Wondering About Gripe Water

Hi S.:

My sister-in-law works at the Walmart Pharmacy in Spearfish they have gripe water, and another employee has used it, and is thrilled how it worked on her baby. Just a heads up, that it is an over the counter item at walmart!

I was just reading one of my parenting magazines an I could have sworn that it was recalled because of possible contamination. I know this was probably just 1 batch of them and I don't have any experience with this but thought you would like to know.

Gripe water has been around for a long
long time. My mum gave to me and I gave
to my children. My children are in their 20s. It is especially good for colic.

I have heard of it but have never tried it with my own girls. For hiccups I was told just a couple of oz of warm filtered tap water would do the trick and for mine it did. As for tummy upset and gas luke warm sugar water with 1 drop of mint extract was the way to go and it worked, yea they smelled minty when they tooted but I would rather have that then a crabby uncomfortable baby. Teething it was frozen washcloths, frozen bananas, and frozen waffles that worked for us. But asking your peds doc about the water is a good idea too. And your right what maybe all natural might not be right for you baby. Good luck and congrats on the lil one. Happy Valentines Day

I actually drank it myself, as my kids have food allergies, and I was breastfeeding, and I was hoping that the effects would go through my breast milk to my baby. I have one friend who swears by it. I would give it a try, as long as you don't have food allergies in the family. If it doesn't work immediately, it is probably something else causing discomfort. I believe it is used only to really relieve gas/bloating. It does not help with teething, acid reflux, or other things causing colic unforuntaely.

hi i am a british mother when i was in the uk i used gripe water and it is great it brings wind up a treat i would deffo recommend it i have 5 children and 1 on the way and it's never done them any harm at all in fact my husband had a fondness to the taste so we went through a lot of the stuff but it is great can't remember exactly how old your baby has to be to take it though it's been 3 years since i last used it hope this helps you a bit

I have used Gripe water with my son for acid reflux and gas. He was only about 4 weeks old when I first give it to him. He actually really liked the flavor and it worked really well. I found it at the Linden Hills Co-op, but I'm pretty sure you can find it at most health food stores. I highly recommend it.

I have not used it, but am curious about it too. Where would one find this?

S.,
I have used gripe water with both of my girls (now 3 years old and 6 months old). It has worked very well for us! My girls have both been colicky, and while the gripe water was not a cure-all, it did help with their fussiness and gas. The main thing we used it for was hiccups. Every time my 6 month old gets the hiccups we give her some gripe water in a syringe, and they stop immediately. (the dosage is on the back of the bottle). With her, I have always mixed one dosage in her evening bottle, as well, as I think it has helped her to sleep a little better (she often woke up with gas pains in the night). Call me crazy, but I even took a dosage when I had the hiccups one day, and it stopped mine too! It's pretty amazing stuff, and I recommend it highly. Good luck!
E.

Gripe water is wonderful! Gas drops did nothing for my daughter and we were desperate! It is very safe and effective for all the reasons you mentioned above. I think it tastes nasty(I hate licorice) but my daughter loved it. We started using it when she was 2 weeks old. Two brands we used were Wellements and Babybliss. My ped. was the one who recommended it.

Hi S.,
My name is J.. I have a 3 mon old daughter. She had really bad gas as well. As you are, I was very concerned about giving her anything that I shouldn't and wanted to try something Natural. I found gripe water to be the best thing for her! We were up many times with her in the middle of the night because of her screaming in pain.
Every time I gave it to her she felt instant relief and it lasted allot longer than the products from the store.
We talked with our health nutritionist and she said it was so safe you could give it to newborns! So we gave it to her from the time she was born, till 3 mon now. And I have realized a huge difference. She no longer needs it as much, but when she does it has helped allot, and she loves the taste!
I hope my testimony helps some.
Good Luck!

I have had experience with gripe water and it saved my sanity. My daughter was 6 weeks premature and was not really ready for the world. Her intestinal system was really not ready for food but of course had to eat. She would fuss and cry every time she ate. The gripe water worked so well. It was like we had a new child.

Months later I gave my gripe water to my friend who's baby was so fussy and she said the same thing. It was like having a new child.

By the way I used the minimum amount recommended and it worked very well the entire time.

Good Luck!!

Hi S.,

My son was a very spitty baby and had a bit of colic as well until he was around 4 1/2 months old. My doctor told me about Gripe Water and the only place I could find it to purchase was at BabiesRus for around $10. I used it but didn't really think it did much good. It tastes like fennel and is pretty mild. It is worth a try if you are needing to try something. (My doctor is the type that does a lot of research prior to even recommending things to his patients--I worked with him as well and trust his opinion about what is "safe" for my son) Due to the excessive spitting and my son being on the low end of average weight we ended up starting him on a reflux medication, which didn't help much either. He ended up "out growing it" and doesn't seem to have problems with it today. I think, if anything, the Gripe Water may have helped with the explosive gas that my son would have at times... other than that, I couldn't say much.

Good luck. L.

Hi! I actually used gripe water and even keep some on hand. Where it didn't seem to help much with my little one I know it to work on others. There is nothing harmful in it and really no reason not to give it a shot. In my eyes it's no different from the peppermint water my grandmother used to use for upset stomachs when I was little.

Our Canadian neighbors gave us Gripe Water for our son a few years back. I think (if I remember right) we looked at the ingredients and it had alcohol in it! No wonder they sleep so well! We threw it away. I would be leery of the "all-natural" craze. There are many "natural" things in the environment that aren't meant for consumption and can be harmful when combined with other substances. I would trust your doctor (or get a 2nd opinion if you're still unsure). Good luck!

I used a form of gripe water called Colic Calm. Our son now 6 months had icky colic, I don't know that it helped. I like Hyland teething tablets for teething. And for colic (gas,hiccups, and upset stomach) I had the best luck with a chiropractor. In fact it was almost instant, we now have a very happy little boy.

Love it!!!!! We discovered it over 5 years ago w/ our first child. Back then the only place we could find it was through a baby web site. It seemed expensive at the time, but it was well worth it. Like someone else said, gas drops did nothing for him and this stuff was a God send. Now, with my 6 month old daughter it is like magic. She gets fussy every now and then at bed time. I give her a shot of gripe and almost instantly she goes to sleep. I recommend it to all my friends now.

BTW, for anyone else, drugstore.com usually has it on sale and if you get more than one bottle at a time it is worth the shipping.

Absolutely love the product!! I used it, give it as gifts, donate it to women's shelters,....This product is all natural and will bring calm to mothers and babies. It settles those sore sour stomach, and the babies I know, didn't even mind the taste.
In fact I won't use anything on my granddaughter unless I use it on me first. I liked it. I have always felt perfectly safe using this product. Hurry and go get some already!

I actually had a question for you- where did you find the Gripe water? Did you find it helpful? Thanks!

My 11 month old had a lot stomach problems when he was a newborn, to the point where he did not sleep well at all. Gripe water was the answer for me. I started using it around 1 month of age and he was sleeping through the night by 2 months of age!

I used it also for my son I dont remember at what age I started to use it for him but I was told about it from my husbands cousin who said it worked to help her daughter sleep through the night at that time I was willing to try it and I asked the Dr. about it she said it wouldnt hurt at all, so I ordered some on-line and found the only thing it was really good for was hiccups for him. I still use it to this day for his hiccups and they are gone right away I dont know what it is in that gripe water but it works right away!! His hiccups are really strong and deep and he sounds like hes going to throw up so I like to try to get rid of them if I can so I still use it now and hes 15 months old. Other then that I didnt find it really worked for anything else for him but all kids are different and gripe water may help with other issues for your child so go on and try it but make sure you follow the directions and not to give her to much. Hope this helps! L.

I've used it before. It worked great!!! And my daughter took it soooo much easier than Mylicon!!

Yes! I use it and really think it helps my little one when I have eaten something that seems to upset his tummy (I BF). Fennel and ginger are known to help with digestion. (I use them for myself.) If he has bad gas, I go for the Mylicon drops, but I try not to use those too often.

Hi there. I'm Canadian born and raised, living here in NE with my family. Gripe water is a mainstay of many Canadian moms as well. We always bring it back w/ us from Canada. I've noticed it recently here in the US as well. Difference being, the Canadian formula is available w/ alcohol, which we prefer. But I think it is still a valuable tool. Read the ingredients, pretty natural ingredients, mainly herbal. We used it with each of our 5 kids as infants, especially the first few months when upset tummies were frequent. If we had diagnosed correctly, after 1 or 2 doses, they gave a little burp and settled right down, often to sleep. The alcohol helped them sleep better, I believe. We didn't use it more than a couple of times a week. It's not a cure all, but was often helpful. And all of our kids are very bright, seem to have no ill effects. So that's our experience with it. Hope it helps. Haven't actually read any studies as to its efficacy or safety, but don't think three mainstream countries would permit it to be overthecounter after all these years of use.

my daughter is almost 9 months and I've used gripe water since her birth. It's been used in by family for ages and we all live by it!

I LOVE this product! My baby is 7 months old and we still sometimes use gripe water. He was very gassy and had the hardest time sleeping because of it, so my friend suggested it and it was one of the best things ever. I definitely promote it! We got ours at Walgreens and Wiggles and Giggles.

Good luck!

Gripe water worked well for use when our kids were fussy due to gas or other discomforts. Especially with our colicy child. My doctor said it was safe to use as long as it was used as directed. I have found that it is hard to find. Not every store carries it.

I have had some experience with gripe water and it did nothing for my son. He was very colicy until he was 8 weeks old and i tried the gripe water and it did not seem to do anything for him at all. It may be different for some though. Good luck!

There are a few things that come to mind here.
First is the risk of allergies when feeding the baby anything but breastmilk (or formula, though that carries an increased risk of allergies too) for the first 6 months. This includes herbal and allopathic medicine. If your particular brand of gripewater is homeopathic, I wouldn't worry about allergies because that's so watered down (which isn't to say that it's ineffective).
Another thought is that while "gripe water" has been around for quite a while, there are many different formulas, so you might not be feeding your baby specifically what others have used. I tried one of these products with my son when he was around that age, but it had no effect whatsoever. It's possible that the cause of his distress isn't the same as the cause of your baby's, so gripe water might help. It's also possible that you're using a different brand than I had, so it still might work.

Yes it works. I used it and it helped when I my babys is fussy. A neighbor used it with her daughter and with in 15 min she was farting up a storm. The gave it to her and put her on the floor and she went to town.

Hi S.,

I used Gripe Water by Baby's Bliss for my son around 3 months old. We call it Miracle Water!!! My son did not want to nap. It was the only thing that would calm him down enough that he would fall asleep. My pediatrician never heard of it. I am a chiropractor and tell many new moms about it. I believe it is safe. I use Gripe water and Hylands teething tablets for my son while he is teething(he is 1 year old). Hope this helps!
L.

HI S. I have heard of Gripe water but Energique is a company in Iowa that has 3,500 natural products and herbals nutrition and essential oils. Homeopathics can be used on newborns but they can't have herbals til 8 months.This company has mor specific combinations and homeopathics healwithout harm sure wish I would of known about this when my kids were small. There Number is 1-800-869-8078 tell them P. Cross told you they know me...ITs an Iowa based company and you usually get your product next day and there very good on the phone to help you..
P. Cross Ortho-Bionomy Practitioner.

I grew up with my mum using it (from Canada with British grandparents) and it worked great for us, and for my two children and I order BOXES of it for every new mom I know. It rocks and is totally safe. It does not contain alcohol. only natural oils... all good.

I live in England and used gripe water. I found it to be more effective than other products.

My husband and his brothers had it when they were babies, with no problems. The only thing is that isn't suitable for very small babies, so check that yours is old enough before using it.

HI, I am a stay at home mom of a 4 year old and a
1 year old. I have used Gripe Water on both my chidren, I first heard of it from my sister. It does not have any alcohol, the ingredients are sodium bicarbonate, Anise oil, dill oil, fennel oil, glycerine, etc. It really worked well on both of my children, when they had a stomach upset, or teething.

Hi Suzanne,
My daughter is also 3 1/2 months and we have used gripe water a few times (in the earlier weeks). I found it helped a little and definitely had no adverse effects. I think we first gave it to her at around 6 weeks. I haven't used it in a while but keep it on hand. Hope it works for you!
-R.

Hi S.,
We gave our daughter gripe water when she was 2- 4 months old. She was very colicky and had acid reflux. I think it worked- It seemed to help her tummy issues. I bought it at our local co-op.
Good Luck,
K.

Hi! I used it from birth to 6months with my now 10 month old. I loved it!! She had bad gassiness after bottles and I found this to be a miracle worker for me. She stopped being fussy and was much more enjoyable.

hi. my son is 4 mo's old and i swear that stuff has saved us! my chiropractor/homeopathic dr gives it the ok too. hope that helps.

Hi S.,

I used Gripe water for my daughter when she was baby. I had a friend send it to me from Canada because I guess it's not sold here. It worked well in getting rid of her hiccups and all that other stuff you mentioned.

Hey! I've only heard of this in passing--I've never used it myself. My question would be...what are you using it for?? I'm a nurse myself and have access to physicians frequently--as well as having my own two kids (3 1/2 and 18mo). I know my own physician relates that there is really no reason to give your baby (under 4-6mo) anything other than breastmilk or formula. So is it for colic? (some will tell you if your breastfeeding--cut out chocolate and coffee first and foremost--Chocolate was a HUGE colic culprit for both my babies) Or is it for teething? There is always motrin and oragel--but that's just another medicine...could something all natural be better? Quite possibly. It's tit for tat I say. If you've tried to get rid of what's causing your baby discomfort--to the best of your ability and gripe water works best-do it! As we all know--in a state of exhaustion when you tried EVERYTHING else, you go with what works and what will keep you sane--while trying your best to do the safest option.
What did your pediatrician say about it??

Hi S., Just a heads-up on gripe water, whatever brand you go with make sure it does not contain sodium bicarbonate in it. Some companies put this in the product to cause burping if there's gas in the tummy. I did some research and found that it's not good for babies to have sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) especially when the bottle says okay to use up to 6 times a day! I had used Wellements gripe water before I knew about the sodium bicarbonate in it and the product didn't do much for my little one when she had colic. I found a product instead called Colic Calm (google it) that's all natural and it made a difference, however, Colic calm contains charcoal which makes the solution look black and if it gets on baby's clothes can stain them. So we would use an old dark colored towel when giving it to our baby. Good Luck!

I used this with my now 3 yr old son when he was in infant. While it wasn't the "miracle cure-all" it did do a really great job with his gas. Hope this helps!

T.

My daughter had colic, and a few people told me about Gripe Water. I used it, and although it didn't miraculously cure her, it did help. Also, I have never heard anything bad about it.

Hi -

Gripe water didn't work for us at all - but baby gas drops worked miracles!! There are many different brands, we found Litte Tummies to be the cheapest. The active ingredient is simithecone (sp??)They don't work for teething - but they work fro anything tummy related. For teeting we used teh maximum strangth nighttime oragel all day long. The dr. said no problem to use the max strength during the day too.

Have a fun day!
S. (=