Gassy Baby**

I went through the exact same thing. I tried Gentlease, Soy, mylicon, but nothing worked until a friend recommended switching to Good Start formula. I was highly doubtful it would work because my daughter was constantly crying from gas pains, but after about 2 days it was amazing. it costs a few dollars more than the other formulas, but definitely worth every penny. Get what you pay for I guess. Good luck.

Please try 1 dr. Brown bottle - my oldest grandson had terrible bouts of gas. We tried Dr. Brown bottles and he able to eat with the first bottle without the pain of gas. They are worth the extra work to clean.

All the attached responses are wonderful and you should use the drops, the water, try everything, but one thing I did for my son, who was extrememly gassy and had GERD as an infant, I filled a old sock with rice and popped it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and placed it on his tummy. WOW, he loved and it seemed to calm him down. Now, we had to do it every night, but it was worth it.

You will learn to try everything and anything to make your children comfort, so keep up the good work and try the rice sock, you will be surprised!!!
Good luck and remember, one day at a time....
J.

Hi J.,

Congratulations on your little one! I struggled with my little girl and her tummy too, until she was 4 months. I tried so many of the suggestions: tummy massage, bicycling her legs, grip water, mylicon, special bottles AND the Gentle Ease, and they did all help a little. However, the best change I made was to switch to Nestle's Good Start with cultures Formula. It has what they call 'comfort proteins' in which are easier to digest, plus the additional support of the probiotic cultures on the gastrointestinal tract is amazing. I know it is controversial, but my paediatrician also advised me to put her onto her tummy and that helped ease the discomfort.

Good luck!

Hi J.,

My baby was also gassy, but that was 5 years ago. We used mylicon, and I used to do massages on her tummy and bend her legs up... but I wish I had known about rooibos tea back then. I now sell tea and have discovered the wonders of rooibos (African red bush) herbal tisane. They have been giving it to babies (and people of all ages for tummy troubles). I use it all the time when our tummies hurt - it's wonderful. It's safe, caffeine free, never tastes bitter, and is great for many other health concerns. You can research it on the web. You don't even have to sweeten it, it has a mildly sweet flavor on its own. I recommend using the one with no flavors added. Best of luck!

Hi J.,

I have two children 6 & 7. My bestfriend was Mylicon, when they were babies. My pediatrician told me you can not hurt your child with Mylicon. It is ok to give it to a child daily, even a couple times a day. It is what he needs. When anyone I know has a baby that is one of the gifts I give to them. You will have a happy baby with Mylicon!

My daughter had gas and Gerber gas drops did the trick. Then my son came along...poor thing! Nothing worked. Then someone told me about Gripe Water. I had to special order it, but boy was it a God send. Good luck!

Hello J.,

Congrats, on your new baby hon! Yes, my son too was a colicky baby. I used to give him the gas relief formula too, Mylicon. I thougt it was a miracle, and it really never harmed my child, it helped ease his gas pains and gave us some much needed sleep.

I don't think the doc would prescribe it for a length of time, maybe you should ask your pediatrician, if you don't feel comfortable with it. Like I said I gave it to my son for a few years and all it did was help, and I am totally opposed to meds for kids, but this is just for gas hon. Relax.

Good luck, and have a great time with your baby, enjoy yourself, a lot of babies are colicky. Try bathing w/him too in a bathtub, that seems to help.
Peace,
M.

Gassy babies are quite the norm. At least from my experiences with infants! So you are not alone. I used Gripe Water with both of my kids and it worked great! It's all natural, so no worries about giving your baby medicine. The two best brands are ColicEase and Baby's Bliss Gripe Water. Between myself and others who have used it, we've had the best luck with these two brands.
I also used the GentleEase and drop-in bottles. I've heard the Dr. Brown bottles are even better, but more expensive.

Congratulations!

You may want to try infant massage. The "I love you" technique can really help. Also, try to make sure you're feeding the baby as upright as possible and burp him well before laying him back down.

Hi J.,
I have an 8wk old baby boy and he too has the gassy issue. We had x-rays done at around 5wks to rule out reflux because his discomfort was so bad. The Dr.s recommended 1/3tsp Mylanta, though this didn't do much and the Gripe Water so many recommend, he wouldn't take. I changed my own diet, saw a GI Dr. and nutritionist. Turns out he's milk & soy intolerant. He still has gas and gets very uncomfortable when passing. Nutritionist says it's very common as their little systems are maturing and my GI said,"boy, he sure does take it seriously". All in all, from what I've gathered it's quite normal and although not ALL babies get this way, a very large amount of them do. This too shall pass ;) Hope i've been of some help. Good Luck!! C.

Your son is likely allergic to dairy. It's the most common allergy in babies. So that means that you should switch to a special formula. You can do soy formula, but I would not really recommend it because soy has a lot of aluminum in it. If it were me, I would use a hypoallergenic formula:

http://similac.com/baby-formula/similac-alimentum

Please note, very few babies are lactose intolerant. Breast milk has more lactose than cow's milk. Instead, babies are usually allergic to cow's milk protein.

Try this formula and I'll be it helps. My daughter was very gassy and then around 5-6 weeks she started getting fussy. By week 10 she was screaming a lot. It was terrible. I was breastfeeding (still am) and I cut out all dairy. Not only did the gas go away, so did the screaming. It was like she was a new baby - so happy!

Mylicon is OK to use, as is gripe water. But why not deal with the CAUSE of the gas?

Babies magic tea did wonder work for my baby with lots of gas. It's organic and safe for newborns.

We switched from the drop ins to the Dr. Brown's bottles and that seemed to help. When using the drop ins, we were still getting a lot of air in the bottle. We also gave Mylicon drops every time we gave our daughter a bottle. That also seemed to help. (However, we bought the Target or Walmart brand of Mylicon drops b/c the bottle is twice the size for half the price.) I too was a little worried about giving the drops to her so much, but I had a relative that did the same and neither her daughter nor ours suffered any bad side affects. And even though its medicine every day, it won't be forever. Usually they get through this stage at about 3-4 mos of age.

Also, burping them while they lay belly-side down over your lap seems to help get the burps out.

Hope this helps.

I agree with the other posts about getting to the bottom of whatever is causing the gas and discomfort. My 6 mo old was the same way, acting in discomfort and crying when having alot of gas. I went to a GI specialist that recommended I begin an elimination diet to remove the most common cause of this sort of intolerance in babies....dairy. Once all the cow milk protein was gone from my system and my diet, he was like a new baby...and very happy! I would highly recommend seeking the advise of a professional GI Dr. and have them recommend or prescribe an allergenic formula - one that is not cow milk nor soy based, which many babies (and adults) can not digest easily and can mot tolerate well.

Since your baby is only 7 weeks have you considered re-lactating and trying to breastfeed? I know it may not have been a consideration of yours at first, but now that you see your baby in so much discomfort and miserable with the gas, it really might be worth it to breastfeed so that you know exactly what he is eating and can give him something that his little digestive tract can tolerate a little easier. There is a FREE wonderful lactation specialist that will consult with you by phone or in person at Morton Plant named Lucille Harrington. ###-###-####. Not only might it be a great solution for the baby, but those allergenic formulas are pricey, therefore the breastmilk will be free and save you lots :-)

In the mean time, try the gas drops or if you want something more natural there is organic gripe water (made with ginger and fennel extracts, both which sooth stomachs and aid in gas) and also infant probiotics (we use Renew Life Baby Flora) just make sure you start with a small fraction of the dosage for infants and build up gradually so as not to cause upset/discomfort but thereafter this will help too naturally.

Best wishes!

Hang in there. The gas does get better. We went through alot of gas problems in the beginning and changed formulas 5 times. We went with Isomil. We also gave our son Mylicon 3 times a day for three months. It helped a little. One of the biggest helps was Dr. Brown bottles. They are expensive and a pain to wash (5 pieces) but, really cut back on the gas. Also, burp frequently and bend his knees to his chest to help push the gas out (this really makes the husband laugh).

He's 6 months now and the gas problems are greatly reduced. Things seem to have gotten better after he turned 3 months. Hope this helps.

Try Gripe water. They sell it at the medacine shop. It is all natural. It smells like liquorish. My son had the same problem and it helped so much.

I am sure you are already doing this, but what helped me with my daughter who has reflux is sitting her basically straight up to feed her and burping her every ounce. We first started with every half ounce. If we don't do this, she is soooo gassy and spits up everywhere. So far, we are 1 week free of gas and spit up and grunting and groaning. Also, like the other moms said, belly rubs. My daughter loves it. My first daughter was also gassy and soy formula worked for her. I was in your shoes a week ago and it's not fun at all! (Daughter is 5 weeks old) Oh, and we saw the ped and he said if it continued they might add rice cereal to her bottles, might be something you want to talk to yours about. Good luck!

Pick up Gripe Water at the health food store,it is for gassy babies and it is all natural. I would also give him a little bit of organic Chamomile tea. Brew it regular,then give him a teaspoon in an eye dropper. Lay him on his belly and 'run' his legs. Massage his belly with lavender oil and almond oil mix together.

Hope it helps,
A.
www.naturallyliving-clearskies.blogspot.com

My first child was extremely gassy and breastfed. I learned to massage his tummy and bicycle his legs to help with getting the gas out. You can also try making the baby do reversible crunches (smooch their legs up towards their tummy) as another exercise in getting it out. If your child is heavy enough you can sit them up partially through a bottle and let the weight of their body cause them to burp. I couldn't get my 1st to burp for anything but this works really well with my 2nd! Putting them over your shoulder with their stomach kinda on top of it helps encourage farts and burps also.

I can't offer suggestions on types of formula or bottles though since we never used either. I try to stay away from using too much Mylicon also but would use it before bed time and nap time to help make it more pleasant and stop him for waking up with pains.

First I want to congratulate you with your son. Having a new baby is a wonderful blessing.

My daughter is now 3 1/2 and when she was a newborn I too had to give her Mylicon drops with every feeding for about 6 months. I also used the drop in stile bottle too. My pediatrician decided to try the mylicon drops before we switched her to an expensive formula. She drank Similac advance with iron. We also pumped her legs and rubbed her tummy. I hope this helps you.

C.

Hello J.,

When my little boy was weeks old and had gas..(even now that he is almost one) I moved his legs and feet like he is pedaling a bicycle. the movements helped a lot with gas and constipation. Bringing his knees to his stomach helps too. Take care. God bless.

My baby had the same problem. I figured since I am mildly lactose intolerant and milk products give ME gas that perhaps she is too and that is causing her gas. So I switched from Enfamil Lipl to Enfamil Lipil LactoFree and within 24 hours noticed the gas problem go away. My pediatrician told me by 3 months most babies grow out of it and at that time I switched her milk over per his instructions but the gas persisted so went bac to lacto free. At 9 months he suggested gentleease as it has 1/5 the lactose (but lactose none the less) and so I tried it and gas. Then I thought to myself, "It its not broke, don't fix it" She had been doing great on the lactofree formula- growing great, learning and developing- infact I think she is smarter and stronger and more coordinated than most babies her age so I ingored the doctor and kept her on the lactofree formula. Today she is 1 year old and I have weaned her to cow's milk. Lactaid Brand makes whole milk which is lactose free and with no artificial hormones added. Target makes lactose free but it is not whole milk and albertsons too has lactose free whole milk but it contains additives. Only Lactaid brand has the "right kind"
But real milk is beyond your problem at this point.
Lactose Intolerance is fairly common, check out this website:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/l/lactose_intolerance/stats...

Dear J.,

My son (who is now 6 months old) has also had periods of severe gassiness. I'm nursing, and my nutritionist said that when my son receives foods that are not fully-enough digested to be gentle on his tummy, he will have gas. I changed some of my eating habits and am taking supplements, so now he gets better digested food out of my milk.

I'm sure it's the same with bottle-fed babies, perhaps the formula isn't gentle enough for his tummy. Have you looked at alternates?

You can gently and slowly massage his belly in a wave like motion with your thumbs over top each other and the other fingers doing the same forming a diamond center. Place the "diamond" over the belly button, move up to diaphragm down to pubic bone You can also massage from one side to the other if the wave is not helping. Just remember to go clockwise with this technique. Pay attention to his body while massaging and remember to be gentle but somewhat firm...You might be able to feel the gas and help move it out.
I agree with you about the medicine. I feel it should be used as a last resort and ONLY occasionally. Best of wishes to you and your family

First of all...Congratulations on the birth of your new baby!
I hear you on the gas thing! My daughter-now a year old- was a gassy little lass(a true daddy's girl!!) and like you the gas drops worked, but I didn't want to make it a constant.She also has hiccups almost daily, and you can't burp those outa her! So I asked my pediatrician, who knows I am sort of on the holistic/homeopathic path to healthcare, what she recommended...lo and behold......Gripe water! Yep! Not grape water, gripe water! You can get it online, at walgreens, cvs, and probably target and publix now. All natural and works like a charm!! Just follow directions for weight/age on the package and you can use it all day long and if you still need gas drops for really bad gas, you can use them with no contraindications. Good Luck!!