Gassy Breastfeed Newborn

It probably has my more to do with his undeveloped system than with what you eat. In fact, with all my babies we had a week or more period in the middle of the night of them being uncomfortable and unhappy with gas-between 2-5 weeks. By 6 weeks their system develops, and they tend to settle down.

I know people like to say, oh I can't eat this or that, but usually the problem is just their system,,not what we eat. Give it time.

Congratulations on your baby!!!

Gassy babies happen for many reasons, it may not have anything to do with your diet.

Food turns into breastmilk anywhere from 4-6 hours to 24 hours. The easiest thing to try is to eliminate dairy from your diet for a few days, see if there's a difference. Cow's milk triggers a lot of allergic reactions.

If your baby is doing well nursing, but has a sensitive system, I really wouldn't offer any type of formula. There is nothing "natural" about formula. Your breastmilk is perfectly balanced for your newborn and has a ton of protection for sensitive tummies and developing immune systems.
Keep nursing, if you can. There is nothing better for your baby.

Here's a link about when food turns into breastmilk & eliminating dairy & other foods.
http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/qa/what-i-eat-to-get-i...

Congrats!
T.
SAHM of 5
14, 12, 6, 4 & 2

I breastfed 4 little ones, now all grown up. I always had to stay away from any foods in the cabbage family such as brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower and green peppers and onions for the first couple of months. The basic rule of thumb is if it gives you gas it will gave the baby gas.
Once his system matures he should be able to handle almost anything.

Good luck and congrats on the little one.

Look at kellymom.com for answers about how long different things stay in the milk. With my first I totally avoided dairy an with the second it was fried food. Looking back, I probably could have done these things in moderation. It's just so hard when you're afraid you're hurting your baby. If you notice a pattern of eating a certain food and then baby getting fussy, I'd cut that one out for a couple of weeks and then try again. You need good food, and to enjoy your food, too, so try not to worry too much.
I'd keep breast feeding if you can. He's much less likely to be sensitive to something in your milk than in formula. Good luck Mama! It gets better!!

I had a gassy little guy too. Some things which helped were good nursing positions to eliminate him taking air in (you want baby to have a really good latch and be supported way up on the breast, and this can be hard on your back, so use lots of pillows or a Boppie) and I stopped every so often to burp him.

I am already lactose intolerant myself, so dairy was limited to goat's milk products. I also avoided brassicas (broccoli, cabbages, cruciferous veggies) which give a lot of gas as well as onions and garlic, too.

You might try administering some 'gripe water' to him via a syringe, but check with your pediatrician as to how much to use. I also did the the 'bicycle the legs' things *before* he typically got fussy with gas.

It could very well be something you ate. If you were feeling social and nursing while chatting, it could be that he got a little more air in his stomach (I noticed I was less focused on nursing when my attention was on others). Hard to tell. We also took our son to a craniosacral therapist/pediatric chiropractor when he was two weeks old and then once every couple weeks for the first several months. That did seem to keep him in fairly good health.

Ditto to Tracy Y's suggestions. If he's got a sensitive tummy, formula is much more likely to give him even more issues. I have a pretty gassy 1 month old, I've noticed onions give him trouble, but other than that it's pretty typical. Mylicon before feedings on days he seems worse has helped quite a bit. What symptoms are you seeing to think that it's gas? Crying and pulling legs/extreme fussiness? If it's primarily at night, it could be reflux that is worse when he is laying down. Keep nursing him, and pay attention to what you eat and his symptoms. We are quick to blame it on mom's foods and cut everything out, but unfortunately gassiness to a point is normal and expected. Keep trying to good burps, and keep him upright for half an hour after he eats.

Keep a food diary of what you eat. What you eat takes 12-24hrs to get into your milk. If you go dairy free keep in mind that dairy can take up to two weeks to fully exit your system. So you will have to really commit and keep up with it to see if dairy is a problem. For my second child I figured out that deli ham and avocadoes caused the worst problems. Things I wouldn't even had considered if I hadn't been keeping a food diary. But your baby is also only 2 weeks old. This could be "normal" like you have even stated. It could be the beginning of colic or it just could be his immature digestive system changing. If breastfeeding is going well I personally would never introduce formula just because of gas. Formula will most likely cause even more problems as his system will have to adjust even more to something different and full of things his system has never seen. Even with formula changes doctors recommend that you stick with the same formula for two weeks for the baby's system to adjust to see any kind of difference.

M.,

If you want to keep nursing, you have to do it full time now and no formula at all. As long as your son is eliminating (enough diapers!) and gaining weight appropriately, he does not need anything other than breastmilk!

I did not eliminate any foods for either of my exclusively breastfed babies. Baby #1 was more gassy than #2 but # 1 was much smaller (not quite 6lbs at birth compared to #2 who was 8 lbs 8 oz.).

The best breastfeeding info out there is online at www.kellymom.com

Good luck! Enjoy this time - they are little for just a few minutes. My baby is almost 4 now, sigh.
C.

I was just talking with woman I had just met and she said her MIL, who is from Germany and used a lot of "old country" home remedies, recommended fennel tea for excess gas. She said it also helped her with milk production. Along with everyone else's suggestions, it might be worth a try.

You are right that things will take time to adjust. My question for you is do you KNOW that it is gas, or are you assuming it is gas because his tummy appears to be hurting?

As others have said, certain foods can cause your baby to be more gassy, but I have really never eliminated foods from my diet while nursing (3rd baby right now). If you know that it is gas, then making sure to get a burp is huge. I would also suggest you give baby Mylicon (gas drops for babies) BEFORE each feeding.

If you aren't sure that it is gas and just assumed it is gas, then you might consider checking out the symptoms of GERD (acid reflux in babies). My oldest two both had reflux and for both it showed up at about the age you are mentioning. Bedtime can be especially bad, because when baby is laying down, the acid starts to float back up the esophagus. Check out the symptoms on WebMD to see if you are noticing any of these signs. If you are, then discuss this with your pediatrician...there are prescription medicines that can really help with reflux, and babies usually outgrow it by 1 year of age.

Check for lip and tongue ties.

Ditto to Tracy Y's suggestions. If he's got a sensitive tummy, formula is much more likely to give him even more issues. I have a pretty gassy 1 month old, I've noticed onions give him trouble, but other than that it's pretty typical. Mylicon before feedings on days he seems worse has helped quite a bit. What symptoms are you seeing to think that it's gas? Crying and pulling legs/extreme fussiness? If it's primarily at night, it could be reflux that is worse when he is laying down. Keep nursing him, and pay attention to what you eat and his symptoms. We are quick to blame it on mom's foods and cut everything out, but unfortunately gassiness to a point is normal and expected. Keep trying to good burps, and keep him upright for half an hour after he eats.