So, here's an update following little Nya's visit to the cranial osteopath. Verdict is that she is very tense across the back of her shoulders and in her neck, which will most definitely be making her very miserable by the time she has slogged it out through the day and got to bedtime. He also said it is possible that the tension will be giving her headaches, which would certainly make her miserable and grumpy. It would also explain why her sleep is never very deep and restful. She is also starting to get a flat head - probably because she's not turning her head much when she's sleeping because it is uncomfortable for her to do so. The flat head will also be starting to put more strain on her ligaments around her skull and in her neck, which will just all be adding to her discomfort.
Anyway, best course of treatment - baby massage!! 1-0 to Annpan! Osteo gave her a good massage and showed me how to do a few things (like 'monkey in the tree'...). She sat there very happily letting him get on with it - she was probably just grateful that someone was finally helping her! She then had a lovely 90 minute kip in the pushchair on the way home, had her afternoon nap (which I recently gave up on as she screamed so much when I tried to settle her that it became not worth the effort), and went to bed tonight without crying once. In fact, she was even
smiling at me when I was getting her settled.
I hope it wasn't a fluke or a one-off. I've ordered a baby massage book and will look into some local classes. Fingers crossed this will be the start of some better sleeping patterns for her, and also for me
