Anyone else have a *really* gassy baby?

[mariposita]

Reed is SO gassy. He was waking up all night long in pain arching his back, then curling up. The only time this mellow boy cries is when he's gassy. I have started a regimen that seems to be helping and I thought I'd share in case it helpssomeone else.

-I've eliminated dairy and wheat from my diet,as well as all the traditional gassy foods like beans,cabbage, broccoli, etc. I was going to also do corn, soy, eggs, citrus and tomatoes but it was just too much. I may go there eventually, but this seems to be working for now.
-I bend his legs up to his chest regularly (legs together seems to work better for us than bicycle legs). I can get at least 100 farts out of him every day!!!
-I burp him as well as I can after each feeding.
-Homeopathic Chamomila when he seems to be particularly gassy.
-We are working on EC so whenever I hold him over the potty or sink to pee or poop, he lets out a lot of gas and poop and complains so much less.
-Several times a day I make a tea of the following whole seeds: fennel, cumin, dill, anise, caraway. I steep it in boiling water and drink.

We've gone from squirming and fussing all night long and waking up between 4:30-5a.m. for the day to waking up twice a night (at regular times) and getting up at 7:30.

I hope this helps someone else out!

[IncaMama]

nak
ava seems to be super gassy too...thx for the tips! we're also trying gripe water, just arrived in the mail today. :)

[Turtlemum]

Does anyone have any recommendations for doing an elimination diet for a gassy baby when you are vegetarian? If I can't eat beans, then what do I eat? I find eating a lot of soy gives me GI upset so I don't think that's a great option (and I 've heard of Soy being "gassy" for babies as well...

any suggestions?

Kelli

[IncaMama]

ok she's had 3 doses of gripe water so far (one yesterday and 2 today). and maybe it's a placebo effect but OMG i see a difference today!! first of all, she sucks it back like it's nectar of the gods. LOL and she's been in a great mood today! hasn't seemed to have a lot of pain while nursing. she's in her bouncy cooing and smiling right now. i'm sure it's not as simple as that, but i'm taking everything i can get!!

:)

[Panthira]

That Gripe Water stuff really works. Owen (my 2 yr old) had the WORST colic or possible reflux when he was a baby. He cried (screamed) almost non-stop for maybe the first 6 months of his life, except after some gripe water. It seemed to really help, just not completely for him.
Thank goodness Greyson hasn't had a need for it... yet.

[Panthira]

Oh, Kelli, would that Beano stuff work?

[amis2girls]

taking notes, thanks :)

[aisraeltax]

is it possible for your babe to be gassy without farting all the time? Ethan has been screaming his head off since Sunday. i don't know what to do. the only thing that seems to soothe him is nursing (i do this constantly) and being in the shower with me. dh has problems soothing him, so he is not much help right now and im in tears from lack of sleep and frustration as to what to do. i have gripe water and gave him some last night but not really sure if it helped or not. i am so drained right now and don't know what to do but if this is gas, he just isnt displaying any outward signs.
i worry that i have a low milk supply but he has tons of wet and soiled diapers. the bm's are very small, though frequent. is this normal? sometimes there is alot but most of the time its just a little. they are always "explosive" and mostly yellowish although there have been some green ones (every day or so).
tia for any help,
rach

[IncaMama]

yeah that might be exactly why Ethan is screaming, bc he has gas but can't fart/burp for whatever reason. i think that happens with ava often. she had a fantastic day today but then at around 8pm the crap hit the fan. she was SCREAMING nonstop for about 40 minutes. i know that doesn't sound like a lot but omg. shoot me now. i finally got her to chill by blasting white noise and bouncing up and down with her in my arms. and i don't have an exercise ball! it was ALL thigh muscle! OMG i'm gonna be in PAIIIIIIN tomorrow. :lol

hey...btw...i've noticed that *I* have more gas than usual for the past 3 days. wtf?? if i do she must too, right? we're eating the same things. i wonder what it is that's giving me gas. hm...

[aisraeltax]

thanks Michelle. it isnt helping that my 1st husband keeps telling me "well, you know you didn't have enough milk for ds1". uh, yeh, i know thats what the MD told me..but those little voices in the back of my mind!!! i get so worried but i literally CRIED twice today b/c i don't seem to be able to comfort him. i guess i will try the gripe water again and see if the leg thing works (i did the bicylce legs, so maybe both at once will work). the tea sounds complicated...i wonder if there is anything i can buy thats prepackaged??? lol!
any other suggestions are welcome since i am at my wits end. i wasn't saying anything about how good he was being when all the rest of you were having problems (i felt guilty!) but now im in that same boat, kwim????
:(
Ethan is joining Ava in the grumpy baby syndrome...if he's awake, he's got the grumpy unhappy face and you had better watch out! i couldnt even fold diapers today. jeez!
thanks again Michelle,
rach

[IncaMama]

how many doses of gripe water has he had? and how many dropperfuls?

ava's had 4 doses total now. after the first dose she was actually her worst ever. then the next day she chugged the stuff down and actually smiled while drinking it. LOL

the first time i gave her 2 droppers...then today i've done 3-4 droppers per dose, as per the instructions on my bottle (it says 2 droppers for 0-1month, then 4 droppers for 1-6mos) i did 4, 4, 3 today.

like i said, maybe it's unrelated, but she did have a great day today (except for the major meltdown i mentioned before).

good luck, rachel...it SUCKS ASS when you can't console your baby. i know. i'm living it and hating it. they will soon reach the sweet spot of life where they're less high maintenance but not mobile yet. heehee

[mariposita]

i guess i will try the gripe water again and see if the leg thing works (i did the bicylce legs, so maybe both at once will work). the tea sounds complicated...i wonder if there is anything i can buy thats prepackaged??? lol!
oh hon, i hope it gets better soon! reed doesn't fart a lot on his own, but i canget a ton out of him with the two leg thing. maybe that'll work for ethan.

the tea really isn't complicated at all! just go to the health food store bulk section and buy 3tbsp or so each of the whole seeds. combine them in equal portions into a little container and use a tea ball/spoon container-type thing to put in a teaspoon or so and pour water over it. besides getting the herbs it took me a whole 2 minutes and will last me a couple of weeks. plus it was way cheap.

[mariposita]

Does anyone have any recommendations for doing an elimination diet for a gassy baby when you are vegetarian? If I can't eat beans, then what do I eat? I find eating a lot of soy gives me GI upset so I don't think that's a great option (and I 've heard of Soy being "gassy" for babies as well...

any suggestions?

Kelli

i wish i had some suggestions for you, but without soy i'm a little clueless. i joined a yahoo group that might have more ideas archived that you could use: GFCF Kids (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/)

[allnaturalmama]

Where do you all buy your gripe water?

[IncaMama]

i don't know - dh ordered it online. i'll ask him. :)

[Jeanne_L]

I got my gripe water at our food coop, in the haba section.
I have to say, though, i don't think it's helped elliot too much.

oh, and michele, i've noticed that when i'm gassy he seems gassier, too. this may be tmi but i got so much more gassy when i was pregnant than i was before, and it really hasn't gone away. it's horrible :bag: i started taking my probiotics a couple of weeks ago which seems to help a little but not totally... :shrug

[amis2girls]

Mother's Milk tea, maybe? I have some nursing tea with fennel in it and she was much happier after I'd had some. :p

[aisraeltax]

http://www.doctorstrust.com/item/BB3721-1.html

[aisraeltax]

nak
i take fennel greek cap's and ran out of the mm tea...going to get more today.
i think i am going to eliminate milk from my diet but that is so hard for me. i love milk.

[allnaturalmama]

Thanks for the link, Rach! Our monthly food co-op order is due today, so I'll check and see if they carry it and how the price compares. . .

BTW, that's true about MM tea - I hadn't thought of it before, but Will seems to do so much better on days I've remembered to drink my tea.

[aisraeltax]

i bought 3 boxes of the MM tea today and also got Silk (the soy milk). dont mean to offend you vegans, but it is nothing like cows milk. ill keep trying though.
the one thing that really did wonders for Ethan today was being out. he was great in the car ride (after an initial 5 minute bout of screaming) and while in the food store for an hour and a half (he was in the moby) he slept the whole time.
of course, when i got home, he had a major blow out in his diper which got ALL OVER his white outfit.
what do you mamas consider the best cd for sitting in the sling for at least an hour or two???? he was in a fuzzbunz which i thought was pretty safe, but at least it wasnt one of his gorgeous soakers!!
im tired...but it was nice not to hear him screaming for about 2 hours. kwim???
rach

[Panthira]

I hate soy milk too, Rach. I much prefer Rice Dream rice milk. :)

[Thursday Girl]

thanks Michelle. it isnt helping that my 1st husband keeps telling me "well, you know you didn't have enough milk for ds1". rach

hey my mom had failure to thrive for her first child then didn't bf her second b/c she was told she wouldn't have enough milk. her next child she bf for 18 months and then two weeks later she bf twins! exclusivley!!so just b/c it didn't "ework: once doesn't mean much. also try black sesame seeds good for milk production. i will try and post a good resipe fr milk making. speaking of i gotta go milk. :lol

[mariposita]

if any of you mamas are on the dairy and wheat-free diet thing to help your baby's gas (or not), here's an amazingly delicious meal i made last night.

rice tortillas
rice cheese
salmon
cucumber
arugula/spinach mix
canola mayo mixed with wasabi

i seasoned the salmon with salt and pepper before griiling on the george foreman, then you break it up into bite size pieces. i put it all togetger and made a tasty wrap. delicious,really fast, and good for your babe!

[IncaMama]

um YUM!!

[anonymous4_20]

Well, I've been trying not to join your club, but there's no denying it now. Stuart was awake all day yesterday, crying in bouts as gas moved through him. :(

I ran out and found some gripe water, and you all are right about it--works great! The brand I found locally has chamomile in it, so he calmed down, too. I gave him a half dose and it helped, so I gave him the rest. He spent the whole evening leaving LOTS of gas and looking very tired before finally falling asleep. He did stop screaming bloody murder, though, which was well worth the $10! I'm glad I found something to help him. Thanks for the suggestion!

I don't eat dairy at all, except for some butter now and then. Is wheat really a big gas trigger for them? I sure hope it's not wheat. No wheat allergies in our family, but lots of lactose intolerance on both sides. I know that soy and nuts can be triggers, but I haven't eaten a lot of that lately. Does it need to be something I'm eating, or can he just have a gassy day?
Given DH's and my history of stomach issues, this poor kid was doomed!

I've got a stupid question, too. If he's gassy, should I feed him the same amount? He likes to cluster in the evenings, and he never turns down the breast no matter how uncomfortable he is. He would have eaten all day long yesterday if I'd have let him. Should I feed smaller amounts more frequently, or nurse on demand (which is constant :wink ) during these episodes?

[IncaMama]

my guess would be to feed smaller amts more frequently, with LOTS of burping in between. especially if he's been crying, he'll have a lot more air in his belly than usual. babies can't tell the difference btwn having gas and being hungry, so often a very gassy baby will try to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat to ease their tummy discomfort, when really they're only making it worse. so i'd suggest smaller feedings and LOTS of burping, and LOTS of moving his legs around so he can fart if he has to. sorry you're in our club. :(

[Turtlemum]

i wish i had some suggestions for you, but without soy i'm a little clueless. i joined a yahoo group that might have more ideas archived that you could use: GFCF Kids (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/)

Thanks for the link!

[Leilalu]

I'm not part of the december 05 group, but wanted to chime in. I quit drinking soy around when ds was 5 months, and his colick went away completely!!!!The only thing before that that would soothe him was gripe water and hylands.
I would try the soy:hug BTDT, good luck!

[beachcomber]

Wow, this thread is a gold mine of advice. I'm definitely going to try the leg exercises and see if that works for Carys. She gets gassy and wants to feed and will go at it for an hour at a time. The problem is that she overfeeds and then spits up, or her tummy gets distended and she's even more uncomfortable. Burping her is really a challenge. She just will NOT burp after a feeding. I've patted her back so long she gets irritated with that and starts crying just because she doesn't like the patting anymore.

Things that have worked for me so far:

- small amount of gripe water (1 ml/cc) just before a feeding
- tummy time throughout the day, either on my knees or propped over a pillow
- making good and sure she's burped, no matter how long it takes
- keeping her upright over my shoulder for at least 20 minutes after a feed (usually I'm burping her but sometimes if she won't burp, I just hold her this way)

I am finding the hardest part is dealing with this at night. Taking the time to really thoroughly burp her at night is extra important or she (and I) will suffer the next day.

[Minoh]

DS was really gassy for a long time, too. I know that part (or maybe most) of problem lies in the fact that I have an overabundent milk supply and quick letdown, and he gulps a lot of air at the beginning of feeds. I've been expressing some milk (it sprays out when he comes off the breast choking :o ) and working on his latch and hopefully these problems will improve with time.

Our lactation consultant informed me that gassy foods consumed by moms don't cause gas in BF infants (assuming no allergy). My local LLL rep also confirmed that gassy foods have been found to not affect babies as much as had been thought in the past. The insoluble fiber in these foods causes adults' gas but this isn't passed on through breast milk. She said that it's the lactose in the foremilk that causes problems in the immature bowels of babes. Since foremilk concentrations are highest in the morning, it might be a good idea to ensure that your babe gets a good amount of hindmilk in morning feeds (ie after 6am). I've been doing breast massage to help mix the hindmilk so there isn't a huge gush of foremilk at first.

Also, our LC said that yeast in the digestive tract increases gassiness in babes and this yeast feeds off of sugars in mama's diet. So cutting back on refined sugars and foods high on the glycemic index was recommended to me.

I've also been taking probiotics (like Bio-K) to help improve digestion in me and DS.

These ideas might be useful to try if some of the other methods or remedies aren't working, they really seemed to make a difference in DS.