how do you comfort a gassy newborn?

Question

shes only a week and a half so i dont want to give her anything

Answer 1

Hold him/her upright so the bubbles of gas come up.

Burping the baby thoroughly will reduce the amount of air in the stomach, so that it does not pass on to the intestinal tract. Unfortunately, burping is not 100% effective at eliminating gas, since it has absolutely no effect on the gas created in the intestines during normal digestion. There are baby massage techniques which may prove effective in helping baby to release gas. Simply applying light pressure on the tummy can soothe and help. You can also try carrying baby in the “football hold” – face down on your forearm with baby’s legs straddling your elbow and baby’s chin resting in your hand. Again, the gentle pressure placed on the little tummy can help soothe and release baby’s gas.

There are several treatments available for infant gas. As always, you should consult your pediatrician first before giving baby any medications, remedies or supplements.

Answer 2

Make sure the baby is burping well- after every ounce or two if bottle feeding, or after every 5 minutes of breatfeeding. If this is still a problem (my daughter had severe problems with gas and didn't burp well) there are a number of things you can do.

Lie the baby face-down in your lap and massage her back.
Hold her skin-to-skin and tummy-to-tummy- the warmth is comforting.
Sometimes swaddling will also help.
If nothing else you may have to resort to giving her something. Mylicon is very gentle, safe for newborns, you can use it as often as needed, it's sweet-tasting so that baby likes it, and it DOES work! It was a life-saver with my daughter and the only way I could get the burps up with her for the first month. I swear by it, and so do many of my friends.
If your baby is burping ok then you may want to look into reasons for the gassiness...
Is she bottle-fed and getting too much air? I use Dr. Brown's bottles when a supplment is needed, and they are awesome!
Your baby also might have a lactose tolerance problem and need a soy formula.

Answer 3

I don't know if this would work for you but it all depends on the kind of gassy you're talking about. Is it just a little bit or is the tummy warm and firm?
My sister's daughter was got colic, she was so miserable the little bit, all tensed up and crying and tummy firm and warm. Nothing calmed her and she was only about a week or so old too.

Now my sister nursed so gas isn't too often a problem due to the fact baby's don't get as much air when they nurse. But you do have to watch your own dietary intake to make sure that something doesn't effect your milk.

But she took chamamile flowers (dried) and boiled them, then strained them through a clean piece of cloth and into a bottle. The bottle was then made cooler by adding some sterile water from the hospital and it had glycerine in it already.

This was given to the baby and after about an ounce...she burped and then fell sound asleep! She'd been having the colic for about 36 hrs. so she was tired!

Today you don't have to go through all that. My sister learned about Celestrial Seasonings and they have plain chamomile tea in packets. You do them just like a normal tea bag and then add a little more water to cool it and then just offer it to the little one.

It's always worked with my sister's kids and she's got nine! Littlest one will be 4 in nov. - oldest will be 28 in dec. so she's pretty good when it comes to home remedies and fixes.

She is an herbalist and homeopathic.

Answer 4

This is completely normal. As well as providing nutrition, suckling provides comfort, something an infant needs after being thrown into the big wide world! It's not a problem, or something you need to change, she will outgrow it in time. My son nursed to sleep until he was eight months old and then he decided he didn't need to any more - I never forced it. Some people would say this is spoiling - I say you can never spoil anything with love. :) Try getting the hang of nursing lying down - that way you can relax when she's on the breast. There is absolutely no need to pump or supplement - in fact you shouldn't at this stage, your breastfeeding relationship is not yet established and pumping and bottles could potentially mess it up. I know it probably seems overwhelming right now - I found the first 2 weeks especially hard - but it does get better in time! Good luck!

Answer 5

honey you can't give her anything, but you can lie with her on your chest, she should be on her tummy, that way you can keep an eye on her and hold her close, you can try very gentle massage of the back and legs, use baby oil or olive oil, rub it in your hands to make it a bit warm and in light circular movements massage her back and legs, its relaxing and it will help her pass gas. Once she is 6 weeks or so you can start light and gentle exercises like moving her legs to her tummy and straight, crossing her arms across her chest. My daughter was gassy too, it was my diet that was causing it (through breastmilk), so I changed my food habits and I started these suggestions from my doc and it helped a lot. Don't be afraid to massage your baby, here in India we do it from birth and its so benefitial, plus you are mommy, you can't hurt her.

Answer 6

Gas in newborn infants can be a terrific concern to the parent. Gas can seem a significant cause of discomfort to the infant.

Gas may be caused by:

* introduction of air into the stomach as the infant swallows during a feed
* it may be from the natural breakdown of nutrients as the child digests the food
* or it may be from cow's or soy milk intolerance in those being formula fed

Except for the latter case, there is no cause for concern if the infant does not seem to be bothered by the gas. As for milk intolerance, this is usually associated with diarrhea, vomiting or poor feeding, so gassiness is usually the least of worries in that case.

The introduction of air into the intestines must by definition be preceded by the introduction of air into the stomach. Therefore, by proper positioning -- keeping the lips well flanged around the nipple for breastfeeders, or by keeping the bottle from accumulating air in the nipple for bottle feeders, air entry may be reduced. In either case, frequent burping say once between each ounce for bottle feeders, or twice per breast for breastfeeders will help eliminate much of the air that made it to the stomach.

Finally, there is a medication that is supposed to help eliminate gas from the intestines. It is called simethicone (trade name Mylicon). However, when scientifically studied, it has not been found to be effective in decreasing colicky symptoms.

If your baby seems to be passing a lot of gas or burping a lot, that's normal if he otherwise seems to be healthy and doing well. If, however, you feel this is problematic, I suggest trying the above suggestions and discussing your concern with your baby's pediatrician.

Answer 7

Make some peppermint tea (I like Celestial Seasonings Peppermint tea), put 1 oz in a bottle, and add 1 oz water to dilute it. My mom did this for me when I was a newborn, and I did the same when my son was a newborn. I checked with the doctor, and he said it's okay to give the baby diluted tea. It has worked really well for us. Also, try gently rubbing the baby's tummy.

Answer 8

I just held mine upright against me and patted his back and walked around with him. Laying the baby down on their already gassy tummy can't feel too good. Also try a swing or bouncy chair-the movement will help work out the gas.

Answer 9

newborn babies are still adjusting to the world, r u sure it's gas? the best advice i can give is burp the baby after every oz., (the bby probally isn't eating more then 2 oz. yet) if the baby doesn't burp while it's sitting up, lay it on it's back (diaper change maybe), then burp it again, i can almost asure u the baby will burp. after that swaddle the baby tightly with a blanket, i wouldn't worry about swaddling too tight, the bby was pretty snug in your belly. u can also try to hold the bby in the fetal position. (upright) that helps too. if it is gas and it doesn't go away, try enifimal gentlease or soy formula.

Answer 10

noogney has her own style of parenting and that is fine, but i dont understand why one would wait until six weeks to bicylcle that babies legs?? My daughter is four weeks old, has rolled from her tummy to her back likes to kick and likes her legs bicycled and if ovol or gripe water helps the babies tummy then by all means go for it! personally it may be a waste of money, but when my baby is gassy i just shift her around alot, if she still cries, i give her a soother and she is happy and content in no time, regardless of the gas.