Breastfeeding and gassy baby

[ani]

I've just been breastfeeding for a week and everything is going great. But my LO is very gassy every day, which is quite uncomfortable for him. So I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to help this?

I'm already trying to eliminate all possible gas-inducing foods from my diet (broccoli, onion, etc...I don't eat dairy anyway so that's not an issue).

But when my LO is feeding, sometimes he sucks in a way that he keeps making smacking sounds. I'm thinking that maybe air gets in when he does that? I try to correct his latch when that happens, but it's not always so easy. It seems more a question of how he is sucking rather than how he is latched on?

Any ideas welcome! Thanks

 

[sam's mum]

Are the smacking sounds all through the feed or just at the start during the letdown? It does suggest the latch isn't quite right and he's probably taking in more air because of it. If it's only at the start it might just be because the flow is a bit much for him and he's trying to keep up with it - he will get faster at drinking and more able to cope with the initial fountains before the flow slows down a bit! x

 

[mitchsmom]

[edited by admin]

 

[Samantha675]

Ani, to be honest, part of it is just his age. My son had horrible gas until I guess about 3 months. It is just their little systems are digesting food 24 hours a day, and it makes for gas. That on top of an inmature system.

Try burping him after feeds, that helps. You can massage his tummy, go from right to left. Also you can take his legs, and push his knees up to his tummy, and that will help get the gas out. I also would, holding his calves, roll his legs from side to side, and then up into his tummy, and he would just fart and fart. It was soo funny.

 

[ani]

Thanks!

The smacking sounds are through the feed, but not all the time. I'll keep correcting his latch, but sometimes it just seems he starts sucking so hard that at the end of the suck it just kinda pops.

I've tried the burping and the "bicycling" moves, but will see if tummy massage and rolling the legs around work. Would love to get that funny farting effect!