Baby gas

[mirandaprice]

My daughters stomach has always been very large and bloated looking and I just assumed that was alright since the nurse practitioner I saw several times her first two weeks was never concerned...but at her 1 month check up yesterday the dr we saw kept going in about how distended her stomach was and was asking me all these questions...like is she feeding well, is she pooping a lot, is she fussy, does she hiccup often, etc...so I asked if it was something to be worried about and he basically said that it's most likely just gas and told me to give her gas drops at least 4 times a day.

I already started her on probiotics last week upon the nurse practitioners recomendation, which the dr agreed was good...and I bought gas drops and gripe water yesterday...none of it really seems to be helping.

Anyone else have this issue? Did your baby just grow out of it or did you find something that worked?

I can occasionally get her to pass gas by bicycling her legs, and calm her with a warm bath....burp her a bit. But when the gas build up is really bad she'll just cry off and on for hours and not settle.


I also think she has reflux (spits up and constantly sounds like she's clearing her throat or uncomfortable) could this cause gas problems too?

 

[loeylo]

My daughter was like this as a young baby, we found gripe water made it worse. We used Infacol which was a godsend, we have actually just started her back on it.

For my daughter, her issue was an allergy to dairy (specifically the proteins) and she vastly improved when we put her on prescription milk. It's something worth keeping an eye on.

 

[xdxxtx]

Is she nursing or on formula/other? I combat gas with an infant massage. The probiotics take time to start working, but they're good for so many things, I keep my kids on them all the time. Gas drops simply break the gas up into smaller bubbles to make it easier to pass. I wouldn't give it daily, but I'd give it if my baby was crying with gas pains...

Reflux can be treated naturally if that's the problem (frequent hiccups & hearing her tummy churn would be major symptoms). I wouldn't use the drugs personally because I did with my first 2 babies, and the side effects are worse than the problem. Feed sitting up & keep baby upright for at least half an hour after each feeding, see if there is any improvement.

 

[mirandaprice]

She's breastfed. I don't ingest a lot of diary, because I'm slightly lactose intolerant and it upsets my stomach...

I'm thinking the spitting up may be in relation to all the gas, it builds up so much it pushes on her stomach and when she's grunting and straining to get gas out it brings up her stomach contents...although it's not all milk that comes up, some of its clear...so I assume saliva of stomach juices?

Or, it could be reflux that's causing the gas and the spitting up? He stomach always feels like it has bubbles in it, you can feel the turbulence when you hold her

I just worry that there could be a bigger problem if her stomach is always distended

 

[xdxxtx]

Since you're breastfeeding, it is far more likely to be gas than reflux. Not that breastfed babies can't/don't get reflux, but they're less likely to be badly affected by it if they're taking the milk directly from the breast. However, if it is reflux, the liquid your baby spits up will smell sour and acidic and really, really disgusting. I can't even think about how nasty it smells without feeling ill. It is most likely caused by the gas.

I'd go ahead and do the gas drops as recommended and give it a week and see if there's improvement. Check out this website, though, if you haven't already. https://www.breastfeeding-problems.com/baby-gas-pain.html It's got a TON more information than I have personally.

 

[mmomm1]

Babies magic tea is my LO's lifesaver. This product is amazing. It totally helped soothe our daughter's gas and bloating issues as well as helped soothe her severe colic. She was so much happier once I started adding 1-2oz to her bottles (expressed milk) every day. Never made her sleepy but helped her tummy problems. I also was drinking it and passing it thru my supply.