Seeking Advice to Help Gassy Newborn

My daughter took probiotics! they worked wonders, tho rather expensive! Bio Gaia, I lived by those until she was 6 mos and didnt need them anymore, she is now 8 mos and happy :]

When my son was little he was very gassy too. His tummy would get hard. I was giving him the Mylicon drops which helped some but I found putting him in a bouncy seat on vibrate worked great. Good luck.

My son (now 4.5 months) was VERY gassy. We struggled for a long time trying various things from my diet changes (he's still strictly breastfed) to OTC meds. Gripe water helped a lot, mylicon also helped. Another option that helps is to put a warm pack across their stomach. We have a flax seed pack that I warm in the microwave and then place on his belly, it helps break up the gas bubbles so they aren't so hard to pass. Time is probably the biggest helper because until 3 weeks ago, your babe never had anything in his gut. A fav burp position for us is him sitting on my knee, leaning forward and slightly to the side, his head cradled in one hand and me burping him with the other hand. We also found switching burping techniques and positions helped a lot too. He still is very gassy, burping at least 3-4 good burps between sides and at the end so I've just gotten in the habit of trying to burp him every time I pick him up. He is the man of hidden burps, even an hour later which was much to my dismay for waking him from naps at times. Baby massage and bicycle leg motions also helped and were worth the effort, putting him in the airplane position on my forearm, face down, also helped. Whatever you do, keep breast feeding him! Don't let yourself think that you are causing the problem. Formula has its own problems with gas and upset stomachs.

Good luck, hope this helps.

It's so hard to know exactly what has been THE thing but my brother and sister-in-law had success with major newborn gassyness by: eliminating all milk from mom's diet, giving probiotics, giving chamomile tea (cooled down of course, a few teaspoons I think), and having baby sleep in a slightly raised-up position. They also tried Gripe Water but I think the most effective was milk elimination in mom's diet. I did this as well for my newborn and it seemed to help her immensely. Sucks for mom, though - soy lattes here you come! :)

Ah, gassy babies. I have had my share of colicky babies and tried everything from gripe water, to peppermint drops, to extra time on the tummy, bicycle the legs, and calming lavendar baths. Every baby is different, but the gripe water seemed to work a litte, and the peppermint (you can find it at your health store) really helped a lot. I ended up switching to soy formula, but I also learned that as soon as I thought I found the cure, months had passed, and by that time he grew out of the colic. I am beginning to believe that time is the only cure to developing baby bellies. Hang in there, and good luck!

You are not going to like my answer. Time. I read everything and tried everything (including taking out all dairy foods like some people recommended) and honestly nothing worked until around 6 weeks she was all better. My predi said that they are just gassy until their bodies adjust to their digestive system and your milk. I haven't touched gassy foods though just in case - brocolli, cauliflower, etc. Best of luck!

I would give the Gripe water a try. We've had some good success with it. Also look at your diet & try to eliminate gas-causing foods. Kelly Mom is a wonderful resource for this: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/index.html. Not sure about probiotics... I've read breast milk is already rich in probiotics naturally.

I agree with Becca. Your diet is most likely the problem. Your baby may not handle dairy very well. I'm a mom of six, almost seven and I've breastfed all but one of them. The reason I stopped breastfeeding her was because no matter what I did to my diet she was painfully gassy. So I put her on soy formula and she was good to go.
Good luck!!

I know there are some great burping methods out there, but I'm a little out of practice atm (though I need to get back into that soon with my 3rd on the way in 8 weeks or so!). I do remember that laying the baby face down over the knee (where their belly is on your knee), and gently pat their back was a good one that worked for us. Another thing that worked when my oldest was gassy was to hold him in front facing outward, kind of hooking your arms underneath his knees that are pulled upward (so his bottom is kind of hanging down). This was the most comfortable position for him when he was gassy.

Gripe Water is something that works for some people, though it didn't work that well for us. It also has a strong taste, so some babies don't like it and gag on it. It's a more natural approach, which I'm all for though, so you may want to give it a try.

As you probably don't have an abundance of time for reading right now, I also recommend renting "The Happiest Baby On The Block" video (based off of the book). The doctor is a little dry, but his methods are really good for helping babies be calm and secure, and if I remember correctly, I think he had some burping methods too. (Again, it's been a few years, so I hope I'm remembering that right. Either way, it's a good video.) You can get it from your local library or even NetFlix to make it easier to get.

Just to note, probiotics are always great to give a baby (or anyone really). It is challenging to find a good probiotic though, as many that are on the shelves at stores (even vitamin stores) are not active and therefore don't do anything. (Bastyr University did a study a few years back and only found a small handful that were active.) HLC is the brand that I've been recommended to use by my Naturopath, though I know there are a few others out there that are good too (I just don't know what they are). HLC has a neonate powder, that you can just wet the tip of your finger a little and dip it in the powder, then gently stick it in your baby's mouth to suck off. (Being sure your finger is clean, of course.) ;o) Just one dip is the right dose for a baby. Remember to keep the probiotics in the refrigerator too, to keep the cultures alive!

Best of luck to you!!

Probiotics are a wonderful supplement for both you and your child! Work with your pediatrician to see what formula they recommend you give your little one since they are so young. I started giving a chewable orange flavored acidophilus tablet to my daughter when she was about 18 months old. I'm sure there must be a liquid form that would be easier to give to infants. We first learned about probiotics when my daughter was ill and had to see a different pediatrician than her normal one because it was an urgent visit. He prescribed some antibiotics that it turned out she never needed. In the few days she was on them, a lot of the good bacteria in her system was wiped out and she was having nearly constant diarrhea. I gave her the acidophilus to repopulate her little system with good bacteria. Our pediatrician recommended that she stay on it for general dietary health and also because it supports a normal immune system. As a result of the probiotics (and instilling in her a good hygiene routine), my daughter rarely gets sick. She didn't miss a day at preschool at all last year and she's in a large class of kids at our local YMCA. She's come into contact with plenty of germs and she still doesn't get sick! I've noticed a dramatic decrease in the frequency of my own illnesses, including the number of cold sores I get in the winter.

I had the same problem and I finally realized it was the one cup of coffee I was allowing myself to have!! I woudl look at your diet. Also has your doctor mentioned Reflux? I have my daughter on a natural product that also helps with reflux. Let me know if you woudl like more info. Good luck with the new baby.

My son was born so quickly that he had digestive issues right out of the shoot. Whe he was 2 weeks old, I started him on Bifidus (a probiotic good for the little digestive tract). It helped so much, much more than colic tabs, Mylicon or Gripe Water. I finger fed him a quarter tsp. once a day and he actually sucked it off of my finger.

We were seeing a Naturopath and she had taken care of my daughter's reflux a couple of years prior. My daughter had been older, but hadn't outgrown it at a year like she was supposed to. So the Naturopath put her on Bifidus and Glutemine. Her reflux symptoms were gone within a week. Wow...

Another probiotic that is good for the little systems is Primadophilous (sp?). Make sure you get a powder that you can either put on your nipple or finger and he can suck it off. Once they get used to the texture, they actually see to like the flavor.

If you are unsure of what to try and can see a Naturopath, go!!!! They will guide you in the alternative treatments.

Good luck to you,
D.

I would take a look at your diet. This was THE problem for my little girl. If I ate dairy, chocolate, broccoli, or a couple other foods she would get VERY gassy and did a LOT of crying. When I cut out these foods she was a happy little camper! You'll need to experiment to see which foods cause problems for your little guy, but BELIEVE me, it's worth the diet changes! Hyland's Colic tablets also helped quite a bit, you can find them at Fred Meyers. Good luck with your little one!

Hyland (natural) collic tablets are AMAZING!
They are over-the-counter, here's a website to learn more:
www.hylands.com/products/colic.php

My kids had the same thing at the same age. Ours was milk allergy. I eliminated all milk from my diet and we were all much happier! :)

I think the probiotics is a good start. If it really is your diet, then probiotics and the mylicon will end his pain.

I have a similar story, and much different advice.
When my daughter was super young, like your baby, she had awful stomache pains too. My baby was prescribed a medicine that babies with colic take. It is alcohol based, in a very small dose, and offered her the relief she desperately needed. He said she acted colicky, but was still growing just fine, so she wasn't diagnosed with colic. My baby would cry for hours and hours on end. I could tell she was in excruciating pain. I would spend all day with friends who would take turns bouncing her and patting her with me. I stayed up all night pacing the halls with her in a front pack because my arms were too tired to bounce and pat her anymore. As soon as she got the medicine she slept 4 hours straight for the first time in days. She did wake at that 4 hr mark and needed more medicine. She too started out on the breast milk just fine, and then the pains began at about four weeks old. With the medicine she was able to grow out of the pains by 4 months old, without suffering.
If this sounds like your baby, then don't be afraid to let the Doc know how much pain you think your baby is in.

Have you recently added a lot of apples/pears to your diet?

A relative mentioned in passing (no pun intended ;) ) that "apple juice always gives me gas" ... so I finally figured out why my second baby was so INCREDIBLY gassy ... I had gone on an apple-eating jag. No more apples for nursing me! (And really, they cause gas for me, too, as it turned out ... and all my kids ... so we don't eat them much and are sure to drink a LOT of water with them so the gas comes out as burps instead of farts ... babies of course can't so much do that.)

L.,

I could not eat onions without it causing my child problems, or anything spicy. Hope you find a solution for your little guy!

N.

My baby started acting the same way around 3 months and it turns out she has a milk/soy allergy. So I have cut out dairy and soy products from my diet and my little girl is back to her old happy self! Another indication of this allergy was green chunky stool and blood and/or mucus in the stool.

Probiotics are wonderful! My husband and I tried the mylicon drops for our son and didn't like them. What worked miraculously was Colic Calm. It is not gripe water but is still all natural and works wonders! www.coliccalm.com Hope this helps!

Fennel is natural gas relief! You can buy fennel seeds at any grocery store by the spices. All you do is put a bunch in a cup of water and microwave it or heat in on the stove. Not for long..just like tea you take it off the heat and let the seeds steep in the water for a bit. Then you remove the seeds and let the water cool. Give baby a teaspoon or so as needed.

We had very good results from a product called: Hyland's Colic Tablets. They are homeopathic so completely safe for baby and they dissolve instantly in baby's mouth. It really helped reduce the fussiness & gassiness in my newborns.
You can find them at just about any drug store or grocery store like Fred Meyers for about $5 for 120 tablets whcih last a long time.

Good luck!

S.
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