Should I use gripe water on infant who has colic and acid reflux?

Hi L.! That's funny...I'm a certified teacher as well, but I decided to stay at home with my 16-month-old son. Cool! Anyway, our son used to have horrible colic. He would sometimes have a bit of reflux, too. At six months, we finally tried Little Tummy's Gripe Water. He would scream and cry and pull his feet up, and nothing we did made him better. The first time I gave him Gripe Water when he started that kind of screaming, he stopped crying within seconds. He was able to calm down and eat. I wished I had tried it sooner. I agree with what everyone has said on the amounts and times to give it. I live near the San Marcos area, and the only place I can find Gripe Water is at H.E.B. By the way, my son has outgrown that stage in his life, but the Gripe Water was a big help! Hope that helps, and God bless! Foster parents are awesome!

I had 3 boys all with severe reflux. With the first I saw many doctors and tried several medications (prescription and over the counter) ... which didn't seem to help much. The doctors all told me he would grow out of it... and sure enough by about 1 year he did. With the other two boys, I figured they would grow out of it too. And sure enough they did at about 1 year old as well.
It is more annoying for you then for the baby. We did use Carnation Good start with our last... and it seemed to help a little.
Hang in there!

I have fostered and done tons of babies. I haven't used gripe water so I am no help there. I was just wondering if you have tried Good Start formula. Honestly every time I have had this problem with a baby or friends have if we have gone to Good Start we have had remarkable results. I have recommended it to many who have changed formula tons been on soy etc. etc. and Good Start has made a huge difference. Remember it takes a while to see the full change when using a new formula. I wish you the best.

L.,
I would have gone to the crazy house without Gripe Water for my twins. I wish I would have known about it sooner for my other two. I used the recommended doseage from the bottle and put it in EVERY bottle of milk they drank. I started them at 2 months doing that, they also were on Soy milk. Even when I premade bottles, I made sure I had the non-refridgerator Gripe Water, after I put the pre-measured water in I put in the Gripe Water and then it was already done for those midnight feedings when I just had to add the formula. I can't say enough good about Gripe Water and what a great thing it is. I now buy a bottle for every new mom I know so that she has it available to her at her immediate first need.

I can tell you that I found it while overseas while my babies were having issues with tummy aches. I came home and ordered some online. We love it! We used it for any digestive/tummy issues and it even works wonders on hiccups. My kids are 5,7,13 and we still use it! Its all natural so give it a try...cant hurt. Dosage will be on the bottle. Peoples Pharmacy in Westlake is a great resource. I cant recall the name of the product we liked so well but I do remember it was in a dark blue glass bottle and it had a cute label with a little girl on it I think. Good luck.

Some peole swear by it, but it's like anything else where if you think it works really well, then it does. When my son had colic I tried it b/c I wanted something more natural, but quickly found out that I had to give him two pipets full and that he did not have room for the amount I would have had to give him. On top of that, once I got the solution down him, it did not really seem to work. So, I switched back to Mylecon which really does help my son. Good luck.

I put a powder called Gumilk in the formula, it reduces the reflux because the milk gets thick, is it not a medicine, you should be able to find it in a grocery store in the baby section or look for it online. You can also try with AR milk or both together the AR + gumilk.

My baby is 8 months old an still has a little bit of reflux but is nothing in comparision with the first months.

My daughter is 5 months old now and is currently on Prevacid for refulx. At 4 weeks of age we got the prescription for it but were having troubles with insurance and couldn't afford the $200 prescripstion. I looked for gripe water at several stores and couldn't find (I must not have been looking at the right places). I used something with my first child called Catnip and fennel and it worked well. So I decided I was desperate enough to give it a try. It's called Kid-e-col and it is made by Dr. Christophers. I had Cost Plus Nutrition order it for me and got it in a couple of days. THe cost is $14.95 but it was worth every penny to me. Within 2 days of using it I could see a noticable difference. By the time insurance was worked out my child was no longer in pain with the reflux but was still spitting up a lot. So, that is why I have her on the medicine. It seems to have helped some. I only used the Kid-e-col for about a month only giving it when I thought she needed it.
So, here is what the bottle says as far as when to give it.
"Shakewell. For colic take 10-15 drops three times a day or everyhour as needed. For tething rub 3-4 drop on the gums."
It's made of catnip and Fennel seed. There is no alcohol and the other ingredients are a base of pure vegetable glycerine, and natural flavoring. Best of luck.

Hello L.,

My daughter used Gripe Water for her newborn son. It worked wonders for his upset tummy, colic, and gas. She was in Canada at the time and it seems to be pretty popular up there. We have not been able to find it here in the splendora area. I will say when my daughter was an infant 25 years ago she had the worst case of colic. She seem to cry 24/7. She would just ball up, turn red and scream with pain. Nothing the doctor gave us helped and he always warned us about using it too much. I was told by a new friend to use Sprits Of Peppermint Oil, a couple of drops, in a quarter of a small bottle with about a quarter teaspoon of sugar in it to taste. You can buy this at the pharmacy without a prescription. Believe me when I say it works within minutes. The child would pass a long stream of gas. Then the crying would stop. It is not harmful according to my pediatrician. He says that's what peppermints are for after dinner. They are more for the indegestion than for your breath. Ask your pediatrition what he/she thinks.

Good Luck. G.

L.,
I am a foster parent too, I have used the gripe water on preemies. We gave 2.5 mls every 8 hours. I also would put in in 1/2 oz of water between feeding. For my preemies we also added a tsp. of rice cereal to the bottle to thicken the formula, (per pediatrician).Be sure to ask the doctor about using Enfamil A.R. it is a great formula for reflux.
Good Luck, and keep up the the wonderful work you do.
G.

Be careful. The first I heard of this was while stationed in Europe in the late '80's. A friend of mine (who's British) used it on her oldest son. It contained alcohol.

I didn't notice anyone mention that soy formula can cause these problems. There are many who are allergic to soy and soy actually CAUSES gas! While I realize that Carnation Goodstart may not be supplied by the government programs, you might try that.

I love Gripe water. I had terrible problems with my little one and someone suggested Gripe water and Voila! it was a big improvement. I would have liked to use it with my first, who was also on Reflux meds but was still a little fussy.

Gripe water is all natural, and what I've seen here in the states does not contain alcohol.

S., mom to 5 ages 5 to gestational age 12 weeks

"Little Tummmys" by Little Remedies makes Gripe Water. Babies R Us sells it as well as Walgreens. It works great for my son! I give it to him for hiccups and gas/colic. It contains ginger and fennel extract and is alcohol free!

Our little angel had feeding issues to. A lot of spitting up and she was put on Soy, which helped some, but was not the total answer. We used a lot of "Little Tummies" Gripe water. We followed the bottle's directions, but we mainly needed it before feedings that we knew were going to be problems IE: Evenings and also as neccesay to help with the colic.
Good luck and I think what your family does is soooo wonderful. God bless you!!!

we used it with both kids. i used both the little tummys version and a more expensive one in a blue/purple bottle. they seemed equally effective, but the kids liked the taste of the little tummys one better. i took to adding a small amount (a capful) into the bottle when mixing up formula. it solved all the gasy problems almost instantly and gave us relief from colic.

good luck!

Hi L.,

I don't know about the gripe water, but if you could email me when you have some time, I'd love to pick your brain about fostering. My husband and I are looking into it. I'd really like to hear from someone with first hand knowledge. Thanks a million.

C.

If you are mixing your formula with tap water. STOP! do not use anything with chlorine in it. Good luck.

I absolutely swear by the stuff. We put one dose in our children's morning bottle and it worked wonderfully. We took them off the medicine they were on for reflux. I am not saying to give that dosage to your child you will have to find out what works best for your little one. Buut I am saying that it is a wonderful product. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Is the baby the product of a "drug-mom"? If so, this presents special problems for the infant.

I would definitely use only natural remedies, but I would do so in conjunction with my pediatrition's advice.

I would also have my pediatrition rule out any gastro-intestinal abnormalities with the infant.

L., my pharmacist is such a wonderful resource for alternative and "old time" remedies. If you have a good pharmacist or alternative health store, I would start with them. Good Luck!

You didn't say exactly what the problem was (reflux?), but Gripe Water can be used for various issues such as reflux, gas, hiccups. I'm no expert, but I used it on my little girl and it works almost instantly. It should be giving during or after a feed. I'd administer 5ml (1 tsp) after a bottle, but if she won't take it by a dropper then I'd mix it with her formula in a bottle. Can be used 6 times in 24hours. Good luck!

I used gripe water with my 3. It is important to get the alcohol free type if possible. I think I used it after a bottle (my kids are now 6,9,and 11). They also benefited from laying across my lap to be burped or reverse (head facing away from chest) holding. My middle child used Good Start formula and seemed to have better digestion.
Good luck.

I would highly recommend something completely natural... It is Fennel. You can get it at any natural foods store. My mother used this on her children and I with my three. We used it for colic but it is great for many digestive problems. When my babies had colic it took two doses to knock it out. I prepared it as a tea and added a tiny bit of sugar to make it appealing. I made a 4oz. bottle and gave it as soon as the irritation started. Within 24 hours the colic was gone! If you have any questions please feel free to ask. ____@____.com

First bottle feed the baby sitting up and burp often. It is not natural to lie down and bottle feed, unless the baby is breast fed.

Also my son was a preemie and at two motnhs of age he began to have major tummy troubles and I insisted on a swallow study. After many Ped's, a new grad agreed and we found that he had a malrotation of his large intestine and the beginning of a bowel obstruction. This is probably the worse scenario you would have but it can happen. Just an FYI.

Gripe water is also homepathic and is sold at Kroger.