Quick, has anyone used Gripe Water for their newborn???

[sweetangelbrynlie]

My DD is 6 wks old and really gassy. Weve cut out all things that would make her gassy, but I think it's just normal newborn gassiness.

I want to give her some Gripe water, but my babys doc says absolutely not, that Griper water is not regulated by the FDA or something like that and is very dangerous. He scared me, but knowing how docs are, I just don't believe that it is dangerous.

Can I give her alittle? Do you think it would help?

Thanks sooo much!!

[makbear]

I posted a similar question a few weeks ago and got mixed responses. Some mama's loved it and others said it was worthless, so I decided just to buy some and try it out myself. I have used it a few times, when my daughter is really cranky and fussy and gassy, and I can say that it seems to have really helped each time. I used the baby's bliss brand and it wasn't terribly expensive, but I found a recipe on one of these threads (can't remember excatly where) for making your own. My dd is 6 weeks old also, and she hasn't had any adverse reactions to it. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

[AEZMama]

My DS's little gut was a mess after NICU, so he was burping and passing gas terribly. I, too, got a gripewater recipe from a mama here in my own thread and her recipe has done wonders! It's great!!! Not to mention that each batch costs you pennies compared to a few oz in a bottle you buy at the store. The recipe I got was:

1/4 tsp ground fennel
1/4 tsp ginger (i have dried ginger root from the hfs)
1/4 tsp baking soda

put all 3 into a cup of boiling water and steep. It stores in the fridge for a while, and the dose I give DS is .7mil (using a NICU syringe), but you can play with the dosage on your little one to see what works for her. DS does NOT like the taste, but it does work quickly.

IMO, this is soooo much better than Mylicon/Simethicone. I wish I remember which mama gave me the recipe-she was my lifesaver!

[sweetpea333]

i used it and i didn't find it too helpful (store brand). but ovol worked wonders for me, the second it went down, my dd stopped suffering

[UmmIbadullah]

I've never had to use this method for my babies but the women in my family always recommend making a weak fennel seed tea and giving this to baby for gas.


I hope you find some relief soon.

[scheelimama]

I used it when my dd was a newborn a few times. We didn't notice any adverse reactions and it seemed to help.

[lilysmom]

I gave it to my son when he was about 8wks old. It did seem to help him and we did'nt notice any bad reactions. I also have a few friends who have used it and it has also helped their babes.

Good luck on finding something that works. Those can be LONG days w/ a crying newborn.

[abclan]

I loveloveloveloveloved Gripe water. I used it with dd as an infant periodically and it worked great. Then as the gassiest pregnant woman alive I used on myself several times with success. When Ds#2 came along and had colic Gripe water and swaddling became my new best friends. I give it to all my friends at their baby showers. (I used Mylacon from the drug store too - I also did the seed tea thing - both seemed to help as well) My babies seemed very amused at the yummy taste. I know I sound like a paid advertisement but, really, it worked great. I hope it works for you too!

[shannon0218]

Well it is regulated and approved for infant use in Canada and it's a lot harder to get Canadian clearance on most "drugs"
We use it for Molly, it works well if we catch it early but because of how bad her reflux is, if we miss the warning signs, it gets too far gone for gripe water. I do mix a dose in with her evening feeding and honestly that has helped us more than all the Zantac and simethicone in the world!

[Sherra]

You can bet MOST mainstream medical doctors will not support gripe water pretty much. They don't promote herbal remedies. You can imagine the lawsuits so that is why alot of them stay within the fda guidelines when it comes to advice. It's been used for years and I've heard a lot of women say it works. Like any remedy, it may work for some..it may not work for others.

I personally did not use it only because I didn't know about it..but I will for my next baby over the mylicon drops. It's important to remember, the fda is pretty political when it comes to herbs and vitamins. I honestly hope the FDA doesn't get into the realm of herbs and vitamins or we will be seeing the prices skyrocket!


Sherra

[AEZMama]

I just remembered another suggestion a mama gave me-maybe you can drink the teas yourself and have DD get what she needs via your BM. You can make it more medicinal and then that way you really aren't dosing her, you are dosing yourself and your ped. won't flip about it!

[shannon0218]

So do pediatricians really freak out about gripe water in the States????? Here it is one of those basic baby things. Hell, I can buy it at the little store in the gas station down the road!!! Also it's ultra cheap here, I pay $3.49 for a 500ml bottle!!

I"m just so surprised, in Canada your baby has tummy problems (especially for teething) you try gripe water first, then you move to other methods if it doesn't work. Even the Ontario Government Health Line where you call to talk to a nurse--every time I've called about Molly's reflux the first words out of their mouths is "Have you given her gripe water yet?"

[sinsaratea]

Yeah i don't even bother telling my doc that we use it. rhiannon seems to love the taste, so even if it's not *working* i think the flavor distracts her enough :LOL . Bu we like it here!

[sweetangelbrynlie]

Yeah most docs do freak out over gripe water. I say most because most in my area do.

I went to the pharmacy and found some gripe water, asked the pharmasist who is also the owner of the pharmacy about it, he said NO way don't use it,ummmm why the heck does he even have it in the store then? I think Im gonna call and ask him that.

I bought it anyways, alcohol free, and it works great. Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!

[Desdamona]

We've used it twice with the same results. Very fussy baby takes Gripe Water (about 1/3 or reccomended dose), is distracted by taste and cool temp and then within 3-5 mintues pukes everything up. Not spitting up, not burping up a little BM... He pukes (where did the puking smilie go?). He doesn't seem to stress over purging his stomach contents on the lucky person holding him and usually returns to his normally happy self. But because of this lovely side effect, we've decided to forego Gripe Water unless we have run through every single alternative and then some.

[naturegirl7]

It was my pediatrician that gave me a sample of Gripe Water for DS - at his 1 month check up!!! So YES it is safe. If those nasty Milicon drops are safe - why wouldn't a nice natural remedy also be safe? No health/natural remedy is regulated by teh FDA - so you do need to be careful - but this is not something that you need to worry about.

My ped gave us BabyBliss brand and we have also used Wellments (or something like that) - It has been a GODSEND to us and to DS. He gets horrible gas, and would probably have been classified as a colicky baby if it wasn't for the GripeWater. He will wake himself out of a sound sleep screaming from teh gas pains. The GripeWater has totally helped this! He is a MUCH happier camper, and so are mommy and daddy!
And most of the time, we only give him 1/2 a dose - I figure start small and if the 1/2 doesn't work, we can give him another 1/2 dose. No need to start out big.

I tried eliminating stuff from my diet thinking maybe it was something I was eating - but nothing helped, I tried burping him in the middle of nursing (which didn't do anything except piss him off!) - atfer a lot of sleepless nights and tears (it was so bad I broke down a few times!) - the ped gave us teh GripeWater - and WOW. I am in love. LOL I should be buying stock in the stuff. LOL

ANyway - try it and see if it works for you and yoru little one - and do not worry. My Ped wouldn't have her office stocked with samples if it wasn't safe.