Gassy/Fussy Newborn

Hi, I don't have much to lend in terms of experience with different formulas, but some other posts have mentioned you may not have to go that far. I found that a good burp (sometimes so loud it sounds like it came from an adult and not a newborn!) AND bending my son's knees to his chest while lying flat worked wonders. That way, you're getting the gas out of both ends, so to speak. My husband never waited for a "good" burp and there was definitely a difference in his gassiness. Hang in there, good luck and congratulations!

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My son was exactly the same around 4 weeks old, but he also had some hard poops. He wasn't just gassy, but constipated as well. Our Dr. told us to make him a bottle of sugar water, which consisted of Dark Karo syrup and warm water ( I can't remember the ratio). After a few days it worked like a charm! I would speak with your Dr. before making another switch.

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I'm breastfeeding my son, since day one he is as gassy and fussy as they come, so dont belive all they say about bf babies!! Keep on with the Mylicon drops, burp him often, and rub his tummy! Also what I was told to do is when bathing him place a wash cloth on his tummy and make sure to pour warm water on it as you bathe him!! Oh, and have you tried soy formula? My son is lactose intolerant so I don't eat any dairy products!!

My son was also like this. I was told to switch to Soy and I did it for about 5 days, it made him soooooo constipated and seemed to irritate his stomach even more! We switched to Good Start Gentle Plus after reading about a billion reviews. It worked so well! We still occasionally had to use Mylicon, but it was much better. I would try it, and a plus side, its not as expensive as most formulas.
Good Luck!

My 6 month old had a lot of trouble in the beginning...breast milk, regular Enfamil and the Gentlese all were making her scream and constipated. The Gentlese was actually worse on her tummy than the regular and made her lose weight. I ended up skipping soy. (b/c they were concerned of the weight loss) The doctor said many kids who can't digest milk have a hard time with Soy. I use the Similac Alimentum, which is ridiculously expensive, but it is only for a few months and then I am going to try to move her back to regular formula when her system is more mature. She wasn't allergic to it, just sensitive to digesting it.

The Nutramigen is fabulous - certainly worked for us! Have you tried one step before that - soy-based formula? Try the ProSoBee and see how he does. If that doesn't work then go the the Nutramigen. I say that because the Nutramigen is so expensive and the soy may be just the change you need. Good luck!!!

My daughter had the same problem as a newborn. We tried EVERY formula in the book, but found that it was the lactose free that actually worked. I would say try that before the Nutramigen, it's so much more expensive. The Nutramigen just made my daughter spit up more, which was REALLY a pain for both of us. If the lactose free doesn't work, then I would suggest trying the Nutramigen, but it really just sounds to me that he isn't handling the lactose very well.
good luck!

Are you not breastfeeding? Since it is natural, bf babies don't get too gassy/fussy.

Maybe try a soy-based formula? My younger two children were very sensitive to dairy the first year. (I breast-fed, but they had reactions when I ate any dairy!)
Best of luck!

That's alot of stuff to force upon a new, 4 week old little system. My suggestion would be to just keep consistant with whatever formula you're on and get him on a baby probiotic. We use Renew Life's brand of Baby Flora. You can mix that into his bottles. Also, I would recommend getting Hylands baby colic tabs- they are homeopathic. We've been using these with our 4 month old and his symptoms are relieved almost instantly. You can get both products at Whole Foods or order online from Vitacost.com. I hope that helps.
blessings,
J.

Have you tried Good Start Formula? I had the best luck with it for my kids when they had to make the switch to Formula. My daughter also went through a fussy/ gassy period form about 3-5 weeks as her digestive system developed.

My son was the same way. We gave him Mylicon directly, not through his bottle though. We also went the same formula route per dr's orders; regular Enfamil to the Gentlease to soy and then to Nutramigen. Check with your doctor first about switching to Nutramigen. It is exspensive and he/she can give you sample and coupons for it. My son couldn't handle Nutramigen (bad diarhhea) and he ended back on soy after about two months. I would also suggest doing "bicycle kicks" with your baby as he is lying on his back. This helps get the gas out. Good luck!

My son has similar issues, and he has a sensitivity to foods that can be gassy which include things like dairy, bananas, broccoli and other things which we find through trial and error. For example, I think that he has issue with some things that have carmel color in them. At about six months old we figured this out, and I eliminated all potentially gassy foods and dairy from my diet which helped tremendously (I was breastfeeding). We also put him on a formula which did not have ANY dairy in it (you have to read the labels carefully that they don't have lactose, lactic acid, etc.) in them. I can't recall the name of it as that was almost two years ago.

hi E.,
My son had the same issues! We switched to Gentlease but it didn't help, then we switched to Enfamil Soy, but he got so constipated. We then switched to Similac Soy and he was great! Of course wait a while before switching formulas, at least a week or two. Its a trying process to go through, but he was so much happier when we found the right formula. He's still a little gassy (at 8 months) if we don't use Mylicon, so I still put it in each bottle.
I also noticed that he was much less gassy when we used the ready to feed formula instead of the powdered version.

Good luck!

It may sound far fetched, but have you tried taking him to a Chiropractor? It's not something I would have ever thought of before, but when you have a baby with colic you get desperate. My son was born via C-Section because he was breach. My chiropractor mentioned that breach c-section babies, since they are pulled out feet first can get misaligned. After hearing that I remembered feeling two tugs pulling my son out so I asked my husband and he said "yea, she pulled his feet and body out and his head was stuck so she reached her other arm in and pulled out his head." Don't worry my son was fine, he actually received the only perfect APGAR score that our OB Nurse had every give in 30 years on the floor. He just had a little crook in his neck and after a few very gentle adjustments (he actually seemed to enjoy it) and a few weeks our Colicy baby was just a happy baby. The change was gradual, but there definately was a change.

Hi E. -- I am breastfeeding my daughter and that's supposed to be the easiest food to digest but she was still super fussy and gassy from Day 1. We tried Mylicon drops but they didn't seem to work -- nothing seemed to work except time. She's 11 weeks old today and is doing much better. I think it just takes a while for their little systems to mature. So hang in there -- it will get better. I'd stop switching formulas too -- You'll drive yourself crazy trying to find one that stops the gas and it's probably hard on her little system to get used to a new one all the time.

Try burping him after a couple of ounces instead of after the whole bottle. My 2nd baby was super gassy too, she was breastfed and was still really gassy for the first few months. And she would spit up huge amounts of milk. All of that calmed down once she was about 5 months old. My first was also breastfed but only had gas issues at the very beginning, right about the age of your son. He would scrunch up his little body, get super red in the face, and grunt and strain until he passed gas. He got better quickly on his own, I made a few diet changes to some bland food for awhile, but nothing drastic. I think it's just that every baby is different. At only 4 weeks, just stick with whatever your pediatrician recommends and try to keep the number of different formulas and medicinal products to a bare minimum.

Our daughter was like this and they thought it was a milk allergy. We switched to the soy formula and she was a different child after the first bottle! It was amazing we had forgot how happy she could be. I know both brands have a soy formula so you might try that! Good Luck!

I always found the genaric walmart brand gas drops work better than Mylicon drops. We also give them directly to the baby instead of in a bottle. Also, if you can give the drops about 20 minutes before baby eats it's supposed to help.

I would advise to stop changing formulas so often! Only after speaking with your pediatrician. Their little tummies need time to adjust.
Microwave a small hand towel until warm and place it on his tummy as you walk/rock him. Don't underestimate burping after he eats! He's GOTTA burp! It can really help. Also gently leg bicycling can help relieve gas. Hang in there. As his system matures it will most likely lessen. Best of luck to you and your new little one!
Oh! One other note--I noticed that my formula fed son was very very gassy when I used powdered formula. I switched to the pre-mixed and it did lessen his discomfort. It wasn't all that much more expensive than the powder and it was worth it for us.

Your son is only 4 weeks old, it takes them til their 4-6 months for the digestive system to be fully developed. I had 2 girls with reflux and bad colic from gas. Mylicon is your best friend!!!! Alos if switching to gentle didnt help you might want to give soy formula a try. But again remember until 4 months this will be a constant battle. I never seen gripe water work personally but Mylicon does very well and you give them some before a feeding. if you have to some after. If you want another method too, warm bathes or very warm cloth over the tummy area helps. Lay baby down on bed grab their ankles and bend their knees into their tummy gently this helps push the gas out. Pressure ont he stomach is good for relief, try putting them up higher n your shoulder so the tummy lays on collar bone area. good luck!

You've received really good answers. The one thing that really worked for me was changing the bottles to DR. Browns, I also made sure that I burped him after every meal. And if that didn't work I would give him about 2 -3 oz of chamomile tea. This really helped.

BioGaia has been a lifesaver us, you can order it from CVS it's a probiotic.

Our son was like this too! We gave him Mylecon with every feeding (directly into mouth not bottle). He is breastfed with supplemental bottles so I didn't alter his formula - but tried altering what I ate. I noticed that when I am gassy, so is he! He would wake up and would grunt and groan and you could tell it was hurting him that he couldn't either pass gas or poop!

We let him spend a lot of time on his tummy - rubbing his back and hopefully easing his pain. From the beginning he was a tummy sleeper - so I think that maybe helped him, too. (even though most people dont' recommend letting them sleep on their bellies, I got the ok from my doc. Doesn't matter because I would have done it anyways!).

If you don't have a baby carrier, buy one. He may be happier if he's held a lot and that way you can still do stuff around the house. You may find that the Ergo (which can be worn front/hip/back) may ease his gas pain.

Keep him up after eating instead of laying him down. Burp, burp, burp!!

Remember this will pass!

I had the same problem with both of my babies. I changed them to a lactose free milk. The store brands work very good or if you prefer the name brand go with Similac Sensitive.