im a new mother and have questions about feeding.?

Question

after my sons day feedings he crys and crys and has alot of gas. is this colic, or the formula? He doesnt cry at all during the night and he sleeps well. Just during the day he crys for periods lasting for up to a hour...

Answer 1

The problem is defeinetely related to his food if he's not crying at nightime when you're not feeding him as often.

Are you feeding him a 'Gold' formula? I was feeding my daughter Karicare Gold, and she was having many of the same troubles. I spoke to my midwife about it, and she recommended switching back to just a standard Karicare formula. This is because, even though the formula is marketed from birth-6months, young babies can still have trouble digesting the extra nutirents in the Gold formula, which gives them belly aches.

My doctor also suggested giving my daughter some infant panadol. He said that sometimes the baby's bowel can become distended and that can be quite uncomfortable.

Is it possible that your son still wants more to eat after his feeding? If he is still sucking, perhaps you could increase what you are giving him by about 20mls, and see if he will take that.

It is also possible that your son may need another burp. My daughter sometimes does more than one burp. If your son is able to hold is head up, try holding him under his arm pits and gently rolling his upper body forward. This should bring up a bigger burp that any other method, at least that is what I have found with my daughter.

Your son may have acid reflux. It's where food travels up from the stomach and burns the esophagus. Does he spit up a lot? Perhaps you should mention this behaviour to his doctor. There are medications that can successfully manage the problem, such as infant gavascon, zantac and locep. If you suspect that he does have reflux, try to keep him upright for 30 minutes directly after a feed.

He may just have belly aches. You could try holding his chin in your hand, similar to how you would burp him, and put his body along your arm, with his legs either side. This really helped my daughter, as it put pressure on her belly, removing the dicomfort.

You could also try putting a wrap in the microwave for a few seconds and placing that under your baby's belly. Just make sure that it isn't too hot.

The baby swing has worked wonders for my daughter. I have no idea what's so special about it, but it seems to have really helped with her belly aches, and sends her right off to sleep!

You could also try rubbing your son's belly in a clockwise direction. This will help relieve some wind. It is also worth looking up reflexology on the net. It will give you some idea of what places on your baby's foot you will be able to rub to give him some relief from gas.

Something else that worked for my daughter was to cycle her legs. It helps get rid of the gas. Also, when she has a belly ache, I push her legs up to her belly, even if she tries to push them out straight. My midwife told me that when adults have belly aches we curl up in the fetal position and crunch our legs to our belly to make us feel better, and babies don't know to do that, so we have to do it for them.

You could also try some gas drops. They defeinetely helped my daughter when she had bad gas! There are some that you can buy from the chemist that are all natural.

If all else fails, and your son continues to scream, try a warm relaxing bath, or a ride in the car.

Answer 2

I would talk to his doctor about what is happening with your son. But my son had really bad gas when he was younger. I tried everything from changing his formula to soy (which didn't work - I talk about this w/ his doctor first) and then I tired every bottle on the market. The best bottles for gas are the Dr. Brown bottles. They are a little expensive but worth every penny. My son is also on Enfamil Gentlease. He has been better ever since we found the right formula and bottles for him. Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

It could be the nipple is letting too much air in. You may want to change the bottle and/or nipple. He could also be getting gassy from the type of formula you are using. Ask the Dr if there is another formula that may cause less gas in his little belly.

Answer 4

If he was colicky you would know, you would be at your breaking point, it is normal for babies to cry throughout the day, try changing the formula try enfamil gentalease and bottles can be the problem to, try dr. browns, avents, or the palytex vent so there are less air bubbles.

Answer 5

Also try Mylicon Drops (not sure that is the right spelling). They help neutralize the gas.

Ask you pediatrician about acid-reflux. A friend of mine had this w/ her baby and that poor child cried all the time until she got the medicine for it.

Answer 6

baby massage can help with gas. Rub your baby's tummy from left to right in repeated, gentle strokes. Your baby's gas is having trouble moving along in the digestive tract..