My one month old was born 5 weeks early (his actual due date isn't even until March 22nd). Because of his preemie status, they put him on Similac Neosure (which has added iron in it) in the hospital and his pediatrician has kept him on that so far. The pedicatrician also put him on a liquid iron supliment (Ferrous Sulfate dosed at .5 ML) that I give him once a day because there was some concern about anemia (aparently pretty common in preemies).
The problem is that he is SO gassy and seems to be pretty unhappy and/or uncomfortable most of the day and night. Not straight through-all the time- uncomfortable. Just bouts that last for an hour or so 5 or 6 times a day/night. He's not even really crying or (thank goodness) screaming over it. Just fussy and keeps scrunching up his legs and wants to be held (straight up and down on the shoulder, can't handle being scruched up in your arms). He's not constipated in any way, just passing so much gas that I know his little tummy's has got to be aching some.
Is there anything that I can give a baby this little that will help get rid of the gassiness or should I just wait it out one more night and call the pediatrician tomorrow for a suggestion??? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
We have used gas drops and gripe water to help with gas in both my daughters. Also have you tried laying him on his back and bicycling his legs to help with the gas? My oldest daughter used to love this. Good luck.
I had the same problem! We had to use the gas drops and that worked SOMETIMES! Hwoever, the best thing that I did was take our 10 week premature baby girl to see a Chiropractor where, she just stretches the children out and they do not crack the back/neck like they do adults. A LOT of kids just need to be stretched out! After we took her to see the Chiro, she was 100% better. Every couple of weeks, we could tell when she needed to be stretched out again and we would take her back and the gas would go away!
One other thing we found that helped was to switch the formula from Neosure to anything that is not CORN BASED! Our daughter has an allergy to corn.
Hope that helps!~
I agree that it sounds like the baby needs to be tested (beyond the finger prick test - those are fairly inaccurate) for true iron deficiency. If the iron is causing this many problems it seems to me it's not being used efficiently... and maybe the extra doses are not necessary.
As for helping with the gas, gas drops are pretty effective. Make sure he's being burped often during a feed. When breastfeeding it's common to burp after baby is finished with one breast before offering the other. Perhaps, since you're bottle feeding, you could burp him about 5-7 minutes into each feed. It will help keep his tummy settled and formula down.
Good luck!
D.,
Was the child EVER tested by blood for anemia? I have done quite a bit of medical research and putting anyone, especially a baby, on Iron -without a proven Iron deficiency , in my opinion is malpractice.
Iron is a heavy metal. Iron doesn't just leave tissues. It can build up to very dangerous levels, especially in children. Really the only way to "get rid" of extra iron is to bleed it out. It doesn't take much to be too much for small bodies. I think the huge increase of babies having sleeping ,eating, and gastro difficulties may be due in large part to over prescriptions of Iron from pedis and over consumption of iron in formulas and fortified grain cereals. Iron overdose in children is too common. It can also be fatal.
In addition, bacteria residing internally needs a host's iron to survive. They feed on it. Giving anyone extra iron , is in essence, feeding any pathogenic bacteria they might have inside them to grow into larger colonies. Extra iron without clear deficiency contributes to disease.
Lastly, it has even been surmised that those who have iron deficiency (without a clear reason like a bleeding disorder) could in fact be deficient BECAUSE bacterial pathogens are taking it. So supplementing will just increase sickness and disease unless the underlying cause it fixed.
Going to www.AHRQ.gov, I found an interesting memo on "screeing for iron deficiency". Here are direct quotes from that memo:
"Fair evidence exisits that oral iron supplementation increases the risk of unintentional overdose and gastrointestinal symptoms".
"Iron supplementation accounted for 30% of FATAL pediatric pharmaceutical overdoses. Overdose was even observed in the context of controlled trials in which the parents were advised how to dose".
"Iron deficient anemia is UNCOMMON in the US". (yet 97% of formulas are filled with it. Why?)
"data on prevalence of Iron deficient anemia in infants under 1 yr old HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED".
Screw that pedi and get your kid off that extra iron until he can prove there is a clear deficiency and a reason to take it.
I have a really gassy baby too, and his ped says as long as he's not crying or acting like it's painful, then he should just "let em rip!!" Her actual words! He's two months old now and is becoming less gassy.
For my little one, when he got this way, i would heat up a rice sock & lay on his tummy. the warmth helped him relax & it seemed to help get rid of the gas quicker. Just take an old sock & fill with uncooked rice, tie end shut & microwave for 10-15 seconds & test it to make sure it isn't too hot, then lay evenly across his belly. Hope it helps you as much as it did me.
gas x works i gave it to my boys. at under 2 Indian wrapping helps alot. If you don't know how go buy a swaddle blanket.
You have a one month old that was 5 weeks premature. I would not put him on anything without medical advice; he is simply too fragile. By the way, my son was totally breastfed and also experienced gas at this age and I had to carry him upright as well; I did eliminate some foods I ate in case he was allergic/intolerant as recommended by his pediatrician. Perhaps it is not even the iron but formula itself that is causing difficulty. Check with your pediatrician.
Ok there is alot you can do. The first thing is when he gets like that put him on your knees and bounce him slightly with tapping his back. Or you can jogg his leggs and do jumps to help him relax. Also you can use malicone drops there gas drops from the pharmacy there for infants. Put it in his formula bottle. His formula is giving him the gas. Not the iron. He should not have iron with his formula either its really h*** o* his little belly. But do it anyway the dr says because i am not a doctor. But for the gas there is another gas thing to use but i can't remember the name of the syrup its not karo but some other syrup and water helps its call grape something. Also infant massge helps trememdously.... Massage the belly helps release the gas
oh...poor little guy! is it too soon for mylecon? I used to put that right in my son's bottle to make the gas bubbles smaller and less uncomfortable. If so I used to give my son "Gripe Water"...You can buy it online and it's herbal, but you still may want to read the label to make sure you can give it to a preemie...lying him on his tummy will help, and some warmth to his low back or tummy will ease discomfort...but keep in mind that all newborns seem to have rocket gas and bowel movements for awhile :)
What I know is that synthetic iron (which is in the formula and in the drops) does not absorb well into the system and a side affect is gas and/or constipation. The body knows when we put something synthetic into it and thus side affects.
My children had the same reaction and I put them on a formula without iron. So you could, and these are suggestions as you have to do what you feel what is best for your baby, back off a little on the liquid iron or a formula that is not so concentrated with iron. It could be something as simple as his little body just doesn't need that much iron.
Let the doctor know what is going on and I would encourage you to call the doctor today. Your baby shouldn't have to suffer like this.
I had a premature baby, 2 months premature. We tried every formula on the market for four months because everything made him gassy and uncomfortable. Gerber Soy formula saved our lives, that an adding a little rice into the formula really gave our son a break from all the pain of iron. I am highly sensative to iron and could not take it during my pregnancy. My child was born with jaundice but no signs of anemia. Has your pediatrician actually determined through blood work that you child was anemic? If not, perhaps you should pursue that. Until then, gently rubbing you baby's back and belly, can help relieve some of that tension, also move your baby's legs like he is riding a bike this also promotes some relief.
I hope this helps, formula can be tricky, I believe the soy formula was really our saving grace and our son was much more happy and much more comfortable. One thing to remember, babies intestines are not completly developed until they are about a year old. So pleas, speak to your pediatrician and see if they won't compromise to give your little guy some relief.
Best of luck to you always,
Les
