Baby Extremely Gassy

Updated on May 29, 2009
T.G. asks from Porter Ranch, CA
7 answers

My 2 week old son is extremely gassy. I feel so sorry for him. He is constantly grunting and farting and seems like he is in pain. I put him to sleep on a bouncer so he is elevated and also burp him a lot. This helps but not much. He seems to be the most comfortable when he is on his tummy (supervised of course).

I have also tried mylicon drops and they do not seem to help much. I talked to his doctor and he said this is normal but all of the farting, explosive watery bowel movements seem excessive as does his farting. Would love any recommendations. Has anyone tried ColicCalm?
I saw this on the internet and it got a lot of great reviews.

My 1st son did not have this problem at all so I am not sure how to deal with this.

I am breastfeeding exclusively.

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D.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

What kind of diet are you on? What you eat directly effects your babies digestion...so, if I ate a lot of beans or dairy or broccoli than my son was super gassy! Check out www.fitpregnancy for diet suggestions.

Also, you may want to massage his belly to ease the discomfort. I used a heating pad covered by a thick towel during downtime and this seemed to help. During feedings make sure the latch on the breast is secure and he is not gupling air, you might want to consult a lactation specialist for help with this. If he is getting air during feeding this will cause gas too. So, he may need to feed for a bit, then be burped and relatch.

I have never used Colic Calm, but you might want to run it by your Pedi before using it to make sure its appropriate for the problem.

Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Here is My take on it.
Your son is normal, and this does happen to newborns/babies a lot, because of an immature system...they are still developing outside the womb.

Now, Just because he is "grunting" and farting a lot... does not necessarily mean "he" is in pain... babies OFTEN grunt when pooping and farting, and their face turns red. It's common. But it does not "mean" they are in pain.
IF HE WERE in pain, he'd be crying and screaming, inconsolably all day, and not sleeping at night. Which, he is not doing. He seems fine, besides the sound effects he has when farting/pooping. My son, was a LOUD grunter and very expressive whenever he farted/pooped. My daughter was not.

Now, the Mylicon drops probably does not help because he does not have a gas "problem" per say. HE IS PASSING GAS. A "gas problem" is one in which the gas is NOT passing...thus
pain. I know this because my daughter had BAD gas problems as a baby.... she did not fart at ALL, or very rarely. SHE was in pain and cried and screamed and her face bore much pain as well.... she was miserable and could not sleep... but she did NOT have colic, which was confirmed by the Doctor.... hers was just a very bad gas problem. BUT for her, we did use the "Hyland's Colic Tablets" and it did help a lot.

Now, be glad that your son IS farting and has pooping. And yes, newborns and babies DO have explosive blow-out poops! It's not unusual. You should not try and make him fart "less"... his system is merely getting rid of excess gas. That is good. My daughter on the other hand, did NOT fart and all the gas accumulated inside her... and cause much pain. Which would you want for your newborn? An efficient farting baby, or one who does not fart and has true pain?

I don't think your son has a problem. He just farts a lot and poops a lot. He's NOT in pain... so you may just have to get used to his farting/poop habits. Each child is different and he is not like your firstborn.
So, there is really nothing to deal with... your baby is fine. It's normal.
And yes, watch what you eat... if you are nursing.
To me, a farting baby is not a problem. But a baby who does not fart, is. Like my daughter. Even for her age now... she gets gas pains, not as much as when she was a baby....but still.

All the best,
Susan

1 mom found this helpful
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S.A.

answers from Honolulu on

I agree with the others, it is most likely something in your diet that is causing this. Look it up (try; "breastfeeding gassy baby" in google, I did it and lots of good info comes up) and then you might see something in the list that causes the baby to be gassy that you eat often, and try take that out of your diet for a while. Good luck :)

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

since you are only breast feeding you may try to limit the foods that tend to make you gassy. he may also have an allergy to something your eating. maybe cut out milk also. im sure youll get a lot of good advice! good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I know Gripe Water (Babies Bliss brand is best) works great! Not sure if it matches your situation but you can try it. Ask your doctor - I'm not sure when you can start using it but I think I remember my sis-in-law using it right away. You can find it at Henrys, Mothers, etc.

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C.G.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

congrats on your new baby...i have a 3 week old that won't stop crying and we are pretty positive it is because of the foods im eating. I contacted a lactation consultant in my area, she is very helpful in trying to problem solve and get to the bottom of things, if you have access to one i would definently try it...it couldn't hurt right? Im trying mylicon now, i tried gripe water, it didn't seem to help but every baby is different....good luck:)

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B.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

First off, let me praise you for being so brave to ahve an 18 month old & a newborn!! I applaud you! Remember that everything that you are eating he is ingesting. Have you took a look at your diet? Try not to eat food that would give you gas. My son was really gassy as a newborn and we gave him gas drops and I limited my diet to non-gassy foods. Remember that a lot of veggies can also give you/him gas. And drinks TONS of water. I was a bit nutty about it as i drank about a gallon a day however it seemed to help my son so I kept it up. I hope that your little guy gets some relief super soon!

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