I am breastfeeding and finding that my baby is fussy after most feedings. He spits up and always seems to be uncomfortable. He only finds comfort in me rocking him and putting him on my shoulder. I thought breasfed babies are less likely to have gas. Is it what I am eating or is something wrong with him? He often grunts and seems restless when he is sleeping. I am worried about him. Should I start formula instead?
If your baby is really gassy I would first cut dairy out of your diet. Dairy products can make babies pretty gassy. I think dairy takes a couple of weeks to completely get out of your system. So give it time. Plus, in my opinion formula is rarely a "good" alternitive. Most formulas are made out of dairy, so there might still be a problem. Good luck!!
dont give up nursing, unless it is what you really want. your baby is still so little, lots of them are just uncomfortable in the first couple of months. most likely, giving up breastfeeding will only make it worse, he may have more trouble digesting formula and wont have the comfort of nursing. just give him some time. and definitely try cutting dairy out of your diet. chinese food and caffiene too. citrus in my diet gave my 1st baby problems. try to pay attention to what you eat before he is most uncomfortable. it might really not be anything you are eating though, it just takes some babies a little time to settle. im sure he is fine, but if you truly feel like something is wrong, trust your mom instinct and go for a check up.
Hi Dawn,
I went through the same thing with my son, who is now 2. He was a very spitty baby in spite of being breastfed exclusively for the first year of his life, no formula at all (as he got older he spit up less). In the beginning it was just spitting up, but then it became obvious that he was uncomfortable, and it turned out he had reflux, and it was starting to burn. I am NO FAN of medication, but I wound up having to give him medication for it. Luckily it was just for a couple of months, it made him more comfortable, it prevented damage to his lower esophagus from all the acid, and he outgrew it. I kept nursing, though, no matter what. I think it's a myth that nursing babies are less gassy/spitty, because I've spoken to a lot of nursing moms who experienced the same thing. Also, with regards to your diet, the jury's still out on that one as far as I'm concerned; I heard and read things from both sides, saying it does matter, and saying it doesn't matter. I tried everything -- avoiding spicy foods, no dairy, avoiding gassy foods (e.g. broccoli), don't cook with pepper, etc. None of it helped, and my culinary desires suffered (ha ha)! One thing I also learned is very freuqently, especially in boys, they are born with their gastrointestinal system not completely mature yet, which is why this happens, and you just have to wait for his gut to catch up with the rest of him. Keep an eye on him, if he really cries after spitting up or his arching his back he is probably in pain and you should consider the medication (the name of it is escaping me right now). There are natural things on the market, I tried "Colic Ease" -- I believe that was the name of it, with minimal success, but better than no success. Also, try to maintain your baby in an upright position during and after feeding, and adjust the crib matress so that the head is higher than the foot so he sleeps somewhat upright -- these were recommendations that were given to me. When breastfeeding, don't lie down with him; sit and keep his head higher than his feet. Also, my pediatrician showed me a nursing position in which he was completely seated on my lap -- I forget the name of the position, but he straddled the thigh on the side I was feeding him, faced my breast directly, and nursed like that. Overfeeding is a no-no, his little immature gut can't handle it, so smaller more frequent feedings are better. Tougher on you, I know, but stick with it, it is so worth it! Good luck, and if I can be of any more help, drop me a line, I'll help in any way I can!
- Denise
Oh - by the way, just another thought-- if your son is continuing to gain weight, it's probably not so serious. But if he is not growing at a good pace or is failing to thrive, the reflux issue is more serious and it will need medical attention. In spite of all his spitting, my son grew in leaps and bounds -- so much so that my father, after not seeing his grandson for a couple of months but always hearing about the reflux and being concerned, when he saw him he said, "Good thing he is spitting up -- he'd be 120 pounds by now!" :)
have you tried gas drops? they are so mild, you can give them at every feeding! don't give up nursing... it is still the best for your baby!
if he is spitting up... pp seem to have good ideas. i think alot of baby's digestive systems just aren't fully developed yet... so they have issues getting it all down properly. my dd was put on baby prevacid for acid reflux. after filling the 2nd prescription... we forgot it one nite and realized that it did not help her AT ALL! she outgrew the spitting up. however, she wasn't really very gassy... so it could be a totally different story.
www.kellymom.com has GREAT tips and information for breastfeeding. they probably have some information on this topic, as well.
HTH
I started to notice when my baby was 6 weeks old that she was getting very fussy as well and had really bad gas. You could hear her tummy rumbling. Anyway, turns out she has a sensitivity to milk products. I cut all dairy out of my diet and saw a difference in her within 24 hours. I could not believe it. It was like I had a completely different baby. Speak to your pediatrician about it. I did some research online and kind of figured it out myself but did not cut the dairy out until my doctor told me to.
By the way, she is now 8 months old and I gave her some soy yogurt about a month ago. She loved it but became very fussy. I thought it was because she was teething. Turns out, the yogurt has the milk protein in the cultures. I guess she is still sensitive to it. The doctor says she could grow out of it so not to worry.
Good luck-
Stephanie
hi dawn; it's great that you're writing for help with nursing. i can tell you this; formula will definitely only make the problems worse. the first thing i would suggest is to google La Leche League Intl. and find the phone number for your local chapter leader. most of the time, things like discomfort, spitting up, etc., in breastfed babies has to do with latch (how your baby has the nipple in his mouth) and flow (how the milk is coming out.)
dawn, breastfeeding is so good for your baby that formula ccomercials on television are now required to show a disclaimer that breast milk is better than thier own product. since you have hung in there this long, i urge you to keep going. try a LLL meeting as soon as you can, and speak to the chapter leader as well, on the phone, about an in home visit with a lactation consultant or counselor.
good luck!
jessica
I don't think it is what you are eating as long as your diet is well-balanced. You could try burping more frequently. Sometimes the baby eats so quickly that the gas builds up. Burping more frequently might prevent that. I think your baby really enjoys being held by you, naturally it will be the most comfortable place for him/her. Believe me, if the baby was uncomfortable when sleeping, then he/she wouldn't be sleeping at all. Good luck and Happy Mother's Day!
Try to avoid formula as long as you can. try breastfeeding your baby sitting up. put the sitting baby on your lap facing you and bring him to your breast to feed as he normally would. Maybe an upright position might help the gassiness. After feeding him keep him sitting upright. If you find him to be gassy try the buddah position to try to relieve it. place baby on your lap lying down on his back and put his legs upright against your chest. He should resemble the L-- sometimes this position helps baby's with gas.
Hey Dawn:
I found with my oldest that I could not eat chocolate in any form--it made him terribly cranky and gassy! I never heard that breastfed babies were less gassy.
You don't say how old he is or when this started. Could be he is a little colicky. I hear now they tell parents that it is acid reflux! Either way, in my case, my son was just fussy every evening from 7 to 11. My husband and I held him, rocked him, walked up and down steps with him (hoping to get that gas up), pumped his little legs, and anything else anyone told us to do to help. Not much did, he did like a nice soothing bath, so he got bathed ALOT!!
My second, a girl was fussy from 8-10 in the evening, but for a much shorteer time than my son. My third, another girl was never fussy! God bless her--she was the easiest as a newborn and baby of my three--was it her or me? I often wonder if I was just such a "pro" by then if I handled her differently and reaped the rewards (sleep!) from that!!
Hang in there, but do watch what you eat--everything you eat does pass through to the baby in your milk!
noodon't just start formula..try different things with your diet...also worse comes to worse pump & usea dr.brown's bottle...
I had a similar situation and went for help. Most likely is reacting to dairy and maybe other things. Soy often goes with dairy allergy in babies. If this is the case, formula will not help. In fact, you would have to get a more expensive formula to avoid dairy and soy as most formulas are dairy or soy based. Try cutting out dairy completely for two weeks and see if he gets better. Sometimes it takes a little while to get out of their system. If there are still symptoms like fussiness, gas, colic, reflux, etc. then also cut soy. It's a good idea to start a journal of everything you eat and any reactions you notice so you can figure out the correlation. Your other option would be to do a complete elimination diet where you only eat non-allergenic foods like potatoes, avocado, bananas, etc. Then you slowly introduce things back into you diet and watch for reactions. This would be tougher and probably isn't necessary unless your son's allergies are extreme. Most likely it's just the dairy and maybe soy. For me in turned out to also be tomatoes, strawberries, oats, and beef. Although it was tough at first to figure out to eat, it was well worth it. Often, they end up with blood in their stools too, which was happening with my daughter. When I got rid of the problem foods, she was the happiest baby and everywhere we go people still comment on what a good baby she is. She just turned one and now the only thing I'm still careful not to eat too much of is dairy. There are support groups for this kind of thing and support online through a listserve for food allergies.
Hope this helps. I know it can be hard but you can do it. I didn't think I could at first but now it's a year later and were almost past it all. By the way, most babies outgrow it by one if you allow their digestive system to mature more before giving it to them. Then they're less likely to have trouble with it later in life.
Priscilla
Try cutting out all dairy products for a week or two. My son had the same issue. If possible, don't quit breastfeeding! It's so good for babies health. Also try lying your baby on your lap with his head at your knees, hold his legs and gently bring his knees to his chest - it can relieve the gas pains.
Yes, you are probably eating something he doesn't agree with...broccoli is a common culprit, some babies love garlic others can't handle it....keep a food journal and figure out when baby is fussiest what you ate...odds are you'll need to cut somethings out for awhile...I did notice once my baby started eating solids he could tolerate me eating broccoli again...so it may only be a couple of months w/o your favorite foods! Goodluck!
I had a friend who went through this. What you eat affects the baby so if I remember correctly, her doctor had her go on a very specific diet. You would have to talk to your OB or the pediatrician but I recall her saying something like if she never ate brown rice again, she would be fine with it. LOL You may just have to go on a very bland diet and see if the gassiness goes away and then slowly add things back in until you come across something he can't handle again. But yes, you can still nurse him and you still should if that's what you want to do. I've learned there are certain things I can't eat with my son either or he was arch his back and cry for the next few hours to a day sometimes.
Best of luck!
Lisa
It is probably something that you are eating-like dairy. Start with eliminating dairy and if that does not solve the problem, make sure that you are not eating onions, brocoli, beans etc.
It could be something you are eating, with my daughter, she was sensitive to dairy and coffee. It took awhile for me to figure out what was bothering her, but once I did her gassiness went away. The best way to figure it out is to keep a food journal, and see when your child is gassiest.
Also if you rub his stomach and bring his knees to his chest it will help him to pass the gas.
Breastfeeding has sooo many benefits, I would only switch as a last resort.
My breastfeed little guy was the same way for the first four months. With Dr.s ok, I got some baby gas-ex and gave it to him for 3 days in a row. He also started solids at the same time.
He has had no real problems with gas since, some constipation with the rice cereal but pears and green beans will push that through.
Good luck!
Dawn,
What you eat definetly effects your baby. If you eat gassy foods or spicy foods, you may be causing some of the reason why your baby is fussing. Not to say you can't eat what you want, but watch how each food effects him. You may want to lower the amount of one or more foods for awhile and good luck!
Ann Marie
Dawn,
I would steer away from the formula - you are having no problems pumping, and he is having no problems eating!
Chances are, your little boy is like mine - he just needs a gentle burping, and to sit 45 degrees for a little while. Either a carseat or swing, or even an exersaucer (if he's old enough? not sure how old he is?)
Enjoy being able to give him comfort for the little while you will be able to. :)
One aspect of feeding my little boy was watching what I eat. I eliminated cruciferous - broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, artichoke, etc. (there's more), nuts (especially peanuts and walnuts), chocolate (for a little while none, now I can have it once in a while), and garlic and onions (includes chives, green onions, etc) all powders, dried or anything.
I can give him some of these now that he's able to handle the gas better (it's not leaving him with the screaming meme's in the middle of the night now).
When I had an oops or just had to have something with flavor, I gave him Mylicon before I fed him after my meal. That seemed to help a lot too. I don't do it often, though.
But, oh, don't start formula until you've gone a few other avenues at least. Formula is just as likely, if not more, to give him gas. Even the gas formula isn't fool-proof.
Find a few new songs to sing, and you'll have more fun rocking him.
You're lucky you can get him on your shoulder - I'd wind up with a shoulder of spit up (or worse, he'd overshoot and get the carpet, bed, chair, or all of the above).
Good luck! It's worth the work and the wait!
Michele