What To Do When Newborn Baby Has Gas

Why Do Newborns Need Burping

Babies usually need to burp when they take in air while eating, which makes them feel full too fast. “This happens more often with bottle-fed babies, who tend to eat faster,” says Erika Landau, M.D., a pediatrician in New York City and coauthor of The Essential Guide to Baby’s First Year. “But breastfed babies swallow some air as well, especially if the mother has a lot of milk or has a fast letdown, or if the baby is very hungry and wants to eat fast.”

Gas may also be caused by the breakdown of certain foods in the large intestine by bacteria. This includes the food that the baby consumes, as well as food the mother consumes and passes on through breast milk. Some of the most common offenders are beans, vegetables , sugar-free candies and gum, and soda and fruit drinks.

Finally, if a baby has an intolerance to certain foods , their body may react by creating more gas. Dairy intolerance is the most common culprit here, says Dr. Forbis.

Foods To Avoid While Breastfeeding

When you’re breastfeeding, there’s a lot more thats on the menu than off with a few caveats. Here are the drinks and foods to avoid while you’re breastfeeding:

• Excessive caffeine. One or two cups of coffee or tea a day, amounting to 300 milligrams or less, are safe while you’re breastfeeding . More than that, however, may lead to you and your baby feeling jittery, irritable and sleepless. Other sources of caffeine include tea, soda and chocolate.

• High-mercury fish. The same EPA guidelines on fish safety that apply to pregnant women also apply to breastfeeding women: Avoid high-mercury fish including shark, orange roughy, swordfish, marlin, big eye tuna, tilefish and King mackerel. Limit tuna to 8 to 12 ounces a week of canned light tuna or no more than 4 ounces a week of white albacore tuna.

• Some herbal supplements. Few studies have been done on the safety of herbal supplements, so little is known about how they affect a nursing baby. Plus, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t evaluate them for safety or efficacy. To stay safe, ask your doctor before taking any herbal remedy, and think twice before drinking herbal tea or breastfeeding brews. For now, stick to reliable brands in varieties that are considered safe during lactation . Read labels carefully to check for the exclusion of other herbs.

Little Remedies To The Rescue

Gas pain can be triggered by things like colic, so products like Little Remedies Gripe Water or Little Remedies Gas Relief Drops are quick and easy solutions. Gripe Water, a mixture of water and various herbs, is considered to be an effective homeopathic remedy for quickly eliminating babys pain and discomfort. Gas Relief Drops can even be mixed with formula or water, so they offer a quick solution for gassy babies.

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Give Your Baby Tummy Massages

Gently massaging your babys tummy throughout the day can help to move things along in their bodiesjust be sure to wait at least 30 minutes after a feed and pay attention to their responses to know if what youre doing has worked or if you need to lessen the pressure. You can try specific techniques, such as rubbing clockwise , and some parents swear by baby massage oils that contain ingredients like chamomile.

How To Help Your Baby Feel Better

Try these steps to prevent and ease the pain of gas:

Check feeding position. “When you’re nursing or bottle-feeding, try to keep the baby’s head higher than her stomach,” Shu says. “That way, the milk sinks to the bottom of the stomach and air goes to the top, and it’s easier to burp out.” Tip the bottle up slightly so there are no air bubbles in the nipple, and use a nursing pillow for support.

Burp your baby. One of the easiest ways to ease gas pains is to burp them during and after they nurse. If they don’t belch right away, lay them down on their back for a few minutes and then try again.

Change equipment. “If you’re bottle-feeding, switch to a slower-flow nipple,” says Joel Lavine, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics at Columbia University.

Work it out. Gently massage your baby, pump their legs back and forth while they are on their back, or give their tummy time . A warm bath can also help them get rid of extra gas.

Take a closer look at foods. Talk with your baby’s doctor about foods that may give them extra gas. “Some parents give infants fruit juice, which contains sorbitols that the baby can’t absorb,” Lavine says. The doctor will also make sure you don’t cut out nutrients your baby needs.

If you breastfeed, your baby could have trouble digesting some of the foods that you eat, which can come through your breast milk, like dairy products and caffeine. If you give their formula, talk to your doctor about switching brands. Some claim to be helpful for gassy babies.

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Signs You Have A Gassy Baby

Your baby may be screaming in pain from gas, or they may just be a bit fussy for no obvious reason. A gassy baby may also:

• Clench their fists and squirm as if they’re uncomfortable after feedings
• Pull their legs to their chest and then stretch out, arching their back.
• Have trouble feeding. They may pull away from the breast or bottle, or cry in the middle of feedings.
• Have frequent burping and/or flatulence
• Be bloated, have a hard tummy

Note that some of these signs may also signal other problems, such as colic or gastroesophageal reflux disease .

How Often Should A Newborn Poop

Early on, breastfed babies usually have on average at least one poopy diaper for every day of life. In other words, on day one of her life, she’ll poop once, and on day two she’ll poop twice.

Fortunately, this pattern doesn’t usually continue past five days old or so. After day five, the average breastfed newborn will have about five dirty diapers a day, though anywhere around several per day is usually normal.

Or not. Some babies will continue to poop several times a day or more throughout the first year. Others will go several days between dirty diapers.

It’s not necessary to continue keeping count after six weeks as long as your baby is happy and gaining weight. The number may vary from day to day, and that’s perfectly normal too.

Formula-fed babies typically poop three to four times a day, but some go as long as three or four days without a bowel movement. As long as your baby’s poops are soft and passed without a struggle, you don’t have to be concerned. But call your pediatrician if your little one doesn’t poop for more than five days.

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I Have A Very Gassy Baby Is This Normal

Gas is not a medical condition. Baby gas pains are typically brief and relieved when a baby burps or farts. The good news is infant gas pains improve over time. By the age of 4 to 6 months, the gut has matured and your baby can move more efficiently, decreasing the bouts of painZeevenhooven J, Browne PD, LHoir MP, de Weerth C, Benninga, MA. Infant Colic: Mechanisms and Management. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 15:479-496. .

Wendy Colson Rn Ibclc Rlc

Nurse Wendy Colson RN, IBCLC, RLC has over 20 years experience in maternal-child health with an emphasis on human lactation. She works as a lactation consultant in the hospital and in private practice. She is also the CEO + founder of Boobie Bar, which includes her patent-pending proprietary herbal lactation blend in just ONE bar giving moms a third choice from herbal pills and teas.

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How To Get Baby To Latch Step By Step

Here’s a guide to helping your baby latch on and get the nourishment and comfort she needs:

• Once your baby is in a good breastfeeding position, hold your breast with your free hand.
• Place your thumb above your nipple and areola at the spot where your baby’s nose will touch your breast. Your index finger should be in the spot where your baby’s chin will touch the breast.
• Lightly compress your breast, giving it a shape more closely resembling your baby’s mouth.
• Bringing your baby to your breast, stroke her cheek to allow the rooting reflex to kick in, and turn her mouth toward your breast then tickle her lips with your nipple until her mouth is open wide .
• Quickly bring her to the breast , allowing her to take your nipple and areola into her mouth. She won’t get the entire areola in her mouth, especially if yours is large, and that’s okay as long as she grabs onto a good part of it.

Try A Formula Designed For Gas

Some doctors recommend an elimination diet to see if theres something in the formula that is setting off your babys digestion. If you think the current formula isnt best for baby, you can try switching formulas to formulas designed to ease gas issues. These formulas can help fussiness and crying and are gentle on a babys sensitive tummy. They have easy-to-digest protein and provide complete nutritionincluding brain-nourishing nutrients like DHAfor your babys growth and development.

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General Tips For Baby Massage

Implementing infant massage into your parenting routine doesn’t have to be difficult, but there are some general guidelines you should follow to maximize your effortsand keep your baby safe and happy. Here are some tips to keep in mind when getting started with baby massage:

• Avoid massaging your baby immediately following a feeding. Wait at least 45 minutes, or until your baby is calm and alertlikely before bedtime or after a diaper change.
• Make strokes gentle but firm, and not ticklish.
• Build massage into your baby’s daily schedule.
• Follow your baby’s signals about when to stop. A massage can last 10 minutes or 30 minutes, depending on their mood. Crying, squirming, or falling asleep are signs that your baby isn’t feeling the massage.
• Consult your doctor before using any massage oils, and avoid any with harsh ingredients.
• Remember to relax and don’t worry too much about your technique. Speak softly, sing, or hum to your baby, and smile to teach them that this is a fun, loving activity you can share.

What A Good Breastfeeding Latch Looks Like

You’ll know you’ve got a proper latch if your baby’s chin and tip of her nose are touching your breast. You’ll also notice her lips flanged out instead of being tucked in. Let the feeding begin. Once you’ve got the proper latch, your baby will fall right into the rhythmic suck-swallow-breath pattern of suckling.

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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.

What About Gripe Water

Gripe water is a liquid herbal remedy for infant gas. As a natural remedy, the FDA doesnt regulate it. Dr. Sniderman also cautions that its safety and effectiveness have not been well researched.

There are a lot of families who use it, and I havent personally seen any problems with gripe water, but I generally dont recommend it, she says. Without solid research to back it up, I cant confidently say, Yes, thats fine.

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Gas Relief For Babies

Watching a gassy baby struggle in pain can break any parents heart. Luckily, there are several baby gas relief options to help release the gas and soothe the discomfort. Read on to learn how to relieve gas in babies.

Swaddling. Wrapping baby up tight can soothe your gassy baby by mimicking the coziness of the womb.

Rocking or bouncing. As with swaddling, OConnor says, the motion of rocking or bouncing simulates the environment in your uterus, helping to relax baby.

Using a pacifier. Almost all babies will find some baby gas relief by sucking on a pacifier, OConnor says, because the sucking action releases endorphins that will soothe them.

Infant massage. Simply rubbing your childs belly may be helpful, since massage can help calm the nerve signals in babys immature intestines.

Tummy time. Some babies find gas relief from the gentle pressure thats put on the stomach during tummy time. Just make sure theyre supervised while doing this, Grossman cautions.

Encourage movement. If your gassy baby is in severe discomfort, try the baby bike ride. Lay baby on their back and move their legs in an up-and-down pedaling motion. This helps move gas along physically, but also helps soothe and calm nerves in the intestines.

Switch up babys formula. For a formula-fed baby, you can try a different formula thats made for gassy babies, Grossman says.

How Can Parents Deal With Colic

Learning how to interpret your babys cry can be helpful in dealing with colic. It does take some time for parents and babies to become accustomed to each other. Remember, babies will cry for a certain length of time every day under normal circumstances.

What works for one baby may not work for another. Other suggestions include the following:

• Make sure your baby is not hungry, but do not force feed if he or she is not interested in the bottle or breast.
• Change your babys position. Sit him or her up if lying down. Let your baby face forward if you are carrying or holding him/her facing your chest. Babies like to see different views of the world.
• Give your baby interesting things to look at: different shapes, colors, textures, and sizes.
• Talk to your baby. Sing softly to your baby.
• Rock your baby.

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Feed Her Before Shes Too Hungry

If you are tracking your babys feeding times, try to stick to a schedule and feed her before you start hearing her hungry cries. That way she will be more likely to eat at a leisurely pace and not gulp down her breast milk or formula too quickly. If youre breastfeeding and your milk lets down quickly, you may need to unlatch baby for a moment and then re-latch her so she can manage your milk flow.

Tummy woes can make for a fussy baby. Find out what you can do about hiccups, gas bubbles and colic to ease the symptoms here.

Talk To Your Doctor About A Possible Formula Ingredient Intolerance

If youre formula feeding and baby seems gassy — even when you take other steps to reduce gas, or even try a gentle formula — baby may have an intolerance to a formula ingredient.

Food intolerances cause baby to develop GI symptoms, including gassiness, loose or abnormal stools, and abdominal pain, when baby eats foods that they are sensitive to.

Most commonly, if baby has a formula intolerance, its caused by cows milk in the formula. They could have an intolerance to lactose or to milk proteins.

If you think baby has a formula intolerance, talk to your doctor. Switching to an extensively hydrolyzed formula, like Nutramigen or Alimentum, may ease your little ones symptoms. These formulas contain milk proteins that are broken down into very small parts . They are also free of lactose.

But dont switch formulas until youve talked to your doctor about babys possible intolerance, and theyve given you the ok to switch.

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Getting Help With Your Baby’s Breastfeeding Latch

If your nipples are inverted, breastfeeding may take some more effort but it’s still possible. Some moms find that pumping helps. Others use a nipple shield or shell between feedings to make the nipples easier to draw out.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

Gassy Babies And Sleep

While the best sleep position for a gassy baby is still on their back, sometimes, gas pains make it harder for your little one to sleep. If this is the case, you may find that swaddling your baby before bedtime will keep them warm and comfortable during the night, as well as reduce any discomfort.

If your baby has fallen asleep while nursing, you’re likely to face the following dilemma: You want to burp your baby before putting them down to avoid any gas bubbles, but you don’t want to rouse them from their sleep.

If this is the case, use the following strategies to help release any trapped air before laying your baby down on their back:

• Prop baby up Hold your baby semi-upright against your chest, so that their head can rest on your shoulder. Your body should provide enough pressure on their tummy to encourage a burp.
• Rock baby back and forth Place their belly down over your arm so that their legs dangle on either side and their head is supported in the crook of your elbow. Then, gently move your arm from side to side while you pat their back.
• Lay baby down Lay your baby belly down over your lap so that their stomach is on your knees. Then, rock them by moving your legs side to side and gently rubbing their back.

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