Infant with Gas

I hear you with the heartbreaking part.

My son really never had really bad gas but at the times that he did get it he was not a happy camper.

Like your son he would wake up either partially or completely because of it.

My son is 17 months old now and (I am very sorry) I do not remember the name of the medicine that I gave him.

It was in a green box and the actual medicine was pink.

He liked the taste of it so it was not hard to administer.

I think partially the reason your son is having gas problems is because you are changing his food from breast milk or formula. (a shock to the system).

I would find a formula and stick with it as quickly as possible. Also, watch your diet until you are done breastfeeding. :)

I really like the Enfamil Lipil. It is in a pink can. It is softer on a baby's stomach.

Our pediatrician recommended it when my son had Acid Reflux.

I wish you the best of luck!

Hey K.!
I am so sorry about your baby- my son had sever gas and stomach problams as an infant- he honestly SCREAMED a good 14-18 hours a day every day from the time he was 2 months until he was about 6 months. It is heartbreaking, and alos can become immensely emotionally and physically exhausting. My son had constipation and some other problems as well as gas, but just thought I'd sugget gripe water... I honestly don't know where it is sold, we got it from my aunt who had the same problem. I believe at a couple pharmacy type stores such as rite aid and maybe at the asian health stores? It is all natural homeopathic and mainly intended to soothe colic in babies, butit seemed to really comfort our son. Also, I'm sure youve tried this but pushing his legs up when you cantell that he has gas, to where his thighs arepressed against his tummy, that can really help them. So can just rubbing their bellies. One last thing- the gas drops you have been using- those were also helpful to us, but they only last a couple hours- if you go to whole foods they have some homeopathic things for babies for "discomfort", again collic, and it seemed to work best when we gave the gas drops simultaneously with these- they just melt on their tongue, and it seemed to keep him feeling a bit better for longer. Good Luck!

Hi K., we went through the same thing with our son. I soley breastfed and my son would scream ALL day long due to the gas. He sounded like a 50 year old man when he would expel gas. What worked for us was 1.) Elimination diet - elimintating Milk, Soy, Egg, Nuts, Fish, and Wheat from my diet for 4 weeks then slowly re-introduced one thing at a time. I had to stay on the elimiation diet for 4 months. It helped me get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and he felt much bettter. He really didn't tolerate anything!!! But now he tolerates everything in moderation. 2.) We did lots of infant massage on his tummy. I actually took an infant massage course to learn how to relieve his gas. Their are a couple of books that you could look at too if you don't want to take a course. Is their any way you can just express milk and give it to him vs. giving him formula. The formula could be the culprit. Well good luck!!!! I feel your pain, but it does get better as their system mature. My son is now 6 1/2 months old and only cries when tired or hungry - it is like a whole new lease on life!!!!!!!

I'm so sorry! I've been there with my baby too. A friend gave me a some drops called Baby Bliss Gripe Water that helped so much. I also found out I was eating a lot of foods that were giving my baby gas. Chocolate, onions, peppers, spicy meat, broccoli, etc. Once I cut all those out of my diet it took about 3 days to see a difference in my son. It realy helped though. Good luck, it will get better!

Hi K.,
I too am a new mom as of Feb 2007, and am experiencing gas bubbles with my daughter primarily at 3 am. After talking with my sister a mother of two she recommended Mylicon or Gripe Water the natural version. I will be purchasing some today. Anything to not have another night like last night  I hope this helps. Good Luck and congratulations!

Jen

My daughter was extremely gasy! We used gas drops a lot to help relieve that and it helped a lot. I would put it in her bottle if I was giving her formula and if I nursed I would give it to her orally. Also Good Start formula is really good for that too. Good luck!

I have been told and tried a little sugar water before bed and as funny as it may sound, get a York peppermint patty and take the chocolate off and give him a little piece of the peppermint inside. I had the same problem with my son, except not quite so severe. I also was supplementing with formula and my doctor told me it was from the iron in it, but all formula has added iron, so what do you do? I was using the Good Start Soy in the blue can, it seemed to work best for my son. Didn't totally stop the gas but did help. I too used the gas drops. They soon grow out of it.

My son had a lot of problems with gas to. I know it is VERY hard to deal with. The gas drops helped him some. What really helped my little one to sleep was a tight swaddle, which will put a little pressure on his tummy, and laying him on his side (ask your doctor, mine recommended this). This helped him a lot. He still had problems during the day, and sometimes at night, but it was much less frequent. My pediatrician said the best thing to to when he was crying from trying to fart or poop (my little guy also had problems pooping, which actually was one of the reasons he had so much gas) was to help my little one relax. This would help him relax his rectum and poop/fart. What helped my little guy was to hold him in my arms, face down with the palm of one of my hands on his tummy, and to patt his butt. It's called the colic hold I think. I got this from "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (I think that's the name). This usually helped calm and relax him. When that didn't work, I put him in a warm bath, or wrapped him in a towel warmed in the dryer. This ALWAYS worked. I would also recommend "The Baby Whisperer", which helped me set a routine for my little guy, which helped him relax because he knows what to expect of every day, which actually reduced his gassiness.

I hope it gets better soon... Good luck! Hope this helps

Both of my kids had that issue at that age. The gas drops are awesome and don't enter the bloodstream, but just pass right through, so that is comforting. Also, I kept a record of what I ate for a few days and found that when it was the worst I had eaten certain foods that were causing it. For me, it was broccoli and other raw veggies. For you, it may be different, but it is worth checking into. Other than that, tummy rubs and baths and patience. This too shall pass....(gas) lol!

Well first of all Congratulations! I've just been through this with my second son. My first was an angel baby, so it was like "what's wrong with my baby!?" Honestly we pretty much just had to stick it out and wait for him to grow out of it. We used the infant gas drops regularly (even when he showed no signs of pain yet) and that seemed to help most days. Other times he was absolutely inconsolable and unfortunately the screaming just makes the gas even worse. Eventally he would be so tired he would just fall asleep.
If you haven't done this, try placing him on your lap with his head on one leg and his tummy on the other with his legs hanging over the back. I did this and patted my baby's butt (because I think it hurt him worse to pat his back). Eventually this and his pacifier would put him to sleep. My mother in law gave me this wonderful advice because her youngest son had the worst colic, at least mine only had a mild case. She did have to take her son to the doctor when he was a few months old and get him an actual prescription for colic which he took for a whole year! (This was quite awhile ago, not sure if they still use prescriptions or not though)
Anyways, my son is 4 1/2 months now and we do still have some episodes now and then, but he's much better than he was. Hang in there and have your husband help you out if he's not because I know it's really hard to get through! Good Luck!

Hi K.-

My daughter Kendyl has always been bottled fed, (at least since she was 4days old), due to the fact that I didn't produce any milk for her. We struggled for the first month with exterme amounts of gas and fussiness. My daughter was born with an immature bowel system so sometimes going #2 would take her a couple of days to work up to. After trying the regular formula, with the doctor's approval we tried Soy formula. It still took her a little while to go #2 but she was able to do it at least once a day.

Sometimes whatever is in the non-soy formula is just to hard for some babies to digest, even if their bowels are completely developed. I would suggest trying Soy formula for a few days and seeing if it helps. My Brothers kids all 3of them, struggled like this when they were babies and so did my Kendyl, but Soy formula helped all of them within the first day. My daughter now drinks reg cows milk now and has since she was about 12 monthes. Anyway that is what worked for us. I hope you find the best solution for you and your little one, I know having them in pain is scarry and hard. Good luck:)

I will keep you both in my prayers:)
C. H

milecon drops! also push his legs up to his tummy and stretch them back out. massage his tummy.

You might want to try doing bicycle moves with his legs. Pushing his knees to his belly might help to. I found playing with my little ones legs to be the most helpful. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

My son had the same thing and it turned out the ONLY thing his system could handle was breast milk. We tried every formula on the market!

Hi K.:

It's great that you are sticking to breastmilk and only ONE formula...that will help. Also, I hope I can explain this: lay him down on his back and grab his ankles. Move his legs up and down with bended knee as though he is riding a bicycle (left leg up right leg down and vice versa) - do this about 6 times and then press his bended knees (left and right together) towards his chest - not to hard but not to soft....this will allow him to release the gas....repeat during the session and make sure you do it throughout the day -before, after, and during feedings.....you will hear the gas pass and he will probably smile at you - it appears to be a fun game - give him eye contact and sing a song while doing it....it works!

PMS

K.,
Go to Wal-Mart or any pharmacy and get the infant gas drops. I'ts a totaly relief for you and him!! :o)
Also, I was told to watch my diet..easy on the chocolate, and strong foods..like garlic. My Dr said what ever may make me 'gassy' is gonna make it a bit worse for the baby. I hope this helps

Good Luck!

My son was incredibly gassy as well,and I was a breastfeeder. I found, whatever foods made me gassy, (broccoli, beans, ect) would make him gassy as well. I know it's hard to do, but try to stick to a fairly bland diet, and definently stay away from spicy foods.

Also, there are over the counter drops you can buy that help ALOT. They would help my son almost instantly when he was fussy at night.

Good luck and keep us posted!

M.

Oh K., I can sympathize! Nothing worse than a little one who can't seem to push those bubbles out! Like the other moms, I too suggest mylacon drops, or better yet Gripe water, but here's another idea. I worked with a lactation consultant who pointed out that if while nursing you don't allow the baby to get the "hind" milk and only the "fore" milk it can be extremely gas producing. You may want to sit down with someone and be evaluated. We learned after trial and error that my babies needed to nurse one side completely (20-30 min) to get the good stuff, then I would pump the other side until they (meaning my boobs) got used to the idea that it was one side at a time. My other baby turned out to be gasy because of my diet. I had to eliminate milk, wheat, garlic, onions and chocolate...to start with, and then added each one back in slowly and it fixed the problem. Anyway, good luck, just a little more info from another mom who suffered with sleepless nights due to this problem.

You can try putting your baby on tummy either on your lap or on your arms, so there is a little pressure on it ( using a warm blanket on the tummy helps some too). You can also try moving his legs up to him tummy and back down or like he is riding a bike, those movements seem to help. I am on my 3rd baby and he is my gassiest one and those seem to have helped. You might also want to try a different bottle. Just some thoughts, hope they help.

My 9 month old baby girl had gas too, although not as severly as what you've described. We've stuck with Gerber Pro-Sobee for formula and Mylacon drops. The combo of both seemed to help, it's not even an issue anymore. Good luck! It's scary and new but every month gets better and better.

Could it be something in your own diet that is giving your son gas? You might want to evaluate it and start eliminating some things, see if that makes the diff.

Good luck!
d

Get a book/video on infant massage and learn the strokes for the tummy. Those work great for helping babies with gas issues.
If you prefer a class I have a new series starting April 16th in the Cherry Creek area. It's a 3 week class where you learn all about infant massage and especially the massage strokes that help with colic and gas.

If you prefer, I will be teaching a 1 day introductory course on April 24th at 6:30pm in Centennial.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to learm nore about infant massage.

HI, K.. I can sympathize...we went thru a bit of the same with our son. His gassy periods though were at about 6-7am. Have you checked on what 'gassy' foods you have been eating? Since you primarily breastfeed, what you are eating might be upsetting his tummy...I had to give up ALL dairy for about 9 months and broccoli, cauliflower, beans, etc. as they were the culprit:-( Also, have you taken a baby massage class? We took one at St. Joseph's Hospital and learned how to do a gassy baby massage...my husband has become quite the pro--honestly, it did work. Our son is 15 months old now and whenever he seems to have gas and it's hurting, my husband does the tummy massage and voila, the gas is passed and our little guy is happy again. Good luck!

PS: If you aren't able to take the massage class and just want some pointers, please call us at ###-###-####...we're more than happy to share our golden knowledge:-)

Hi K.,

I have three kids, and my first child had lots of gas. The doctor said that the baby was getting too much air as she ate.

Try propping the baby up a bit as he feeds. Also, when bottle feeding, do the same, sit him up a bit. I hope this helps.

Best Regards,
C.

My youngest had the WORST gas. It would wake him out of a deep sleep to blood curdling screaming. I used to call him the rootin' tootin'est. I gave him Mylicon (sp?) Infant Gas drops. I even put it in his night time bottles for preventative measures. I think if you go to a natural food store, they could point you out some natural gas relief items that would suit an infant. GOOD LUCK! I only can tell you my baby's gas subsided around his 3rd or 4th month. I also have a wedge pillow designed to elevate babies head while they sleep. I ordered it from someplace I can't remember the name.. It's got the soft foam so it prevents the flattening of the head, also. If you would like it, I could send it to you. Just contact me and give me your info!!

Oh, yeah. I also switched my son to the Wal-mart brand of lactose-free formula. The Wal-mart brand is really good, it was compared to others in Parents magazine. Now, this isn't the SOY formula, (that made him constipated and more irritable) but rather a lactose-free.

Although it is discouraged, I had to allow my son to sleep on his belly. The first time he slept on his belly, he slept for 6 hours.... I would get much more sleep out of him if he was on his belly. Some babies are just that way! I also took massage, and a clockwise circle around their belly button is supposed to help improve digestion. Make sure you use plenty of lotion.

Our son had gas problems when he was very young too and it is very hard to watch them deal with it. There are some OTC infant gas drops, I cannot remember the name off hand, that seem to help and are fairly benign. Our son was supplemented with formula and we tried about 4 or 5 before settling on a SOY based formula. That seemed to help the most. Good luck and know it will get better for all of you!