Gas!

[SummerTwilight]

ok, what is the deal? Aria does not sleep anymore. Truth be told she never slept WELL but now she is a moving maniac while she sleeps which means I DON'T sleep since she sleeps next to me and is kicking and squirming and fighting all night long. It seems like she really has a tummy full of air but I can't get any burps out, she sometimes has gas but most of the time just hops around when she is horizontal like she is really uncomfortable. I have tried Mylacon and I can't say it is really effective. I have used gripe water and had mixed results. I don't think it is my food cause it is all the time. I don't eat dairy at every meal! Any ideas ladies and if not when I can I expect this to end? (aka, when can I expect to sleep again?):

[blairinargentina]

Ohhhh, I feel your pain. We went through this for a while but managed to get it under control with food elimination. Just because you don't eat dairy at every meal doesnt mean that it's not the culprit (or any other food for that matter). The effects of a sensitivity can take a week or more to really notice a difference. The food you eat can take a day or so to actually get out of your baby's system as well (ex: if I eat cheese, the baby is fussy and gassy for two days afterwards, uh! after two weeks of no dairy there was a huge difference in her gas). It's a pain to figure out but well worth it, especially if everyone is losing sleep!

Have you tried the leg curls to get the baby to release some gas? This can work wonders... roll her legs up to her chest several times. Sometimes it's affective enough to get a fart on every roll! Quite amusing and very relieving! Also the tummy massage (see Dr. Sears book) has helped us in the middle of the night.

Good luck! Hang in there!

[BirthFree]

Have you thought about getting YOUR intolerances tested (if you're breastfeeding)? It's been a HUGE HUGE key to helping Gray's tummy (and screaming). Huge.

I went to a naturopath, but some good acupuncturists do it too.

Totally worth it (I paid $215 for mine).
~Julie

[mum2be]

Jumping in from the Sept. DDC. We had this problem too and it was food sensitivities. Turns out Elisabeth has A LOT of sensitivities! Definitely do an elimination diet.

Also, I found that keeping her upright in the crook of my arm in bed helped with the gas. When she was down flat, she did the same exact thing you are describing.

Good luck!

[SummerTwilight]

Mum2be, that is the exact problem because during the day when she naps she is fine. But I can't keep her in the crook of my arm all night while I sleep cause I can't sleep well sitting up. :-(
So ok, how do I go about eliminating foods? All at once, a different one every week?

[NewAtThis]

Summer,
I did an elimination diet to help my little one, and this is what I did. I gave up dairy for the first week (it takes the longest to leave your system, so I hear, so I got a head start on that one). A week later, I gave up wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, citrus, chocolate, and kept avoiding dairy. That was a hard week (I ate a lot of oatmeal, chicken, rice, and fruit).
I reintroduced each food, one at a time, every 3-4 days, just eating a little, and watching dd for the next 48 hours for any changes.
After 2 weeks without dairy, there was a big improvement in her gassy fussiness and spit up pain. I could eat all other foods except citrus and gassy vegetables without a problem.
I'm still off dairy and citrus, and while it has helped a lot, she still has gas, just doesn't scream in pain anymore.

HTH, and hopefully you can get some sleep again soon!

[mum2be]

nak

if you go to the dr. sears website and search under elimination diet, you will find some good info.

i suggest following that plan, even though it's very limiting. i think it works better that way b/c then you can add things back in slowly. it's less overwhelming to try to figure out what's causing it.