2 Week Old Baby Girl with Upset Tummy

My son had a similar problem, and I was able to solve it by eliminating dairy from my diet. Even at 7 months he still cannot tolerate any dairy I eat. Its tough to stick such a strict diet, but totally worth it for the results. I tried Mylicon and Gripe Water and all the other tummy soothing products in the first couple of weeks with my son, but eliminating dairy completely was the only thing that really worked. I'm happier too, because I know I'm not adding anything into his little body that he doesn't need.

I have given Hyland's Homeopathic - Gas to my infant. They have a long line of products for infants with no second effects. They are easy to administer as well. You can buy these at Longs or any common drugs store.

I know it has been mentioned a couple of times but Gripe Water is amazing. My son had really bad gas. We tried eliminating foods but nothing seemed to work. It seemed like it just took his stomach some time to adjust to everything. We started Gripe Water at two weeks and used it until he was about 18 months. He loved it. The first couple of times it made him throw up but he always felt better. It would take about 15 minutes to work and worked almost every time. When he got older it sometimes took two doses. I swear by this stuff and give it to all my friends. We bought the stuff at Longs in the blue box.

Hi C.,

My daughter had the same problem when she was 3 weeks old, and Mylicon worked for her. I would definitely recommend it. As far as what you are eating, I've heard that cutting down on dairy products and spicy foods can help tremendously. Good luck, and keep it up. You are giving your daughter the best there is~!

I also have a baby girl she is now 4 weeks but at 2 weeks she went through the same thing getting used to how her system works. This is my 3rd and they all did this around the same time. I used mylicon for all of them with every meal and that helped a little but mostly she has to get used to her body. I found with her that I need to hold her upright for at least 1/2 an hour after eating. Also when she would start to grimice I would pump her legs and massage her tummy. Make sure when rubbing her tummy it is gently and clockwise otherwise you could back her up and make it worse, the point is to help her body move it out.
congrats
C.

Cut out the following:
Broccoli/Cauliflower/Cabbage (cuciferous veggies)
Onions/Garlic
Citrus (including Kiwi and Strawberries)
Dairy
Chocolate/Caffiene

Yes, I know it sounds boring, but you'll be able to eat many of them soon, I promise.

Wait 4 days, then add one item from the list back into your diet. After you add that one thing back and are eating it again, wait 4 days to see if your daughter reacts with discomfort/gas. If not, add one more thing and wait 4 days. Repeat until you find the offender.

BUT, she may be so young that her system is simply adjusting to having anything in it at all. Take it slow, and she (and you) will be fine.

Good luck!
K.

Mylicon didn't really work for us and the doc said it wouldn't. I agree with the lady that said to cut certain foods out of your diet and wait 4 dyas to see your daughters reactions. That is what I was told and found out eggs and broccoli were the culprits for us. Good luck. She is little and will adjust! Congratulations! This is a very exciting time for you both!

Mylicon never worked for us. I just had to be super diligent about burping. After she eats and passes out it's temping to put her back to bed and get a little shuteye yourself, but make sure you keep her upright for 15 minutes before you lay her down again. If they were super fussy I'd also put her on her back and gently bend her legs into her tummy... one side then the other side then both together... it gets things moving.

Good luck.

All 3 of my kids were gassy and one was formula fed. So we've tried a lot of things. Here are a list of things we did:

- make sure she is burped well after a nursing
- keep her upright for 30 minutes after nursing
- try the football hold-lay her on her tummy across your forearm with her head in your hand. The pressure on her tummy could help release the gas
-bicycle her legs. You can find out how to do that online--it's sort of hard to describe lol

Good Luck!

Watch your diet. Donteat anything that can give her gas or make her constipated. If her tummy is sensitive, you may be stuck with very bland foods for a while.

I remember the same thing happening to us. We had our 2 week check up and the Dr asked how she was doing we said she was great and that night it was like the child from hell arrived, full blown colic. It doesn't sound like your baby has full blown colic but still it is hard to watch and have to go through. I also have to say gripe water was our saving grace mylicon did nothing. We have found that different brands of gripe water have different ingredients and we have had the best luck with baby bliss. I also see there is a version online called colicease that is made following FDA guidelines check out colicease.com

Also you might consider seeing a chiropractor. My daughter had a lot of tension in the muscles surrounding her digestive tract and the chiropractor was able to help with that. Trauma caused during birth and from being squished in the womb can cause things to not be where they are meant to be. The womanly art of breast feeding the la leche legues breast feeding book recommends seeing a chiropractor for colic related symptoms and I have to that in conjunction with the grip water it worked for us. I would highly recommend Dr Mark Ross in Davis or for others nearer you look on the international chiropractic pediatric association website http://www.icpa4kids.org/ all these chiropractors are trained to work on infants and children. Manipulations in children are not the bone cracking ones we think of, they are applications of mild pressure with finger tips over joints etc so you don't have to worry!

Good luck

Hi C.! Congrats on your baby! When our little girl was about the same age as yours we went through something similar...i remember agonizing for weeks. Our doctor recommended for me cutting out all dairy *cuz of lactose*. I was still drinking almond milk *i am sure rice milk or other substitute is ok too*. I tried food elemination, but frankly its hard for a new mom *especially breastfeeding* to limit food intake. I gave up chocolate and spicy. But in retrospect, i think it was just growing pains. Her little tummy is learning how to work...i think it's totally normal and all babies go through similar process...we gave her gripe water once, but i am still not sure if it did anything...it will get better by about 2 months, and then worse again by about 3 months, and then go away after 4 months...by then stomachs are mature enough to 'know what they're supposed to do'. G'Luck to you. Our girl is turning 6 months this week, and i am still not eating cow's dairy and chocolate, but everything else is back in.

-J.

Sorry to hear that. Try gripewater, you can get it at longs and wholefoods (off the top of my head). It worked really well for our son (mylicon didn't do anything at all) for gas and also seemed to help keep him regular as well.

E.

We used Mylicon each time my daughter ate for the first couple of months because of gas issues. It seemed to really help. The other aid was laying her on her belly and getting her warm (swaddling etc). Another thing you can do is anything that gives you gas will give her gas, so just keep that in mind. Good luck and keep breastfeeding you are doing something great for her!

Congratulations!!!! Wow it seems like just yesterday and forever ago...that blur of 2 weeks =o) At 2 weeks she is changing so much. My daughter has had issues with constipation and we use to do bicycle legs, massage her tummy and tummy time (although she hated tummy time). I never got my milk in so I'm not helpful with what to eat while breastfeeding.
Enjoy this time, it goes by quickly

I always put a small piece of peppermint in a small bottle of water and swirled it around. This helped to pass the gas and calm my babes.

gripe water doesnt work mylicon minimal success. try cutting out milk. that saved our lives!!!!

Hi C.,
Congratulations on the birth of your sweet little girl. I am exclusively breastfeeding my 6 month old, and early on I found that what I ate had an effect on her digestive system. Over a few weeks I began to single out the reactive foods (kind of like you do when introducing solids :) ). I had to reduce the amount of dairy I was consuming, cut out almost all onion, cut back on broccoli and chocolate, and NO beans (pinto). I googled for a list of foods that are known to cause gas. Foods we eat can produce gas for several feedings. For now create a food diary and note any reactions. Best of luck to you!

When I was nursing, I had to eliminate milk entirely from my diet because it was doing the same thing. My mom is an IBCLC and told me it may take a full week or two before it got out of my system, and once it did, it was like I had a new child. The fussiness and whining was gone. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, it is more than likely something in your diet. I noticed I had to watch my diet even more breastfeeding than I did while pregnant.

Hi C., my little one did (and still does) the same thing! With mine it was because she was pushing constantly trying to have a bowel movement because (esp. at 2 weeks) they can't control their sphincter muscle - push with all their might - and in the process actually close the muscle making it more difficult to have a bowel movement. Mine used to do it for HOURS before she would actually have a BM! There is unfortunately very little you can do except wait for them to figure it out....mine is 11 weeks today and just starting to get the hang of it! Congrats on your little girl!

Just as an FYI, if a dairy sensitivity is developing, it can take up to 2 weeks after eliminating dairy from your diet to see an effect. Have you eaten anything not normally in your diet in excess quantities?
If gas is the problem, the "colic hold" may be helpful (infant straddles your arm facing away from you).
Is your baby only fussy and straining at night?
Is she having atleast 2 yellow stools a day and atleast 6-8 wet diapers?

I have not heard many positive results from mylicon or gripe water. I can not speak to their effectiveness.

Your daughter sounds like she has a little bit of colic. Put her in a football hold (lengthwise over your arm, head in your hand, feet toward you - supported by both hands of course) and that should help her be more comfortable. This too will, uh... pass. Good luck!

sounds all too familiar :) have you tried GRIPE WATER? this stuff is heaven sent. all natural and totally helps with stomach issues. you can get it at some longs drugs and most natural food stores and online. good luck!

This is very normal, don't worry! Their little digestive systems just don't work well at first, and they have to work hard to pass gas or solids. It's probably not something you ate. Mylicon helps but can't solve the problem, only time will. You can help by moving her legs up and down in a bicycle motion, bringing her knees all the way to her chest for a few minutes (this helped ours a lot), or putting a warm rolled towel over her tummy. Good luck--it will get better in a month or two!

Hi C., My girl was also a great sleeper,but when she got tummy aches (which was rearely) we bounced her tummy on our knee, you can also try the "running the bicycle" trick on her, rubbing the tummy. We also used the mylicon on her too, little bits at a time and that also helped. If you're worried about what you are eating, stay away from fatty foods (anything fried or greasy) as well as spicy and heavily seasoned. Veggies such as broccoli and califlower and beans also tends to bloat. Hope this helps.

My daughter was about 3 weeks when we started to notice something was wrong. Mylacon didnt seem to cut it. I started to use Colic calm (coliccalm.com) and it really helped. Its homeopathic. But not enough. I had to cut out anything gas producing and acid producing. Dairy, beans, some veggies, soy was the worst etc.
We realized she had acid reflux as well and the colic calm also was good for that but she had it bad so we had to medicate her. The good news is she grew out of it around 5 months old and is doing really well.
When you eat food it can affect her as early as 30 min and usually 4-6 hours. But Dairy can last up to 2 weeks in your milk. Good luck!

Buy Hyland's Colic Tablets at WALGREENS... they work like magic (it is homeopathy)...

And watch:
10 Americans: ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ for Toxics & Health:
http://healthychild.org/resources/video_library_comments/...

Love, G.. :0)
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

"I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." ~ Jerry Newport

Good morning C., I am so in your shoes right now with my almost 4 week old baby girl. I am using the Mylicon drops ,I didn't find the gripe water to work. It's mostly at night that she struggles ,a little during the day. I am doing what other moms have suggested with moving her legs and keeping her up right ,though at 3 in the morning it's hard. I just want to nurse laying down. Our Doctor also said that some new borns have a very tight rectum and that if you have a rectal thermomiter and insert it a little it helps them to be able to poop. I have noticed that when I change her diaper and she is struggling like this and I move her little tooshie cheeks apart while cleaning she'll poop more. So it kinda gets stuck there. I don't have a thermomiter but I am going to look for one. I have also noticed that if I eat salads it seems to upset her tummy. She sleeps best during the day in a little buzzy baby seat which has her in a reclined position ,as soon as I lay her flat she has discomfort. I hope she'll out grow this soon. My last 2 babies didn't have this but they were bigger babies. Well ,enjoy your sweet little one and good luck.

C. ~ I took a very brief 1/2 hour infant massage class, but during that class, they tought us that rubbing the babies tummy gently in a CLOCKWISE circular motion relieves gas and indigestiong. Also - if you gently put their knees up to their bellies, it will help them get the gas out! Good Luck!

Hi C.,

Take the baby to the doc to see if it could be colic. The symptoms you described reminded me of my son's episode. It began right around the same time for him and he had colic for about three months. The doc should be able to give you helpful advice, be sure to ask about the colic hold, and help you figure out the problem.

All the best,
-M

hey C.,
I know how frustrating it is to see ur little one in pain :(
My son had the same issues too. For him gripe water worked along with mylicon.
I also tried avoiding dairy products and spicy stuff.
My doc said.. if the food is giving mom trouble...definetely it wud trouble child too.

One of my twin girls (now 9.5 months old) had real problems in this area.

Switching to Dr. Brown's bottles helped us tremendously. Our babies couldn't handle the flow from the BornFree bottles and the Dr. Brown's have a vent system that really helped

Mylicon, gripe water, new bottles and switching to lactose-free formula were still not enough, though. Finally, at the encouragement of my night nurse who felt she had acid reflux, I asked our doctor for a prescription for Zantac. This helped within days. The screaming and squirming after eating stopped and our baby slept much better.

Not sure what all the responses have been, but I swear by Gripe Water. There are different brands, but I used the Baby's Bliss at Walgreen's. Comes in a blue box. I didn't know about gripe water with my daughter and she was colic and screamed for 4 months. We used it with my son who is now 7 months old and it made all the difference. It is an all natural alternative to Mylicon so you don't have to worry about giving them too much. They recommend giving it to them 30 minutes before they eat. I found that kind of difficult to do when he was really small and eating every 2 hours. So, I would just give it to him before he ate.

Good luck! I know how hard it is to have a fussy baby you don't know how to help.

T.

Hello C.,

I think what your baby has is colic. I'm from hispanic culture and when I had my baby I knew I wanted to breastfeed, so family members would tell me not to eat certain things becuase it would give the baby colic. At first, I didn't believe this was true, I thought how could something I eat affect the baby. Well after sleepless nights due to baby crying and like you said moving and whiggling as if something was terribly wrong, I decided to change my eating habits. Although I was eating healthy some of the healthy things were to gassy for the baby. I had to cut out beans, green vegetables and even spicy foods. After a couple of days I had a happy baby who was sleeping through the nght. I couldn't believe it. Then when I thought it was over, I said okay he's been doing good for a few months so I'm going to have some beans, boy did I end up regreting it. My baby was so sick, he had gas really bad, he was squirming in pain and he was even farting and let me tell you it smelled like the beans I ate that day. I knew then that what my family had told me was true - "watch what you eat because it affects the baby". Anyhow, just wanted to share my story and hope it helps for you. I dealt with the colic for at least three months straight, it was a nightmare, if it wasn't for my husband I would not have survived it alone. Good luck.