Is My Eating Grains Making My Baby Uncomfortable?

Have you tried cutting out dairy? I know several moms who had to cut dairy out altogether--even a dash of cream in a cup of coffee affected baby. FYI, formula lacks the living enzymes that really help with baby's immune system and is often constipating. Good luck!

I'm not sure about grains. A friend of mine has a 4 year old boy who can not tolerate genetically modified corn, so she has to be careful about foods with corn syrup, pop corn, etc., even when she was breastfeeding. Maybe he is allergic to wheat, but not other grains. Are you eating dairy products? I guess what I am trying to say is that, as you have figured out, it's hard to tell what the problem is. I have sometimes thought my son gets stool changes when I eat avocado and too much cheese, but I'm not really sure. But one thing I am sure about it that your son will NOT be better off on a formula diet. There are good reasons why we have to give formula to babies sometimes, but if you do a little research on the subject you will find all kinds of reasons for continue to breastfeed your baby. Good luck!

I found this article and thought it may help. If the baby is that uncomfortable contact your pedi. I also recommend a support group like La Leche League.

1. Temporary Irritant or Sensitivity Common irritants include: chocolate (may also cause diarrhea), and "gassy" vegetables (for example, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, and onions). If you suspect that your newborn is "fussy" or irritated by certain foods you're eating, one approach for determining the irritants, as well as providing useful information to your pediatrician, is to keep a food journal. Be sure to note each food, the quantity consumed, and both the time you ate it and the time you breastfed your baby. You may also want to note your infant's reaction and when it appeared to happen (during feeding, 1 hour later, etc.).

If your baby is temporarily irritated by the foods you eat, it usually subsides as your baby grows and his/her gastro-intestinal track matures. Be sure to discuss possible irritants with your health care provider.

1. Allergic Reactions On rare occasions, newborns are allergic to foods (eggs, corn, dairy, soy, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts are the most common) passing through the breast milk. Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include vomiting, diarrhea, rash, irritability, gas, or blood in the stool. It can often take 2 weeks for an allergic irritant to clear out of your system, so eliminate a suspected food for two weeks, then try to monitor whether positive changes occur in your baby. Then, reintroduce foods one by one in order to isolate and determine a possible problem. Resume eating these foods in small amounts, and watch for symptoms to recur. Discuss your suspicions with your child's pediatrician.

Wow! Three little boys - that's awesome! My second baby was positively miserable until I discovered Mother's Milk tea and eliminated - of all things - pasta from my diet. I thought that she was just going to be an unusually fussy baby because I already avoided cruciferous vegetables, spicy foods, and caffeine, etc.. Then my sister-in-law recommended I stay away from pasta - and I was willing to try anything at that point; she became a much happier baby almost overnight! Three months later I decided to try some pasta for dinner (I told myself her digestive track would be better developed and it would be fine)and she screamed for almost 3 hours that night - she was so uncomfortable! Anyway, brown rice pasta is a great substitute if you find that ordinary pasta is the culprit for your baby. Hang in there! Trust yourself to figure out what it is in your diet that isn't agreeing with him - breastmilk is designed to be the perfect source of nutrition for our babies.

I found that when I drank chamomile tea, it really helped my baby calm down, even if it was upset from my diet. Within an hour or less of drinking the plain chamomile tea (no sugar, honey or lemon added), he would settle down - it helped w/ the gas too I believe. Also just sitting in a quiet spot for him to nurse helped a lot. The diet piece isn't easy (especially if you love dairy)but that 1 piece of chamomile tea did help. His pediatrician recommended it and it worked great! THat was the one & only herbal I would take or drink.

Don't give up breast feeding. ALL babies are extremely gassy the first three months or so. Everyone thinks it's their diet, but it just the baby. Give it some time.

You have already gotten a lot of good advice, including lots of things I would have mentioned if others had not.

I strongly encourage you to continue breastfeeding. It is best for your baby, unless he is in serious distress, but it doesn't sound like he is. A total elimination diet might be necessary to determine the true cause, but it can't hurt to cut wheat for 2 weeks to see if that is the problem.

It is also common for a baby to be gassy and fussy for up to 3 months or as little as 4 weeks. My latest DD was fussy for only 4 weeks, but I was at my wits end by the second week.

Another thing to add: cut all CITRUS fruits and juices. They are full of vitamin C and soluable fibre, but the acidity is very unkind to your baby's digestive system. Our ped suggested eliminating spicy foods and garlic/onions, gassy foods, citrus fruits and caffeinated drinks. Luckily, cutting the spicy foods, onions and garlic helped and all of the gassiness ended when I also cut out citrus.

If you have already tried cutting dairy and the other foods I mentioned, try eliminating caffeine and citrus too.

Good luck!

I'm not too sure about grains, but when I breatfed the baby would get really uncomfortable everytime I had tomato sauce or pizza (with red sauce). Could that be it?

My son was ridiculously gassy for the first 5 months of his life. I totally altered my diet, basicaly was down to eating boiled chicken and plain green beans and water and he still was gassy. I would watch on the herbal teas tho. Have you tried gripe water..that helps with gassiness. Also you can brew your own fennel tea for your baby and dilute with water, that helps with gassiness also. Congratulations and good luck!

hello! i am no expert, but my son had a terrible time with gas and bloating until he was 6 months old. I still think breastmilk is best for a ton of reasons, so before formula, I tried to limit things that I found correlated with extra gas. Broccoli, cauliflower and wheat were big ones. Maybe it is not the grains but the wheat that is giving your little one trouble. Also, I know it didnt cure it, but have you tried the gas drops for babies-mylecon (I forget how to spell it) It is not a miracle cure, but it helped. I would give it to my some either 20 min before or right after I fed him, and it helped him. You could ask your pediatrician. Also, another thing my pediatrician told me that was helpful is that at this time in there life, all of their parts do not work together yet. Especially in their digestive tract-things can work against each other and cause discomfort. So it could be just his body learning how to function and it will clear up soon! Good luck.

My doctor told me to watch the herbel tea when I was pregnant and breastfeeding. Depending on what kind of herbel tea it is, that could be contributing to the problem. All 4 of my kids were extremely gassy during their first few months. The doctor told me that some babies are just more gassy then others. My youngest son was the worst and I was told about Gripe Water. It worked better than the normal gas drops. I highly recommend it and they now sell it in most retail grocery stores. Good luck.

There isnt one baby on the planet who is better off on formula. Formula is lacking in many, many areas as far as nutrition and general haelth are concerned. Have you seen an IBCLC yet? Are you on WIC and seen a Peer Counselor? You will probably need to try an elimination diet. Or find out if there is some other cause to his gas and discomfort. It isnt generally true that you need to have a strict diet when breastfeeding. Most babues are fine, just some are very sensitive to certain foods. Dairy is usually the culprit, but here are some guidelined to an elimination diet to get you started.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041200.asp
Hope this helps. If you need more help, let me know!
~Tara~ Breastfeeding Counselor Buffalo NY

MOm,
breast feeding diet should be the same as pregnancy, but stricter

NUTS and heavy grains and greens are hard to digest, and gassy for adults , so you can imagine how it affects baby.

Try eating lightly, like fruits, salads (NO onions)No vinegar
grilled chicken lightly seasoned NO GARLIC

soft breads which usually contain sugar, or wheats that are soft,

the multigrans usually have NUTS which can irritate

hot sauce and spices also irritate.
heavy cheeses and dairy

( and certain vitamins so read your prenatals and see what might be bothering your baby's belly)

Drink WATER, lay low on the milk, and coffee, and tea
( ONE tea per day)
its the same as when your pregnant, no more than one 8 oz cup of coffee and tea.

try eliminating all dairy from your diet. once i did this all fussiness ended:)

I would give up the herbal tea; the effect herbs have on babies is questionable, that is why they do not recommend them when you are pregnant. Please don't say your baby would be better off with formula. Nursing is the best thing you can do for your baby. I nursed all 4 of my children for a minimum of ten months and it was wonderful for them and for me. The baby could have even worst digestive problems on formula, so try cutting out the tea and see if that helps.

Hello K., my daughter had a lot of gas when she was few weeks old, i stopped using onions,cabbage also sour fruits etc.. but still my daughter would have gas. She cried in the evenings(she was screaming actually and i didn't know what to do,she also refused breast,which wasn't common) Originally i thought its because of gas problem, but then i learned to take her to dark quiet room,breastfeed her there and just stay there with her, then she would calm down and fall asleep. I also noticed normally she didn't cry/shout, having gas, during daytime. I started to eat everything ,just balanced, not big amounts of something one. Later she stopped having so much gas( i guess her stomach got used to breast milk) I don't know what exactly your problems are,but just an idea for you. If this wouldn't help, I would ask our doctor for an advice. I live in Switzerland and here they don't teach to refuse of eating something, but support balanced eating,during breastfeeding. Good luck,O.

Hi, it is possible that he is sensitive to the wheat you may be eating. Have you tried taking out dairy? I had to stop all dairy when my son was 2 weeks old, he was soo sensitive and gassy. When he turned 8 months old, I slowly introduced dairy back into my diet and he now has yogurt once a day. I don't know about herbal teas, I never had a problem, but every baby is different.