Mommies of gassy babies - does it get better?

[Jenn221]

My DS has had gas problems since he was born. He was exclusively on breastmilk until 4 1/2 weeks. He now gets 1 oz of formula in 4 bottles during the day along with 3 oz EBM. I had PPD and I was considering switching to formula even though I was scared it would cause even more stomach problems. I am now better (with the help of meds) and I am motivated to continue pumping and BF indefinitely. I am taking it week by week. I started back to work today at 6 weeks and I still BF at night and in the morning. The question is - does it get better? I understand that some of the gas problems are caused by an immature digestive system. So does that mean the gas will get better as he gets older? He has had gas so badly to the point he was screaming (yes, before formula was even involved). I have had to sleep with him on my chest because that was the only way he could sleep. I have eliminated all dairy, sodas, spicy, eggs, and gassy veges from my diet. I'm scared to eat much of anything. He is permanently on Mylicon drops. I'm just hoping some of you have gone through this and can give me some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. Also any suggestions for other things that will help are appreciated. Thanks for your help.

[Marisa6826]

Gripe Water worked substantially better than Mylicon for us. You can get it at Whole Foods or Buy Buy Baby. Not cheap. But worth every penny of the $10 or so a bottle costs.

I seem to recall that once the baby can sit up a little on his/her own, the gas was a lot better. The best thing to look forward to, however is when they can burp by themselves!

Seriously, though. Don't feel guilty about formula feeding if that's what you decide to do. I pumped for 12w and had enough. Sophie is a very healthy almost 2yo despite not being exclusively BF.

Another suggestion is to burp your son every couple of ounces. We found that to make a big difference.

Try the Gripe Water!

-m

[steph2003]

Yes it does get better!!! although that is so hard to believe when you are in the fire so to speak. My son was "permantently" on mylicon drops as well :) I'd say around 8 weeks things vastly improved for us - so hang in there. I also hate to say it but I also started to let him sleep on his stomach at 6 weeks because having that pressure on his tummy seemed to help alleviate some of the gas pains. He slept much better that way. I'm not advocating tummy sleeping because of SIDS but just telling you what helped us! Oh we also used Carnation Good Start formula which apparently is digested easier for some babies because the enzymes are partially broken down to resemble breast milk (again I'm not advocating formula over breast milk cause w/o a questions breast is best but Carnation worked for us when breastfeeding did not) in addition I had PPD as well so hang in there!

[psophia17]

Yes, it does!

My DS was horribly gassy for weeks and weeks - I think it started to settle down around 10 weeks or so? It was torture to listen to him, but there wasn't much else we could do.

We gave Little Tummies drops most often. We had some Gripe Water but it was really hard to get (family sent it from Canada, where it is all over the place and cheap!) so we didn't use it very often. Most often, I would hold DS pretty tightly in a fetal position and rub his lower back while humming in a monotone. This generally seemed to soothe him. We also bicycled his legs a lot, and rubbed his belly. We got lots of advice about what I should and shouldn't eat to help him, but had no luck with my diet at all. An added benefit of that was that I was starving all the time, which wasn't good. Our Ped told us that unless I was eating a head of cabbage a day, it was unlikely that the gas was from what I ate, it was probably because of DS eating lots of air.

I didn't think of it until I saw one of the PPs, but DS always took his naps on my chest/stomach region, on his belly, of course. This really relaxed him - generally he would poop or fart within seconds of falling asleep (we called him the exploding baby), and then would be fine until the next round of gassiness.

Good Luck!

-Petra

DS - Nathan, 12/29/03

[MOSh513]

DS had a very rough first month, but once he was diagnosed with acid reflux and put on zantac (along with the magic gripe water!) things improved significantly. I've recently tried weaning him off the zantac at 5 1/2 months, but he's still not ready. (FYI, he does not spit up at all, so don't assume that not spitting up means no reflux.)

[babymama]

Santiago was extremely gassy as an infant. It gave him pain and he was not at all happy about it. Mylicon didn't work for him. What got us through was massage. We did the I-LOVE-YOU massage from the Baby Book by Dr. Sears and also the SUN-AND-MOON massage (which my friend described over the phone). It was not uncommon for me to massage him for more than an hour just to get out his gasses after a feeding. I would hear him tooting throughout the massage. Don't be afraid to apply a good amount of pressure. My mom and sisters would worry that I was putting too much pressure on his belly during the massage, but if I did the massage too softly it wouldnt help a bit. At 11 months now, I would still describe him as gassy, but he's able to deal with it on his own now for the most part. So there is hope.
You're doing a good job with eliminating gassy foods from your diet. Try the massage and see if it helps.

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03

[ALLEYCAT]

Oh mamma bear (as Neve calls us), my heart goes out to you. It seems my DS had a problem for about 10 or 12 weeks when I finally got him latched on correctly and got him swallowing less air. I know how frustrating it is especially when you have ppd on top of it. Glad to hear the meds are working. Keep on top of that with your ob/gyn, she usually understands that better than primary care doctors do in my opinion.
It does get better, it takes some time and lots of patience but it does get better. Sounds like you got some good advice from previous posters. I had a sling I put DS in and carried him alot against my chest, it seemed to calm him and helped me learn to meet his needs before he knew them. He has been very happy in his sling and he feels so good snuggled against me that I benefit from it too. Read so of Dr. Sears books, they give solutions for fussy, gassy babies. And if you need any more support email me. It will get better.

[starrynight]

What kind of formula is he on? If you eliminated dairy from your diet did you get rid of all forms of dairy, even hidden dairy in prepackaged foods? Also some kids are allergic to dairy and soy have you tried eliminating that? My dd had horrible gas and chronic constipation until we figured out it was dairy and soy for awhile she was always on mylic drops and she had eczema.

It does get better {{{Hugs}}}

[Jenn221]

Thanks for all your responses. I’m not exactly adverse to formula. I’m just scared it will make his stomach problems even worse and nursing is how I get him to sleep at night :). Although, my supply is really not that great and the BFing is going a day at a time right now. Literally. I just manage to pump enough to make his bottles for the next day. I’m going to try Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle to see if that will help. I’ve gotten the Fenugreek, but I haven’t found the Blessed Thistle yet.

I have let him sleep on his stomach during naps, but I’m too paranoid to do it at night. That’s why I’ve slept with him on my chest before.

Yes, all the diet restrictions have made for a hungry mom. I end up just not eating much. Except for oatmeal breakfast squares and oatmeal cookies, that is :). I wonder if that has contributed to my supply issues.

We went to an infant message class, but we just haven’t implemented it yet. If it did that well for the PP, I will really try to start.

We also are still having to use the nipple shield, and I wonder if he gets more air because of that.

Thanks again for giving me so much good advice and some hope.

[daisymommy]

All the other advice was great, and was exactly what I would haev said myslef. But I did want to also chime in that it may be reflux as well.

You said that he sleeps much better on your chest or on his stomach right? That is one classic symptom of reflux. Attached is a link with a list of other symptoms (scroll half way down the article)
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t106004.asp

Frequent spitting up or vomiting (not all babies with GER spit up)
Baby isn't outgrowing the "colic" and/or spitting up
Frequent blasts of crying that are painful cries, not just baby cries
Your gut feeling tells you that your baby "hurts somewhere"
Bursts of nightwaking "as if in pain"
Colicky, abdominal pain after eating, even as long as one hour afterwards
Poor sleep habits, restless
Writhing as if in pain: drawing up legs, arching back
Erratic feeding patterns. Refuses to feed or wants to breast or bottlefeed all the time.
Frequent "wet burps" or "wet hiccups"
Throaty noises: swallowing noises, choking, gagging
Frequent, unexplained colds, wheezing, and chest infections
Stop-breathing episodes
Excessive drooling
Spits up like a "volcano"


My DS who is now 2 started out just as your DS. I had alot of BF problems, PPD, and I completely switched to formula. But even before I switched he would scream after every feeding, and it was worse if I laid him down flat. I slept with him upright on my chest for a long time.
The formula we switched to was Alimentum (by Similac), and the Enfamil brand makes Neutramigen. It is lactose free and has the cow's milk protein completely broken down so their tiny tummies don't have to work to digest it. Within a couple days he was doing much better...but not completley.

It wasn't until he was diagnosed with reflux and put on Zantac drops (which I mixed into his formula to get him to take it--nasty tasing!)--that he got all the way better and became a happy baby. But even then he spit up all the time. Zantac neutralizes the stomach acid so it doesn't burn coming back up. As anoter poster said though, your DS may have "silent reflux" where it doesn't come up his esophagus far enough to come out his mouth, just part way so that it burns really bad, then goes back down. Poor baby! They say that adults come into the ER thinking they are having a heart attack because they are in such horrible pain, but come to find out it's really acid reflux! So that tells you how bad it can hurt them.

Good Luck, know that it does get much better, and email me if you need more help or info!