My little girl is now 3.5 weeks old and over the past week she has started having really bad gas fits in the evening. They get so bad that she will come off the breast when feeding, expel the gas and cry like she is in pain. She will also lay in her bed and cry when she has gas. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have tried not drinking milk, which I usually drink tons of. I have done a little research on gripe water. Has anyone tried this, if so does it work at all?
My son had the same problem. I too stopped drinking milk, which I usually drink a lot of. I switched to soy milk until he was four months. I also cut out ice cream too but was able to eat cheese without causing a problem for him. How long have you tried cutting the milk out? Because for me it took about 3 or 4 days until the bad gas fits subsided completely although I did think they improved within the first day or so.
I didn't use the gripe water but have read many of the posters on mamasource that swear by it. One thing that did help our son was pulling his knees up to his chest as the pressure on his stomach helped but also made it easier for him to pass gas. We also swaddled him tightly when he was going to sleep, with his arms right by his side, and this helped too. I know it was tough for us so I can sympathize completely.
Think about anything that you eat from eggs to broccoli that gives you gas. If your breast feeding I think you mentioned that you were. I did all three of my girls for a year each and learned real quick when my first was three mo. old I had been on vacation tried a new kind of pizza that had jalapeno peppers and banana peppers on it well about by the next day she had gotten very cranky and started drawing in on her legs.. Then the diareah started> thought at first she got sick but then by the next day she was fine and I ate the pizza again (love leftover pizza) and about the same time the next day she was at it again.. needless to find out I learned spicy foods, as well as green veggies, caffiene, and some dairy will give breast fed babies the worst gas it compares to collic. And then have you found uot that collic wasen't a possibilty?
I used gripewater. My daughter started with colic at 3 1/2 weeks. The doctor gave me a sample bottle. It was like magic. I gave it to her at the onset of fussiness and it really lessened the spells. She was a new baby by the time she was 8 weeks. I also would push her knees to her belly in a sort of circular motion to help get the gas out. Hope it passes quickly, I know how frustrating it can be.
i've heard great things about gripe water though mine never had such bad gas as to need it. when mine had gas what we would do is lay him on the bed and pump his legs furiously as if he was running (accompanied by vocalizations or a silly song to make him laugh). then i would fold his legs in up to his chest and press up and then at an angle to each side (think yoga positions). he sould fart like crazy, laugh, and then everything was better.
Could it be a foremilk imbalance? The first milk expressed from your breast is watery compared to the ending milk...the first milk (foremilk) is rich in enzymes needed to aid in digestion of the milk. The last milk (hindmilk) is fattier and more calorie dense. When a baby feeds mostly on the foremilk, it can lead to gas, abdominal pain, loose stools and sometimes green and frothy stools. Most of the advice I received in the hospital said to nurse 10 min on one breast and then to switch.....that can work for some women, but after meeting with a board certified lactation consultant, she told me to nurse the first breast until it was empty before switching sides....I had a bit of an oversupply problem and couldn't tell when the first breast emptied so she had me nursing for ~4 hours on the one side before switching sides. (Not 4 hours of continuous nursing ;) Just that when ever he nursed, I would use the same side for a 4 hour block of time.)
Another cause could be a poor latch...it's common for newborns to gulp air when they nurse....maybe watch her latch and make sure she's got a tight seal around your nipple.
Of course you can always contact your local La Leche Group for more help.
Hello Anna,
this is quite common among newborns....due to their little systems trying to live on their own....if you can eat raw vegies at the start of every meal that will help....not just lettuce but carrots, radishes, celery root are excellent...then before each feeding give her one eye dropper full(equal to one tsp.) of raspberry leaf tea....get it at the health food store or if you can get them fresh and dry them yourself is better.....put about one tablespoon into 1/2 cup cold water...bring to boil then let infuse(with a lid) for 10 min......give it to her warm....that always works....also lay her on her stomach when she sleeps...I know that's against common medical advice, but it really works....it's only been about 10yrs. that they say not to and I raised five children who always slept on their stomachs! that should do it......blessings.
Francoise Souverville C.C.E./midwife
Breast milk is affected by what you eat. If you eat certain foods like cabbage for example...it can cause gas or "colic" in the baby; also, not proper burping. So you might want to take a look at what you are eating and avoid thinks like coleslaw and saurkraut for awhile, and yes, drink lots of milk. Then, thoroughly burp baby. I used to think....for some reason...that since i wasn't using a bottle, baby shouldn't be swallowing air...BUT they do.
Love, Georgia
I agree with all the other advice. My girls were VERY sensitive to what I ate. Wheat, especially in whole form like in granola bars, was one. Along with most spices, chocolate, any diary and veggies. I had to eat plain chicken and potatoes for a few weeks and then gradually added those things back into the diet when she was about 4 months old. The infant mylycon drops worked well for us too.
Hello Anna, I know exactly how you feel!!! I have an 18 month old and a 3 yr old. My 180 month old was premature and had terrible gas & Spitting up problems! We tried everything. I Had been breast feeding and they took him off that & tried every formula you can thing of!! They put him on all different kinds of medicine trying to help the gas problem but nothing seemed to work. He would just scream for hours!!! I'm not kidding. We had to leave church on numerous time because he just couldn't stop screaming. Someone finally told us about gripe water & he was like a totally different baby. I mean within minutes he would calm down and stop crying. It was like a miracle! I only wished I had heard about it sooner!
Good luck with your new baby. Hope things calm down!
Ashley
Your baby has colic and I don't know any mother that hasn't dealt with this. It is really frustrating. First of all you should definitely stop drinking milk. Studies show that whole cow's milk molecules end up in the baby's body as if they came straight from the cow herself. Babies don't do well on milk from another species. They can hardly digest their own mother's milk. Next eliminate all foods that might cause YOU gas, like certain vegetables and cereal. And third, (this is what helped with my second one) go to a good health food store and get a strong digestive enzyme and take it anytime you eat no matter what you eat. (I liked KAL brand Pancreatin 8x) This will help break down the food molecules into their smallest parts so that the baby doesn't have to digest this stuff coming from your breast milk.
She will probably still have some colic so when she gets it try putting her in different positions. My first baby liked to be held upside down but my seond child hated that. He preferred face down in the football carry position.
Good luck and just know that it will be over in about 6 week or so.
M
When my daughter was an infant she too had a lot of gas & her doctor told me to get some MILACOM drops at Walmart & that cleared it up.....good stuff...good luck!!
Hi Anna:
There are other food that might 'cause some gas in breast feeding babies. Try to avoid chocolate 'til your baby is older, coffee, almonds,and fried food / fast food. If you drink lots of water, fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, and your milk, yogurt is great, your baby will benefit from all that, and continue taking a multi-vitamin, food base if you can. Your baby will need a break between feedings to get rid of gas anyway but not as much gas as they usually get from a bottle! Don't give up! At www.meetup.com
there's a group in Tulsa area, OK for breastfeeding mothers, even if you do not live in the area, you can contact the organizers, well educated ladies that I'm sure we'll love to give you some advise!
I have 4 kids, 2 grown and 2 preschoolers and I still nurse my almost 2 boy! About time for this boy to give mommy a break! Blessings to you, your precious children and your husband, hope he'll return soon safe and well!
Roxana
My daughter had the same thing and is now slowly out growing it at 3 months. My husband and I gave her mylicon every 3 hours and we also did gripe water every time she fed to every other time. The gripe water she liked we bought at a health food store. She would spit up the brand of gripe water we got at Target. We also started dipping a q-tip into essential pepperment oil that we bought at a health food store on her belly button right before she ate. All these seemed combined seemed to help calm her down so she could sleep. I also looked at my diet and cut out the lettuce as that is what seemed to affect her the most. Hope this helps. Good luck and think she will outgrow this.
Amy in Norman, OK
gripe water is the best!!!
I had this same problem with my son...now 5 months old. The thing that seemed to work for us is what I saw another mother mention before. I nursed him on the same side for several feedings before switching to the other side. I think that I was actually overproducing for his needs...so he never got to the rich, tummy-soothing hindmilk. This seemed to help more than anything else I tried.
Have you tried Mylecon gas drops? They are a life saver. They sale them in the baby dept. in most stores. Keep one in your diaper bag and one in your nursery. Good Luck.
Hi, Anna
I have a friend who has a little girl that is 4months old that I watch occassionally she had the same problems with her and she uses gripe water it seems to have really helped her.
good luck.
Becky
My grandmother was a midwife and she advised mothers with babies that had colic/gas to boil an onion and use the water from the boil in your babies bottle. I have personally tried this with my granchildren and it works. Good Luck Pam
Have you tried the Mylicon drops? They work great for my 5 week old. He has gas ALOT! Sometimes I will give him some right before he eats and then a little while later on after if he seems to have a tummy ache. He likes them too so you dont have to worry about it being difficult to give him. Hope this helps.