Starting Solids - Did Your Baby Have Pain from Being Gassy?

Hi.

My son got gassy too. We backed off and went really basic until he got better and then retried very slowly-I would breast feed him first, then he would get some oatmeal and half of a serving of a veg. I would do that for 3 days and then add a 1/2 a serving of fruit to the mix for another 3 days and go from there. I also LOVE the infant gas drops at Target. They are way cheaper and work miracles!

Hi V.-

My son cannot handle oatmeal. He is fine with rice cereal. Oatmeal gave him gas and made him spit-up a lot.

My daughter had problems going to bed and staying in bed and I read this book titled "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition (Paperback)by Richard Ferber" and it helped us. It explains the different stages of sleep and provided me with step by step solution to getting my daughter to go to bed and stay in bed. It worked for us so hopefully it will work for you. Good Luck.

Hi V., First there are gas drops that you can buy over the counter that work well. But try giving just a very small taste of the solids for right now. It will intuduce the food to her system with out over whelming it. Second, don't switch back and forth, that is the hardest thing on the digestive system. Just like bedtime and disapline, stay consistent. Stick with the cereal at first, then when she can handle more and more of that, intuduce veg's, when she can eat them with out problems, them give fruit. She is still young, so don't rush her. Allergies to foods can develop when given too much too soon. I make that mistake with my middle child. She depeloped an allergy to eggs. She couldn't even eat a cookie or peice of cake because of the egg content. Even egg noodles in chicken noodle soup would make her sick. Breast milk or formula are the best food up to the first birthday. Hope you find the answeres you seek. Good luck. S.

Make sure you are doing a 3 day presentation for each new food, which means it cannot be combined with other new foods. SO, for instance when you went from cereal to beginning foods, you might initially try a mashed banana (or commercial baby food bananas). You then watch for any change in stools, rashes, irritability, gassiness. After 3 days are up move on to another new food, only now you can include the first food as well (assuming there was no reaction). It is a good way of fairly easily identifying any food that is allergic or disagrees with your child. This system was recommended by my pediatrician and worked well.

I would talk to her pediatrician. My daughter is the same age and gets a little gassy from her veggies...but it doesn't seem to cause her any pain. She had colic as an infant ... and that was painful for her...but since she outgrew that we haven't had any issues.

You can try something called 'Colic Calm'. It is all natural and doesn't have the added sugar like Mylicon. You can buy it online. It worked like a CHARM when my daughter had colic. Took away her gas issues immediately!

Hi V., for my daughter caraway was a miracle drug! I mixed her formula (or oatmeal) with caraway water (just brew caraway like a tea). My daughter felt much better - and no side effects. Most babies won´t taste a difference if it´s not too strong. It´s worth a try. Good luck for your little one!

usually when this happens a baby's system is considered to be immature and you should reall consider backing off away from the solids for another month or two until her system is a little more developed. Even though she was fine with oatmeal before, her system is upset and anything put into it is going to cause pain. So switch back to BF or try bottle supplements if you're not up to BF full time again. Good luck with baby.

* to relieve gas pains use simethicone infant gas drops. they are over the counter.

hi V. !

i'd back off solids for a bit. a baby's gut is not fully closed until after 7 mos and the chance of developing allergies to foods is greatest right now. there is nothing as good for her as your milk, at this point in a baby's life, solids are just for fun - they are not necessary yet. i have 5 kids aged 8 and under and not one of them had even a taste of solids before 8 mos - my oldest was 11 mos before he started. your milk supply should catch right back up to her demands if you are nursing on request and drinking enough water. good luck, that sounds very distressing!

Hi V. - hope you've been able to get some sleep! I breastfed my son exclusively for 6 months as well and then introduced solids very slowly, one at a time. I fed him just rice cereal for about a month or so I think, then slowly added one fruit at a time. Same thing, kept him on just rice cereal and applesauce for about a month, added one more, etc. Their little systems are so new and unused to the changes. This worked for us and I don't remember it causing him much discomfort. I'd go back to just rice cereal for awhile. Good luck!

Have you tried tummy drops? My daughter didn't need them, but my son does from time to time. It seems to go through phases - sometimes every day for 3-4 days, and then not at all for several weeks. (they help relieve gas in babies)

V.,
Hey I haven't had that problem when my kids were young, no. But just some thoughts you may want to consider.
Transition can cause some stress on the body. I know if I've been eating one cereal, for example, and switch, it can cause gas or act like a ....'cleanser', if you get MY drift! There are also additives and preservatives that could be the culprit. You may want to consider buying organics.
There's also Bean-O. That helps against gas naturally. Just add some to whatever she drinks (if you get the drops. Tablets, either crush and add or let them break apart in a liquid before adding the oatmeal).

V.,
I think this is pretty normal. My daughter (who is now grown) had the same problem. There are baby drops for gas that you can give her or call the doctor and get a prescription. I remember I would put a drop on her tongue at night and she would sleep all night at 3 months old. You might have to do this for a couple of months until your babys system gets use to the new food. Good Luck!
S., mother of three grown children and now have 8 grandchildren.

My youngest had the same issue- she would roll up in a ball and just cry until it went away- it happened after every meal for what seemed like months. I did a lot of research on it, and started to give her Gripe water- it is AMAZING. Pretty much stopped all the issues almost immediately. I bought it online (it was cheaper) or from a Health Food store, but if you just want to try it, I think they now carry it at Babies R Us. The pediatrician said she had an "immature digestive system" and that it just needed to mature and she would be fine- which she is- she has no issues at all.

It sounds pretty simple - she is not ready for solid foods. Listen to her body because it is telling you very important information. There's no rush for solid foods. In fact they create many life-long food allergies, which could be happening based on your child's reaction. Breast milk is perfect. Trust your maternal instincts. They are wiser than any modern parenting books.

I am wondering if she is now getting regular milk with her cereal? You might want to consider a lactose free milk. That happened to my son and once I switched it seemed much better.

Also, there is a homeopathic remedy called Gripewater you might want to try! That helps with gas in the intestines.

SOunds like a dairy issue to me. Soy products are also very binding.

2 of my 3 children were exclusively breastfed until they were a year old. Maybe your little sweetie's tummy isn't ready for solids yet. I would go back to breastmilk only, since she was fine with that and start over when she is a little older. Le Leche League encourages solids to be introduced when baby is grabbing your food out of your hand. No rush to solids, she has the rest of her life for that.

Hi V., My name is M.. I am a mother of 3 and also a pediatric nurse. My first child was exclusively breastfed until 7 months of age. At that time I started rice cereal only. He did well with cereal but didn't tolerate other foods until he was about 1 year old. I continued to occasionally offer him bites of foods but my pediatrician gave me the ok to hold off on solid foos as long as he continued to thrive on just breastmilk. Eventually my son learned to eat everything and had limited gas and diarreha. Good luck.

My 2nd baby was incredibly gassy from day one. I used Mylicon drops after sometimes even before feedings and it took care of the painful gas, actually almost all of the gas period. It was a life saver for me. If you decide to use it, get the dye free not the original, it won't make such a mess if it drips. Best of luck to you and little one, A.

I would try mashed banana, mashed sweet potato or white potato before using other fruits & veggies or cereals. Look at the LaLeche League International website for starting solids or in their book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

V., I was told to expect that sort of thing any time my baby's diet changes. For example going from formula to cereal, veggies to fruits, etc. Try Mylicon drops, I give mylicon to my son almost every time he eats. It is a gentle anti-gas drop and works like a charm. I have found that it works better than baby gas-ex (eventhough it is the same active ingredient). They are expensive, but totally worth it. If you don't mind generic the Target brand work just as well at less than half the price.

My oldest son did. Turned out he had something called Fructose Intolerance. We just had to avoid fruits and fruit juices for awhile, until he was about 3 to4 years old. He would just fill up with gas and have such pain. Eventually, he even developed loose stools from it too before we figured it out.

Fructose is the sugar that is in most fruits, like lactose is in milk.

You should take her to the doctor, she could have celiac disease or something. If over the counter gas medicine doesn't work, like Mylicon, you should definately take her in. It's not normal.

It might be a bit early for fruit. Babies seem to tolerate the rice cereal best at first. Stick with that for a while, then introduce oatmeal. Don't rush a lot of different foods in a short time. Did your doc say that your baby needed more nutrition? Not pointing finger here, every baby is different. Some babies do fine on just breast milk until they are 9-10 months, others need cereal much earlier. Just trying to see where you are at with this particular child.

Some gas will be normal b\c these are all foreign foods to her system at this time. My daughter (now 16 months) had gas and was breastfeed up until 7 months too and she did have lots of gas. Keep giving gas drops b\c doc said it was okay but only introduce a new food every 3 days and write it down. If you don't you will never be able to pin point what food correctly. I had to write foods I even ate when breastfeeding b\c it seemed she got gas from everything. But when it came time for solids I realized alot food will give gas but if its uncomfortable to where she's crying them start writing and be careful not to introduce more than one food a day. For example if you look closely at the Gerber oatmeal you'll see that one box says single grain and the other says whole grain. Look for things like that. It makes a huge difference. My daughter got bad gas from the whole grain and not the single grain. Also write down what kind of reaction she gets. For example, if she gets a rash around the mouth right away after you introduce something then mark it dowm. Still continue the next day b\c it might not happen. If it does , discontinueand try in 2 weeks. That's exactly what my pediatrician told us to do. Thank God he did. It helped. Now, she's not allergic to anything but sensiive to a few foods and I now know exactly what those foods are. It helps us all out. I hope I helped you.