4 Week Old Having Serious Gas!

I don't breast feed but i noticed a huge gassiness difference when i used the soy formula rather than the milk based formula.

My youngest had terrible terrible gas anytime that I substituted with w/ formula whe he was just shy of a year we found out that he had a dairy allergy if you take in a lot of dairy products maybe that is the issue, chocolate, caffine, spicy fooed are commone causes. I like little tummies gas relief drops and also little tummies gripe water better than the mylocin drops. Try eating a dairy free diet and keep away from foods that you know would cause you to have gas. Good luck.

I had this trouble with both my children. I never cut out dairy, so that could be the problem. However, the ONLY thing that ever helped was GRIPE WATER. Get it! Use it! It's a miracle for calming babies! I still use it occasionally when my one-year-old seems to have tummy trouble and I can always count on it. NONE of the other "colic cures" ever worked for us.

You should try avoiding dairy from your diet for 2 whole weeks and see if there is a difference. Also, I would recommend soy formula or one of the hypoallergenic ones (even though they are expensive) for a formula choice. You could see an allergist as well for advice. We find Gripe Water works well at comforting a fussy tummy.

A few suggestions to try: infant massage (Vimala McClure has a wonderful book/guids for parents or see if a local family network group offers classes.); Gripe Water (can be found at Whole Foods or a natural food store); anise tea (brew anise seeds in boiling water and drink the tea several times a day; when baby gets older you could give it directly or ask pedi if you can give it now).

My advice would be to contact your local La Leche League for support. Or, contact a lactation consultant to come observe and talk about the miriad of possibilities. Is it a physical? Palate or tongue issue? It sounds as if the baby has been pulling off since he began to nurse it could be something like this. Lactation consultants know breasts, babies, and breastfeeding...it's their job. Good luck.
M. P.

I would try a soy based formula and also..GRIPE WATER worked for us too! Does your son use a pacifier? We introduced one at 8 weeks becuase my daughter wanted to breastfeed even when she was gassy and that just made the gas worse..so the pacifier helped soothe her. Or if you object to a pacifier, then the gripe water will help out by itself!

Try eliminating dairy from your diet for a week and switch to soy formula. My son had terrible gas and belly pain too and it turned out he couldn't digest dairy very well. Once we switched and I cut out dairy, he was so much better!

I found that Mylicon worked, but it also caused major BM issues, no gas but it backed our daughter up for 5 days and she finally went in a warm tub. After this kept being the issue, we tried Gripe Water (found at health food stores) and it was great. Luckily after 3 months the gas pretty much went away, so keep an eye on it rather than getting in the habit of always doing it. Here's a helpful URL http://www.coliccalm.com/baby_infant_newborn_articles/gas...

Hi S., So sorry you are dealing with this - it is very hard to watch your baby suffer. I highly recommend Dr. Ellen Blomerth, a chiropractor who specializes in gentle baby treatment. She has helped babies from a couple of weeks old right on up through adult. She is the only chiropractor in the NorthEast who was trained in this specialty, and her office is located at the junction of Rt. 1 and Lowell St. in Peabody. Her ph # is: ###-###-####. Be sure to ask for Dr. Ellen if you call, as her husband is also in practice with her but does not utilize this technique. Dr. Ellen will also consult with you over the phone to explain exactly what she can, or cannot, do to help your baby. Please mention that I referred you if you do call her. Best Wishes to you. I would be surprised if Dr. Ellen doesn't take care of your baby's problem with just one visit. E. Taft ____@____.com

I have two girls and both of them had horrible gas and hiccups, the only thing that worked was Gripe Water. Originally we could only get it in Canada, but now I see it in most drug stores in the US. We actually still use it with them, and they are now 5 and 2.
Gripe Water has sodium bicarbonate, anise oil, dill oil, and fennel oil.
Our oldest had a sensitivity to milk, which she out grew, but this worked well for that upset tummy too, until we figured it out.
Hope this helps.

Nicki in Maine, mom of Kacie(5) Alyssa (2) wife of Mike for 11 years, daycare provider and Emerency Room Technician.

we thought my daughter had a lot of gas when she was tiny, too, and I guess we'll really never know, but she would straighten her body straining in pain. We did the gas drops. Also, we didn't put her completely flat down, if we could manage. We used one of those baby chairs with the vibration setting, but just used it to prop her up so she wasn't horizontal. I see from some of the other responses that people recommend examining your diet. Indeed a nurse told me to cut out dairy and chocolate. I tried to for a while, but it was so hard and I felt tortured. Strange but true post-partum feelings. A friend of mine who had a lot of success altering her diet said that the offending stuff can stay in your system, and get to the baby, for weeks after you give it up and I couldn't wait that long.
The baby's digestive system is just not quite developed yet. They call the first 3 months "the 4th trimester" and I think it's true. It's basically like servicing the baby with your body in any way you can just to keep them peaceful. Later it'll be more fun!
Also, why don't you look into baby massage. there are ways to help move gas through the baby's bowel. you can move their legs in a bicycling motion, and you can smooth your hands over their tummy in a clock-wise (your point of view) fashion. It's probably easier to learn from pictures, though. Good luck!

Hi,
we used mylicon with our daughter and it did seem to help but with our son it still did not do the trick. We finally found a product that I now swear by, it is called colic calm and is an all natural gas solution. It is a little expensive but I swear it works. It is not available in stores so the link is here if you want to check it out.
www.coliccalm.com

My son also had painful gas from about 2 weeks old until 8 weeks old. I breastfed him and tried a very very plain diet of bread, water, pasta without sauce for about a week, plain foods, but that didn't make a difference. The gas drops helped very little. But the pediatrician said it was because his digestive system just isn't fully developed (He was not a premie though...just normal in babies I guess). I suggest sitting the baby in a swing/bouncer if you can, and also, the excersize Millie gave in her response definately helped my baby push the gas out most of the time. It's very sad to see the baby in such pain but your baby should be fine in a few weeks.

My first thought was for you to look at your diet. When you are breast feeding, what you eat can cause gas for your baby. Foods like broccoli, califlower, and coffee can cause gas. The other problem could be lactose intolerance or an allergy to formula for your infant. Good Luck and I encourage you to keep breast feeding.
S. S.

I also recommend the Colic Calm gripe water as well as the techniques from the book/DVD "Happiest Baby on the Block". Some babies need ALOT more soothing than others, ours was one - and that book helped more than anything.
Formula is also suspect - some babies just don't tolerate it well. If you can just breastfeed, I would try - you might see an improvement. I would really not recommend soy formula - it is highly estrogenic and is beginning to come under suspicion as a possible cause of early onset puberty.

My husband used to do this:

Put the baby on your lap, face up, feet towards you.
Then take feet and push legs (knees should be bending) and push feet in towards tummy. I kind of liken it to turning him into a ball. Also roll baby as if s/he is doing crunches
Then, pull feet out towards you.
Repeat.

I think this is supposed to move the gas down and out. But with him, it worked like a charm!
(Hope you can envision this..)