Advice with Fussy and Gassy Baby...

Try infant's Mylicon drops- at Target, the grocery store, Walgreen's, etc... They really helped my little one. She is breastfed, though, so it's possible you do need to switch formulas.
Good luck- I know it's hard!

I would try giving him Mylanta (sp) drops. you can give him a full dropper- at every feeding if needed or you can try switching formula... but i would talk to the ped. Good Luck!

hi estella, try this one, when you feed him d not lye him he has to stay almost in standing position in your arm, it is easier to make him burb. Also use dr. browns bottle. Also give him a warm bath every night and massage him with johnson baby oil. You can also buy a big ball and put him on his tummy and play:) If those does not work use grape water, little expensive but works amazingly. it is a 3 month period every momy lives with it no worry.

I had this problem - and it didn't let up until about the 8th week. I tried Mylecon and Gripe Water (he hated it), but nothing seemed to work. I nurse but I know some formulas cause excessive gas and they make heavier ones to ease that (I almost supplemented to help). I don't think he's constipated because from what I understand that has to do with the color of stool, not the amount. But, I'm not a doctor and I could be confused! :-P I found out my son had acid reflux and was colicky and they put him on Axid for the acid reflux and just told me the colic would get better in time... good luck!
PS. I also use Dr. Browns bottles, they are pricier and a pain in the butt to wash but so far they're worth it!

I too have heard, and was advised by a nurse, that Nestle Good Start is easier on tummies. Also... Little Ones has something for gas relief but your cutie might be a little young for it. Definitely try formula change... and see if you can get samples from your doctor and be sure to sign up online at the various companies websites for their programs... great freebies and coupons.

hi, What you can also do is get a small wash cloth and apply it to the hot iron and after assesing the hotness of the cloth (make sure it is a temperature that is not too hot) and apply it to the baby's navel area. repeat several times. After this procedure, you will see how fast the baby is relaxed and sleeping well.

hmmm...I didn't take the time to read the other responses so I apologize if this is a repeat. My daughter did the same thing, when I switched from breastfeeding to formula. My pediatrician suggested that she may be lactose intolerant and told me to switch to soy. It took about a week but she stopped curling up and pushing, etc. Hope this helps!

M.

For stomach issues try probiotics. I have one for babies that is a powder that you can mix in their formula. Try COUNTRY LIFE Maxi Baby-dophilus. You can buy at Whole Foods in the refrigerated section of supplements. All natural and works for all dyspiosis issues in infants and children be it reflux, diarrhea or constipation. It normals the good bacteria in the gut and therefore also promotes good immune function which is a nice benefit. Best of luck!

I went through the same exact thing. I switched formula and went from a fussy baby to a constipated baby. My biggest regret was switching formula. My daughter is 7 months and still gets constipated. I would suggest giving him Mylicon drops.

I would say maybe investigate whether he has reflux as well. My kids did (I have 18-month twins) and the reflux meds (first we used Zantac, then previcid..which my son is still on) seemed to help. My son had it much worse and sometimes it seemed like he was pushing but really he was sort of holding his breath because his food was coming back up and it burns their poor little esophagus and hurts. If your son spits up a lot too maybe this is the culprit. For my little guy another symptom when his reflux was messing with him was that he would arch his back a lot.

Here are a few things we did to ease his reflux symptoms. A speech therapist recommended making sure that after my son ate, he was held upright for about 30 minutes after eating (not straight upright but just be sure his head his above the level of his tummy)...this gives him time to start digesting the food and made him less likely to feel "refluxy". Think of it like when you were pregnant, if you had a lot of heartburn like I did...it didn't feel good to lie down right after eating. We also elevated one end of his bed...not a lot but just enough that while he slept his head was just a bit (maybe 15-20 degrees) higher...just not so much of a slant that he slid down to the bottom of the cradle! :) Also, when my son seemed to be uncomfortable, the therapist recommended holding him up on our shoulder (classic burping position) with his knees held curled up close to his belly and the top part of his chest high up on our shoulder. This seemed to be a good position that felt soothing to him.

Anyway I would say if trying some of these things seems to help his fussiness, maybe its a reflux situation and you would want to talk to your pediatrician about meds.

Good luck!!!

I would talk to your pediatrician about it first. Its fairly harmless to try switching formulas, but you can get in this trap of not knowing if the symptoms are worsening or getting better on their own or because of the change. Especially if you make several changes. I have heard anecdotal evidence that babies do well on Carnation Good Start when they have some colic or reflux symptoms. It didn't work for my sons, but I know other people it has.

Still, I would talk to your doctor first. He/she will go over symptoms with you to see what switch would be the best and to rule out other issues like reflux or colic.

Good Luck to you!

I agree with switching to Good Start. That's what we did when Similac seemed to be making our son unhappy and after the switch, he was calmer and spit up rarely. It's a good formula so it's worth a try. Good luck and congrats!

You could also try switching to Dr. Brown's bottles.

If it really is gas, you could try a product called infacol. It is like windeez and is for babies with "colic." I am breast feeding and so this is not a big problem for me but some of my friends who didn't had children with this kind of problem and used infacol. He could have reflux and that would need to be medically dealt with. Does he spit up much? I suggest talking to your pediatrician. Also, sleep is very important to minimize fussiness. Dr. Mark Weisblut's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" is great. he basically suggests that for the first several months a baby not be awake for more than 2 hrs at a time - perhaps more like 90 mins for a newborn.

I would talk to your doctor. Not to scare (like that helps ;) ) but it could be something medical. My sister was an extremely fussy baby. Turned out she had an abdominal hernia. Part of her intestine and one of her ovaries was sticking out through the abdominal wall. After her surgery, she was the happiest baby.

I'm not implying that it's a hernia but you never know. At that age, I'd feel more comfortable talking it over with my doctor.

If he's having bm's he's not constipated. He might have reflux. I would definitely call your pediatrician and have it checked out. My son and daughter both had reflux and were on zantac. It helped my daughter but my son was switched to prevacid which worked wonders. Also, in addition to the medication, my pediatrician recommended we put rice cereal in his formula, one teaspoon per ounce of formula to help keep it down. My daughter grew out of it at 6 months and my son grew out of it at 9 months. Good luck and bless you for doing this on your own.

Congrats on your new little one!

My twins were the same way and I changed them to Similac Sensitive and it helped them a lot. My doctor said if that did not work she was going to have me try Nestle Good Start. A friend of mine who had twins as well (they were NICU babies for 5 weeks)used Good Start since the staff said it was the best since it was pre-broken down and easy on babies tummies. If you go with the Similac Sensitive you could just switch since it's basicly the same just lactose free. If you do another brand I would ease your son off of the first formula and slowly change over to the new.

Congrats again & good luck!

Jen

Similac makes several formulas for fussy/gassy babies. One is Similac Sensitive and the other is Similac Alimentum (for colic or extra sensitive stomaches). I would talk to your doc but I can't imagine they would have any issue with you trying these other formulas, especially if they make baby more comfortable.

Also watch for excessive spitting up or projectile spitting up over the next few weeks. My little one had acid reflux and colic which appeared about 4 weeks old and that was the tell tale sign other than crying for 4+ hours at night. we eventually needed to give her an Rx to help with the acid but other formulas may due the trick for your little guy. Good Luck.

My son is on the similac(isomil soy) and he doesnt have any gas anymore and rarely spits up. The dr. told me to switch when he was a month and it really seemed to make a difference. Also what kind of bottles are you using? Is he getting to much air?

I can highly recommend Carnation Good Start. All three of my boys used it and it was very gentle on their tummies. They hardly ever spit up. My sitter had a child whose formula made him spit up all day. We tried him on Good start for one day and he hardly spit up at all all day!! Also, talk to your dr about simethicone which is an over the counter gas relief drops. My doctor had told me it was very safe but I would still check since he is that little. But it made a big difference. One thing that would help my son is laying him on his back and pushing his knees up into his tummy. Pretend he is pedaling a bike. This helps push the gas out. You said he is having 2-3 BM's a day. Are they really hard and formed? If so then he could be constipated. Talk to your doctor about what he or she recommends. Good Luck and congrats on the birth of your son.