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.
When Should I Call The Pediatrician About Gas
Is it normal gas or is it something else? If you are concerned about your babys gas, you can look for signs that means its time to call their healthcare provider.
Dr. Brioché suggests calling your pediatrician if you notice any of the following:
Give Baby Tummy Time While Awake
Tummy time has many benefits for baby. It helps baby build up key motor skills that they need to eventually sit up, crawl, and walk.
But placing your baby on their tummy also creates a natural gentle pressure that helps push out gas.
Remember, though: Always watch baby during tummy time, and only give baby tummy time when they are awake. It is not safe to put baby to sleep on their stomach, as stomach sleeping increases the risk for sudden infant death syndrome .
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Best Formula For Gas Pain
When faced with gas, parents of formula-fed infants may first try changing to a different formula at the first sign that their baby is having any gas pain. Though many formulas are designed and marketed for babies with gas, it is not always necessary to make the switch. These types of sensitive, gentle, and/or comfort baby formula include:
- Enfamil Gentlease
- Similac Sensitive
- Similac Soy Isomil
- Similac Total Comfort
While changing from a milk-based, iron-fortified formula is sometimes recommended, it is necessary much less often than most parents realize. For example, congenital lactase deficiency, in which babies can’t digest the milk sugar lactose when they are born, is extremely rare.
Older children don’t usually develop symptoms of lactose intolerance until they are between 2 and 5 years old. So changing your baby to a lactose-free formula is often unnecessary. However, your baby might temporarily need a lactose-free formula if they recently had a viral infection that caused severe diarrhea, such as rotavirus.
Unlike lactose intolerance, newborns and infants can have true milk protein allergies. In this case, changing to a soy formula would likely seem to be a good idea. But since many of these babies can also have a soy allergy, a hypoallergenic formula such as Nutramigen or Alimentum is usually a better choice.
Why Is My Infant So Gassy
Infants are usually gassy because they have immature digestive systems and swallow air during feedings. Some babies may have sensitivities that could be affected by a breastfeeding moms diet or a certain type of formula. All babies, of course, pass a little gas. But look for these signs and symptoms of baby gas thats more than just the usual:
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Is Your Baby Screaming In Pain From Gas Or Something Else
When an adult has gas, it can be an uncomfortable experience. But most of us dont holler at the top of our lungs because of it.
Babies, on the other hand, cant explain their feelings, so crying and screaming are the only tools they have to tell us that something is wrong.
Babies cry for a variety of reasons, so its important to be sure that your child has gas before you attempt to source a remedy.
According to some experts, babies just like adults and children are constantlypassing gas. In a healthy baby, gas is usually caused by swallowing air and shouldnt be a source of pain or distress.
However, babies have new and somewhat immature digestive systems. This means that from time to time, things might not move as smoothly as they should. The result can be a bit of uncomfortable gas.
Gas can happen at any stage, but its incredibly common in the first 3 months of life . Gassiness usually subsides with time.
Some babies may also be born being extra sensitive to gas, which could make it more uncomfortable for them. This can occur in both formula-fed and breastfed or chestfed babies.
Your baby may get gas as a result of something in your diet if youre nursing.
While crying can be a telltale sign, there may be other signs that your baby is experiencing gas.
For example, they may:
- become red in the face or seem like theyre in pain when crying
- be very squirmy and pull their legs up to their chest
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
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How To Tell If Baby Has Gas
Gas and related issues can start from when baby is a few weeks old all the way up through the toddler stage. But baby gas tends to be the worst when baby is 4 to 12 weeks old, with a peak around 8 weeks old, OConnor says. They tend to have a lot of trouble with digestion. But once they hit the three-month mark, most babies are able to get through it and find other problems to distract themselves with.
Of course, it can be hard to know if baby gas is the cause of your childs discomfort, especially when they cant tell you whats going on. But there are a few common signs of a gassy baby you can look out for:
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Red-faced
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Pulling legs up toward the tummy
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Passing gas
The way to know for sure that baby gas is to blame is when baby actually burps or farts. If you get a few burps out of baby or do something else to move things along, most babies are relieved of the symptoms and will stop crying, OConnor says.
Sometimes, however, these gassy baby symptoms can indicate another problem. OConnor says, When baby keeps crying despite passing gas, you know that theres something else going on, like reflux, constipation or colic, which is sometimes confused for extended gassiness in baby.
If your child isnt gaining weight and seems to have the telltale signs of a gassy baby, contact your doctor so they can perform a complete medical evaluation to rule out other possible issues, such as a dairy intolerance.
Is Your Baby Passing A Lot Of Gas
Yes, a gassy baby is normal, but of course you may still want to know how to help your baby with gas. Chances are, the problem is just temporary as your newborn develops a strong digestive system and gets used to a new diet of breast milk or formula. Use the information above to understand how to relieve baby gas.
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When Should We Contact Our Primary Care Provider
Before assuming your child has colic, you should look for other signs of illness. These may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Not sucking or drinking a bottle well
- Drinking less milk than usual
- Gastrointestinal issues like vomiting or diarrhea
- Becoming more irritable when held or touched
- Strange sounding cry
- Change in breathing rate or effort
- Being more sleepy or sluggish than usual
My Gassy Baby: Tips And Tricks To Help With Infant Gas
Picture this: The parents of a six-week old baby who is combination fed have started noticing that in the last two weeks, their baby is squirmy, grunts, and gets flushed in the face right before passing gas. These episodes are occurring more frequently, but last only a few minutes.
They think it could be due to their infant formula, but are they right?
The fact of the matter is, babies are gassy! While most babies tolerate gas perfectly fine, some babies are more sensitive to it. 1
We consulted with Dr. Régine Brioché, Bobbie Medical Advisor and Head Pediatrician at Tribeca Pediatrics in Crown Heights Brooklyn, to find out what makes babies so gassy in the first place, how you can help them, and when it could be time to see a doctor.
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How To Treat Baby Gas
Immediately after feeding, keep your baby upright. This will make it easier for them to burp.
If theyre already feeling discomfort, try laying your baby on their back and moving their legs in a bicycle motion.
Alternately, give your baby time on their tummy. Lying stomach-down should help them move the gas out.
You could also try these techniques to comfort them and help move the gas from their little bodies:
What Causes Breastfed Baby Gas
Before we go any further, its important to note that all babies have immature digestive systems and will need help at some point with getting gas out of their system. So, youre not doing anything wrong if your baby gets gassy.
However, if gas is causing discomfort its worth trying to identify and solve the problem. In order to minimize the problem of breastfed baby gas, youre going to need to know more about the potential causes of it though.
One of the most common ways that babies get gas in their digestive system is by taking in excess air. This can happen when there is:
- Poor latch. If your baby doesnt have a tight seal around the areola, air can get in along with the milk
- Issues with bottle feeding. Air in the nipple can be gulped with the milk.
- Crying. All that gasping can mean extra air is getting swallowed.
- Oversupply/strong letdown. The necessary quick gulping frequently includes some air!
Some gassiness in the form of farts may be more common when your little one begins to space out their bowel movements. There are a few things that may help if your baby is not pooping but passing gas.
Youll probably hear a lot from people who believe that babies can get some of the gaseous effect from foods that were consumed by their mother through breast milk.
Other people believe acidic foods and dairy products in the mothers diet can increase gas for babies.
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What Causes Gas In Babies
Starting with the first feeding, babies shift from obtaining nutrients from the placenta to drinking and digesting breast milk or formula. Thatâs a big adjustment for a small digestive system thatâs still developing, and itâs a chief reason that gas naturally occurs in infants. Overall, it takes time for your little oneâs gastrointestinal tract to fully develop and build a microbiome . And when an immature digestive system is challenged by too much air being swallowed, as often happens during a feeding, youâre even more likely to have a gassy baby.
Giving Your Diet A Makeover
Sometimes, all it takes is a little tweak to your breastfeeding diet to help your baby get relief. Some foods can be problematic. Dairy is a huge culprit. Try eliminating for 2 weeks and see if it makes a difference. Other foods like cruciferous veggies and legumes are known to cause gassiness in breastfed babies. If you suspect that your diet is affecting your baby, eliminate problem foods and see if your baby feels better. Learn more about the best breastfeeding diet here.
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Why Is My Baby Gassy
Some parents report that their newborn will not allow them to put them down. They will only sleep on them or in a carrier. These babies are NOT flexible about where they sleep. Is this personality? Possibly, but it could be that this baby is uncomfortable and being upright and close to a parent is soothing. Having reflux, being gassy or having a sensitive tummy are common reasons I see for refusing to be put down. Babies who are gassy are often uncomfortable all the time, not just at night. Parents often report that she will ONLY sleep on someone.
Signs of gas include a lot of wriggling, arching bag and grunting. Some babies may visibly be trying to âpush.â
What Can I Do To Help My Baby With Gas
- Make sure your baby has a good latch so he doesnt swallow too much air.
- Burp him throughout the feedings to help get rid of the gas.
- Try not to let your baby overfeed or feed too quickly.
- Keep track of when your baby is gassy and look back at your diet. Try to learn which foods work and dont work for you and your baby, and remember, each baby is uniquely different.
- If you have further concerns regarding your babys feeding, infant gas or increased fussiness, be sure to discuss these with your babys pediatrician and/or a lactation consultant.
Each year during the first week of August, over 120 countries across the globe come together to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. During this week, public health organizations work to publicly encourage breastfeeding in an effort to improve the health of babies around the world. This years theme is BREASTFEEDING: Foundation of Life.
To learn more about Texas Childrens Lactation Support Services, Milk Bank Services or breastfeeding services offered at Texas Childrens Pavilion for Women, please follow the respective links.
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