[lovingmommyhood]

My 5 week old DS has gas allllllll of the time. At least that's my best guess as to what's going on with him. He still sleeps a lot so I do get a break from the crying/screaming but if he's awake and not nursing he's crying in pain. I'm at my wits end.

I've eliminated dairy from my diet and it's been three weeks with not one bit of change in him. I am so lost. I hate giving him gas drops all of the time but I can't find anything else that helps. I've tried all of the different holds, walking with him, putting him in the sling (which he hates), burping him a lot throughout the feeding... nothing is working.

The worst part is, I have a 21 month old DS and he gets really upset when the baby cries. My DH gets up with both of the boys in the morning so I can actually try to get some sleep but DS will be out there screaming and than my oldest DS starts screaming right along with him.

I'm worried about both of my DS's. I don't feel like it's fair to my oldest to be shoved aside now because I can't do stuff with him while I'm trying to comfort his baby brother and I also can't just let DS2 sit in the swing and scream.

I don't think it's colic, because it doesn't last for hours...

Help! Any suggestions as to what could be wrong or what I can do to help him?? I'm desperate.

:

:

 

[dawncayden]

you could try a chiropractor or osteopath? he might be out of alignment or the gentle procedure could help other things.

Dawn

 

[hapi2help]

Go to the BFing boards , they will have great advice on further treatment.

My ds was the same way, except he did not sleep. I did the diet in the Sears' *Fussy Baby* book. It couldn't be more bland but it helped us tremendously. It is an elimination diet of all irritants.

Remember to stay calm.....your are in my thoughts!!

 

[BelgianSheepDog]

If you look at these boards, most of the threads with a topic like yours are about babies age 4 weeks to about two months. Honestly it's a phase they go through as their bodies learn how to digest. My daughter, at 8 weeks, is on the tail end of it and we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's very common and very normal. Just be there with your baby, help him get through this, and know that it won't last forever.

If it goes on for a lot longer than 10 weeks or seems to get a lot worse, maybe look into other ideas. But for now you probably don't have to worry, you just have to get through it.

 

[KarmaChameleon]

my 2 favorite words right now:

gripe water

worth a shot right?

 

[deditus]

Block feeding (nursing with the same breast for a set period of time) helped for my dd. Search the breastfeeding board or Le Leche League for hindmilk/foremilk info.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions! I'm glad to know that there are other things I can try. I just feel so helpless at this point and was wondering if I was doing the right thing.

I never really experienced this with DS1. I didn't really understand how frustrating it is to have a newborn who is inconsolable. When I feel my BP start to rise I just breathe deep and remind myself that he is in pain and he's not doing this to torture me or his big brother and that if I get upset it will just make him more upset.

I feel so bad that I'm his mommy and all I can do for him is hold him.

Thank you so much Belgiansheepdog for reminding me that "this too shall pass". I always forget that but it's true of a lot of things when it comes to babies & toddlers.

Thanks again!

 

[muckemom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaChameleon my 2 favorite words right now: gripe water worth a shot right?

Hey I thought that was my discovery!!!!

I'm kidding, with you KarmaChameleon, but OP you've got another vote for the magic elixer gripe water over here!!!

 

[SabbathD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaChameleon my 2 favorite words right now: gripe water worth a shot right?

ditto on this.....

 

[SabbathD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emgremore Block feeding (nursing with the same breast for a set period of time) helped for my dd. Search the breastfeeding board or Le Leche League for hindmilk/foremilk info.

....and on this.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

Maybe a stupid question but where do I find gripe water? I am willing to give it a try.

 

[lalaland42]

Gripe water worked better for us then gas drops.

You can get it at a Whole Foods type place (grocery store) or what I always do is go to google maps.

http://maps.google.com and type in gripe water and my zip code so the search box looks like this:

98107 gripe water

and it will map places that carry it. This won't be an all-inclusive list but it usually works.

Edited to add: We found that the dosage on the bottle was higher then we needed. Not that using the dosage on the bottle is a problem but for us, using half the dosage was more then enough.

 

[lonestarmommy]

Both of my boys were terribly gassy early on (their daddy is still

) As a PP said, their digestive systems are still developing and maturing. Eventually, they will learn to pass gas on their own. This too shall pass

: (Pardon the pun, couldn't help myself.) In the meantime,

hugs to you. A few things that helped with us, in addition to the gripe water suggestion.

• tummy massage
• bicyling legs
• hard to describe...bend legs and curl the knees into the belly, kind of roll them in apply gentle pressure to tummy. This would literally squeeze the gas out of them and make 'em fart (can I say that word?) like men
• The best bit of advice I actually got from our LC with DS1....sit on the edge of your chair/sofa with feet on floor andl lay babe on thighs. Put baby on his left side, head towards your knees. Kind of cradle babe with arms, as snuggly as you can to give that snug/womblike feel, with your hands cupped around head. Sway your legs from side to side with a steady, firm motion. Once you have the baby settled and you feel confident with holding him there, use your left hand to pat him on the back. This was AMAZING!!! DS1 was in horrible pain when we went in for our 2 day checkup. He was screaming and miserable. The LC showed this to me and immediately you could hear (and smell) the gas being released and he was so relaxed he fell asleep!

Good luck, mama! Hang in there! It really will get better.

 

[Hheffley7637]

my bb went through the same thing! aye. it's rough! except he wouldn't sleep but for a bit, except at night he slept better. We used gripe water for a long time- except he'd only take it if we put formula or breast milk with it, then we'd have to give it to him through a bottle, not the SNS feeder. Honestly, it lasted a long time until we recently just gave up and started supplementing on demand as well as breast feeding. I'm currently doing more research to up my milk supply (been dealing with it for a long time trying SEVERAL things). See if that's the problem? Try supplementing him just a couple times and see if he's calm. ( you can supplement with pumped breast milk) He might just be hungry! my bb is at 70% for his age, he is 3 1/2 months but looks 6 months. He's growing like a weed and he was growing really slow until we started supplementing a little (then we restricted it, now we don't) at 5 weeks with a SNS feeder, then we put in gripe water- I got it from a health food store- Whole foods. The name is Wellements- they have a website www.wellements.com I've been told also just using chammomile tablets help with babies (check the dose on that one).

 

[MsGrizzle]

Wow, I have a 5 week old and I could have written this post word for word!!! Mine also hates the sling, and my older ds (much older than yours) is devastated our essentially losing his mom right now. We have the added "bonus" of him having pooping issues in addition to the terrible gas pain.

I'm on day 8 of the elimination diet. It is so tough! My chiro said it could take 3-5 weeks for the system to totally clear so don't give up yet. We are also block feeding and I'm headed out right now to get the gripe water.

I'm feeling extremely frustrated as well - I feel your pain!

 

[SabbathD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soapdiva Wow, I have a 5 week old and I could have written this post word for word!!! Mine also hates the sling, and my older ds (much older than yours) is devastated our essentially losing his mom right now. We have the added "bonus" of him having pooping issues in addition to the terrible gas pain. I'm on day 8 of the elimination diet. It is so tough! My chiro said it could take 3-5 weeks for the system to totally clear so don't give up yet. We are also block feeding and I'm headed out right now to get the gripe water. I'm feeling extremely frustrated as well - I feel your pain!

Oh Cori!!

s to you mama. Hang in there, and give your older boy lots and lots of

s to.

 

[jassyp101]

Gripe water definitely works wonders for gas and its all natural.