We just adopted our little guy (Yay!) and he's a gem. But, he gets painful gas (toots) that keep him from sleeping and being comfortable. He doesn't burp much (2-3 times during a feeding) and they're always dry burps. His bowel movements are normal. We switched to the Dr. Brown bottles and that cut down on his burps, but it hasn't done anything for the gas. We use the milochin (sp?) gas drops after every meal pretty much and use gripe water when he really gets irritated. When he eats, he drinks just fine, but I can hear the movements down in his stomach (not like the sound when the air gets in for him to burp, though). Right now we pump his legs for about 5-10 minutes after every feeding and that seems to help, but, it seems like there should be something else! It doesn't seem like it's lactose-related because he isn't projectile vomiting, and his poop is the right consistency! Is there anything I can do for my little guy to help him pass gas a little easier? Oh, he's on Good Start (we tried soy and he pooped mud).
A warm, moist heat on his tummy (like a sock filled with rice and microwaved or a hominy bag) for a little while followed by laying him on his back and gently pressing his knees into his tummy will help him pass even the most stubborn gas.
When our little guy was gassy/colicky, we "bicycled" his legs. Lay him on his back, take ahold of his feet and turn them in circles like he is riding a bicycle. Applying warmth to the belly also helped (be careful it's not to hot).
It could be his formula is bothering him, or if you're breastfeeding, something that you're eating.
peppermint water. my oldest did that and had to be put on soy formuls. mud is a part of the deal. congratulations on your new gassy addition.
I second massage. It really helps. Also, depending how old your son is, congratulations by the way, you may try a hold that I will "try" to explain. You can do this either direction, I am just picking one to try to explain. The baby is going to be laying face down with his head towards your left arm. Your left arm is going to be supporting his left shoulder, down to his belly, so that his head is cradled in the crook of your elbow. Your right arm is going to be between his legs and supporting the left arm. This pressure on his belly can really help. You can do a little bounce, and also can pull up one of his legs (similar to the pumping effect). Let me know if that explanation doesn't make any sense.
Hi! I totally feel your pain. My son was born with a ton of problems GERD and really bad colic & gas being some of the worst. We saw a specialist but I discovered a really awesome gripe water that is 100% natural. It's called COLIC CALM. Look it up on the web. I call it magic water! Nothing you buy in the store will compare to this stuff. It takes affect in 5mins. Those Mylicon gas drops do not work! I don't know why they sell that stuff. It only has a few of the ingrediens to stop gas. My son is now 22months and we give it to him once in a while when he has bad gas. He still has some digestive issues. Sometimes changing formulas will help. We had to burp for 30min everytime and no laying down or eating 30min to 45min before bedtime. Our massaging crib mattress helped as well and a vibrating bouncy seat. Anything to work out that gas! I hear massages work but it honestly didn't work for my crying son who was in pain. We couldn't keep him still to even do the massaging. I also used a warm compress on his tummy. That did work a little. There ae lots of things you can do. But like I said the COLIC CALM along with the 30min burping worked miracles. The Colic Calm is not medication and you can give it to your baby a few times every 30min. I never had to give it to my sone more than once and my baby was really gassy and had horrible colic. He couldn't even drink my breast milk. We figured that out a a few months after he was born. I know it's tough but you will find what works for you. Sometimes pediatricians aren't helpful and they just blow things off. We learned that real quick. Best of luck to you and your sweet baby. Congrats!!
Try a hypoallergenic formula like Alimentum or Nutramigen. My daughter has a dairy allergy/intolerance and she could not do soy either, plus its not good for babies, in my opinion, becasue of all the estrogen in soy. My daughter also could not do the Nutramigen for some reason but the Alimentum worked like a charm. Basically it is partially broken down protein (from milk) chains so that babies with a sensitivity to protein (which is pretty much what a dairy allergy or intolerance is, unless it is lactose intolerance which is a little bit different) can digest it. Alimentum is expensive but I would suggest you give it a go for at least two weeks. If he is really really sensitive, butin which case I think you would be seeing other symptoms, there is Neocate which you can get through a doctor, which is just protein in the form of amino acids, no milk whatsoever, but it is crazy expensive so try Alimentum first.
Congrats on your new son!
I second the suggestion of a microwaved warm pack on his tummy. A friend bought us O. of those herbal packs that can be heated in microwave or popped in the freezer if you need a cool pack and it is INVALUABLE for a kid!
Before I had that, I used to micro a small hand towel and place it on his belly while we swayed, rocked and shhhhhh'd him....it really helped. Just make sure it's not HOT of course.....
I would try maybe the gentle stuff. And I thought they were supposed to poop without the solid forms. If his poop is in pellets he is actually constipated. I would try switching to the Enifimil Gentle. Also when switching formula's it can take a week for them to adjust. Just a heads up.
We use the Good Start too and we use the Gentle stuff it took us a week for her to get used to it too.
How did he do with the soy gas wise? IF it was better you should probably go back to that!
It's possible it's not gas- it doesnt sound like he has digestive problems.
Does he start crying about 5-10 minutes after a feeding? That means he is tired and wants to go to sleep. Young babies cannot stay up much past 5-10 minutes after the feeding, then it is sleepy time again.
Many parents keep thier babies up way too long. Time will fly and unless you keep a diary of up time/down time /feed times you can easily think it has only been 10 minutes when it has actually been a 1/2 hour gone by. I couldn't figure out once why the baby was crying, but when i looked at the log it was clear she was way overtime for sleep.(35 minutes and it seemed like 10.) Laying the baby down will allow the child to unwind and cry antil he "falls off" to sleep.
Too much iron will cause stomach pain, GERD, etc.
YEAH!!!! Congratulations on your adoption!! I just adopted my dd 5 weeks ago :)
what has worked WONDERS for my dd is massage - it's amazing. here is a fantastic youtube clip that shows some moves :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCKwO1vgvdc
hope it helps and congratulations again!!
ps here is the post for a couple of days ago that i had on my dd and possible colic (a.k.a. gas) - there were some great ideas http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/5659935726188494849
Lactose intollerance won't necesarily make them vomit- My LO is lactose intolerant and there was lots of gas and a little bit of spitting up. If yours has any kind of ethnic background (my great grandmother was native american) it greatly ups the chances for lactose intollerance. You may want to try a lactose free formula for a couple of cans just to see (similac is in the orange can I beleive.)
