Solutions for a very gassy newborn?

Question

I am a first time mom and my son is 6 weeks old. He has been extremely gassy ever since we brought him home from the hospital. It has gotten to the point where he wakes himself up because he is "pushing" so hard and he grunts and groans so loud in his sleep. He seems to be in so much pain! My husband and I get about 2 hours of sleep a night because the baby is so uncomfortable that he wakes us up crying. Though he is gassy all the time, he seems to be the most uncomfortable at night. I have monitored my diet closely (I am breastfeeding and supplementing with formula) and also tried to use several different brands of soy and lactose free formulas per my dr's suggestion. I have tried Mylicon and Little Tummies gas relief drops as well. Nothing is working! The baby is not constipated so I am not sure why he is pushing so hard. He cries when he passes gas as well, which is very frequently. Please help!

Answer 1

my son was the same way where he was like in pain from it and i hated it it made me cry cause i didnt know what to do, may be you can try to switch the formula to a no iron formula which is hard to find but my son was on it for a little while and it seemed to help a little they need there iron but if you are breast feeding ask the doc about it,

Answer 2

I have 3 1/2 mnths twins, I also breastfed/supplemented. One baby was gassy, the other wasn't, yet they both took about the same amount. my lactose consultant said obvious foods that are gassy to us,such as broccoli, cabbage, milk, does not necessarily mean the baby can't handle it. Each baby's digestive system is different. some foods you eat can hurt one baby, and be just fine for another. also, a really big reason for gassiness is
when baby's eat too fast or gulp, especially when bottle-fed, because they take in so much air. My little piggy is greedy, thus for all the gas that her sister( who likes to take her time)doesn't have. hope this helps

Answer 3

You are a very conciencious mom. Congrats for that. All we want is the best for our little ones! I don't know if this will help, aside from the obvious foods that we eat that can give gas like beans, cabbage, broccoli etc. look at what give you gas and what gives your husband gas. Sounds weird why your husband. Well that was the situation for me. My husband has problems with corn and bleuberries. Well with my first those two were the culperate. Now with my second it's eggs and pasta. Having said this, it's sort of trial and error to find out what gives gas and what doesn't. I've also heard that milk and dairy can cause a lot of gas. So maybe cut out your diary for a couple of days and see how this works.

A little trick that I picked up to help with gas is when I go down stairs, I support my little ones and sort of go down with a little bounce. This helped them for gas!

Best of luck and I hope everything will get better! Enjoy your little angel!

Answer 4

Here are some things that worked for my gassy, colicky baby. We finally realized that she needed hypoallergenic, lactose and soy free formula, which is pricey but WELL worth it. After a week of these changes she was a completely different baby. We too had so many sleepless nights, I was at my breaking point when she was about 8 weeks old and still having these issues. Boy was I glad when we figured out what to do about it.

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Continue to use gas drops as well.

Answer 5

What you eat goes in your breast milk. Certain foods can make the baby gassy! Be persistent with your pediatrician! Some babies are just more gassy then others. Does he burp well? Maybe he has more burps in him. I was told with my boys to move their legs around, that sometimes can help relieve some of the pain. Have you considered seeing a lactate specialist? Ask your doctor or hospital for phone #'s. They can help you on what exactly you can eat to help the baby's gas. Good Luck!

Answer 6

You could try switching him to a formula thats specially designed for colicky babies, theres one in the UK called omnio comfort and im sure there will be a similar version there. My nephew was like this until his formula was changed. Did you know things like broccoli and orange juice are big culprits in causing wind in babies? Many foods you wouldnt think would cause problems do. You could try drinking some chamomile tea, its safe for baby through your breast milk and is soothing on babies tummy as well as relaxing for you both.
When he is in a lot of pain hold him with his back to you and his knees drawn up (your arm under his knees) then gently bounce him up and down. This helps with the pain and is quite soothing. Also a warm bath can help. Keep persevering with your doctor if none of this helps x

Answer 7

I am going through the same thing with my 8wk old and his Dr just put him on infant zantac (acid reflux) ... at first we thought it was just gas that was making him so uncomfortable but it wasn't. I would ask the DR about that and see what he says.

Ways that we use to calm baby and make him more comfortable. Toss a receiving blanket in the dry for 10-15mins and get it warm then wrap it around babies tummy (helps release gas bubbles). Strap him in his carseat and place him on top of the washer (spin cycle) or dryer .... believe it or not my DR suggested this one (he does it with his baby) the vibrating/movement helps to release gas bubbles and also simulates the movement of the womb which calms baby down. Lay baby flat on his back and do bicycle movements with his legs.

As far as pushing so hard ... most babies do that just because there tummies are so tiny and it takes alot to pass it.

Hope this helps you get a little reliefe .....

Answer 8

Have you tried to entirely eliminate ALL carbonated beverages from your diet? A friend of mine is currently doing the same thing you are, mostly breastfeeding with small amounts of formula. Her son had the similar gas problems. She read something about cutting soft drinks and other carbonated beverages out of her diet may help. She tried it and after about 2 days, he started getting better. Now, at 4 months, he's doing great and doesn't have problems with gas.

Answer 9

Why keep him away from milk ,from my experience it helps.Nevertheless it sounds like something is wrong because he should not be crying when passing gas, please go get a full check up, exrays and all, to find out what is wrong. Don't stop breastfeeding though that is the best thing for him now ,you should probebly not use the formula though until later on when he is about 6 months.

Answer 10

I'm telling you, seriously try Phazyme (baby version of it). You can find it at the pharmacy. My daughter used to wake up screaming in the middle of the night because of gas pains. It was this horribly high-pitched screaming that just broke my heart. I would give her Phazyme, and I didn't think that it even had time to hit her stomach yet and she would stop crying....it works that fast!! It's is a liquid, with a little dropper (bulb syringe type of thing) in the lid. It's really amazing stuff! I hope you try it and hope that it works for your little one! Best of luck.