I Chickened Out!

I had a chance last week to challenge myself in combining parenting with work. A play group for kids combined with a presentation for the moms.

I did a practice run on Tuesday. Scarlett came to the playgroup and had a blast. She played in a bouncy castle, with balls, and blocks, and other kids, and fell in love with a "fishy train" (Ride on train in a Finding Nemo style). She loved the train too much, and we ended the play group by dragging her out shoe-less and crying for the fishy train. And then I heard about the fishy train for the next couple of days, and she dragged her own train to the office, onto the couch, anywhere we would let her.

What did I do while she was playing? I tried to listen to that day's presenter, Lisa Kathleen of Full Circle Parenting. (Wonderful advice! and did I get to hear barely any of it?).

Thursday came and I was scheduled to speak on Chiropractic for Pregnant Moms and Babies. While the kids play group was on. That's when I chickened out and sent Scarlett to work with her dad so I could think at the same time that I was speaking.

I would have loved to have seen if I could have juggled it, but I probably guessed right, that it was a little out of my league.

If you'd like to check out the playgroups and see who is speaking, just ask at Leela Eco Spa and Studio & Enjoy!

Network Care for Kids

I chanced upon this video about Kids and Network Care. This is the technique that we use in the office for everyone under care, and I love that it is so effective for kids. Watch it! http://www.youtube.com/user/smorra2010#p/a/u/2/MoGghgPkae0

Unusual Sightings

I've seen a few things that have caught me off guard this week:

1. A pair of jack rabbits in our local park/playground. (Yes the same park that was sprayed with Killex before the rains.) We've seen them three times in this park and about 2-3 more in the neighborhood. First it was one rabbit, hopping around the playground equipment and along the fence. On Tuesday it was two rabbits lounging in the grass. Today, in the rain, it was three playing around the playground equipment. Just like in a kid's counting book. Scarlett doesn't say the word for rabbit or bunny, but will say "hop hop hop".
2. Walking by Bowness High School, I saw a teen get out of a cab. Do some kids really take cabs to school?
3. After our swim class, I saw a woman walk by with a preschooler, and a baby tucked into a shoulder bag. I looked at her repeatedly, because it was not a baby carrier, or sling, but a plain old bag carried over one shoulder with a baby sitting in the bag, at her belly button height. Has anyone seen this before? The baby could hold its head up, so it must have been over 6 months or so, but how could it's body possibly fit? Needless to say, I don't think that is very safe for any one involved.

And I don't think this is unusual, but yesterday at the office, somebody asked, "Why are there all of these kids around here?".

I had not thought that this may be viewed as unusual because we do tend to see a number of babies, and moms with pregnant bellies, and kids of various ages. But for this man, it was apparently as unusual as my unusual sightings. Do you think it is unusual to see kids at a chiropractic office? I can't possibly cover all the reasons that I see kids at the office, but for more information on this, please visit http://www.icpa4kids.org/, which is the International Pediatric Chiropractic Association. It's something that should be viewed as usual!

Productive Nap Time

I assume many Mompreneurs will say this, half of the business day can be squeezed into your babe's nap time.

Our house now revolves around an afternoon nap time. We get home or back into the house around lunch and hopefully down for a nap shortly after. And the days that I'm lucky, I can fit in 2-3 hours of work! (Of course, I listen to the advice and many days I will choose to drink my tea, read a little, write, blog, etc. over the thought of doing any work)

Of course, this is not time that I spend with clients, but is paperwork time. Today I had the fortune to work on my educational credits. I was reviewing research on PMS, dysmenorrhea, and connections to diet and lifestyle, and all of it was presented by two MEN! Just to confuse the matter for me, because the entire time I was listening to them present about afflictions of the female body I kept thinking, "Wouldn't this be more appropriate coming from a woman?" Anyhow, in case you did not already know, take your B6 vitamins, your omega 3 fats, your chaste berry tree fruit, your fibre, your primrose oil and flax and reduce your salt, alcohol, sugar, and other bad vices. And it must be old information because they were still encouraging the use of soy-where have I been? I thought that was a no-no now. (Please note: None of this information is intended to be used as medical advice. Talk to your doctor about your situation.) And as an aside, I have found in my practice that chiropractic adjustments can help to relieve many symptoms associated with PMS and painful cycles.

Today was a very productive nap time. It was such a long nap that Scott is now running after Scarlett at 9:45 pm tonight. Ooops.

The Shoemaker's Daughter

Hopefully we all know the story, the shoemaker who made shoes for all of the children and people of the village, but wasn't able to provide shoes for his own children.


Before you worry, let me assure you that my child has an abundance of shoes (or enough, I'm trying to keep it to a manageable number of pairs). And clothes. And toys. There is no lack or need in our house. And we do tend to her health in many ways, which will soon be my subject.


(Scarlett is voluntarily on this table. Lately she's been coming into the office, grabbing a face cloth, and then standing at the table with her arms outstretched and says "up, up, up".)

Being a chiropractor, and one that sees families in the office, I am frequently asked if I adjust Scarlett, why, and how often. The answers are, of course I do! for many reasons, and it varies. I first adjusted her on Day 1 or 2 of her life & trust me that I had guilt that I hadn't adjusted her within minutes of being born. When I first adjusted her, she had been sleeping/dozing, and her eyes popped open and she threw up. I worried briefly that I had wrecked her, before I reassured myself that it was a good release for her. And she was fine. We have had periods of time when I realize that a month has passed since her last adjustment (the horror), but some times I adjust her daily, or multiple times a day. For instance, at the moment, I am adjusting her multiple times a day in an attempt to make her poop. (sorry, don't all blogs with babies eventually come to the subject?). Which brings me to the shoemaker.

If the shoemaker can makes shoes, shouldn't all his children have shoes? If a chiropractor can adjust, shouldn't all her children be healthy and well adjusted?


To address why I adjust kids. Many, many reasons. The easy answer is, to keep their spine and nervous system balanced, which can help with a number of different things in the body. Through case studies, adjustments may be able to help with ear infections, colic, constipation, asthma, back pain, headaches, etc. The other easy answer is to visit the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association's website, http://www.icpa4kids.org/, for lots of information. I adjust Scarlett because I believe that when her nervous system is balanced and clear of stress, then she is at her optimum and her body works as it should. I would like to stress the word should, as there must always be exceptions. And while our daughter is very healthy, strong, coordinated, funny, completely on track for all things her age, and has never been seriously ill, of course I worry about the little health problems. While most other little babies and kids in the office seem to spontaneously poop after an adjustment (true, very common side effect), it doesn't happen the same way with Scarlett. But still I am perplexed because I know chiropractic works!

To reassure my troubled mind... My latest "WOW" story for kids and chiropractic is a toddler who slept very poorly. At his second adjustment, I asked his mom, "how was his sleep?" "Well, he slept 9 hours after his first adjustment." I immediately have, of all emotions, ENVY! Because our little darling is also not a great sleeper, although she still is a breast feeding, co-sleeper, which may explain our poor sleep. So Scarlett is lacking in sleep and poop.

Not that I think chiropractic is the only option, please don't assume that. We've looked at diet, visited our Naturopath, and tried homeopathics. Our medical doctor is not concerned. I could also just blame it on toddler behavior, or to breastfeeding (breastfed infants can eliminate frequently or not so frequently, does this still apply to her?), changes in diet, or teething. That's the fortunate thing about parenting, there are always many factors that you can use as an excuse.

I have been told that our children are here to challenge our beliefs and question everything we do, and I get that. I appreciate that my daughter is her own little person with her own responses and her own way to learn about her body and her life. I am constantly amazed at the personality that is growing and expressing and I believe that is the greatest chiropractic gift that I can give her. By helping her nervous system to be adaptable to her stresses I feel I am helping her manage some of the filters that many of us become burdened with over time, and hopefully keep her true to who she is. Which brings me back to the shoemaker once again. Possibly, the shoemaker was willing and able to provide his child with shoes, and had them available, but when the shoes were presented, the child chose not to wear them. I'm pretty sure that if I was a shoemaker, my child would be running around barefoot. Feeling the grass and mud squish between her toes, and laughing in delight at her perplexed parent.