We just feel so bad for her when she's grunting and screaming from the gas pains. It's truly upsetting for all of us - I've cried a bunch when she gets really fussy about it because I can just imagine how frustrating/painful it can be! She'll be nursing and then scream all of a sudden, or she'll wake right up screaming sometimes. I really feel so bad for her. The past couple of nights she'll seem so tired, but can't sleep. *sigh*
Here's what we're doing to try and help the problem (none working much yet):
- I'm going on a dairy-free diet. This is the age where her little digestive system will be sensitive to dairy, so I'm cutting it out completely. Today is day three of the diet. I'm already vegetarian, so except for eggs, I'm pretty much going vegan for this little girl! I'm doing this for a month, and then if things are seeming better I'll do a dairy challenge where I eat dairy with every meal for a couple of days to see if it'll cause a reaction. If nothing else, cutting out high fat cheese and other dairy products and upping my veggie intake will help me lose some more of this baby weight!
- Gas drops. Mylicol is the brand name, but we're doing the Walgreens store brand version. We started last night, giving her a little bit after each feeding. The active ingredient, simethicone, breaks down larger gas bubbles into smaller, less painful ones that are easier to pass. We did notice a lot of tooting last night, but she still shrieked and cried a bunch too.
- Belly massages. Here's one I found online that got a toot out: Rub from ribcage to belly button downward with alternating hands for a count of 15. Push knees to chest and hold for count of 15. Rub in a clockwise motion from belly button and around for a count of 15. Push knees to chest and hold for count of 15. Repeat.
- Pump the legs. Basically it's helping her do the "bicycle" motion with her legs. It just helps her work it out.
- Lots of burping. Sitting her upright after feeding so gas can move up and lots of patting her back. She often falls asleep for a little bit doing this as well.
Any of you have gassy babies or experience with it? I'd love any advice or tips!!!
Hi! I'm a newer follower and have never posted before, but congrats on your baby girl! she's precious! I'm an Infant Massage instructor and will second your attempts at tummy massage!! If you have a CEIM (Certified Educator of Infant Massage) in your area, I would suggest taking one of their courses, they are a couple of sessions, but teach full body massage for babies, and almost all of the strokes have benefits for colic and help a ton with gas. A friend of mine also told me to stock up on chammomillia biorion homeopathy tablets (30c, 6c or 200c highest concentrate only give one at a time) Her midwife gave them to her to help give to her little boy to help with digestion, and a ton of other things. They are homeopathic, so be sure to check with your midwife to see if she thinks they might help, but they are supposed to be help with tummy issues, colic, sleep, teething, and a bunch of other things. I'm just now getting into the research stage of pregnancy, I'm 30 weeks along with our first baby, a girl :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats again to you!! and I hope she feels better soon!
The baby is still in the belly, so I don't know if it will work or not, but we just purchased a tummy tub and part of their claim to fame is that it helps the babies with gassiness. If you look on youtube, you will see lots of happy babies in the tub...which is the main reason we bought it, but maybe it is worth a shot for the gas pains too?
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
We like Gripe Water. It is similar to Mylicon Drops, but seemed to work a little better for us (and it tastes a little better too). Not sure it was a "cure" but it helped, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my children liked (I think it was called the football hold or something like that) being held on their tummies on your forearm. If you look it up you will probably find more information about it.
Also, she is probably crying a lot, which means she is taking in more and more air. We felt that burping them frequently helped. Even after every cry! The lactation consultant showed us how to rub Ollie's back with an upward motion to get the most air out (rather than patting him on the back).
Also, Ollie liked to sleep on his tummy on my belly (skin to skin contact). This seemed to help him sleep better at night. I wasn't too concerned about him sleeping on his belly since he was on me. But, don't know if you would be comfortable with that or not. You could at least try it while she is napping. Sometimes the only way we could get him to sleep was in the Moby Wrap- I don't really know how that made him feel better, but it did. I guess it was soothing to be that close to me and to be wrapped up tight.
I also remember reading something about the way you hold the baby when you are feeding her. Not sure what position you are using, but you might want to look this up just to see.
I know this is hard, especially knowing that she is so uncomfortable and that you can't do much for her! I have been there TWO times. And the constant crying can start to really wear you down. I promise it does get better! Good luck! Hopefully something helps ease her discomfort soon!
I can TOTALLY remember when Austin was having issues with it. I tried massages and block nursing. He was getting a bit backed up from not getting enough of the fatty hindmilk so he was miserable and couldn't fart or poop or anything. So try nursing her from the same side during two or three feedings and then switching. Rather than switching each time...
ReplyDeleteI hope that works!!