Hi there!
What worked best for my little guy was called 'Gripe water'. It's a natural remedy... found at health food stores. It came in a blue bottle. It worked better than the Mylicon, had a nice flavor, and best of all: is all natural! Hope this helps! Also try gently pushing their knees into their bellies in a circle... it helps move the gas around. Hope this helps! :)
My second daughter had this problem. She still has tummy issues at age 6! It will get better. My pedi told me to try and avoid "over feeding" her. I always fed on demand, but maybe sometimes she didn't need to be fed as much as rocked, cuddled, etc.... Anyway, I hope this helps.
My son had this issue when he was very little. His belly was so hard and distended they were concerned that there was intestinal blockage. We had an abdominal ultrasound done and he was just full of gas that he couldn't move without extreme pain. On recommendation of a naturopath and another mom with a suffering kid, I gave him chamomile tea and it worked almost instantly. I used Celestial Seasonings right from the grocery store. Brew one tea bag for 5 minutes in 8oz water, then dilute it 50% with cold water. When it is cool enough, let him drink a few ounces. My son started farting literally within minutes. I gave it to him a few times the first day, and by the next morning his stomach was all soft and squishy. I considered it a miracle because from that day on he never had a gas pain again. I gave it to him once a day for few days because I was scared it would come back, but it never did, even after he stopped drinking the tea. I would highly recommend you try it. It certainly can't hurt! I remember being really leery about giving my baby tea, but the naturopath assured me that it was safe for a baby, since it is only an herbal tea, and chamomile is so gentle. It worked with no side effects and my son was only 5 weeks old when I gave it to him.
Romana,
First, kudos to you for nursing twins! I'm sure it is hard work, but what a wonderful thing you are doing for both of them plus yourself.
I nursed my son exclusively the first 6 months, and he had horrible gas and screaming fits for the first few months of his life. I remember many days at the beginning when I would stand holding him or rocking him, all the while tears dripping down my face while he cried and squirmed in pain. I was convinced it had to be something I was eating, since all he was getting was my breast milk, even though so many doctors will tell you it isn't related to what the mother eats.
I went on a mission to figure out what it was, since I had to focus my energy somewhere to help my son who was in so much pain. It took months to eventually figure it all out -- but it was ABSOLUTELY related to what I ate.
As others have mentioned, dairy was the number one culprit. Cutting that out COMPLETELY, in all its forms, my son got about 60% better. It takes up to 5 days for all the dairy proteins to leave your milk, so you need to be patient. Since my son was still in pain, I continued to believe there had to be something else in my milk that he could not digest. Sure enough, after eliminating many foods, he also got gas when I at nuts as well as soy. When I completely cut out all dairy, soy, and nuts, he had zero gas. He was a completely different baby.
I won't sugar-coat it. It was very hard to cut all those foods out for a long period of time. But having a happy baby made it all worthwhile. At 7.5 months, I was able to eat dairy and nuts without it having any effect on my son. So, rest assured, many babies have food sensitivities that they outgrow the first year, once their digestive system is more developed.
At 10 months, I am still nursing and he still seems to be sensitive to soy. I test it by eating a food with soy in it every month or two.
I'm sure you can figure out what foods are bothering your sons with some diligence and patience. I put together a list of all the possible foods I had read could bother a baby and worked my way down the list. If you'd like the list, please private message me and I'll be happy to send it along and help you in any way I can. Keep up the great job nursing and hang in there. It WILL get better!
Warmly,
Lisa
P.S. Throughout my investigation trying to figure out what foods my son was sensitive to, I did use Baby's Bliss Gripe Water on the really bad days when I needed a break. Half doses worked great for us. Note, though, that if you use this it will mask the sensitivity of any foods you are "testing" for a reaction in your sons. The gas will temporarily clear with the gripe water and will come back once he drinks more of your milk with the problematic foods. So be aware of that if you try to use it in conjunction with removing foods from your diet.
I had to stop drinking Orange Juice while BF my son as it gave him gas, maybe cut out the citrus? just one thought..
try making them "walk" or bicycle kick. the movement will get that gas out, or use a heating pad on medium/low under them at the time. If worse comes to worse take their temperature rectally, that can help loosen the muscles to let the gas out.
I breast fed for 2 weeks but had to stop as my daughter became increasingly gassy and having painful gas. I couldn't bear for her to go thru it as I know it most likely something I was eating. I had switch to formula and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But it helped! And it was like I had a totally different child! Hope this helps!
Hi,
my breastfed daughter had gas and pain whenever I ate anything with soy in it, also dairy. When I cut out those 2 foods, she did much better.
She also needed to be vertical after eating and if she was gassy - that I have heard IS totally normal - helps them to get the gas out.
Good Luck!
Elizabeth
I don't know if this helps, but....I nursed all 4 of my children. My oldest daughter Ashley had the same problem. I finally narrowed it down to the dairy products I was taking in. I had to stop all dairy products. It was very hard for me, but it was well worth it for her. It really did help. I ended up taking something for myself to receive the calcium I was missing in eliminating these foods and drinks.
I agree it may be a soy, dairy, eggs or even a wheat thing. My son was fine while breast fed, thank God. But that maybe because I did not eat soy, dairy, eggs, wheat or much sugary foods while he nursed. That is only because I found out before I even got pregnant that I was "sensative" to those foods. I found out through a homeopathic doctor. I had severe eczema & once I stopped eating those foods my skin cleared right up & I instantly started feeling better & even lost some weight. So I would give it a try for 2 weeks & see if your babies do better. Maybe start with just the dairy first though. Good luck!!
when they are having these spurts put them on heir back and roll their legs back towards their belly in a circular motion with their knees bent. this worked for my daughter.are they having a problem digesting something in the breastmilk maybe?
Has their stool been checked? I see many talk about dairy sensitivities and elimination diets, which makes sense. I guess I would also ask the doctor to check the stool. My son had similar symptoms and it turned out that he had undetected blood in his stool, which was eventually diagnosed as a milk allergy or intolerance that was irritating his bowel. He is now 17 months and has outgrown the problem.
First, congrats on twins, i have twins too that had the same problem. Second, what type of bottles are u using. I would try switching bottles.I used the old platex bottles with the drop in liners and boy, what a difference.you can squeeze the air out of them and creates less gas.I've tried everything too including the drops and nothing worked til I switched the bottles.also exercising their legs will get the gas moving and placing them on their belly will help too.Good luck! I'm soory, I didn't realize u breastfed.Check to make sure they have a good latch and also ur milk might be drying up so all they are getting is air.Also, some types of the food u eat might make a difference.Once again, good luck.
Hi,
I am so sorry that your little ones are in pain. I can relate. When my (now 2 1/2yr old)son was a newborn he went through similar pain. I repeatedly told his doctors the symptoms and they kept telling me he was fine(probably thinking I was over reacting because I was first time mother). However mothers instinct is always right. Finally at 3 months they diagnosed him with being lactose intolerant. (This can be tested by a stool sample.) I went off all dairy and within 2 weeks no more screaming in agony. After a few months I slowly started to reintroduce dairy and now he drinks milk like there is no tomorrow. Hope this helps.
Jenna
My son (now 6 months) experienced terrible pain while passing gas and during his bm's. I was breast feeding and giving the milk formula. At one of his early check ups the doctor suggested soy. I gave up the breast feeding and gave him only soy and he was like a new baby. Also, I started using Dr. Brown bottles and would not use anything else.
Good luck!!
My eating dairy or cucumbers would give mine gas. I would try cutting that before switching from nursing, this will just be a stage, your baby that is sensitive to breast milk ingredients will have a harder time with formula generally. Use soy replacements for a few days and see if it helps. My boys also had painful gas, and moving legs like biking, and putting the knees up to the chest and massaging the lower tummy all helped them to pass it much quicker.
Good luck,
Diane
I think some one else mentioned this, but, I use colic calm for my 2 month old's painful gas....and it is a life saver. I used it with my first son too - and had it stocked in case we had another gassy baby.....which we do! Highly recommend it! Works a million times better than mylicon (mylicon does not work on intestinal gas) and is homeopathic. Both my kids actually enjoyed the taste as well.
It is difficult to avoid the situation, but it is possible to get rid of this freaky gas. Babies magic tea is a good and effective solution to solve the tummy issues in babies.
I’m putting one oz Babies magic tea in my LO’s formula bottle for two feedings and it helps with his gas pain and fussiness!!!