travels to the collarbone. The action of the muscle is to rotate the head to the opposite direction while laterally bending to the same direction (i.e. right SCM muscle bends the neck to the right and torates it to the left). 

What are some signs and symptoms?

• They prefer to breastfeed on one side vs the other

• They prefer looking over one shoulder when help up right vs the other

• They get fussy when you try to move their head

• They don't turn their head from side to side on their own (this can be difficult to notice when they are younger)

• During tummy-time they lay their head to the favored side

• You may notice flattening on the side and/or back of head on the side they prefer to turn their head to 

How we can help:
We would first do an exam to make sure that your child does have the condition. From there we will start doing some streches and exercises around the neck and shoulder to open up space. After that we will teach the parents how to gently massage your infants neck muscles at home. Following the massage, we will do a gentle neck adjustment to make sure that the joints are moving well without any restrictions. And finally, we will send you home with some homework after you treatment! 

What to do at home in the meantime?
Tummy time, timmy time, tummy time!! It is extremely important to build strength within your child neck so that they can better control their head. This helps with the torticollis and flattening of the head. You can start with 2-3 minutes at a time every couple of hours. Gradually work your way to 10 minutes and eventually you'll be at a point where you wont be noticing the time because baby will enjoy being on their tummy!

Benefits of Infant Exercise

We've all heard of doing bicycles for your babies to help with gas, but did you know that there are also other benefits that support the gross motor milestones to come?
We like to encourage our parents to do some of the exercises during diaper changes to make it a routine. Now, some of the names of the exercises we do sound like the same stuff we do ourselves at the gym...so you ask...are we trying to give our babies a six pack?!
Our goal is to always think long term when we do exercises with little ones. We want support for head control, rolling over, sitting, crawling, standing, cruising, and walking. Sure every kid eventually walks...but why wait and see when it happens, why not give your child some extra support now?

Infant exercises can help with:

• Bonding: thats extra quality time between you and your baby to make physcial and eye contact.

• Sleep: who doesn't sleep better after being active all day? It's the same for babies, being stimulated and engaged helps them rest longer or easier when its time to sleep.

• Less gas and/or constipation: Have you ever noticed that when you sit on the couch all day, eat and binge watch some show on netflix that your bowel movements have a different consistency that when your active, up and moving? Same goes for our babies. 

• Increasing range of motion: muscles and joints require movement! Babies who tend to lay on their back in the same position have a higher chance of having a misshapen head (flattening of their occiput) and tight neck muscles (torticollis). 

• Increasing body awareness: stimulating your little one’s senses of touch and proprioception can help them learn about their body and how to move it in deliberate ways.

• Strengthening muscles: when your baby does exercises with you, they will flex their muscles which in turn help strengthen them.

• Building muscle tone: muscle tone allows the babies to stabilize their muscles. This is really important because as infants they rely on muscle tone to help stabilize their head during tummy time and as they grow and sit up. 

Debugging Chiropractic Myths

With social media all around us as well as our friends and families opinions we all have heard that going to the chiropractor “is bad for your bones” or the common “what if they break something?” Chiropractors are not as scary as they look or seem, especially Dr. Ashtiani! Chiropractors do just the opposite of breaking your body, they really help put it all back together. Below are 5 common chiropractor myths that need debugging.

1. Getting an adjustment hurts
While some people call chiropractors “bonecrushers”, this is just a myth. Many people experience great relief after receiving an adjustment. When your body is aligned the rest of your body can properly do its job! Children and some adults are sometimes nervous when it comes to receiving an adjustment, but there is nothing to be concerned about. Before Dr. Ashtiani does anything to you or your body she clearly explains what she is going to do, where she will be placing her hands, and makes you feel as relaxed as possible. You have to understand that a chiropractor understands the skeletal and muscular system in a way that allows them to find the source of problems and make adjustments to correct and alleviate any pain you might have. Also, Dr. Ashtiani uses a variety of techniques to aid in the adjustment, so if hearing a pop scares you, fear not…she has plenty of other techniques that she can use that are safe and effective!

2. Once I start, I’ll be going forever
This isn’t true! Now can you come to us forever? Sure! We would love to see you, but most of the time theres no need for you to be coming in multiple times during the week or even weekly. Depending on the care that you need and what Dr. Ashtiani recommends we usually see our wellness patients once a month. Now with that being said, everyone comes into our office for a different condition so its important to know that what is recommended for one person may not be whats needed for you. Acute or chronic injuries do require more visits. Also taking the time to listen to your body is so important, if your body says that you need the extra care don’t wait till your next appointment, getting in front of your wellness is priority.

3. It’s expensive
When compared to most visits to the doctor’s office, chiropractic care is actually less expensive. Considering long-term treatment plans that can involve medication, surgery, or intensive physical therapy, chiropractic care can often provide a less expensive, natural, healthy alternative. Its always cheaper to take care of your body when you’re healthy compared to waiting until you need major medical interventions involved. Although we do not take insurance we do accept HSA/FSA and can provide you with a superbill which can be turned into your insurance for a possible refund.

4. Chiropractors are not real doctors
There is a common misconception that chiropractors are less qualified and under educated than medical doctors. Chiropractors attend 4 years of undergraduate school and go on to receive their doctorate after another 4 to 5 years of studies. They must also pass State and National board certifications to become licensed. Dr. Ashtiani graduated from UTSA with her Bachelors in Biology and Masters in Health Promotion. She continued her academics to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Texas Chiropractic College in Houston, Texas. She also gained 200+ hours of experience in both the Webster Technique and from the Academy Council of Chiropractic Pediatrics.

5. It’s only for adults
NO! Many of our patients that come to see us are under the age of 2! Many children, including infants and toddlers can benefit greatly from chiropractic care. Some studies reveal a 80-90% reduction in colic with 1 treatment. Bring your little one to the chiropractor is like taking them to the dentist, everyone should go. Their growing bodies need just as much care as yours!