5 W/o Baby Has Terrible Gas at Night... Any Suggestions?

Hi my daughter had the same problem when she was 5 weeks, we switched her to similac advanced isomil its a soy formula it takes three days and she hasnt had that problem since. She will still be gassy and poop more but she wont cry when she has the gas! I have 6 8 oz premade bpttles if you want them!

Have you tried Gripe Water? It's basically ginger water for babies. We used it with my son when he was that little and it worked well. I don't like using medications and the gas stuff didn't work very well. Sometimes a little time on the tummy can help too, I know she's little, though!

Been there with my son. Every time I would enjoy some cabbage family veggie, especially my favorite broccoli, he would get bad gas and other times, too. the BEST thing ever in the world that worked was Gripe Water. They carry it at Baby, Mother and More (Southern & Gilbert), and I am now pregnant again and believe me I will have some ready to go before the baby is born. It was/is the best gas "medicine" out there! Good luck...
J.

Hi, I breastfed all of my 8 children, and one thing i learned the hard way was, be careful what YOU are eating. Things like onions, broccoli, cauliflower, chocolate, soda pop things that are acidic and spices actually come through your breast milk and can cause a baby to have gas and be fussy. Try watching those things when you are eating and it might make a difference. Make sure also that the baby is latching on properly so she is not sucking any air.Other than that it sounds like you are doing everything right!!!!!!
Good Luck, and Congrats!!!!
J. J

www.coliccalm.com

it was a god send for us!!! our pediatrcian ok'ed it too. good luck!!!

I had the same problem with my 6month old son when he was that age. It does get better i promise! Really all you can do is rub her belly with some pressure. That seemed to relieve some of the pain for my son. You just rub clockwise for awhile or until they have calmed down. The gas relief drops didnt really work well for us nor did i really like them. I think it may of made it worse at times. Hope you get some sleep but your not alone!

My little one had the same problem. After I cut out broccoli and eggs and beans and anything else that caused me gas, it helped. Calcium is great for gas so don't cut out your dairy unless your doc says to. I drank more milk myself and she started sleeping through until her next feeding. Everytime she had gas after that I knew I'd messed up and ate something gassy. One time it was broccoli cheese rice (not much broccoli I thought). Poor baby kept me (and the rest of the house) up all night long!

My sisters son had a similar problem when she was breast feeding and she was told to move to a bland diet and make sure she took natural vitamins. I guess there were things she had been eating that affected her milk. It took about three days to kind of reset her body to make him a little more comfortable. As she slowly introduced things into her diet she could better see what was affecting him.

I went through the same thing and became very frustrated and exhausted! Finally I was given the advice to change my diet! Eating very bland-little to no seasoning, no eggs, no dairy, no citrus and no spicy including tomato sauce. Basically I ate broiled chicken, steamed veggies. Within 2-3 days I had a new baby girl! Eventually I added foods back in to my diet to see if she could tolerate it. An extra bonus...I lost all my baby weight and was smaller than before I got pregnant! Good luck, I hope this helps you. God Bless you!

In the first 2 months or so, your baby is very sensitive to the protiens in the foods you are eating. Raw vegetables, milk products, soy products, and eggs could be creating upset for baby. You may want to consider changing, temporarily, what you are eating. Watch your baby for signs of allergic reaction to these protiens such as diaper rash, rash around the mouth, blood in the stool, and continued upset tummy.
A good book such as Dr. Sears' The Breastfeeding Book, The Fussy Baby Book, or The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding from La Leche League can help you, too.
The suggestion of infant massage is a great one. This can really help your baby to pass gas more efficiently throughout the day so as not to have it waking her at night.
You said you are making sure to get her to burb well after every feeding, even through the night. That is good.
You didn't mention your sleeping arrangements, but if your baby is not in the same room with you at night, then she has to actually cry to wake you for her night time feedings. Crying is a late sign of hunger. Babies cry after they have exhausted all other ways to let you know that they need you. By the time a baby is crying, they are likely to have created an upset tummy just from that. Keeping baby at arms reach throughout the night helps a mother respond to her baby more quickly and can help everyone get a better night's sleep. Also, if your feet have not hit the floor at night, you will feel more rested even though you were up a lot.
The answer to your question is, YES, is gets better.
Please take care of you and nap with the baby during the day! The dishes aren't going anywhere. :o)

If you live by a health food store, look for some stuff callrd Bubble-B-Gone. It works great for my son. I used Mylicon with my other two kids, but it didn't work with him. So I tried this and it works so good- for us anyway. I hope you have the same results. Good luck!

I would wear her in a baby carrier that will let her be tummy-to-tummy during the day. At night, I would lay him over my leg (on his tummy) for a few minutes to release gas bubbles. Sleeping with me and my hubby in bed always helped too, because of the extra warmth, I think. There is a whole section on this at www.askdrsears.com that might help too.

Hi J.,

If you're breastfeeding, then it's something you're eating. Best thing to do is go on an elimination diet and remove all the major offenders (dairy, wheat, citrus, eggs) and then introduce them back one at a time. There's a special way to do this, however. If your pediatrician is not good w/ nutritional advice, please feel free to call my office ###-###-####). I do nutritional consulting and can help with this.

Warm Regards,
G. Van Luven

Some of the gas may have to do with what you are eatting. My newborn was having bad gas as well, and it was making her very uncomfortable. My pediatrician told me to stop eatting raw fruits and vegetables (especially apples, broccoli and onions) to see if the gas lessened - which it did. Try to keep track of what you are eatting and try eliminating certain things for a few days and see if things get better. Oh, coffee is another big gas inducer...basically anything acidic. Good luck!

One of the books I read said that fussiness and gas peak at 6 to 8 weeks then starts to get better. But that is 6 to 8 weeks after their due date. My son started to get a little better at 10 weeks. He was 2 weeks early. I used mylicon as well you can also try gripe water or baby bliss. You can find it at walgrees. I have a few freinds who sware by it and I just started trying it so we shall see. Good luck it will get better.

it sounds like a problem with something you're eating - but it might be reflux.

you should keep a list of EVERY SINGLE THING you eat/put in your body for about 3 days and then take your baby and your list to your pediatrician. unfortunately - no other docs seem to know much about breastfeeding and most pediatricians act like they're doing you a favor when you ask questions about your breastfeeding.

if you speak with a lactation consultant - be sure it's a lactation NURSE - not just a person who knows somethings about breastfeeding.
there are alot of medical things that could be happening and those need to be considered.
don't give up your breastfeeding easily.
all babies can't be breastfed.
some can't be nursed and can take breastmilk from bottles.
some can't even take formula

dont' give up easily, but seek help.
you aren't in this alone.

dietwise:
you should eliminate
dairy
soy
nuts
citrus
spices
caffiene
alcohol
drugs of any kind (even if the docs say they're ok)
herbal/homeopathic or pharmaceutical.

focusing on
non-dairy protien
simple carbs
fruits
veggies
and
a gallon of water a day.

sounds like a real party, huh?
most people skip that part of the story when they're telling you how great it is to breastfeed.

you get used to it.
really :)

some people keep eating their regular thing, but some people (like me) don't eat any of this stuff.

hang in there.
s

I would experiment with your diet. Often, dairy is the culprit. Dont ingest any dairy for a week and see if it helps.

A little catnip tea for baby might help.

She may be allergic to something you are eating. When I was nursing and had something with ANY cabbage in it at all i would find blood in her poo. So you never know what you are eating that triggers a gassy or allergic reaction in her body. You may have to make your diet really boring (maybe no dairy) for a few days, record what you are eating...do be afraid to speak with your baby's doctor or nurse practitioner they might see this often and have a checklist or sheet on breastfeeding diets for you.
as for the sleep deprivation....i have teenagers now....well, you learn to live like that. That's why we are sometimes called cranky moms.

Our six week old was like that also. We went to Walgreens and got something called Gripe Water and also took her to a chiropractor and both of those things seemed to help alot.

try baby pears, even if you dont give her anything else in the line of food, strained pears or applesauce worked real well for me.

Hi J., my little one had bad gas also. I took some advise of a family member and cut the dairy (cow's milk and products containing it) from my diet. It takes a while to totally clear out of your system (someone told me 3 weeks), but I did see a significant improvement the next day. I hope you find a good solution...take care,
S.
momma of 3 little boys

J.,

You might consult with a lactation specialist to get a list of foods that affect breast milk. It could be something you are eating that is getting into the breast milk and causing the gas pains in your baby. If changing your diet doesn't work, you might need to see a pediatrician to make sure there is nothing wrong with her digestive system. Hope this helps.

L.

My daughter also had this problem when she was tiny. For us it magically went away at 6 weeks and I hope you are as fortunate. We used gripe water with some success. Also pumping her little legs as if riding a bicycle helped release. I remember seeing something on a website (sorry I don't remember where) about a velcro closing wide belt like thing to secure around a babes abdomen being helpful. I made a mental note to remember and try that method with my next baby. Hang in there mama!

A friend of mine swears by Gripe Water for infant gas. The best place to get it is at a place like Sprouts or Whole Foods.

My little one had the same problem. I gave her Gripe Water, you can purchase it a natural food store. It's completly natural, which I liked and it worked! I would give it to her prior to a feeding or in the middle of a feeding to eliminate the bubbles in her tummy. I found that lying her on my chest helped also.

For my son, the Mylicon would help for a couple hours and then he would be even worse after it wore off, so we stopped using it all together. Also, I totally agree with all who said watch your diet. I found I could not eat chocolate when me son was really young (I breast fed exclusively also) But, yes, it does get better, as he got older I could have small amounts of chocolate.
One idea when she does have gas. Lay her one her back on the floor or your lap and hold her upper thighs/hips and rock her hips, slowly up and down to get her tummy moving, that would help my son the most.
Good luck and enjoy your little one, they grow too fast!

It's called the six week peak but my daughter had it at 5 weeks as well. Like you stated, her system is still immature and this usually passes within about 4 or 5 days. It's very hard to deal with; just hang in there and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I am a Newborn Care Specialist and I would strongly suggest that you police your diet. I congratulate you on breast feeding exclusively. Your little girl will benefit enomously. Most gas issues with breast fed babies are the mom's diet. Something you are eating is causing problems. The biggest culprit of problems is dairy.
Just a note no Mylicon. It is a chemical and contains simethicone. Why would you breast feed your little girl and give her a chemical that says on the packaging "in case of accidental overdose call your poison control center?" (not actually the quote) I would try a more natural method first eliminating gas causing foods from your diet and if you don't want to do that use www.coliccalm.com or www.colicease.com one is herbal and one is homeopathic and they are both amazing

N.

Stop eating cruciforous vegitables. Specifically brocolli, cauliflour, celery, cabbage and any other food that is known to be one that causes gas. That helped alot with my first baby. My sister-in-law that has 12 chilren swears by peppermint. She would melt a peppermint like you get at a restaurant in a few ounces of water and give that to the baby.

Those drops never worked for my kiddos, either. I'm sure it's something in your diet. try taking out milk, or green veggies or coffee, or (dare i say?) chocolate. figure out if something you're eating is passing thru to your milk and upsetting the baby's tummy. my last baby never nursed well, always acted as though he had an upset tummy & so i finally stopped breastfeeding and gave him formula, which he didnt do much better with. when he was one and we started him on milk he started throwing up all the time and stopped growing. we finally figured out he has a dairy allergy. i so wish i had realized this when breastfeeding! i could have just stopped eating dairy and nursed him longer! i have friends who swear different babies of theirs couldn't tolerate brocolli, chocolate and other things.
good luck!

I know sometimes broccoli, spicy things, chocolate, or milk products can give a baby gas. Track what you eat and see if there is a correlation...and yes it does get better.

I used to use the Hyland colic tablets for gas. They are homeopathic and the dissolve in the mouth very quickly. I found them at Albertsons in the baby isle.

I just wanted to respond and say YES YES YES it does get better. But if anybody is being completely honest they will tell you that there really is not much you can do about gas in newborns. You can try all the remedies you like but it's just one of those things that proves we love our kids unconditionally :) But it does get better!!! I just had my 3rd who is 4 months now and he had horrible gas too but by the time he was a couple months old his body had gotten used to all this new stuff coming into it.

Just wanted to add that I saw someone's comment about mylicon drops being bad... they wouldn't have it on the market it it was going to damage your baby so please don't beat yourself up for giving it to your baby because of her comment. As mom's we do what we can to make our sweet babies feel better. I think everybody else has some great suggestions, Good Luck!!!

My idea isn't anything that we read just something that my husband would always do, now it sounds silly but.... Since I exclusivly breastfeed all three of our children (no one would ever take a bottle) he wanted to "help" so it was his job to burp and fart the babies and it actually worked most of the time getting atleast a couple out of there. he would just lay that baby on his legs or the floor on their backs and take both knees and rock them up the stomach and like I said more often than not they would be relived and us ammused:) All three of mine were very gassy babies and would sometimes this those sounds shouldn't come out of something so small. I would also sometimes give a very light pressure massage on their tummies I don't know if that actually helped any but I thought so, and if not it is still good times and games with the baby. Good luck to you and your new lovely lady, how sweet!!

My son had the same problem. We used Mylicon so much that I finally called his doctor about it. He suggested Gripe Water from Little Tummy's. We used it alot in the first few days but now I might give it to him once a week! He's 12 weeks old now so I'm sure part of it is he's growing out of it but the Gripe Water worked for us! Good luck!

Have you been watching what your eating?? Especially DAIRY products, broccoli, and cheeses?? Really pay attention to what you are eating!! Check with your pediatrician and see if she may be intolerant to dairy. My daughter had to be put on Soy formula because she would just curl up in pain. I could actually hear her tummy grumbling when she would wince in pain. After the Soy she was fine. She really doesn't care for milk now, but we supplement w/vitamins (calcium). And btw--she's 16 now lol. Good Luck!! Shelley V.

I also breastfeed exclusively and had the same ussues with my daughter a few weeks after birth. We tried giving her those gas drops like you are but did not seem to work. Colic usually happens in the evenings for some reason. The only thing that seemed to help was what my husband called 'farting her'. We grab her anckles and stretched both her legs out and then pushed her knees into her belly and then stretch her legs out again. Every time her knees were brought into her tummy she would fart. We would keep doing it until she was no longer farting. It is kind of funny but it worked great and she really enjoyes it too. I hope you can picture this..... It is a little hard to explain. But the Dr. gave us info on it and it really honestly helped.

I know that they say not to put them on their tummy, but babies with gas it really does help. I have two boys and my first only slept on his tummy and my second only slept on his back. If you are uncomfortable with that try one of those wedge pillows. it should help too. Also try the gripe water. it helps too. good luck. lol

Yes, to everyone who mentioned diet--and it can be a little random and difficult to figure out. For my first daughter, if I consumed too much dairy, or any amount of green chile or red wine, it upset her stomach. My second daughter didn't seem to be affected by anything.

Poor sweetie! One possibility is food sensitivities to something you are eating. With DS, it was dairy, corn and soy in my diet. He didn't have gas, but spit up tons and then progressed to having blood in his stool at 3 months. You might try not eating any dairy (a very common culprit) for a week and see if she is better. If that is it, you should see at least some improvement in a week. If no improvement, then you go back to dairy and try to figure out something else. People often suggest eliminating all potentially offending foods, then adding them back in one at a time. This is good advice, but if you aren't up for it, I would at least try cutting dairy and soy. I hope this helps.

btw, I have been off dairy, soy and corn since Halloween 2007 and only occasionally really miss dairy and corn. On the positive side, I got below my prepregnancy weight fast!

Good luck!