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Your baby keeps food down. Feedings don’t end in arching, crying, or another outfit change. You’re not up every hour wondering if tonight’s the night things get better.
That’s what parents notice first after starting care—not some vague improvement, but actual changes. Babies who were spitting up constantly start keeping more milk down. The painful gas in newborns that had you walking the halls at 3 AM starts to ease. Sleep stretches get longer, for everyone.
This isn’t about masking symptoms with medication. It’s about addressing why your baby’s nervous system isn’t regulating digestion the way it should. When that communication between brain and gut works better, the whole system settles. You see it in how your baby eats, sleeps, and just exists in their own body without constant discomfort.
Dr. Roses specializes in pediatric chiropractic care, which means the techniques we use aren’t scaled-down adult adjustments. They’re designed specifically for infants—gentle enough that babies often sleep through them, precise enough to make a difference.
Families in Our Lady of Mercy and throughout Park Ridge come to us because they want someone who’s seen hundreds of babies with colic and reflux, not someone who occasionally treats kids between adult patients. The approach is different when you focus on one thing and do it well.
You’ll understand what’s happening at every visit. No rushing through explanations or handing you a pamphlet. Just clear answers about what’s causing your baby’s discomfort and what gentle baby adjustments actually do to help.
Your first visit starts with questions about your baby’s birth, feeding patterns, and when the reflux symptoms showed up. Birth trauma—even from normal deliveries—can affect spinal alignment and nerve function, especially the vagus nerve that controls digestion.
The exam is gentle. Dr. Roses checks for areas where your baby’s spine isn’t moving the way it should, particularly in the upper neck and mid-back where nerves communicate with the stomach and intestines. These restrictions can interfere with the signals that control how food moves through your baby’s system.
Adjustments use about the same pressure you’d use to test if a tomato is ripe. That’s it. Most sessions last 10-15 minutes, and many babies relax or fall asleep during treatment. You’ll typically start with visits twice a week, then space them out as symptoms improve. Some parents notice changes after the first visit. Others see gradual improvement over a few weeks as the nervous system resets and digestion regulates.
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Every visit includes a full assessment of how your baby’s responding to care. You’re not just in and out. Dr. Roses tracks changes in feeding tolerance, spit-up frequency, sleep patterns, and overall comfort between visits.
You’ll also get practical guidance on positioning during and after feeds, signs your baby has a nervous system imbalance, and what to watch for as symptoms improve. Many families in Our Lady of Mercy appreciate having someone who understands both the physical treatment and the day-to-day reality of managing infant reflux at home.
The focus stays on your baby’s specific presentation. Some infants have silent reflux with minimal spitting up but obvious pain. Others have frequent regurgitation but seem comfortable. Treatment adjusts based on what your baby needs, not a one-size-fits-all protocol. And because this is drug-free care, you’re not dealing with medication side effects or wondering about long-term impacts on your baby’s developing system.
Most parents start noticing subtle shifts within the first three to four visits—things like longer sleep stretches, less fussiness during feeds, or reduced spitting up. That said, every baby’s nervous system responds at its own pace.
Babies with mild reflux might show significant improvement in two to three weeks with twice-weekly visits. More severe cases, especially when there’s been birth trauma or the reflux has been ongoing for months, typically need consistent care over four to six weeks before you see major changes. The goal isn’t to keep you coming indefinitely. It’s to restore normal nerve function so your baby’s digestive system can regulate itself.
You’ll know it’s working when the changes stick. Your baby keeps food down more consistently, seems more comfortable after eating, and you’re not constantly doing laundry or wondering if you should head to the ER.
The pressure used during an infant adjustment is incredibly light—comparable to the touch you’d use checking if fruit is ripe. There’s no twisting, no popping, nothing that looks or feels like what you might picture from adult chiropractic care.
Dr. Roses uses fingertip pressure on specific points along your baby’s spine, particularly where nerves exit and communicate with organs like the stomach. The adjustment itself takes just a few seconds per area. Most babies don’t cry. Many actually calm down or fall asleep during treatment because the gentle pressure is soothing and relieves tension they’ve been holding.
You’ll be right there the whole time, and everything gets explained as it happens. If your baby does fuss, the session pauses. The entire approach is designed around your baby’s comfort, not pushing through to complete a technique.
Frequent spitting up usually points to an immature or disrupted digestive system. In infants, the valve between the esophagus and stomach isn’t fully developed yet, which is why some reflux is normal. But when it’s happening after every feeding, there’s often a nervous system component.
The vagus nerve controls the muscles that move food through your baby’s digestive tract. If there’s interference with that nerve—from spinal misalignment, birth trauma, or tension in the upper neck—the signals that tell the stomach to empty properly get disrupted. Food sits in the stomach longer than it should, pressure builds, and up it comes.
Chiropractic care for infant reflux in Our Lady of Mercy focuses on removing that interference so the vagus nerve can do its job. When nerve communication improves, the stomach empties more efficiently, the valve functions better, and spitting up decreases. You’re not just managing symptoms. You’re addressing why it’s happening in the first place.
Yes, and reflux is often one of them. Babies with nervous system imbalances typically show a cluster of symptoms, not just one isolated issue. Along with spitting up and painful gas in newborns, you might notice your baby has trouble settling even when fed and changed, startles easily, arches their back frequently, or strongly prefers turning their head to one side.
Digestive issues like constipation or explosive stools can also signal that the nerves controlling gut function aren’t working smoothly. Sleep problems are common too—short naps, frequent waking, difficulty staying asleep even when clearly exhausted. These aren’t character flaws or “just colic.” They’re signs that your baby’s nervous system is stuck in a stressed state and needs help regulating.
During the initial exam, Dr. Roses assesses for these patterns and checks how your baby’s spine is moving. When you address the nervous system imbalance through gentle adjustments, you often see improvements across multiple areas—not just reflux, but sleep, mood, and overall comfort.
When performed by a chiropractor trained in pediatric techniques, yes. The adjustments we use on infants are nothing like adult chiropractic care. There’s no forceful manipulation or cracking. The techniques are specifically designed for a baby’s delicate spine and developing nervous system.
Research shows that adverse effects from properly administered infant chiropractic care are extremely rare. Most babies experience only mild fussiness or slight changes in sleep patterns as their body adjusts, and those resolve quickly. The bigger risk for many families is continuing to manage severe reflux with medication that can have side effects, or watching their baby struggle without addressing the underlying cause.
Dr. Roses explains everything before it happens, and you’re welcome to ask questions at any point. The focus is always on your baby’s safety and comfort first. If something doesn’t feel right to you during a visit, you speak up. This is collaborative care, not a one-way treatment plan you’re expected to follow blindly.
Regular infant reflux involves visible spitting up or vomiting—you see the milk come back up, often multiple times per day. Silent reflux is harder to spot because the stomach contents come up into the esophagus but get swallowed back down instead of coming out. Your baby experiences the same burning and discomfort, but there’s less obvious evidence.
Babies with infant silent reflux in Our Lady of Mercy often get misdiagnosed as colicky or high-needs because they’re clearly in pain but not spitting up much. They might refuse to eat, arch their back during or after feeds, have a hoarse cry, or seem uncomfortable when lying flat. Some develop chronic congestion or ear infections because the acid irritates their throat and nasal passages.
Both types of reflux respond to chiropractic care because the root issue is the same—disrupted nerve communication affecting digestion. Whether your baby is spitting up constantly or swallowing it back down, addressing the nervous system interference helps the digestive tract function the way it should. You’ll see it in reduced discomfort, better feeding tolerance, and a baby who’s finally comfortable in their own body.
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