colic? stomach ache? poor sophia!

[sugarpop]

Help Sophia, she has constant stomach aches! I haven't had milk or milk protein since her birth. I have substituted soy, which I know can be another allergy, but yesterday I had no soy and she had gas all night.

Yesterday I had

An Everything bagel with peanut butter
Red rose (caffenated) tea w/ soy cream and sugar
A salad w/ spinach, romaine, garlic, tomatoes, olives, onion, meats, croutons, goat cheese and bread
Soy ice cream
water
gatorade
pasta with zuchini, garlic, onions, tomatoes, white wine

SO what do you see here that could be her problem?
onions? garlic? breads? pasta?
In the past I eliminated onion and garlic and saw no difference!

What do you do to ease the pain? are there all natural remedies?

[2boyzmama]

Soy protein, like dairy protein, can take a while to get our of your system, so you may have to cut it for longer before seeing any result. Also, check the list of "hidden dairies" from www.kellymom.com to see if you have some dairy in your diet you're not aware of (it's sneaky!).

Otherwise...it could be lots of things! Onions, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, alcohol, caffeine...

Poor baby

[spitbath]

i'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the allergy thing yet, but when Elijah seems to have bad gas/tummy issues, we have a tea that we give him and it seems to ease the discomfort as well as calm down his frustrations. my postpartum lady-helper made it for us. it has:
-peppermint
-lemon balm
-chamomile
-lavender
-fennel
-and the littlest bit of ginger
we brew a strong tea of it, and give him about a dropper full.
hope that helps you guys!

[Lula's Mom]

Cormac has been a gassy baby all one month of his life too. The first couple of weeks it really bothered him, but he seems to either be less gassy now, or better able to handle the feeling as he gets older and more used to life on the outside.

My first ds had a period of screaming every afternoon for the first 3 months, but then he outgrew it. At first I assumed it was something in my milk, but then from what I've read (on kellymom & Happiest Baby on the Bock), babies just have an immature digestive sytem that's prone to gas for the first 3 moths or so. They said some babies really do react to allergens in breastmilk, but for most it is not because of anything you are eating.

What helps Cormac the most is putting him in a sitting position on the baby potty. He will pass gas or poop like crazy as soon as he's on there, and then he immediately feels better. We are ECing, but even if you're not, maybe try holding your baby sitting, with her thighs at a right angle to her body. I think it works much better than "bicycling" their legs, but ymmv.

[sugarpop]

Do you have a recipe with quantities?

Originally Posted by spitbath

i'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the allergy thing yet, but when Elijah seems to have bad gas/tummy issues, we have a tea that we give him and it seems to ease the discomfort as well as calm down his frustrations. my postpartum lady-helper made it for us. it has:
-peppermint
-lemon balm
-chamomile
-lavender
-fennel
-and the littlest bit of ginger
we brew a strong tea of it, and give him about a dropper full.
hope that helps you guys!

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by Lula's Mom

My first ds had a period of screaming every afternoon for the first 3 months, but then he outgrew it. At first I assumed it was something in my milk, but then from what I've read (on kellymom & Happiest Baby on the Bock), babies just have an immature digestive sytem that's prone to gas for the first 3 moths or so. They said some babies really do react to allergens in breastmilk, but for most it is not because of anything you are eating.

Thanks for this, I felt so guilty, felt like I was causing my babe excrusciating pain and I needed to pull it together so she wasn't screaming! I am learning I feel guilty alot with all the new found responsibility. If it isn't my fault then whose fault is it...someone must be too blame! Glad to hear that her digestive system is maturing and I am not an awful mom!

I am trying out Gripe water right now, but I am going to try the sitting thing too. Maybe we can get past the 3 hour scream fests!

[aleatha5]

!

When I eat anything with any oil/grease Vincent is a very unhappy little guy. I didn't see anything on the list that looked like that, but maybe if the pasta had olive oil? Or the salad dressing?

I've also found that I can't eat raw broccoli or onions without a major meltdown on Vincent's part.

Sorry that little Sophia is so unhappy! It breaks my heart when Vincent has a bad day.

[clemrose]

I tend to think colic is caused by sensitivities...my mom knows Kathleen Huggins (author of Nursing Mother's Companion) and she recommends an elimination diet in colicy babies, I believe. I went on one with my daughter and the culprit was legumes (I lived on beans and peanut butter prior which was the same thing my mom had to eliminate with my younger sister.

Dr. Sears has an elimination diet page...it goes really far (lists what you can eat rather than what you can't) but is worth looking at I think. I'm currently forgoing legumes and dairy because my three week old is starting to fuss at the breast in the evenings & be awake for a three hour chunk of time--the same way things started with my daughter. When my dd was six weeks (and things were bad, bad -- sometimes awake all night until 6 am screaming!) we finally tried the elimination diet and it made a difference in a matter of days.

Good luck to you, however you decide to deal with it! Oh, we also tried Hyland's Colic Tablets which seemed to help some.

[spitbath]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

Do you have a recipe with quantities?

i don't. what i would do is equal parts of all (but the ginger, i would do half or a quarter part) then steep 2-3 tbsp in a pint of hot water, cover it, and let it steep for 4+ hrs.

[sugarpop]

UGH!! I am not looking forward to doing the elimination diet!! According to sears, all the foods I am eating are the bad ones. I am eating soy, eggs, peanut butter and veggies! Great so much for eating right...but how do I know if it is colic or just the idea of the digestive system maturing?? Another question to ponder.

[Lula's Mom]

I thought you might want to read the stuff on kellymom I had been reading. Honestly I think the idea of food sensitivities is overused. I'd never call anybody out and say that their particular baby doesn't have a problem with a certain food- far be it from me to know or declare that! But I think by the time many people have eliminated all of these 'problem foods', the baby's system is mature and the gas problem is lessened anyway. Then mama thinks it was one of the foods she was eating because after all, the digestive problems went away now that she's not eating it.

Anyway. I trust kellymom.com for everything else about breastfeeding, and in my experience with my son, this was correct also.

[Pandme]

Originally Posted by Lula's Mom

I thought you might want to read the stuff on kellymom I had been reading. Honestly I think the idea of food sensitivities is overused. I'd never call anybody out and say that their particular baby doesn't have a problem with a certain food- far be it from me to know or declare that! But I think by the time many people have eliminated all of these 'problem foods', the baby's system is mature and the gas problem is lessened anyway. Then mama thinks it was one of the foods she was eating because after all, the digestive problems went away now that she's not eating it.

Anyway. I trust kellymom.com for everything else about breastfeeding, and in my experience with my son, this was correct also.

DDC crashing (though I DID actually have my baby in September, lol) to say I agree. I think looking to mom's diet is way overused and for me personally, it makes me feel like I'm blaming myself for something I can't control. There's enough guilt surrounding motherhood as it is beginning with pregnancy. And it just gets worse. I tried eliminating a ton of stuff with my son and it NEVER made a difference. But what I did have was a huge oversupply and a crazy letdown. But all any doctor focused on was my diet. That wasn't the trouble and it all resolved itself anyway.

That said, mostly out of habit I did eliminate dairy this go round yet again. I still have a hugely gassy, sometimes fussy baby. Fussier than my son. My letdown and oversupply issues are also back. I'm in the waiting game now because I don't think it's my diet. Her poo looks normal, she has no other telltale rashes or any other symptom of a food issue besides fussiness and gas. I hate this part of Bfing, I really do.

[Lula's Mom]

Pandme! I also have crazy oversupply and letdown problems at the beginning of breastfeeding every time. I do block feeding and it really helps, do you?

I thought of something else we do which is simple and super obvious, I guess, but we burp Cormac after he eats. I hardly ever could get my first two kids to burp, but Cormac needs it! Every time I hear that little burp, I feel good that I got that gas out before it could go any farther and hurt his tummy.

[Pandme]

Originally Posted by Lula's Mom

Pandme! I also have crazy oversupply and letdown problems at the beginning of breastfeeding every time. I do block feeding and it really helps, do you?

I thought of something else we do which is simple and super obvious, I guess, but we burp Cormac after he eats. I hardly ever could get my first two kids to burp, but Cormac needs it! Every time I hear that little burp, I feel good that I got that gas out before it could go any farther and hurt his tummy.

I am definitely block feeding this time! I've noticed a huge difference in her poo as compared to my son's. His was often really greenish and hers is 95% yellowy-orange and really seedy. I did notice one or two that looked greenish but that was when I was switching sides like crazy because of sore nipples.

I try to burp a lot too. Sometimes it's successful, sometimes not.

She was very gassy this morning and a lots of great poops. She was not particularly bothered by it that I could tell. I know her system needs to mature....I'm sure she's as anxious for that to happen as I am!

[lil_stinkyfeet]

I just want to agree with the others about the elimination diet.. I know it is real for a lot of people but I also think it is overused. I think it is easier to try the simpler fixes first.

Kellymom talks about colic/gassiness and gives suggestions to try.

[turtlemamameg]

I just thought I would pipe in here. Piper seems to have gas also, but doesn't seem too bothered by it. I read that taking probiotics can help aid your digestion therefore help baby. I also drink chamomile peppermint tea twice a day and ginger tea once a day. I hear her passing gas and burping, but it seldom makes her cry. I don't know if what I am doing is helping her move the gas through her system easier, ??? Good luck.

[clemrose]

When my dd was born things went from bad to REALLY bad from week two to week six. There were many, many nights where she would be up until four, five, six AM. I went on an elimination diet (not as strict as the Dr. Sears one, but pretty strict) and in days the difference was like night and day. After that once a week I added back a food and the weekend I added back legumes she was up half the night again.

Some may think elimination diets are over used, but to go from having a super fussy/screaming/awake baby to not made me a believer. And it is hard (I was hungry all of the time for a while) but was so worth it. All I'm saying is it is worth a try. If your baby is a *new* baby in a matter of days, well then decide what to do. But I would hate for some one to be discouraged from trying it.

Oh, and at four months I was able to add everything back with no problem. And you don't have to go for the dr. sears version. The Nursing Mother's Companion has a list of the top five culprits, and a secondary possibles list. I l eliminated everything and slowly added back.

Just my .02!

[StrongFeather]

nak

just wanted to chime in and join the "Gassy Baby Club" Sam has been having a very tough go of it as of late. Last night screaming at the top of his lungs for hours. I am blaming the broccoli I ate.

Does anybody have a cure for helping these babes get through this gassy period?

[sugarpop]

I have found Gripe water works pretty well. She doesnt love it and refuses to take a bottle with breastmilk and gripe...actually it is the bottle nipple she refuses! But we tough through taking the medicine and it usually helps her pass the gas one way or another. It is getting better. In our case I think it may have been that her system just wasn't mature. I watched what I was eating and saw no pattern!

[Pandme]

I actually have eliminated a lot of foods (nuts, milk, eggs, chocolate, citrus. beans, gas-producing veggies) and cut back on others (I'm sure there are traces of soy in a few things, for example) but I don't notice ANY pattern at all. I believe in covering my bases, I guess.

I also believe this most likely fruitless endeavor is going to hurt my supply. Not to mention, we refused the Vitamin K shot and I SHOULD be eating some leafy greens for the extra K (at least until the period where late onset HDN can pop up passes). Instead I'm relying on my prenatal vitamin. It's just one extra stress on me and an additional reason why I can't wait for these early weeks to be over.