Upset Tummy - Perryville,MD

The first two posters have it spot on. Gentle massage and warm heat should take care of this without harsh chemicals. Try what they have suggested and see if that does not help some.

Keep nursing on demand. Not only will it get your supply up but it will ensure he is getting all of the nutrition he needs.

I took an infant massage class and you can rub their bellies CLOCKWISE (never counter clockwise or you could obstruct their bowels!) That always seemed to work the gas out.

My second spit up much more than the first. We did discover that she is allergic to milk. I know some babies spit up more than others but do they suspect something in your diet could be causing his discomfort? (Mine gained weight fine despite the spitting up issue)

O. thing I used to do for my son when he had gas (but he was never to the point of Zantac or Mylicon) was to heat up a small hand towel in the microwave (just warm--not hot, of course!) and put it on his tummy while I rocked and walked with him. He seemed to really like it and he calmed down a lot. May be worth a try! Good luck.

My first baby was like this, and I see you are nursing (as I was) So, this should be simple for you to try. My daughter acted this way due to a milk allergy - which was being passed to her through the breastmilk. Try cutting out all dairy (I know this is hard) but, if this is the problem you should see results in a couple days after it has all worked itself out of your system and his. I had a brand new baby! She eventually out grew this. If this doesn't work, your baby just could be a little colicky. Good Luck!

Infants are very gassy since their digestive systems are still so new, but definitely discuss it with your doctor if it's so bad (and look into what you're eating, like the other Mamas said). I would also suggest Gripe water. It is totally natural, so you don't have to worry about medicating him unless the doctor says it's necessary. You can get it at a vitamin or health food store. It's suppose to be really good for reflux and digestion. I know people who have used it for their babies who had reflux, and it made a big difference. Any help is good, especially when it's natural. Glad to hear you're breastfeeding! Congratulations on your little blessing!

Hi B.
I went through this with my daughter too. It seemed to go on for a long time until I found out she had an allergy to dairy. I ended up going on a restricted diet until she grew out of it. I'm not saying that your little one is allergic to dairy, but it could be contributing to her discomfort...just something to consider.

I agree with those who say to try changing your diet. Dairy allergy is really common in infants (most outgrow it by age 1), so try cutting that out of your diet. You might also want to eliminate nuts from you diet.

Once you cut all dairy and nuts out, give it at least 2 weeks before you make any conclusions - it can take a little time before all the dairy/nut products get out of both of your systems.

My little one had a mild dairy allergy - I could eat cheese (as long as I didn't go overboard, but a slice on a sandwich was ok), but couldn't drink a glass of milk or eat ice cream - those would make my l.o. miserable.

My sister's l.o. had it a bit more severe, and she couldn't have anything with dairy, even butter on toast or a slice of cheese would affect her child.

So try cutting it all out to start with, then very gradually add things back - you'll know when you hit your child's limit!

get some gripe water it is the best medicine you can buy and it is cheep. You can buy it at cids-n-cure in boardman, ohio or you can order it on line. It gets the gas out of the body and adults can even use it.
good luck
it kept me from going crazy becasue my second child had colic.
T.

I'd personally explore an allergy.

My youngest is allergic to gluten, and that is found in so many products. My son is allergic to milk. Their symptoms were for both were abdominal pain, burping, spitting up, gassy, etc. also my son suffered from multiple ear infections. When I eliminated those things from their diets, the symptoms went away and my son never got another ear infection after I took him off milk. To determine my daughter's allergy to gluten, it took a blood test.

I remember taking my son to the doctor repeatedly every 6 weeks for another ear infection and getting another antibotic after antibiotic.

Finally, I read an article on dairy allergy and its connection to abdominal symtoms and ear infections, and asked my doctor about it. His response was, "Oh yes, dairy allergies are a major cause of ear infections and abdominal symptoms." I could have shot him on sight! My son was 4 years old by this time, and he had NEVER ONCE suggested that I try to find the source of the problem, but was very happy to hand out antibiotics every 6 weeks to my son!

So, I'd try an elimination diet and see if that helps at all. If you are breast feeding, you'll need to write down everything you are eating and when, and then write down when the baby's symptoms start and how severe they are, and if any day is different than another. I'd explore the dairy allergy first (since it is the most common), and then move on to nut products, and if even these things aren't working or not making a significant enough difference, then I'd move on to wheat (which indicates gluten and would also include barley, rye, and oats), and then corn, then soy. Thy about 2 weeks on each thing and notice any differences it makes.

Oh, and this isn't a life sentence. Sometimes they grow out of it or their bodies mature enough to overcome it if they simply get a break for a while. My son grew out of his milk allergy, but my daughter is still very sensitive to gluten, however she can eat it but has to be very careful.

Hope that helps,
L.

My kids had a bad time period like your son, theirs was about 3-6 am! Nothing i would do would help...the good news is they grew out of it in a few weeks.

Good morning,
I know your pain. I had two boys that were colicky. Daddy had to comfort during this time because I was just "food" to him. Don't even consider stop nursing especially with his belly upset. Consider what you're eating that may make him gasey. Brocolli and stuff like that, nothing spicy. Pretty much plain everything. Mashed potatoes plain chicken. This will help tremendously! After you feed him set him up 45 degree angle for about 45 min. That helped too. With boys their digestive tracts for some reason don't come along as quickly as the girls, their little flaps in their esophagus aren't strong enough yet. Give it time. But I know it can be frustrating. We did nights 6-8:30 it's like clock work. HMMM maybe it was my supper. Look at what you're eating before his time. Good luck hang in there it will get better.

L.

If your child has acid reflux make sure you keep him upright as much as possible. My son had the same and I had to stop breastfeeding and go to a thickened formula. The breastmilk was too watery and came up all the time. When that happens, it burns. Keep your son up right during eating, at least a half an hour after. My son spent much time in a bouncy seat wearing a bib because as soon as he layed down, he spit up quite a bit and often. I even tilted his crib a bit so he could sleep slighty upright. This may help.

Hi B.,
I haven't read through all the other responses so I'm sorry if I duplicate anything. First of all, breastfeeding is great for reflux! I have a little one with it and it was definitely challenging in the beginning b/c he just wanted to nurse constantly. He was in pain and nursing was the only thing that soothed the pain. Secondly, have you explored the possibility with your doctor of another medication. Most babies find relief for a short time on Zantac and then need a different drug after a bit. Also, if you keep with Zantac it's very weight dependent so you need to really be on top of your doc to keep upping the dose as he gains weight so quickly right now. Another thought is that possibly just changing the time in which you give him his meds will help or splitting the doses into two smaller doses given in the AM and PM. It may be that it's worn off by that time and that's why he's not able to sleep. I found a great deal of helpful info on the web about reflux, meds, helpful hints like building a "refulx nest" in the crib so your son is propped but doesn't slide down. Good luck and I hope you both begin to get better sleep very soon!
K.

When my son, now three, was an infant he was always upset. We used the mylicon drops. They did not work. Nothing seemed to work. I was nursing, exhausted and my pediatrician suggested I remove milk from my diet. I do not drink milk so I thought he was crazy but then I realized that I ate lots of cheese, lots of ice cream, put milk in my coffee, milk in my cereal. When I removed the dairy (and yes, that was hard but I managed to take off my pregnancy weight rather quickly), my son became soooo much better. If I would even try and have a dairy based salad dressing, my son would immediate return to his uncomfortable self. I believe I continued this until he was 14 weeks when he would have begun daycare and I began to suppliment the breast milk with formula. I can't recall if I started off with a soy based formula. My son now loves his milk, eats lots of ice cream and is doing just fine. (BTW I found I liked the rice milk much better than soy.)

B.,
Are you making sure he burps before going to bed. Some times babies need to burp more than once. The leg kicking seems as if he has a lot of gas so it is important that you make sure he burps.
Don't worry it seems like forever but this problem will soon be long gone. Oh something you are eating may also be causing him to gripe. Could he possibly be hungry?
Shant'e

Your may want to investigate the reflux issue a little closer. My three boys all suffered terribly from reflux as infants. My babies gained weight and spit a lot - that was part of the problem. They outgrew the zantac dose pretty quickly. We had to increase the meds and even change the meds with 2 of my kids. It can be really overwhelming with your first baby to see him so uncomfortable. There are great websites that deal with exactly the issues you are going through and give great support/ideas. If you are interested email me privately and I can send them to you. Good Luck!

Hi, My son had really similar problems and the best relief was for me to change my diet...he was just really, really sensitive to things that I ate--so I went to a pretty bland diet, but specifically NO garlic, onions or peppers--even a hint of garlic was hours of agony--almost all veggies really made him sick...so I just ate mushroom swiss burgers and had a much happier baby...before my son I thought it was an old wives tale that some babies were that sensitive, but my son was.

good luck.

Sound like colic!!! Try fennel seed & water in a bottle. It seem to settle the stomach. It was the only thing that worked for me when my son was colicie for a couple weeks. But, what a duzie they were. it is hard to hear them scream so loud for soo long. You think about a hernia happening. Try to have someone releave you for a 1/2 hour or hour to regain sanity.

You can get fennel in the spice islein food stores. Ask your Ped. first ok. All the best to you.
It will get better..

Hi B.,

My son also had reflux when he was an infant and stomach problems. I made sure he burped after his feedings and I used an infant pillow for him that I put under his sheet (so that he didn't roll over and suffocate by it) so that his head was elevated. That helped alot with his reflux. I also used a warm washcloth on his stomach to help him pass gas and soothe him. It works for us. My son ended up having to be put on reflux medication but it did help on some nights. Good luck!