grunting and straining

[Fadetoblack]

My baby seems to be grunting and straining alot especially during the night. I believe it is gas. He seems to always be pushing or in stomach pain. He gets breast milk mostely and supplements some similac sensitive here and there.

Anything i can do to help him?

 

[_Meep_]

How old is he? My baby and a few others the same sort of age at the time on here seemed to go through this around the same time, ranging in age from about 2-8 weeks.

My HV told me she was just reacting to gas and poop moving through her intestines - nice! - and that the grunting and straining was because babies basically need to learn to poop and fart as their digestive systems start to mature, after the first couple of weeks when the stream of poop is seemingly neverending!

During this time, some LOs actually struggle to produce anything bottom-wise unless they are being stimulated (like a lot of mammal mums nudge and lick their babies' bottoms to help them go!) - mine was one of these. You'd be wiping her bum and she'd let an enormous fart rip or do a huge poop!

Bicycling your LO's legs, gentle belly massage, burping well when switching breasts/every 10 ml or so and after every feed are all methods people use to reduce wind. Something like Infacol before a feed can help bring it up too.

Rest assured though that all of our babies grew out of it and yours will too. The newborn windy days are hard! It causes them so much misery ... but they'll never remember.

 

[jessmke]

I'm glad you asked this, my 3 week old has started doing the same thing. She has a hard time falling back asleep after a night feed because she is grunting and straining. Glad she will grow out of it!

 

[_Meep_]

Promise she will. Congratulations both on your babies!