(for the hundredth time), No, It's NOT gas!!! (rant)

[kitmama]

OK, maybe it's stupid of me to be annoyed by this- but WHY is it that everyone and their mother is so fond of assuring me (at the SLIGHTEST sign of fussiness from ds) "Oh, he's just got gas- you need to. . ." What is it with the gas thing? Is it the bane of a baby's existence? Is it the only thing that makes a baby fuss? Do they think I am such an unobservant mother that, after 8 months, I still can't figure out what to do with my son if he's fussy? Yes, Simon gets gas, but it very seldom bothers him. Usually in these instances he's tired, bored, hungry, wants to be held, wants to be put down. . . there's any number of things it might be, and thank goodness I usually have a good idea what's going on. It's not gas!!

Grr.

And it does no good to grit my teeth and say politely, "No, I think he just wants. . ." Oh no, these people are utterly convinced that their particular method for helping a baby with gas is the magic trick my son needs.

Ok, done ranting. :) You'd think I'd either quit being bugged by this by now, or that people would quit using it as the baby gets older. Do any of you get this? Does it bug you?

[pritchettzoo]

It never fails that my mother will call in the middle of Gracie screaming her head off. Inevitably, I get, "WHAT'S WRONG?" like the earth is falling apart. She's a baby. Babies scream! She's usually tired/hungry/etc...

I think you should start asking the other people when they complain of a headache or a cold or ANYTHING, "Oh, it's just gas..." and pat them on the back. ;)

Anna

[Sarah1]

Oh yes! I remember when Audrey was really little (like under 3 mos old), and she would get fussy, my MIL would always rub Audrey's tummy, give me a knowing look and say, "Oh, she has a little bubble," pointing to her stomach, like she had gas. EVERY TIME she was fussy, it was always gas!

I think all the MILs in the world feel it is their solemn duty to raise awareness of gas pain in infant children.

[KYBelle1102]

I can relate...a very good friend of ours had 2 kids who had HORRIBLE colic for the first 6 months of their lives. Consequently, everytime Spencer has a fit, she thinks he's colicky and has gas. For a while there, yes, he did have gas. But since he was about 3 months old, he's figured out how to let it out...from both ends. As if that weren't bad enough...then she'd get him in her "colic hold" (holding him on his side with one arm between his legs and up his back...)and jiggling him. Not the way I want to lay after I have a belly full, even if I do have gas.

[kitmama]

"my MIL would always rub Audrey's tummy, give me a knowing look and say, "Oh, she has a little bubble," pointing to her stomach, like she had gas."

That's EXACTLY the sort of thing I'm talking about! Not from my Mom or MIL, thankfully, but from grandparents, SIL, neighbors, friends, random strangers. . . you name it! Apparently gas pain in infant children is a true epidemic of international proportions. :)

And ROFL, Anna! I think I'll try that comeback, if I think they'll make the connection to what they've said. . .

[Vajrastorm]

Aine did have colic, but colic isn't gas! The kid actually has very little gas, and still does. She isn't a gassy person.

I got sooooo *^*% tired of everyone giving me "gas solutions" for her colic. What the h*** are gas drops, or gripe water, or anything else going to do for a child who ISNT having gas problems?????

[tarahsolazy]

IKWYM!!! My kiddo farts (hope that's not too offensive a term) all the time, and he doesn't seem to care. He's a great burper, too. Why should these things make him cry? And, like Aine's mom said, colic is NOT GAS, in fact, its not intestine-related at all. (BTW, how is her name pronouced? Always wondered. like the ANE in JANE, or ANN or...)

Thread hijack- My son is a drool-o-matic machine, it runs out of him in little rivers. People see this and invariably say, Oh, he's teething. He's likely not teething, he's not yet four months old. I guess he could be teething, but he started drooling at 8 weeks, and no teeth yet! I mean, he drools so much I'm surprised he pees, but that does not mean teeth are imminent.

[kitmama]

"I mean, he drools so much I'm surprised he pees"

ROFL!!!
Mine did at that age, too. The funny thing is- now that he IS teething, the drool machine seems to be taking a break- he still drools, but not like before. Someone told me that babies start the drooling thing a good while before any teeth actually start coming out- maybe that's true?

I do think some babies get uncomfortable from gas, I just think it's far fewer of them than the general population seems to diagnose. I mean, there are plenty of other things that make babies fuss- and often, it's no big deal. (thankfully).

[chlobo]

OMG, my mother does this to me all the time. Its so annoying. In fact, she'll come up with six different reasons for the same behavior and then cycle through them in about 10 minutes.

"Oh she must be gassy"
"Oh she must be tired"
"Oh she must not like it"
"Oh she must be gagging on it"
"Oh......"

Oooohhhh its so annoying.

And then when I emphatically tell her that her reason is wrong she insists that she's right and I am wrong. After all, I probably don't know that much about my child.