My new little guy will be turning 3 weeks old tomorrow, and he is one gassy little man. He is exclusively breastfed, and I have cut dairy out of my diet to see if that's the culprit for causing this in the first place... But from experience (my DD had a milk protien allergy, which is what I'm suspecting) I know it can take several weeks of following the elimination diet to see results. In the meantime, I have turned to gas drops, tummy massages, and an exercise I found online that has been super effective at getting his gas out. (I pedal his legs, then gently push his knees towards his chest and down slightly... The position and pressure allows the fart to pop right out. He will usually pass small amounts of gas 5-15 times when I do this...)
My question is this: am I somehow hindering him from learning how to fart on his own by helping him? He will start groaning and at times work himself up to almost screams from his gas when he's trying to pass it himself. About half the time he is able to do it on his own, but once he has been trying for a while or seems to be in pain I step in with the leg trick and help him out. It may just be the sleep deprivation making me crazy, but I just want to make sure I'm not interfering with some natural process he needs to learn to handle...
Helping.
My 9-month old son was super gassy as a newborn. I helped him as much as I could to relieve the discomfort. He passes gas fine on his own now.
You are doing everything I was when my newborn was having gas issues. Believe me it didn't hinder in gas passing abilities in any way!! (He is now eleven and I wish he would do it less at least in the car and dinner table). :-)
I think their little bodies just aren't developed enough yet to get it all out and our help makes them so much more comfortable. Keep bicycling his little legs and pressing those knees and getting all the gas out for him until he can do it on his own. I never thought the gas drops did much to help...if they were working then I don't even want to know how much would have build up otherwise.
You are doing great and he will be farting away on his own in no time!! Sorry I had to get a fart in there somewhere....I hear about them so much I want to scream. BIg hugs!! Keep up the good work mama!!
you are helping! at nearly 3 weeks of age babies need mommas to help them with just about everything! they will eventually learn stuff but don't sweat it. keep up the good work!
I did the leg movements and tunny rubs too. They had no bad side effects and she is now 9.
I had similar issues with my little guy and always helped him out with massage and patting, I also sometimes used little tummies drops and they worked well. For my son cutting daily did nothing, I had to cut our caffeine (all, even chocolate) and that did the trick for him.
I did the same with my gassy boys. They both fart just fine, believe me. No allergies either. It's okay to help.
Sounds like you've got a good handle on it. I did those same exact exercises with my little gassy one. I didn't find the drops did a whole lot myself.
Two of my kids have lactose intolerance and are still pretty gassy (one in particular). But yes, they can pass on their own :)
I found once my babies were moving about more on their own (such as crawling, rolling etc.) the gas just happened naturally. The cycling their legs just mimics what they will soon be able to do on their own, so should not interfere in any way. Keep pedaling away :) Oh - and our doctor recommended the pedaling way back when (that was over 10 years ago) and I know they are still recommending it, because friends of mine do the same.
Good luck :)
Leg peddling is a great help to get things moving and is no detriment to the smooth muscles of the intestines. :-)
