Mommys Bliss Gripe Water
If your LO is crying from colic, Mommys Bliss Gripe Water is a gentle formula that works quickly to remedy pain. This pediatrician-approved gripe water contains 100 percent vegan ingredients, including organic ginger and fennel. The herbal mixture also contains no alcohol or parabens, making it a safer option for instant colic, gas, hiccup and teething relief.
Safely Treats Acid Reflux
Sodium bicarbonate is one of the active ingredients used in manufacturing gripe water. It is a known neutralizer of stomach acid. Presence of sodium bicarbonate in gripe water works as an effective relief for babies with reflux. It is also a fast way to treat your infant if he or she is suffering from acid reflux
Can You Give Gripe Water To A Newborn
You should start gripe water when youre about two years old.When it comes to giving Gripe Water to your baby, he or she ought not to be given this drink for more than two weeks or over seven pounds, and should not begin using it until the age of two.Children should take Gripe Water as soon as they feel uneasy from the issue.
Also Check: How To Get Newborn Insurance
How To Give Gripe Water To A Baby
Dont give your baby gripe water without first reading the instructions, and only give your baby the recommended dosage. Confirm this dosage with your babys healthcare professional.
If your baby suffers from colic, the pain may come in waves and worsen after each feeding. You can give gripe water immediately after feedings to help your baby avoid gas pain.
Gripe water typically has a pleasant taste, so some babies dont mind taking a dose. You might be tempted to mix gripe water with your babys breast milk or formula. Thats probably safe, but for maximum results, you should give your baby gripe water by itself.
Place the medicine dropper straight into your babys mouth. Slowly press the dropper against the inside of the cheek. Allow them to swallow it a bit at a time before giving them more.
Gripe water is probably safe, but there are safer alternatives. If you do give your infant gripe water, its important to keep an open eye for signs of an allergic reaction. Allergy symptoms can vary.
After giving gripe water to your baby, check for:
- hives
- swelling of the lips or tongue
- vomiting
- a change in breathing
If you suspect an allergic reaction, discontinue use and contact your doctor immediately.
Do not give more than the recommended dose in a 24-hour period. If your child is not responding to the gripe water, stop giving it to them.
How Often Can You Use Gripe Water
In my guide on how much gripe water can you give a newborn, I have researched and compared the dosage as well as the frequency of giving gripe water to a baby. In general, you need to wait at least 30 minutes before giving another dosage of gripe water to your baby. Because common sense is, that all of the ingredients in the gripe water need some time to work in their tummies.
30 minutes is the waiting time to see whether these ingredients work for your little one and if you need to give more gripe water to your baby. If you see that your baby seems to respond well to gripe water but is still feeling a little bit uncomfortable, then you can consider giving more gripe water as long as you wait at least 30 minutes between each time. But what happens if you give gripe water more often than suggested? It means you do not wait 30 minutes between the times but you give 2 doses right away.
To find out, of course, I would not experiment on my son but I tested it on my own. Lets see what I did and what was the result.
Read Also: Why Does My Newborn Not Sleep At Night
How Do I Know Which Brand To Buy
Although Woodwards Gripe Water is the original medicine that helped relieve the discomfort associated with colic, there are various other over-the-counter remedies. Brands, such as Dentinox, Infacol and Colief, have developed their own formulas using slightly different ingredients, so finding the one that works for your baby may be a case of trial and error.
/5is It Safe For Baby
Gripe water has been used across the world for a long time and is believed to be quite effective, but the paediatrician does not support this claim.
As per Dr Rohit Arora, Head of Neonatology & Pediatric, Miracles Mediclinic & Apollo Cradle Hospital, parents should completely avoid giving gripe water to their child. “I won’t recommend gripe water at all. The companies selling gripe water are not regulated. So they do not exactly specify the ingredients they use to process the liquid. You do not know if the ingredients are safe or not.”
Although Dr Arora does not recommend gripe water, he said if you are still willing to give it then it is important to remember two things- “First It should not be given to a baby less than three-month-old and second it should be homemade.”
Even Dr Sumit Kumar Gupta, Consultant Paediatrician, Columbia Asia, Ghaziabad, supported Dr Aroras statement and added that gripe water is neither beneficial nor harmful. “Gripe water is just fennel seed water. Sometimes it even contains chemicals. So, we don’t advise parents to give gripe water to their child. It is useless.”
As per a study published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, giving anything other than breast milk to the infants in the first six months may increase the risk of introducing bacteria, causing allergies and irritating their intestine. The same thing applies with gripe water.
Don’t Miss: How To Put A Newborn Down To Sleep
Traditional Ingredients Of Gripe Water
Generations of parents have sworn by gripe water since its invention in England in the mid-1800s. Numerous variations have been formulated over the years, improving its safety, quality and effectiveness. The modern product frequently contains sodium bicarbonate . Most gripe water contains a blend of several naturally-calming ingredients, such as ginger, fennel, lemon balm, cinnamon, peppermint, chamomile and licorice. Several types of gripe water contain sugar and artificial flavors, and sometimes even alcohol .
How To Give Gripe Water To Newborns
how to give gripe water to newborns? Thats probably safe, but for maximum results, you should give your baby gripe water by itself. Place the medicine dropper straight into your babys mouth. Slowly press the dropper against the inside of the cheek. Allow them to swallow it a bit at a time before giving them more.
When can I use gripe water for a newborn? This pediatrician-recommended gripe water can be delivered orally with a syringe and is suitable for babies from 2-weeks-old to 6-months-old.
Why is my newborn always startled? The startling reflex, known to physicians as the Moro reflex, is usually caused when your babys head changes position or falls back abruptly, or when she hears a loud or unusual noise, explains Rallie McAllister, MD, MPH, a family physician and coauthor of The Mommy MD Guide to Your Babys First Year.
When does a babys immune system mature? An infants immune system doesnt mature until theyre about two to three months old, Dr. Sabella says. In those first few months, the immune system especially cell-mediated immunity becomes more developed. This is very important in helping a child fight off viruses.
You May Like: How To Clear Up Newborn Acne
/5other Ways To Soothe A Baby
Dr Arora says that rather than giving gripe water there are other things that you can do to soothe a crying baby. Asafoetida and Probiotics may help to reduce or relieve excess gas and pain.
Asafoetida: You can take half-a-teaspoon of asafoetida and add a few drops of water to it to make a paste. Apply this paste around the belly button of the baby for relief.
Probiotics: Probiotics may also help to provide relief from pain in breastfed infants. Consult your doctor about it.
Burp your baby: After feeding your baby, try to make them burp. This is an easy way to get some uncomfortable air out of the babys belly.
Review your diet: Reduce the intake of nuts, soy, eggs, caffeine. These things may also cause bloating in baby
/5do You Think It Is Safe
Taking care of a newborn can be incredibly overwhelming. You have to understand when they are feeling sleepy or hungry, just by the way they are crying. Although crying is normal, but sometimes they do it incessantly without any reason, which clearly indicates that there is some serious issue. Mostly this happens when the baby is feeling bloaty or is colic .
In such cases, parents prefer to give a herbal remedy called gripe water, which is believed to be very effective and safe. Gripe water has been used from decades to soothe a crying baby. But the question is, is it really safe to give this concoction to the infants?
Also Check: How Long Do Babies Wear Newborn Diapers
Can We Use Woodwards Gripe Water To Newborn
A diaper rash is not recommended if your baby is less than one month old.The digestive tract is still maturing at a young age, with digestive processes sensitive and developing.During colic season, parents can try getting soothing drinks and soothing the babys body by taking a different form of medication.
How Often Can You Give Gripe Water To A Newborn
Do I Have to Give My Baby Gripe Water Every Two to Five Minutes?? ?According to the consensus, one should take the following three portions a day, but only if your health care professional assures you of this.When a baby starts four to six months of age, when its comfort begins to be slowly dissipated, use worry water no more.
Recommended Reading: How To Get My Newborn To Sleep Longer At Night
How Do I Give It To My Baby
Gripe water can be administered in a variety of ways.
According to Dr. Ellie, its important to read the label before giving gripe water to your baby, as there could be side effects if you give too much, so she advises to carefully follow the exact dosing on the bottle.
While its typically given through an oral syringe or dropper, you can also mix gripe water with breastmilk or formula before feeding.
How Is Gripe Water Used
Before using gripe water, a parent should first check with a pediatrician. If the pediatrician gives the all clear, parents should then read the instructions on the gripe water. The instructions will include information on how much gripe water to give the baby.
It is best to give the gripe water to the baby without mixing it with anything else, such as breast milk or formula. Most babies like the sweet taste of gripe water and will not spit it out, as they will with some other medications.
Parents should follow the instructions as directed by the packaging and their pediatrician.
While most formulas of gripe water are generally safe, there are some risks associated with gripe water. Despite its popularity for colic and gas pains, no adequate studies have shown gripe water to be effective in easing stomach pain.
Risks for using gripe water may include the following:
- it may cause an allergic reaction
- it may introduce bacteria into a babys digestive system
- if given too soon after birth, gripe water may hinder breast-feeding and delay milk supply
So while many people accept the anecdotal evidence that gripe water may ease their newborns cries and support its use, parents should consider whether the risks outweigh any perceived benefits.
Also, because the FDA do not approve the use of gripe water for colic, or any other condition, it is not subjected to the same regulations as medicines.
Other methods include:
Also Check: How Much Are Newborn Photos At Jcpenney
Gripe Water Dangers And Considerations
The most important thing to do is to make sure that you dont use traditional formulas that contain alcohol or sugar. Too much sugar is not good for babies and can negatively effect their eating habits.
- First things first, check the ingredients list. Do not buy any gripe water formula that contains alcohol, sugar or artificial flavors. This is why it is so important to specifically seek out gripe water for babies and not a generic formula.
- When reading the ingredients on the package be sure to look out for sodium bicarbonate and peppermint. If your gripe water includes these ingredients then you should be aware that baking soda or sodium bicarbonate can only be given to children with colic if prescribed by a doctor. This is because baking soda can sometimes affect the natural pH of your babys stomach.
- You should also be careful with gripe water that contains mint. Mint can sometimes aggravate reflux symptoms in a baby.
- Depending on the needs of your baby, you should also avoid gripe water that contains gluten, dairy products, parabens and charcoal if your baby is sensitive to any of these ingredients.
Other Ways To Soothe A Baby
You can also use gripe water with other soothing techniques.
Try a variety of these colic remedies during a babys colicky hours to find what soothes them best. While they may not work all the time, theyre not costly and have few risks.
Swaddling babies in a warm blanket and rocking them back and forth may calm fussiness. Soothing background noises, including calming music or white noise, can help.
Wearing babies under 6 months in a chest-to-chest carrier can often calm them, as can going for a walk outside in a baby carrier or stroller. The change of scenery can be calming for parents and infants. A brief car ride may soothe your baby, too.
A warm bath can have a calming effect. A few minutes in a baby swing can calm a colicky baby, too.
If these things dont work, consider feeding changes.
If youre breastfeeding, removing certain foods from your diet might also reduce fussiness in your baby, though studies do not show a definite link.
Foods to eliminate from your diet can include:
- dairy
- wheat
Talk to your healthcare professional before changing your diet.
Make sure your baby is upright during feedings to ease gassiness. If you feed your baby from a bottle, be sure to stop feeding as soon as the bottle is empty, so your baby doesnt swallow air from their bottle.
Frequent burping may help reduce swallowed air, too. Stop a few times during the feeding and help your child to burp with gentle pats on the back.
You May Like: When A Newborn Baby Can See And Hear
Is Gripe Water Safe For Babies
Gripe water is considered a dietary supplement, not a medication, by the Food and Drug Administration .
This means it does not need prior approval from the FDA before its marketed and sold to parents.
In other words, these products are considered safe until they are proven unsafe, unlike prescription medications which undergo rigorous testing before they can be sold to consumers. The FDA has recalled certain formulations of infant gripe water because they contain alcohol, which is not safe for babies.
The benefits of gripe water are largely unproven. One study found that 64 percent of mothers in India were giving their children gripe water, but most infants who received the supplement continued to cry excessively.
Support for gripe water largely comes from anecdotal reports of parents. Due to a lack of standardization and regulation, many professional medical associations do not recommend parents use gripe water.
To better understand why gripe water may not be a good option for your infant, it helps to understand whats in gripe water.
There are different types of gripe water. Some traditional formulas include alcohol and sugar. Too much sugar can increase the risk of tooth decay, and it may affect your babys feeding habits.
Make sure you read the ingredients listed on the package. Some forms of gripe water also contain sodium bicarbonate and peppermint.