Bellyache/gas help

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Anyone have any tips tricks that help with bellyaches? I have tried gas drops, gripe water, extra burping,keeping him upright ect.

The only thing that seems to help to some degree is the gripe water. Pretty much every time he eats he ends up with gas and/or a bellyache to some degree. Frequently in the middle of the night and it can take up to 2hrs to get him back to bed.

He will be 5 weeks on friday and I thought that he would be starting to outgrow it but so far no luck.

ETA: I don't think it is a dairy thing.. all of my kids have dealt with gas to some degree and in the past cutting out dairy has never worked and it is very difficult for me to do it.

[completebeginnings]

Do you have an over active let down? I know once I let down my newborns gulp and gulp. I found if I unlatched them and let the milk release for a bit into a towel then put the baby back on they wouldn't swallow as much air. Also we did better putting my babies to sleep on their bellies. A vibrating bouncy chair helped too.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Yes the letdown is pretty quick.. I also seem to be producing a lot of extra milk.
My Dh usually gives him 1 bottle per day and I pump that feeding and yesterday I got 8oz. The baby only eats 4oz when he bottle feeds, sometimes not even that much so I have been wondering if he is over-eating which could also be causing the discomfort. I am not sure exactly how to tell.

Thanks for the tip about the towel, I think I will try that!

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Also I should add that he spits up quite a bit too. More than my others ever did, and sometimes multiple times after a feeding.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

OK I know I am mostly talking to myself in this post But the LO is SUCCESSFULLY napping so I am looking up some stuff and am thinking that maybe I should only feed on one side per feeding.

He has had green poop in the past and I thought it was odd but I didn't know that it was an indicator of a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. That coupled with the constant crying after feedings makes me think that I should do like the PP suggested and catch the extra milk during fast letdown and maybe also feed only on one side.

Anything else I should be doing? or Not doing?

I swear I am done replying to myself now

[MandyB]

I think this thread just got lost amongst all of the baby announcements! When my 2yr old was a newborn she had a ton of gas and spitting up for the first 4 months or so. She didn't have the green poops though. Have you seen any difference since trying what the PP said to do with the towel? It seems like it might work, and wouldn't hurt to try. WIth my daughter, we decided that she probably had a mild form of reflux and a more sensitive stomach overall. We also found that lying her to sleep on her tummy helped, and since she slept right next to me, I felt pretty safe doing that. I wish I had some great "cure" that helped us that I could tell you about, but I we basically just waited it out and suffered through it until it passed. I know it sucks seeing your little one frustrated and in pain! Evan had an entire night of crying/screaming from a belly ache here the other night too, but thank goodness it only lasted one night. Hugs momma!

[fyrebloom]

Green poop is an indicator of intestinal upset and can be due to a foremilk/hindmilk imbalence or allergy. If you want to try an elimination diet, most of the time the baby has trouble ONLY when mom drinks milk. If there's a little milk in the break you buy or such and such is processed on equipment that processes milk it's fine. Even eating cheese is ok because casein is only in low amounts in cheese and even less passes on to the baby. Soy can also be very allergenic, so watch for reactions if you switch from milk to soy in your cereal. Other irritants are caffine or any of the "big 8" such as eggs, shellfish, peanuts, treenuts, wheat and corn, but these are MUCH less likely to cause a prob in a newborn.

The other big issue is reflux. If he's spitting alot or if you hear him trying to swallow back after eating and is fussy after feeds then he may have trouble with this. Depending on how you feel about meds, you can generally get a good idea of how he's handling acid by giving some liquid antacid like mylanta and see if he stops crying. Also a trial of zantac should bring some results if not complete relief.

My DS needed prilosec for his first 6 months or so for reflux and he was never a spitter. His was silent... he just seemed colicy and I could hear him trying to keep the milk down.

My twins were milk and soy intollerant and did better once I stopped those.

If it's a foremilk/hindmilk imbalence try nursing only one side at a time and see if it helps, sometimes starting him on the side you ended on last time is good too, since they'll get to the hindmilk faster. IF you can, lay off the pumping, you're going to make an oversupply and more likely to cause an imbalence.

[Pookietooth]

I think it's an individual thing. For us it was both dairy and gluten, but then it was also over supply. to you.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Thanks ladies! The begining of the night was rough but when I fed him at 7 he choked and gagged and in general had a horrible feed despite my best efforts and it took almost 3hrs to get him to bed.

The 1am feeding seemed to go well but it still took 2hrs to get him back down. I fed him again at 5:30 side lying and he ate a ton and fell asleep with NO crying

He is still sleeping so I am hoping that it is just a imbalance and we are working our way towards better days.

If not then I will definitely try an elimination diet next. It is frustrating because at this point he is basically never happy he almost never just sits or lets me hold him awake. He is either sleeping or screaming

[completebeginnings]

If poop is green definitely an imbalance issue. Let foremilk run into a towel like I suggested and feed on only one side. It should take less than 24 hours for his poop to change and for him to be a bit happier. As far as reflux goes I have seen a few different varieties. Some babies(esp. with moms with overactive supply) just plain eat too much and throw up. Some babies(2 of mine included) the sphincter at the top of their stomach closes prematurely during the feeding and the milk backs up the esophagus, or opens right after feeding allowing the milk to come right back up. These babies are usually big spitters. Serious ones some times but the milk is not sour and the babies don't look like they are in pain. Although they may cry because it isn't fun to throw up. The third variety the milk has started to digest before spitting up. They are not happy. I had one of those. We decided not to do any medications after some research I did. And just worked through it. It went away when she started being upright more than laying down.
I hope it gets easier for you.

[Pandme]

Originally Posted by lil_stinkyfeet

Thanks ladies! The begining of the night was rough but when I fed him at 7 he choked and gagged and in general had a horrible feed despite my best efforts and it took almost 3hrs to get him to bed.

The 1am feeding seemed to go well but it still took 2hrs to get him back down. I fed him again at 5:30 side lying and he ate a ton and fell asleep with NO crying

He is still sleeping so I am hoping that it is just a imbalance and we are working our way towards better days.

If not then I will definitely try an elimination diet next. It is frustrating because at this point he is basically never happy he almost never just sits or lets me hold him awake. He is either sleeping or screaming

I am right there with you. And I also have oversupply. The last 24 hours have been awful. And she's crying while nursing too.

I had forgotten how much I hate this part of mothering. I hate wishing I could just fast forward these first few months. They're awful.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Originally Posted by Pandme

I hate wishing I could just fast forward these first few months. They're awful.

I feel the exact same way! Thankfully with the changes that we are making things seem to be better today * fingers crossed *

[Pandme]

I had a good day the other day and then the inexplicable fussing was back and worse than ever.

I am block feeding, cut out dairy and am still just generally miserable. I guess I'll cut out soy (though I don't eat many soy products) chocolate and eggs. I don't eat beans and broccoli, onions or garlic or citrus fruits as it is. Hey, maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to live on a diet of white rice. And none of it will make a difference, I'm sure.

She slept and nursed a lot better today, but she is still killing me with the fussy spells, one of which made me leave the chiropractor's office in tears before I even got adjusted.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

Originally Posted by Pandme

I had a good day the other day and then the inexplicable fussing was back and worse than ever.

I am block feeding, cut out dairy and am still just generally miserable. I guess I'll cut out soy (though I don't eat many soy products) chocolate and eggs. I don't eat beans and broccoli, onions or garlic or citrus fruits as it is. Hey, maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to live on a diet of white rice. And none of it will make a difference, I'm sure.

She slept and nursed a lot better today, but she is still killing me with the fussy spells, one of which made me leave the chiropractor's office in tears before I even got adjusted.

Sorry that really stinks. It is hard to deal with these issues with babies.. I KNOW it will get better though for both of us soon.

[Charlize]

DD3 is having some of these issues too. She's the only one of my babies I've exclusively breastfed, so it's not new to me, but kinda new to me. And for once, I have an over supply; with DD1 and DD2 I had an under supply.

DD3 gulps when she eats. She sleeps great during the day, for as long as five to six hours. But at night she's up ALL night eating and crying. Sometimes the gas drops seem to help, other times they don't. I've been doing massages most of the time to work some of the gas out. But she overeats too. She's very greedy with her milk, which is part of the reason I believe I have an over supply. And she's also gaining quite a bit too, as much as two ounces a day.

Ughh. I had so totally forgotten about this part of having a newborn. Can't we just fast forward a little bit to the fun parts?!

[Maela]

Originally Posted by Pandme

I am right there with you. And I also have oversupply. The last 24 hours have been awful. And she's crying while nursing too.

I had forgotten how much I hate this part of mothering. I hate wishing I could just fast forward these first few months. They're awful.

This is me too!! I can't wait until he's 3 or 4 mo. It's sad, cause I wish I could enjoy this time. I thought maybe it would be different with my second baby.