Baby Gas

I know you have gotten a ton of responses, but try the Wellements Gripe Water. You can get it at Fry's. I have used it on my daughter from 2 weeks, and now she is 13 months. I even use it when my stomach is upset. This does not contain alcohol and is made with organic ingredients. My daughter loves the taste! It gentle and the ginger and chamomile actually help soothe them to sleep.

My daughter also had stomach issues so I used Nestle's Good Start with the Comfort Proteins that make it easier for them to digest. I also used it for my son and it worked really well. Good luck.

J., I am a Newborn Care Specialist and I work with newborns every day. New research has come out concerning the DHA/ARA that is being put into formula's and it is not good. First you must know that the FDA does not approve any of the formulas that are on the market today. They only approve of the ingrediants that are in them as GRAS or safe foods. The DHA/ARA that is in the formula does not have the FDA's approval as a GRAS food and it will not affirm the safety of this product. DHA is made from an algae and ARA from a fungi but this is not the bad part. They are processed using a toxic chemical called Hexane. Hexane is a toxic solvant that is a by-product of gasoline.
Is DHA/ARA good for your baby? In Breast milk yes. In formula's the adverse affects are diarrhea, flatulance, vomiting, bloating, gastrointestianal discomfort (reflux), rashes, sizures and more. Furthermore there have been NO scientic studies that show that the DHA/ARA added into formulas benifits your baby in ANY WAY!
DHA/ARA was added to formulas to make money for the formula companies. Quote by Martek Biosciences Corp (makers of DHA/ARA)to their investors "Even if the DHA/ARA blend has no beneift, we think it should be widely incorporated into formulas, as a marketing tool and allow comopanies to promote their formula as closest to human milk."
This entire report come out in Jan and can be seen in its scarey entirety at www.cornucopia.com.
My suggestion to you is to use one of two formula that do not contain added DHA/ARA....Nestles Good Start in the purple can or Parent's Choice. FYI: the organic formula's that have included DHA/ARA in their formula's are voilating the National Organic Program so look for these to be pulled from the market soon.
I would bet your problems with gas go away with the change.
N.

I presently work with children and I have seen many mother come into the WIC office with the same problem, their doctor almost alway prescribe the orange enfamil.. it seems to help.Mylicon in the formula is also s great help.. and my secret to get rid of gas remedy is mint...boil water and pour on the mint leaves, you can buy from the supermarket, do not put any sweetner in the mint, let it cool and use to mix the formula....i used it on my granson and my two grandaughters and their parent...get some Zzzzzzzzz with that remedy

J.,

Our son was very gassy when he was little. We had him on Enfamil Lipil. But with EVERY feeding we gave him gas drops. Never had a problem again. We stopped giving them when he started solids at 3 months old.

Mylicon is a good brand, but the generic Target brand works just as well!

Good luck!'

N.

Hey J.! My son is now rounding 9 months old. He was quite a gassy little guy about the same age as your son. I agree with the other response and would highly recommend gripe water, possibly in every bottle since it sounds like he is really gassy. We never tried the mylicon drops. The legs exercises and gentle pushes work wonders as well! He is still a little too young to add rice cereal to his bottles to help him stay satisfied longer. I would give him an extra ounce or two and see if it helps. Best of luck and hang in there! Things always get better.

my oldest, who is now 18, had really bad colic. we tried everything as well. warm pepermint tea helped, and so did mancania tea(spanish for apple) at night but i swear by humphreys, you can get it behind the counter at any pharmacy. they are little white pills that disolve in their mouths. I feel for you, there is also antoher formula that my daughter was on that helped, it wsa called Alumentum ( i think that's how you spell it) expensive but she didnt spit it up (smells nasty too) but she drank it up. Hope i helped.
L.

At Walmart they have baby gas drops they work great and you can use them as often as needed!

Hi J.,

Do get the Mylicon drops or gripe water, they work wonders. My baby is 2 1/2 months also and very gassy so I give him Mylicon a couple of times a day and it really helps. I don't think it's abnormal for him to be gassy, but you may want to double check with his Dr.in case something else is going on. Also the little exercises that were mentioned below by gently pushing his little legs to his belly also help to relieve some gas. I do all this with my son. As far as him being hungry all the time, I don't know how many ounces you are feeding him per feeding but maybe he needs more ounces now. I just figured out that my little guy needs 6 instead of 4 ounces now. Just a thought. Good luck!

My son was really gassy at that age too. Have you tried Mylicon Drops (sp)? They really work for lot of babies. My son was exclusively breastfed so formula wasn't really the issue, but I found that changing the position I fed him in helped (holding him more upright as opposed to him being in more of a laying position) and stopping to burp him every few ounces as opposed to letting him drink most of his feeding at once.

My son also seemed hungry all the time and one nurse cautioned me that babies would eat themselves sick if you let them (which my son did) and that you kind of have to draw the line for them when you think they've had enough. She also said that their sucking reflex is really strong and that they often do it to soothe themselves. I think it's around that that we really started to push a pacifier. Eventually the gas subsided (you could hear his little tummy gurgle big time when he was gassy) but I think at this age their systems are still developing and as they grow things tend to resolve themselves a bit.

If it doesn't go away, you might ask your pediatrician about some other alternative medicines to help him be more comfortable. In the meantime, whatever works to get him to sleep even if it's in his car seat/swing/whatever. Do what works to get him to sleep in longer spurts so you can be functional during the day- it won't be forever.

Good luck to you!

There is this stuff called Mylacon. My sister's Brother-in-law is a pediatrician and he has indicated that you can not give too much to a baby because what they don't need they will process it out. I used it before and after every meal with my daughter and it workd wonders. The generic works just as well. It is in the isle of any store (Walmart, target) with the medicine. I just loved it.

Have you been able to breast feed? If not and formula is your only option than I have found that babys need to be in a calm, relaxed environment at all times. They get stressed very easily and when they have gas if they are able to relax it usually comes out easier. Mylicon and colic tablets help as well. Use sparingly. It is normal for babies to be hungry often. Holding your baby often makes him feel safe and comfortable. Maybe if you could spend more time at home that would help also.

Try using Mylicon drops for the gas, that might help.

I sooooo know what you're going through BOTH my babies were gassy babies, first when I wasn't breastfeeding the only bottle I could use was Avent which help emensly but the whole Soy formula made BOTH of my kids more gassy they both had to go on the Lactose Free Formula (I can't remember what the name is right now sorry) and I used alot of Mylicon also I had to use a really expensive formula for a while it was called Neutramigen or spelled something like that. Sometimes these little guys tummies just aren't up for all this outdoors LOL stuff. Good Luck!

You can also get a wrap or carrier where you can carry him tummy-to-tummy as thi swill really help relieve the g as and help him feel better. I would not give him rice cereal, as that literally has no nutrients. I have some recipes for homemade formula using goats milk and some other ingredients that I got from Dr. Kail, our naturopathic Dr., if you would like it. Just message me.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T051200.asp Here is a great link!

My younger son had terrible gas so I used the Mylicon Gas Drops at every feeding. I think you can use it up to 12 times a day but check the label. You could also try burping him a few times during the feeding as well as afterwards. I actually ended up getting a prescription for Zantac suspension for my son because it was both gas and acid reflux that were causing him problems. Check in with the pediatrician if you can't get things under control with OTC medication.

Hi, my name is Wendi. I'm not completely familiar with this, so I will just tell you, then hopefully you will be able to research more. A friend of mine has a baby with stomach problems and someone suggested goats milk and she seems to be doing fine now.

J. my daughter is using rice milk, for my grandson and since she started use the rice milk he has not had any isuues with his belly.

Hello J.,

My daughter had the same problem and my doctor switched her to 2% Milk at the age of 7 Months and the problem went away. So you might want to check with your doctor to see if that may help.

D.

I would suggest trying an alternate formula like similac soy or similac sensitive. I would also try giving him mylicon as long as your pediatrician has no objections. Other things you can try: give him a warm bath, place baby on his tummy as long as he is supervised-place baby over your legs and rub his back or place tummy side down on the bed, lay him on his back and bend his legs like he is squatting in the air. Just try different positions like laying on his side.

When my son was that small he used to have the same problem and someone told me to put a towl in the dryer and worm it up the swaddle him in it. That did not work for my son but my mother told me about something that used to work for me when I was a baby. You take 8oz of water and 1tbs of Dark Carol Syrup, put it in a pan and bring it to boil. Once it is boiling remove it from the stove and let it cool. You can mix it with equil parts water if you like to cook it faster. I used to give that to my son anytime he had any stomach issues and it would always calm is stomach. Hope it helps!

With our experience with our 5 children (#6 on the way ~ EDD 5/08) we have found the following products to work:
Gripe Water
Mylicon Drops
Being a personal trainer, you might be interested in some exercises that help to relieve and develop better tummy muscles so those wee ones can pass gas more easily.
We do the bicycle (pretty much the same as the adult version just make sure to gently push the knees up to the tummy).
There are baby massages that you can do to help relieve and strengthen those muscles as well.
If you are interested you can email me:
____@____.com
HTH.
~D.

Our little one had insane gas up until the time she was 6 mos and she still has it from time to time so I can empathize!
We used a product called FloraBaby - I have mentioned in several of my other responses - it is an intestinal enzyme that was recommended by our pediatrician to help balance out her digestive system and help her break down proteins more easily. We also gave her simethicone (sp?) drops EVERY time she ate - it is safe to give every two hours. We did this for about three months until her system could handle food. In addition, at night we placed a heating pad under her on the lowest setting - this kept the muscles from cramping up so much and helped her to relax. I know babies aren't "supposed" to sleep on their bellies, but on her belly with the warmth under her worked really well.
She was a breastfed baby so I also had to change my diet to eliminate lactose - you using the soy formula is probably best. You could also talk to your doc about testing his iron level - baby formulas have high concentrations of iron that some babies can't handle and there are low iron formulas out there.
Finally - there is a product called gripewater which is good for baby digestive systems but it was recommended to us that we not give it until she was about 6 months.
Good luck!

Try Infant mylicon drops. My son was very gassy too and they worked great for him. You can buy them at stores like Wal-Mart or a grocery store.

I have a 4 1/2 month old baby and had the same problem. He wouldn't sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time all day long.I mostly breast feed but he also threw up alot and needed feed alot more, so he would get a few bottles a day. I also tried different formulas.

Have you tried Gripe Water? You can get it from Walgreens. It helps better than the gas drops. It says on the bottle that you can give it to infants as young as 2 weeks old. That help my son some but he was still throwing up. We put him on Zantac and that has help the stomach pains and his throwing up. It has made a huge difference(once we found the right dose). I found that if i gave it to him and than feed him it stayed in him long enough to get in his system. Good luck and I hope you find something that works.

K. R.

One of my kids had the same trouble. It lasted until he was nine months old when I started giving him little bits of acidophilus with each feeding. By the third day the trouble was gone. Oh, if only I had known sooner! He had gotten so bad that he only slept for about 20 minutes at a time.

I also learned not to give any of my children soy. It can actually lead to allergies and is very high in natural estrogens which little boys do not need...like 20,000 times more than you as a mommy produces! Needless to say, we stopped the soy and stuck with milk based products. That same child who had the gas and was on soy has the most allergy troubles of our family and is even allergic to soy.

I used adult capsules of acidophilus. I broke them open and used about a fifth of a capsule mixed with baby gas drops. You could put it in his formula. Now, there may be something specifically for babies at Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, or Wild Oats.

I hope this helps!

Is there any possibility that your baby might have thrush? My son had thrush after being on antibiotic after birth and it was so difficult to get rid of, but it made him extremely fussy with gas problems. I remember those long sleepless nights! He could have thrush, which is a yeast type thing in his mouth or possibly through diaper rash. The thrush goes into his digestive tract and causes pain and irritation just like the severe diaper rash and lots of gassy type pains. Just a thought. Look in his mouth and see if tehre is anything white anywhere in there. Be sure to look all over especially in the crevices. Good luck!

My daughter had horrible gas as a newborn, I would put mylicon in all her bottles, the formula that worked best for her was nestle good start. She finally outgrew it once she could sit up! My son is 15 months and he started getting horrible gas around 6-7 months, I breastfed him and now that he is on milk he still has bad gas, it sometimes wakes him at night, I also use the mylicon on him it helps most the time. I have a friend who uses gripe water I think you can get it in the baby aisle in Fry's, its for tummy troubles. Good luck I hope you start getting sleep soon :)

J.,
Ok, my son had this problem and we learned a technique for helping him to pass gas. Try holding his legs at the knees and pull up halfway toward his chest. Make little circles with his legs in both directions to massage his belly and get the bubbles to work their way down. Then gently pull his knees to his chest and alternate left knee to right shoulder and vice versa. Repeat this several times in one sitting to get it all out. When we would do this my son would pass gas to rival most men. It really helped him. I usually did it just before putting him to bed so that he was compfortable the longest while sleeping. However, I always fed him as soon as he woke up instead of right before he went to sleep. This way your not disturbing a full tummy. I hope this works for you.

My little one had a similar problem. Unfortunately, we did not come up with the answer quickly. The doctor told me to keep him on soy. I found out through other means that about half the kids allergic to milk are also allergic to soy. We started rice milk and he is so much happier now.

As far as the gas goes, try Mylicon drops. These were lifesavers when my son was a newborn.

Good luck!

J.-
I went through the same colicky syndrome- I tried it all also. My son out grew it when he was about 5 1/2 to 6 months old. We had to keep him in the swing alot- it seemed the constant motion helped him relax. Also, he would cry and not sleep for us either. Another suggestion i have that seemed to help our son was Chamomille tea. Some people suggest not to give it to babies, but, as with anything you will know as their mother(: I hope this helps- a mother - N.

I know you already have tons of responses. Just a note on soy formula, soy is made from (soy)beans, beans tend to cause gas, so soy probably won't help your son. Also, be careful with gripe water, some varieties actually contain small amounts of alcohol. Mylicon drops and bicycling the legs after feedings is what worked for my babies. Good luck.

My son had extremely painful gas as an infant, or at least what we thought was gas. I was breastfeeding so we cut every gas causing food from my diet and I had even eliminated milk when we found out that he had a bacterial infection in his colon that was causing the pain, and by that point diarrhea and weight loss. I will always regret not having him tested sooner. My son had c. difficile (not sure on the spelling) and the first stool test that we did, did not include testing for that bacteria. It may be something that you have to ask for if you want it done the first time around. I was told that the bacterial infection was most likely caused by the antibiotics I was given during labor.

If your son's issue is gas, I'm sure other moms on the sight will have lots of helpful ideas. If you haven't already, it may be worth checking to see if this could be something else, especially if you had any antibiotics during labor. Good luck and I hope you and your son are sleeping more soon.

Mylicon Drops work wonders

Have you tried millicon simathicone drops? Chamomile tea is also a really big help as well, less crackers.

Hi J. -

Your story is EXACTLY like mine! My son is 4 1/2 now and I tried all the same formulas you did. Turns out, my son was allergic to them all. The specialist put him on an amino based formula (no soy, dairy, gluten etc) It's called Elecare. It's NOT cheap by any stretch, but what's the price for a good night's sleep and a happy baby who's NOT in pain? I would have paid any amount of money necessary! Anyway, my son is doing GREAT now and we're all sleeping thru the night. If you decide to try this formula, you can find it at Walgreens (special order). You have to buy it in a case of 6 cans and it's $200. If you would like further info, email me.

Jaime,

All 3 of my boys suffered bad gas and I had to do many different things at different times. The 2 biggest savers for me were something called "gripe water" and that aquarium swing that they probably still have that swings both back & forth and side to side. My kids all disliked the common swinging back and forth but loved the side to side and it also does a little aquarium light show at night and also plays really nice music. Around $100 and worth every single penny and I sold it when I was done for $50! The gripe water I got online you can google it. I tried a lot of stuff and for us, like many others this was magic! Good luck, I still clearly rememeber all the sleepless nights I had while trying to work it all out! Also worth mentioning is try different kinds of bottles. I used the air vent ones by playtex that reduce the amount of air they are taking in while drinking which is a HUGE contributor to gassiness.

J.-
I know what you are going through. My first one was like and she had colic. There are two different things that I know about and they work well, but each baby is different. First there is Mylacon over the counter at the store in the baby section. It is specically for gas problems. The other is this wonderful stuff called Grip Water. You have to look on line to see where a locate dealer is near you. I know here in las cruces the Mountain View Natural Store has it. You put it straight into the baby's bottle and it helps to calm their stomach and help them sleep much better. It is also very natural for them and safe. I hope that this helps you out.
S. C

Unless there is another reason he is not on regular formula, and that is between you and your doctor, I would switch him back and go to a health food store and get some stuff called Bubble-b-gone. I put 4 drops 4 x's a day in his bottles,and he passes his gas and never cries about it being stuck in his little tummy. I used Mylicon drops with my other kids, but it didn't work so good for this baby. He doesn't have any gas pains anymore. It is worth a try. Good luck!

ARe you breast feeding? If so, try supplement bottle, ot a little rice cereal.

My daughter had the same problem at the same age as your son. I went through formulas, but Allimentum was what we found to work the best (which wasn't that great). At three months, she was given Ranitidine liquid for Reflux. It helped a little, when she would take it and not spit it out at me. It was hard, she slept very little and I was very upset to think she was hungry. I started making her cereal, single grain with a lot of formula. She didn't know what to think of it at first, but eventually she began to learn to work the mush with her tongue. She was never satisfied with formula alone. Practice makes perfect, so we tried everything. It wasn't easy. She often refused to eat the mush and was very finicky. She eventually grew out of the “stage,” and now she eats almost everything I put in front of her, except jarred baby food! My advice is to ask your doctor about Reflux. Most say that you should only feed a baby under 1yr formula or breast milk, but my instincts told me my baby was hungry so I fed her – whatever she would eat. I recommend excluding nuts, popcorn, cow milk, and honey… you know the rules for introducing new foods.

There is a herbal tea that is caffine free and you can find it in any grocery store tazo tea makes one and so does celestial seasons it is a camamile tea it is a calming tea, I used to use that with the mylicom for my daughter the trick with the tea is that you dont want to give it to the baby to hot or to cold more like luke warm and it calm the baby and the mylicom helps with the gas. And my daughter with the mixture of both started sleeping through the night at like i want to say 3 or 4 months old and she still does and i still use the combo and it still works.