Hi mamas,
My baby is six days old and has been really gassy. He is breastfed, but likes to suck on everything. When he sucks on his hands he swallows :(. He is so uncomfy and I really wish there was a way to help him. I have Mylicon drops for gas but was hoping some of you mamas could offer some advice!
Thank you in advance.
~A very tired new mommy,once again
Best thing I have found is good old fashioned connection! Meaning, put him high up on your shoulder so that he curves over your shoulder and pat pat pat. Either that or over the top of your thigh, rubbing his back. Even just giving him a gentle tummy rub can help. You could put gloves on his hands but I think you would end up with a frustrated baby. He will grow out of it. Sleep when he sleeps and be patient, he will grow out of this age VERY fast. Kiss his toes and enjoy him. =)
Hmmm, before giving him anything, maybe try any or all of the following:
-Really make sure he empties one breast before offering him the other one. Sometimes this means you start a feeding on the same side you offered last time. The hindmilk is very kind to your babies digestive system. Pardon the detail here, but if he is getting plenty of hindmilk he will have a good amount of little curds in his poo.
-Techniques that helped me with the burping:
- hold the baby very much upright (you don't lean back too much) when you have him at your shoulder or if he's sitting up for compression burping
- try different approaches (ie over your thighs, soft massage, hard pats...)
-It might take many minutes for the burp to come (if it's going to come at all)
-take a look at your diet and see if he has more or less gas when you have eaten certain things
-check that no bonus gas is getting in there during breast feeding (nice deep latch, feed him before he gets crying). Let him rest when he needs to. Allow for burps between breasts (if he seems to want both). The La Leche League website has an amazing amount of info on it. So does Kellymom.com
-Sometimes tummy time or making his legs bicycle will get the gas moving.
Good luck to you both!!
Avoid gassy foods in your diet (beans, onions, cabbage, etc.).
I never could get mine to burp on my shoulder. I would hold their chin in one hand with them sitting on my lap, and pat their backs with my other hand. Maybe try different ways to burp him, so it can't travel down his digestive system and make him crampy.
Also, I agree with whoever said to bicycle the legs - that worked great for my kids. When he's a little older, you can have him kick at a toy which is more fun. :)
Hope you get some sleep tonight!
My son had reflux until he was about 6 months old. He was on zantac, but had horrible issues with gas and feeding. I tried mylicon and it didn't seem to do anything. Gripewater, on the other hand, worked really well. If the burping techniques don't help (and they didn't with our son, and we tried!) I would suggest you give that a go.
Elly
Hi Marie,
Congratulations on your little one. My second son was the same way and although he did grow out of it after about 2 months, one thing that helped him was to sort of cradle him on his tummy with both of my arms supporting his body. You hold him belly side down with one arm supporting his head and torso and the other arm through his legs and on his belly The nurses showed me how to do it and I swear, he would let out SO much gas when I would put him in this hold and get almost instant relief! He also was a huge air gulper when he was nursing. I could hear huge pockets of air going down in his belly and gurgling and then he would just scream!
Best of luck and let me know if you need more description on the "magic hold".
-Erika
I took a sliver of peppermint and swirled it in a half oz of warm water then let the baby drink it. It is a miracle worker.
Gripewater is great--not sure I gave it to my little one so early but the other trick a nurse in the hospital showed me when my 2nd was SO fussy and gassy was to microwave a burp cloth so it's nice and warm and then put it tightly up against his belly and swaddle it to him. Make sure it's between his jammies and the blanket so not against his skin. Acts like a heating pad and helped calm him a bit. Good luck, and congratulations!
GOOGLE hind milk and fore milk. make sure that he gets all he can from one breast before he changes sides. I had to feed my baby on one breast for three hours before changing sides, because he did not pull down the more fatty hind milk only the more sweet fore milk. this cause all kinds of problems for his tummy.
http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,40wl,00.html
just one site of many on the subject.
hope this helps
Hi Tired Mama. My 8 week old was very gassy as well. I tried Mylicon as well and was unhappy with it. However, Baby's Bliss Gripe Water has been working very well for my son. It is an all natural herbal supplement. It calms my baby in literally 5 minutes. https://www.colichelp.com/ReviewPost/showproduct.php?product=33> Congratulations on your precious new baby.
Dear Marie,
My newborn was so gassy that I joked we should have named him Gus because it's only one letter away from gas. Fortunately, he didn't cry a lot about it or anything. Be sure to burp him well after he nurses. I put my son across my legs on top of a pillow so his little hiney was elevated then patted and rubbed his back. He was able to get rid of a lot of gas that way. Air bubbles rise to the top so I figured once the gas was already down into his digestive tract, elevating his fanny would help and it really did! He outgrew it after he got the hang of breathing and sucking at the same time. I tried the gas drops and everything, but getting the air out of one end or the other throughout the day worked best for him.
Best of wishes and congratulations on your precious new baby!
Hi Marie,
I haven't read the rest of the posts but I swore by Baby's Bliss Gripe Water. I found it at Raley's and Bel Air. It's about $10 and is in a blue box with a lady on the front. It saved my little guy. Good luck!
Hi Marie,
One thing I did was go see a "latch-on" specialist and it helped her not get so much air.
Trish
I had 2 gassy children so I tried everything. I would definitely use the Mylicon throughout the day. I also used Gripe water with my 2nd child and that seemed to work great. Also make sure he is burped really well and lay him on your forearm so the gas can push its way out. If you are nursing than you may need to cut out dairy and carbonated drinks for awhile. I always noticed that Milk, Ice Cream and Sodas were the worst for their tummy. Also sometimes garlic or cinnamon can upset their tummy. My 2nd child is 6 months old and by about 3 months all the fussiness/gassiness was gone.
Hi, Marie! So hard to have your baby be uncomfy--and mama get so little sleep. My daughter (25 in October) was also breast fed and was gassy and colicky. At two months of age, she developed a series of colds and ear infections--which lasted two years. We tried Western medicine, homeopathy, and Chinese medicine. Nothing worked. We finally met a chiropractor (Dr, Mller) who, using me as a proxy, did applied kinesiology (muscle testing). It is a way of asking your body questions. Through that, we found out that our daughter had allergies. She was put on a very limited diet, and was clearly fine within a week. I'd be happy to give you Dr. Miller's contact info if you want. I wish I had known about her when our daughter was born. It could have eliminated hours of agony -- for me and for our precious baby.
If you don't want to see a chiropractor, you can try eliminating the normal allergens: wheat, dairy (you'd have to supplement your calcium), eggs, chocolate, strawberries. I forget what the others are. And, as someone else mentioned, eliminate the usual gas producers: onions, cabbage, broccoli, beans, etc.
Best wishes!
Hi Marie, I feel for you. My La Leche League leader suggested that I stop eating broccoli, onions, and anything else which gives YOU gas. You could also start taking a digestive enzyme (sold at Whole Foods) which will help him in turn. Holding him in the football hold also helps get the gas out and rubbing his back at the same time. I used alot of Mylicon in my time.
Do the bicylce with him and make sure to burp him well. Watch what you eat if you are breastfeeding, it can make all the difference.
Also you can lie him on his stomach while you monitor him, the pressure on his tummy sometimes makes it feel better. His system has to learn how to work, so it's normal to go through some of this.
If you haven't already I highly recommend the DVD "Happiest Baby on the Block" it shows some excellent comforting tips that are magic. Run out and get it. There is a hold that he shows you and that too will help his tummy and soothe him.
Try cocyntal. You can find it at places like Whole Foods. It's for colic, but it works well for gassy little ones also. I have been using it on my boys when needed for the last 7 years and know many other moms who have tried it and love it also. The best part is it's all natural and works well. My pedi checked it out for me and gave the go ahead and like I said we still use it and our kids are 5 and 7. Good luck!!
The sears family baby book has a great section on this - with diagrams of different position that will comfort a gassy newborn. In case you can't get it, here are two that saved us. 1) lay baby on back and bicycle legs. 2) lay baby's tummy on top of your palm (hand palm up, baby at 45 degree angle facing down), gently rub lower tummy -- another way to think of this is too make the rock a bye baby cradle with your arms, place baby tummy down, head on the inside of your elbow, gently swinging your arms. The drops didn't help us much. Also look at your diet - tomatoe sauces, broccoli, cabbage, and milk in the mom's diet can lead to gassy breastfed babies.
Good luck! (and of you do get the book take it with a grain of salt, it has a lot of good info, but from a particular perspective, take what is useful, leave the rest).
My first born was very gassy and lived on mylicon. Sometimes he would have several droppers full before any relief was in sight for him. I would tricycle his legs and rub his tummy and he would pass lots of gas!!! We even ended up in the ER at Kaiser a couple of times because of the strss of the crying and at the advise of the nurse listening to his crys over the phone. Well Kaiser ER doctors are not the smartest when it comes to children to say the least!!!! We finally found out he was allergic to milk and ALL dairy protiens that I was eating. He was getting this trough my brest milk. I went dairy free which is VERY hard if not imposible.
I would watch for blood in the poop (my oldest had little streaks of it in his poop it sometimes looks like coffee grounds) Also if you eat sweetpotatoes or brocholi (sorry if spelling is wrong! Not the best speller!!!) These are just a few foods that you can be eating that can be causing the gas in your baby. I would watch what you eat and feel free to give the Mylicon (generic brands are just as good and sometimes cheaper) If this doesn't work a visit to your baby's doctor wouldn't hurt!
Good luck!