Painful Gas in Baby

My 3 kids had the same thing at 3 weeks. After eliminating all milk products from my diet, they were fine. I noticed results within a week. Added the food back in after two weeks, they reacted, I eliminated the food, reaction stopped.

As they started eating solid foods, I discovered more allergies -- foods that caused the same reaction as if they had milk. Soy, rice, almonds, artificial color, and others have had the same reaction on one or more of my kids. If eliminating milk doesn't do it, try something else.

Good luck!

My son was colicky and you could hear his little tummy rumbling and grumbling after he ate. All the books said it would peak out around 6 weeks then decline after that, and indeed it did! I never believed in the dietary causes because my diet was very consistent, but my son was anything but! I did later see an article about probiotics that seemed really interesting (see below). If my second one is colicky, I think I would try it!

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Probiotic-drops-...

My son continues to struggle with this at a year, although it is much better (actually started up again once on solids). Other then what you are already trying, I massaged his tummy both in and out of a warm bath, laid him down and did the bicycle movement with his legs, and kept him upright (even is sleeping) for at least 30 minutes after each feeding. These things did seem to help, at least a little.

Hot water bottle filled with very warm water and then cover with a receiving blanket. Put this up to his stomach, like a sleep wedge. The warmth will help his stomach relax and ease any of the cramping. Limit your dairy products. He could have a lactose intolerance and that is passed on thru breast milk as well. Unless you have a high need for a high fiber diet, you probably should cut back a bit for the comfort of your baby. But try the hot water bottle. You'll probably find that he's most comfortable when he sleeps on your chest or that of his Dad, the warmth really makes life much better for him.

My son was what I call "burp-resistant"...and he had terrible issues with gas, even when he was a few weeks old. I found that I just had to pat and pat and pat him, sometimes for a half hour, to get him to burp adequately. Even if you aren't eating a ton of high-gas food, the way he nurses may cause him to drink a lot of air as he drinks his milk. I found I just had to be persistent in my burping, until he got the hang of it and stopped trying not to burp.

Are you taking prenatal vits?? Try not taking them for a while.... Good luck!

My mom and other older women always recommended peppermint water for my three babies colic and gas.It always worked and never failed me and since I made it i knew what went in it.Just get some of the little round red and white striped peppermint candies and put one in a pot with about 4 cups water and heat and stir just till water starts to turn pink.Cool and let baby drink no more than one ounce.

My dtr had the same problem. We did a lot of prolonged burping and belly massage. It also helped to "bicycle" her legs every diaper change. I cut a lot of stuff out of my diet(diary, wheat, spicy foods) for months and didn't see much of a change. The Colic Calm did seem to help a bit. I started taking probiotics and then at about 3 mos. gave them to my dtr. That made the most difference in the pain--she still is a gassy 16 mo. old but it is no longer painful. I bought the powder for infants at New Season. She was also on meds for reflux but it didn't help w/the gas. Same for Gripe Water and Drops. Good luck--we feel your pain.

I feel for you both. My little girl was the same - the gas machine and oh so crampy and cranky. Aside from figuring out what food eliminations will help reduce the gas, keep in mind that it usually passes by 12 weeks when their systems mature sufficiently. In terms of foods I cut out - I also cut out many foods including the ones you mentioned, but also pork (at the suggestion of a lactation nurse), beans, spinach and fresh salad. It was frustrating, but it passes. I was the queen of rice and chicken meals, pea stews, sauteed carrots, and I ate alot of plain yoghurt and drank my fair share of banana smoothies. Good luck to you both.

For constipation a friend told me to use a little olive oil on their tummy and rub/massage it in and that helps digestion system move. I wonder if it might help with gas. I have never had to try it, but I have heard of some others doing that.

Also, when you go to burp your little one you could try running/rubbing your hand/fingers along his spine on his back rather than patting him. It might help release some of the pressure. It seemed to work better when I did that to my son when we fed him rather "beating/patting" his back. You know, I wonder if it's because it's soothing and calms them down so they are able to release the gas. I don't know - us mothers have such an amazing bond with our children. Good luck.

Hi!
My oldest had the worst reflux, it even made a friend that happens to be a pediatrician uncomfortable! We thought that his tantrums were from gas as well and gave him every over the counter remedy we could find. On a well visit I was telling the doctor about the huge amounts of barf and he told me to use just a little regular strength mylanta after he spits up to cool the heart burn and to hold him upright after each feeding to help him keep the milk down. It worked like a charm!

You can use the car seat, a boppy pillow, or even just hold the baby.

Good luck! We used to have to keep two changes of clothes in the car so that we would not be covered in baby spit up all day!!!

If you eat a lot of fiber, that little guy is taking the same thing from you-Fiber. I would suggest that you slow down on fiber and work on more fruits, vege's (outside the ones that hurt baby's) and proteins. Stay away from high lactose items (cheese, milk, etc.). Also, watch your soy intake. I've heard that soy too can be binding for little tummys.

I know that from birth until my daughter was 4 months, I had to live off of hamburgers and rice and vege's. We also gave her gas drops and gripe water and exercised her regularly. Just rotate their hips in circles and push the legs in towards the belly and out away from the belly. This will also work out gas. You could try burping them as well in multiple positions.

If you eat a lot of fried foods too (like I do), then you may want to cut those out too. Those cause lots of pain.

Otherwise, best wishes and make sure that it isn't acid reflux. My nephew had that to the point that he was on medicine and still has trouble gaining weight because so many things upset his tummy and digestive tract.

Best wishes.

Kim B.

Take him to a pediatric GI specialist ASAP.

We found that our little guy could not handle garlic. Whenever I ate it (and it's hard to avoid), he would wake up grunting and crying in pain. It seems strange, but avoiding garlic by cooking all of my own food from scratch did the trick.

i use little tummies gas relief drops.
all natural and works in seconds. it is so
hard to see them in pain with gas...this stuff is amazing. but the diet change should help as well

Maybe try cutting milk out of your diet? I hear that's a common cause of gas in babies.

My daughter as a new born was crying all the time with stomach cramps and gas. The doctor said it was just cholic and she would be fine. After 2 months of watching my baby suffer I decided that it was time not to listen to the doctor but my gut instinc. My son was on soy as a baby because of lactose digestive problems. I took her off of the breast and tried soy. She still was having problems but not to the extreme. Now I knew I was on the right path. It came down to goats milk. Once on goats milk my baby was happy and not in pain any more. Even today she has to watch milk intake or she will have extreme pain but she is old enough that she monitors herself now.
Not all my kids had this problem. My son had a light case and my other daughter doesn't have a problem.
Listen to your doctor but also listen to your motherly instincts.

R., I SO feel your pain! Every one of my babies had a horrible time until they were between 9 and 12 weeks of age. I look back at that time and thank God it was like labor and after we got through it the pain of it fades, but boy is it difficult while you are in the middle of it. :) I don't know if you are in the Portland area but if you are, Mother Nature's on Clinton and 26th carries a product called Peaceful Baby by Mama Rose and it did WONDERS for my baby who is now 11 months old. It was the only thing that helped with her tummy. It is a natural remedy for teething and colic and it worked better than anything else I tried and believe me, I tried just about everything.

I know a lot of advice you will get is go to a specialist but I have a different opinion. I took that route with my middle child and had a lot of really poor advice given just because they didn't know what was going on. They wanted to put her on Ridlyn (sp?) because it can help for GERD, they also put her on Tylenol with Codienne which did nothing but drug her. It was the beginning for me of a real change in my perspective about health. I have since found out that sometimes you just have to let your baby and their body get in sync and it can take a while. By the time an infant is three months old (it can sometimes take longer) their systems finally start to catch up with everything new. A lot of the time, no matter what you do, it is just their brain trying to get used to this new world. I would say that give it until he is 12 or so weeks and then see where he is. Good luck, I can imagine you are tired and mentally drained but just remember, this too shall pass and before you know it you will be wondering how, in the blink of an eye, he got all grown up!

My son had the same problem, Little Tummies gas relief drops were our life saver! They are non medicated so you can give them at every feeding, and they work fast!

my son is gassy NO matter what! I use gas drops and they seem to help him, the doctor even said 'Man he is gassy,and we have tried everything' I laugh and say its all his dad's fault! My daughter even said, "well ya know dad farts alot!' but the gas drops seemed to make the gas less painful

Soy is another likely culprit. Read labels like crazy, because it's in a LOT of processed foods.

My LO was extremely gassy and used to cry all the time. Nothing was getting helpful since I started giving him babies magic tea. It's all OK since then.

We experienced this with both kids, but most seriously in our first. We did see some relief from gripe water. However, I'd encourage you to consider that it could be a food allergy. I'm sure you can get some guidance from the pediatrician on what you should try eliminating, although I think dairy is the most common culprit.

Both of my kids got through it in a matter of weeks so it might be a matter of time. Their little digestive systems still need lots of development.

Good luck! I know it's hard to watch when your baby is struggling.

a girlfriend of mine had a similar issue, and she cut out wheat and pepper, turns out she had a mild allergy to both, and so did her boy... just a thought!

My son was like this from 6 weeks to 6 months. I know it doesn't sound encouraging, but I can sympathize, and I can share what I learned. My son was obviously in pain, but the dr kept telling me that he wouldn't prescribe anything because my son was gaining weight well. I finally went in one particularly horrible day and frustratedly told the dr to fix him or keep him because I was going insane. He prescribed acid reflux meds and the pain was vastly decreased. We had to burp my son for about 45 minutes after each feeding to get out all the air bubbles or he would scream in pain. Gas drops did nothing for him either. My son was horribly hard to burp and in the beginning, we mistook his lack of burping for a lack of air. He was hysterical and even the nurses couldn't get him to burp. They finally had to put a tube in his tummy and suck out the air... it filled an 8 oz syringe!
Anyway, we did not really figure out what the problem was until I quit nursing. My son was nursing without sticking his tongue out all the way. Because of this, he was getting a lot of air, and was unable to get the hind milk out. This decreased my supply caused him to spit up the high lactose, thin foremilk. The spitting up burned his throat, so he nursed more often. It was a crazy cycle that all could have been fixed with a good lactation consultant. I had his latch checked twice in the hospital, once in the pediatrician's office, and was working with a lactation consultant on the phone and through email.

I work with a bunch of labor and delivery nurses and they said to have him lick peppermint candies. Also hold his knees to his chest and that helps him release gas. Good luck!

Poor little guy... painful gas is just no fun! :( Some things I would try is Hyland's Colic tablets, in my area they are available at Safeway and Fredmeyer. They are all natural and I call them little miracle pills. I give them to my sone whenever he is fussy or has gas and they work every time! Also, I've heard if you lay your baby on his belly and rub his back it may help. Another trick I've heard is to lay a blanket on the floor, lay the baby on the blanket, belly down and then slowly drag the blanket around the room. Of course you'll want to be careful not to tip baby around too much. We used to do that with our son and he loved it!

I hope you find some ideas that help!

~R.

look up eosinophilic gastroinestinal disorder (EGID) - if your baby is suffering from reflux, this is a possibility. Does he have eczema?

garlic made my kids miserable. Chocolate can make them gassy too.

Keep a diary of what you are eating. Put the foods and the time on one column, then the symptoms and the time on another and see if you notice a correlation with what foods you are eating. A cell mediated food allergy takes time to manifest itself (sometimes 2-3 days) - unlike other reactions to some foods - such as intolerance or anaphylactic allergies which show up pretty quick.

you may need to find a good pediatric GI to take a look at your child. They are hard to come by - you can email me off group and I can give you some suggestions depending on the area you are in.

Jennifer

Hi, R.--
My daughter was both milk and soy intolerant. I had been supplementing with formulas when my milk hadn't come in fully. Taking her off formulas helped tremendously and then the doctor told me to give them up as well because of breastfeeding. I saw some immediate results. The cow's milk intolerance, I am told, is pretty common. You might try eliminating one thing at a time for a day or two and see if it makes any difference. I would also check out the Baby book by Dr. Sears. I found something along the lines of 35 tricks you can try for baby's acid reflux and our doctor never gave us any of those suggestions. For example, a rolled up towel under baby's crib mattress could elevate the mattress and baby just slightly which would be enough to keep the food and acid down when baby is laying down. Good luck. I feel for you and your baby and hope this passes soon.

If it's an intolerance to milk protein (casein) you will have to eliminate dairy and probably soy from your diet as well (babies are often senstitive to both). Goat's milk wouldn't help either. Make sure you exclude butter and whey, and sodium caseinate. I never thought butter would have enough proteins in it to bother my baby, but it sure did. This intolerance actually causes lesions in their intenstines, so you'll have to wait both for the proteins to leave your system and for her insides to heal. It's worth it, though--if this is the culprit, I guarantee you'll have a "new" baby once he's feeling better!

They say that rubbing the tummy in a clockwise direction helps a bit. And I had to give up all bread products for my baby. Hope that you find the answer!

HI R.
It sounds like to me he has a dairy sensitivity.(Might not be the cereal it could be the milk) It is very common for breastfed babies. It's not an allergy really just they are more sensitive to it until about 6 months of age or until their digestive system is more mature. Both my babies had it and about half the women in my breastfeeding group did too. Makes them cranky and gassy. It can take up to 2 weeks for the milk protien to be out of your system so you have to at least wait that long to see if it works However I have seen improvements before that. Some are only sensitive to milk others are senstivie to ALL milk products. When they cry a lot to they suck in air that also creates gas in them. Good Luck and hope this helps with his gas. It may even help with the reflux. I thought my son might have reflux but, after curing the milk thing he just is spitting up with no pain, no gas and less crying all together!

Have you tryed gas drops? I used them with every one of my kids. The doctor ever gave them to my new born a few hours after she was born.

cut out apples and pears--and especially apple and pear juice (or juices with those ingredients), see if that stops it

it has something to do with the chemically more 'basic' (alkaline) fruits interacting with stomach acid or something like that--but anyhow, my cutting apples (I used to eat a lot!!!) totally fixed my second child's gas issues when he was a nursing-only infant

When my twins were young and having similar problems, I searched online and discovered Colic Calm. In my moment of desperation, I ordered it even though it was $20. It was completely worth it. Right when they'd get the symptoms, I'd give it and within minutes, they'd be calm and back to sleep! It was amazing! I'd highly recommend giving it a try. I recommended it to a couple friends for whom it didn't work so I think it is effective with specific problems and not others. I don't understand it, I just know it worked. Here's the link - http://www.coliccalm.com/?gclid=CMXArpi62ZYCFQ89awodixtL4g. Good luck finding something that helps.
B.