What Is The Difference Between Gas Drops And Gripe Water
Gripe water offers a combination of homeopathic ingredients like fennel and ginger. It soothes tummy troubles with its herbal ingredients and can also help babies pass gas. However, if gas is the main culprit of your newborns discomfort, gas drops with simethicone may be more effective for bloat relief. Ask your pediatrician if youre unsure which treatment to try.
How Do You Comfort A Gassy Baby
Your baby is fussy, and youve pegged gas as the culprit. Now what?
Although many moms may reach for the best baby gas drops, thats not the only option. There are many ways to naturally comfort a gassy baby. Some of these methods bring quick relief while others are intended to bring long-lasting relief by tackling the cause of gas.
You can provide comfort by:
What Infant Gas Drops Are Safe And Effective
Infant gas drops contain simethicone, which breaks up gas bubbles and is also the main ingredient in common anti-gas medications for adults. Research as to how effective they are is mixed. Still, simethicone gas drops for babies are very safe, and some parents find theyre very effective.
Want to try infant gas drops to help your gassy baby? First, talk to your pediatrician about what kind to look for and how often to give them. And follow the dosing instructions on the bottle. Most will say you can give your baby drops up to 12 times per day, or at each feeding. Some parents find its helpful to give babies gas drops right before each feed to pre-empt gas problems, but check with your doctor to be sure.
Read the label and be sure to avoid drops with sodium benzoate or benzoic acid, which can be harmful to babies in large quantities.
And if a friend or relative brings a gas treatment from another country or one that isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration , don’t give it to your baby unless you get approval from your pediatrician. It could contain alcohol, sugar or other potentially harmful ingredients that aren’t clearly listed on the packaging.
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Making Changes To Your Babys Diet
1. Breastfed infants
You may have already received advice to eliminate certain foods from your diet. This rarely makes a difference, because contrary to popular belief, what a mother eats is not often the cause of her babys distress.
RECOMMENDATION
- See our article on lactose overload for tips to reduce gastric symptoms related to frequent feeding patterns.
- Exclude the many other, more common reasons, for gastric discomfort, irritability and wakeful behavior before going down the path of dietary restrictions.
- If you suspect a food or milk allergy or intolerance seek professional advice from a doctor or dietician who specializes in this field.
2. Formula fed infants
Changing formula rarely helps, particularly if there are no significant gastric symptoms, such as diarrhea. Prolonged use of an inappropriate nfant formula may negatively affect your babys development.
RECOMMENDATION
If you suspect a food or milk protein allergy or intolerancesee your doctor for advice on suitable formula.
3. When your baby is on solids
When Should You Worry
Most of the time, infant gas is normal and treatable. But in rare cases, it can be the first sign of a more serious digestive problem, says Jenna Faircloth, PharmD, of Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. Contact the doctor right away if your baby:
- Does not poop, has bloody stools, or vomits.
- Is very fussy. If you cant get them to calm down, a doctor needs to check for a problem.
- Has a fever. If they have a rectal temperature of 100.4 F or higher, a doctor needs to rule out infection. If they are under 3 months of age, take them to the doctor right away.
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Gas In Breastfed Babies
Is your diet causing gas in your baby? Find out how what you eat may affect your breastfeeding little one.
Breastfed babies receive many benefits when they nurse — all the nutrients they need in the first few months of life, powerful antibodies to help fight against diseases, and a nurturing and bonding experience with their mom. But they also might be getting some extra gas.
Gassy Mom, Gassy Baby
“It’s possible that some of the gas-inducing foods that Mom ingests can also affect her baby,” says Jennifer Shu, M.D., an Atlanta-based pediatrician and coauthor of Food Fights: Winning The Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and A Bottle of Ketchup. If mom’s breast milk is “gassier” than usual, it could start to surface in your baby within two hours of her last feeding. So how do you identify the offending food? It’s not easy. “It may take up to two or three days for food to be completely out of your system,” Dr. Shu says. “So, think back to what you’ve eaten over the last 72 hours to see if you can pinpoint a particularly gas-inducing food.” But with so many foods on the gassy list, this might be easier said than done, and it’s certainly not worth limiting your diet on nothing but a hunch. Here are some foods that might give you — and your baby — a little extra air.
Food Factors
Diet Decisions
American Baby
Move Those Little Legs
If your baby is lying on her back, gently move her legs back and forth to imitate riding a bicycle. This exercise helps with intestinal motion and can expel trapped gas. You can also bend her legs and gently push her knees up towards her tummy. If shes on her tummy, you can help ease into Childs Pose and that motion will have the same effect.
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Incorporating Infant Probiotics In Your Babys Routine
The gut is home to trillions of live cultures. These good bacteria create the microbiome in your babys tummy. However, if the bad bacteria outnumber the good bacteria, your baby is more likely to struggle with gas or bloating. You can support your babys gut health with infant probiotics. Studies show that probiotics can reduce gas and bloating.
Signs Of A Gassy Baby
If you suspect that your fussy baby is genuinely uncomfortable, and they keep squirming and pulling up their legs, they might have some gas that refuses to pass. The best way to confirm your suspicions is to try some gas-relieving techniques. “If your baby seems much better after passing gas, then that’s a telltale sign that the problem was gas,” says Jennifer Shu, M.D., an Atlanta-based pediatrician and coauthor of Food Fights: Winning The Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and A Bottle of Ketchup. This applies to gassy breastfed babies and gassy bottle-fed babies.
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Hold On Your Shoulder
If you feed your baby in a semi-upright position, you can gently move them all the way upright and onto your shoulder. Babies can keep sleeping in this cozy position while the pressure from your shoulder pushes on their tummy to release gas. Keep a burp rag over your shoulder if your baby tends to spit up.
How To Help A Gassy Newborn
Your newborn may get gassy for a variety of reasons. She may swallow air while feeding, crying or sucking a pacifier or get gas from milk or food sensitivity.
Your newborn may get gassy for a variety of reasons. She may swallow air while feeding, crying or sucking a pacifier or get gas from milk or food sensitivity. Gas buildup can cause pain and discomfort when it gets trapped in your baby’s gastrointestinal tract, which can make your newborn fussy, interfere with her sleep and cause her to stop feeding. You can help reduce gas buildup and/or help your baby pass the gas with few steps.
Burp your baby often during feeding to help expel the air he swallows. Your baby can swallow air whether he is bottle-fed or breastfed. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you burp your baby after every 2 to 3 oz if you are bottle-feeding, or when you switch breasts, if you are breastfeeding. Burp your baby well again after his feeding.
Use a special baby bottle that has been developed to reduce the amount of air your baby swallows. It is more common for your baby to swallow air during bottle feeding, and air reduction technology is readily used in baby bottles to help reduce this.
Use a baby bottle that is made for newborns and limits the amount of milk that flows through the nipple. A nipple that allows too high a flow rate can make your newborn swallow more air. Try different bottles and nipples to find one that suites your newborn the best.
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How Often Do Formula
A formula-fed baby’s poops look yellow to brown in color, and theyre firmer than those of a breastfed baby. Formula-fed newborns also pass fewerbut larger and smellierstools. Thats because bowel movements pass through the intestines more slowly when a baby consumes formula.
Parents can expect around one to four bowel movements each day. Some formula-fed infants poop much less less frequently it all depends on your little ones digestive system. As always, bring up any concerns with your pediatrician.
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Why Is My Baby More Gassy At Night
Gas accumulation is a function of gut motility and positioning. As our body rests, our digestion slows. Gut slowing results in more gas buildupOrr WC. Gastrointestinal Functioning During Sleep: A New Horizon in Sleep Medicine . Sleep Med Rev. 2001 5:91-101. . During the night, you and I have the luxury of moving our bodies when we feel this discomfort. Our body movement releases any trapped gas bubbles, allowing us to burp or fart to relieve the painful pressure.
Babies cant freely move while they sleep. At night, we tightly swaddle our babies and lie them on their backs to sleep. This technique is important for infant soothing and decreasing the risk of SIDS, but limits the movement of tummy bubblesTASK FORCE ON SUDDEN INFANT DEATH, S. Y. N. D. R. O. M. E. SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment. Pediatrics. 2016 138. . Tummy gas builds during quiet rest until the pain wakes your baby up.
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Hold Lower On Your Chest
Similar to the previous position, you can lift your baby from semi-upright to fully upright and keep them on your chest or sternum area. This may be most comfortable if youre on a couch. Babies like to curl up with their legs in a frog position and you can support their head and wait for the burp to come.
How To Help Relieve Gas In Babies
This article was co-authored by Laura Marusinec, MD. Dr. Marusinec is a board certified Pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where she is on the Clinical Practice Council. She received her M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine in 1995 and completed her residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Pediatrics in 1998. She is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 92,523 times.
Gas pain is a very common in babies and it can cause your babyand youdiscomfort.XResearch source Gas is often caused by swallowing air when crying or feeding or from the digestion process.XResearch source Even though gas can cause pain for your baby, it is generally harmless. By promoting the release of gas and preventing it, you can help relieve your babys gas.
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What Is Baby Gas
In the first months, the digestive system is in full development.It’s immature and undergoes an immense amount of changes until the age of 6 monthsold.Milk that’snot easily digested and the intake of extra air whilefeeding are the main causes of baby wind.They can tickle the intestines, and the air bubbles stretch the bowel like air filling a balloon which results in discomfort. Trapped wind is one of the noted causesof colicin infants.Apart from smelly winds, the symptoms of baby gas are:
- Cries as if in pain
- Moans, groans, squirms, typically within an hourafter feeding
- Cries, eyes closed, crampingup hertummy, stamping feet around, and wriggling uncomfortably
When To Call Your Doctor
Its always a good idea to consult your doctor about whats going on, even if it doesnt seem like a big deal. There are, however, a few signs you should be on the lookout for. If you notice any of the following, call your doctor right away.
- Your baby isnt gaining weight
- Your baby often doesnt want to eat or is difficult to feed
- Your baby seems constipated or has a hard time with bowel movements
- Your baby has an allergic reaction
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How To Manage Baby Gas
How to burp a babySolianiks doctor recommended baby probiotic drops each morning to help with Theodores tummy trouble, which has been attributed to gas. She also occasionally gives him Ovol .
Theres very little evidence that those things help, but theres also no evidence that they hurt, says Pound. If parents feel they are making a difference, thats great.
Gently massaging the tummy can also help baby work out the gas. You can learn some useful techniques , such as massaging the abdomen in a clockwise motion to ease digestive discomfort, or just do what seems to feel good for your baby, says Pound. Pulling their legs in and out in a bicycling motion sometimes helps as well, but again, its not a magic cure.
Being vigilant about burping after feeds can help to prevent gas pains from developing in the first place. If your gassy baby drifts off to sleep while nursing or taking a bottle, consider waking them to burp. With any luck, theyll go right back to dreamland when youre done. There are different burping positions parents can try, including holding baby with their chest against your shoulder laying them chest-down on your lap or sitting them on your knees, with one hand supporting their neck and head while you pat her back firmly.
Andrea Cheung has mastered the art of burping her five-month-old son, Gilbert. Im pretty sure that has helped him a lot with gas, says Cheung. He had some trouble when he was younger, but not now, because hes burping so well.