Natalie– A Toddler in Need of Support

This week as I was reflecting on the sessions I had and what I had heard from my clients, I kept going back to two year old Natalie.

I have been seeing Natalie and her parents for a little over a year now, and had helped her with the effects from a difficult delivery. More recently, her mom would bring her in when she wasn’t sleeping very well or was out of sorts. I hadn’t seen her for a few months, and got this message from her mom on Monday:

“If you have any openings, I’d like to bring Natalie in.
She keeps telling me she’s leaving the house to see you and wants you to fix her “owies”. “

I happened to have a cancellation that afternoon, so they came right in. Natalie was excited to see me, and showed me her “owies” right away. She had taken some falls lately, and her knees especially hurt. We played with my toys and I did my gentle work with her.

This isn’t a big story about amazing results! To me, it’s even MORE exciting to see a very young child recognize when she needs support for her body, know that there is a resource available, ASK for that help (in her own adorable way), and have a responsive parent take her seriously and honor her request. It was beautiful to be able to be a part of this dynamic, and just gave me all of the FEELS.

Children are whole humans with “owies” and needs, and it’s such a joy to support them, along with their parents, as they grow and face new and exciting challenges.

Here’s a note from Natalie’s mom:

“Our family has been seeing Ariana since we moved to Spain over a year ago. I started taking our daughter Natalie to help alleviate some breastfeeding discomfort and digestion issues Natalie had, and Ariana helped with other problems that were caused by Natalie’s time in utero and our birthing experience. Natalie only goes every couple of months now, but woke up this past Monday telling me she was leaving to see Ariana. At first I thought she was using her imagination and pretending. After her nap she woke up saying she was leaving to see Ariana again because she had “owies”. I asked further questions on where she hurt and she showed me some bruises that were on a knee. I decided she wasn’t pretending and really did want to see Ariana. Luckily, there was an opening that day and Natalie was able to be treated.

It’s amazing that after not seeing Ariana for months Natalie knew she would be able to help her body feel better. Ariana is an amazing healer and wonderful with our daughter. She’s helped make parenting easier and I am beyond grateful to have Ariana as someone our whole family can see.”

It’s such a joy to support families like Natalie’s.