Help! DS suffering from constant gas

Our twins are 13 days old, and my poor DS has constant gas. He screams all the time, we have tried everything from homeopathic cocyntal to gripe water to ovol drops. He is damn near impossible to burp which is contributing to his gassiness. I try for upwards of a half hour after feedings to get a burp and get nothing, while DD burps within 2 minutes and doesnt seem to have gas at all! he screams and strains whenhe has a bm, and will wake from naptime to scream, comfort suck and poop. Is this normal? any tricks to finding that stuck burp???

ps, we are exclusively BF

 

Ugh, I am sorry. A position that worked for us were putting them on their backs and moving their legs like they are riding a bike. Not sure if you have tried that or not. Also, something in your diet could be causing it too.

 

Poor Benny! I had a couple of tough to burp babies, and walking with a little bounce in my step while patting them on the back usually did the trick.

 

QUOTE(AngelMasonsMomma @ May 17 2009, 12:38 AM) [snapback]1316719[/snapback]
Our twins are 13 days old, and my poor DS has constant gas. He screams all the time, we have tried everything from homeopathic cocyntal to gripe water to ovol drops. He is damn near impossible to burp which is contributing to his gassiness. I try for upwards of a half hour after feedings to get a burp and get nothing, while DD burps within 2 minutes and doesnt seem to have gas at all! he screams and strains whenhe has a bm, and will wake from naptime to scream, comfort suck and poop. Is this normal? any tricks to finding that stuck burp???

ps, we are exclusively BF

My twin had so much gas. The nicu nurses taught me alot. A warm compress on their bellys. Put a warm towel in a ziplock bag. The bicycle move also works. I also try to burp alot when bottle feeding. My formula was also causing excess gas. It will get better. When you do burp put some pressure on thier bellys also. Good luck

 

I've never used Gripe Water, but Mylicon (generic - simethicone) always worked wonders for my kiddos. With the breast fed babies, I'd give it in the middle when switching sides. The simethicone stays in the GI tract and isn't absorbed systemically so it can be used MANY times a day. In the first six weeks I used it at every feeding. Then I used it only at the bedtime feeding and during the night.

I also had some hard to burp babies. Of course they were my reflux babies which made burping that much more important. I found that sitting them on my my knee (sitting cross-legged on the floor/bed) sort of bent over my hand and patting their back from hips to shoulders helped. If they hadn't burped after a minute or so I'd tilt them away from me, toward me, backward, forward and then start the patting up the back again. That almost always worked. I think the tilting helps a bubble that's under milk work it's way around to the esophageal sphincter because part of the stomach is actually higher up than where the esophagus enters the stomach.

In time, you'll figure out what works for you. It feels like an eternity but this too shall pass!

 

Our NICU used a Vibrating bouncy seat for gassy babies. have you tried that one yet??>

Bless your hearts....I am sorry!

Missy

 

Our babies were gassy as newborns and what helped us was using Mylicon in every bottle and we would also move their legs in a bicycle motion, lay them on our laps (tummy down, head to the side) and pat their backs and that would usually get a burp out. Good luck!

 

[SIZE=12pt]As pp mentioned, your own diet could be upsetting his stomach, so worth mentioning to your doc. Putting him on his back laying on your knees and "cycling" his legs, laying him on his tummy on your forearm and rubbing his back and also having him on your shoulder rubbing his left side in circular motions will all help soothe your baby and get the wind up. All the very best [/SIZE]

 

thanks for thegreat tips everyone. I did some research and found that if he is getting toomuch foremilk, it can cause excessive gas, adequate weight gain, and cause him to be hungry more often, which seems to be the case. Ive decided that I will feed him on the less full breast, and give his sister, the more efficient nurser, the fuller breast. We will see how this experiment works, and keep you posted

hope it works!

 

You got some great suggestions. I too would watch what you eat. My DD is 19.5 months and STILL has gas issues a couple of times a week. I think some kids are more prone to it. She never burped so we did the lap (belly down) and bouncy chair that seemed to help. Also moving her around to several burping positions did the trick when nothing else would. We still use mylicon drops and when they are a bit older you can ask your pedi about chamomile tea. It is non caffienated and is slightly naturally sweetened. Worked for us through the impossible nights. GL

 

QUOTE(AngelMasonsMomma @ May 17 2009, 01:31 PM) [snapback]1317110[/snapback]
thanks for thegreat tips everyone. I did some research and found that if he is getting toomuch foremilk, it can cause excessive gas, adequate weight gain, and cause him to be hungry more often, which seems to be the case. Ive decided that I will feed him on the less full breast, and give his sister, the more efficient nurser, the fuller breast. We will see how this experiment works, and keep you posted

hope it works!



This is very true! I have a very quick letdown and lots of foremilk/milk. My baby has gained weight very quickly and is already over 12 lbs!!! She also did gag/choke at the breast A LOT in the beginning. Was your little guy doing that? She has gotten much better at handling the quick flow, but is still very gassy. I don't think my diet has anything to do with it, because I tried eliminating dairy, spicy foods, citrus foods, tomatos etc for 3 weeks straight -- no difference in gassiness. I really think it's the foremilk. I let her nurse only on one side per session, rather than switching sides, and this helps her to get some hindmilk too. Obviously since you are nursing two babies, you already do that! But I think your idea of letting him nurse on the less full breast is a really good one. Maybe Mylicon will help too. The burping, by the way, gets much easier. It was very difficult to get a burp out of Amelia until she was about 5 or 6 wks old. Now she belches like a man.

 

QUOTE(MeldieB @ May 17 2009, 01:46 PM) [snapback]1317252[/snapback]
This is very true! I have a very quick letdown and lots of foremilk/milk. My baby has gained weight very quickly and is already over 12 lbs!!! She also did gag/choke at the breast A LOT in the beginning. Was your little guy doing that? She has gotten much better at handling the quick flow, but is still very gassy. I don't think my diet has anything to do with it, because I tried eliminating dairy, spicy foods, citrus foods, tomatos etc for 3 weeks straight -- no difference in gassiness. I really think it's the foremilk. I let her nurse only on one side per session, rather than switching sides, and this helps her to get some hindmilk too. Obviously since you are nursing two babies, you already do that! But I think your idea of letting him nurse on the less full breast is a really good one. Maybe Mylicon will help too. The burping, by the way, gets much easier. It was very difficult to get a burp out of Amelia until she was about 5 or 6 wks old. Now she belches like a man.



hi there, he doesny cough/choke from the let down, but he will pull off if its reallyforceful. Right now I give each baby one breast, i don't switch because ive got PLENTY of milk on each side. DH got each of them to take soothers last night, something ii didnt really want to start, but it seems to have helped because instead of the comfort suckingn turning into ANOTHER nursing session, theyare sucking and getting nothing to irritate the tummy.

 

Since our girls learned to fake the burping noise, we have found that the best way to get the gas out is rubbing the back in an upward motion while gently making a vibration movement with our legs. They tootie up a storm.

Cynthia
Identical Girls born 02/05/2009 (35weeks 6 days)
Reagan Rae 5lbs 9oz
Piper Roe 4lbs 7 oz