Acupuncture

Yep, it is true. We have given ourselves over to Eastern medicine. Well, not entirely, but I decided to take Ella to see an acupuncturist yesterday. Not having very much experience with acupuncture myself and being a practitioner of Western medicine, I am of course just a wee bit skeptical. But, I know that many people swear by acupuncture to ease many different types of ailments. In fact, if you have it, they can pretty much claim to help it. So, in light of Ella's sleep issues, I thought, "why not?" I am willing to try anything. And they don't actually stick needles into your baby. They use a practice called shonni-shin treatments and Tuina massage without the use of needles. There is a community clinic on Mondays at The Women's Wellness and Education Center for only $25 for the initial visit and $20 for follow up visits. And you even get to make appointments so you don't have to sit around and wait forever. I was taking Ella in for sleep problems and digestive problems and of course, wouldn't you know it, I actually had to wake her up from a nap to get to our appointment on time. Seemed a little counter productive. Oh well. The acupuncturist, Natalie Allard, was actually very down to earth, very nice, and offered plenty of practical advice to help with the sleeping problems. She spent a large amount of time with us and the nice thing about alternative medicine practitioners is that they really listen and take many aspects of the problem into consideration, not just focusing on the main problem. After talking for a while, she performed the gentle technique which Ella found quite harmless and may have even enjoyed. And the results? Well, of course it is hard to know for sure, but she went to sleep on the first attempt last night and although she woke a number of times, she was easy to get back to sleep which is unusual. There were no inconsolable crying fits. And tonight, the same pattern so far. But is is only 8:20 PM. Who knows what the rest of the evening may hold in store for us. But I am hopeful and encouraged. There is definitely an improvement. Coincidence? Maybe. But I am willing to give it another shot next Monday. I don't really care why she is sleeping better, I just care that she is. And maybe I would try acupuncture for myself at some later time for some future problem. Who knows? It has been around for a very long time. There might be something to it.