Catherine: Has anyone ruled out cranial compression? Here in Dayton, there is a DO who is certified in Cranial Osteopathy. She works miracles. She has helped a number of babies who had awful sucks, hyper or hypo tonia, developmental delay, reflux and who are high need babies. I took my 8 year old last summer (hx. recurrent otitis media, we have had tonsils and adenoids out, tubes in , tubes out and still had problems. Also was a chronic spitter, but a good wt gain. He began sucking his index fingers at age 6 after his front teeth came out.) Turns out that he had a misshaped jugular foramen which was compressing the vagus nerve (cranial nerves 9, 10 and 11 go through there). His palate was also "stuck". Once all of this was released, he said "I never want to feel 'normal' again. He has not had another ear infection since then!!! Certified practitioners can be obtained from The Cranial Academy (317)879-0713 (its in Indianapolis). Another interesting case I had with her was a 6 month old baby. The mother called me because her pediatric gastroenterologist wanted her to wean immediately since they had discovered lactose in the baby's stool. She indicated that the baby had been difficult to nurse, turned blue when nursing the first week and that she did not want to wean. I questioned her if they would consider having her express some milk, mix in Lactaid enzyme drops and then breastfeed (I was proud of myself for thinking on my feet!) and then questioned her in more detail about her baby. Turns out the baby had a flat head on 1 side since birth, one ear was lower and forward of the other, the baby could not hold her head up when pulled from lying down, could not reach out directly in front of herself unless she started her arms at 180 degrees and then globally brought them forward together, etc. etc. To make a long story short, her cranial bones were totally misaligned. She went from a developmental age of 2 months to 6 months in 4 weeks. The night after her first treatment, she slept longer than she had ever slept at one time and abruptly quit spitting up. Articles you may find helpful: Frymann, Viola M. DO, FAAO. "Cerebral Dysfunction: Prevention and Treatment in the Light of the Osteopathic Concept". Osteopathic Medical News Vol IV, No.9 18 - 37 (I don't have the year) Frymann, Viola M. DO, FAAO, "Relation of disturbances of craniosacral mechanisms to symptomatology of the newborn: Study of 1,250 infants. Journal AOA, vol 65 1059-75. 1966 Frymann, Viola et al. "Effect of Osteopathic Medical Management on Neurologic Development in Children" JAOA vol 92 No. 6 729-744. 1992. A booklist and more information about workshops for this type of therapy is available from the Upledger Institute, Inc. 1-800-233-5880 Martha Brower Kettering, OH