wind in a 9 week old

[Helen GV]

the doc said its colic but it isnt the same time everyday, nor is it every day, but it can go on for hours and there seems to be no clear pattern at all!

i think it has to do with what i eat, and ive given up salad as it seemed to coincide with me eating that, but i dont know what else to do! have tried infacol, gripe water and windy pops, with limited success.

i feel like i am spending so much time trying to help her that my two year old is getting a bit neglected, and my evenings are spent either tryng to calm her or sleeping while i can

arrgh can anyone help?

[Ko]

poor you! my little one had very bad wind and we used infacol to help ease it. how many days did you use infacol for? i seem to remember reading that it takes a few days for the effect to build up?

[Fuschia]

How often is she feeding? What colour is her poo? Are you feeling very engorged when she feeds... is she having both sides?

The watery foremilk that collects in the breast between feeds is quite sugary and can cause wind and green poos... one solution is to make sure if she's "snacking" that all feeds in (say) a 3h period are off one side, to maximise the hindmilk.

Another possibiloty could be cows milk protein allergy with the protein passing in your milk, but you giving up dairy is quite a serious undertaking and I suspect she would have symptoms far beyond wind (she is growing OK?) if that was it.

[Fuschia]

http://www.llli.org/NB/LVSepOct95p69aNB.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gassybaby.html

[Helen GV]

hmm a bit sporadically, perhaps i'll give it a bit longer to work.. might be a dumb question but how many times a day did you give it? it says before every feed but she eats small and often (could be due to wind or even the cause..?) don't want to overdose her!

[Helen GV]

her poo is yellow, though there's not much of it, she goes every three days or so (unlike my first who was going every second nappy change!) She is growning fine, getting quite hefty actually...

[damzel]

(you) drink mint tea - supposed to help. I didn't know about it when I was BF but my daughter had sips of it herself when she was older and it helped the wind.

[Helen GV]

ok thanks, will try it. thanks for the articles fuschia, will read them properly tonight but looks promising

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

My son has awful awful wind, I remember months of winding him, lack of sleep, the non stop crying. I dreaded feeding him because I knew it would be hours of crying, winding, for him to bring up the wind and then we start all over again.

Infacol was the only thing that eased it, we had to use it fairly often throughout the day and I remember it took a good few weeks before it worked but it did cut down the time of winding him.

Good luck, I know how stressful it is!

[Helen GV]

Thanks all, I know it'll pass but doesn't make it any easier to deal with!

[antijen]

Fennel is brilliant for wind,colic. Has been used for a long long time.

[antijen]

Fennel for wind,colic, has been used for babies, for a long long time.

[Ko]

my mum swears by fennel - we add it to tea (brewed in an open pan with tea bag!) helped with my indigestion during pregnancy.

re infacol - baby had really bad wind for months and even with the infacol he still sometimes screamed as he couldn't get the burp to come up. my husband was better than me at winding him!

i told the gp i was concerned i could be giving him too much infacol as i gave him two pipettes 6 times a day (ie before every feed). gp said not to worry and it was hard for them to overdose on infacol! however it did seem like a lot so i would doublecheck with your own gp. also you can get infacol on prescription as we used to get through a few bottles a week!

[Helen GV]

my husband is better at burping her than me too, but he can't take the crying so I get her back quick smart! Will go back to the GP, ask for infacol, drink mint and fennel tea, and see what happens. Thankfully she settles and sleeps while in the baby bjorn (makes me wonder about reflux too..) so am off to get my first born into bed and get some peace and quiet.

[Bishberro]

Hi Helen - Both my boys have been mega windy and I tried everything - gave up wheat/dairy/booze, drank fennel tea. I also tried windy pops, Infacol, gripe water and nothing seemed to help. It's hideous especially when they're crying and thrashing around in pain but I found thankfully that it did start to gradually subside around 10 weeks in both of them and by 12 weeks it was gone. Personally the only thing I think causes it is that they have such immature digestive systems that they struggle to cope at first. What I found helpful when they were endlessly crying in pain was to bounce on one of those birthing balls while I was holding them and pat their bottom at the same time. Bizarrely it seemed to work. Also giving them a bath seemed to soothe them for a while and circling their legs and pushing them into their chest. One thing I never tried as it was a bit of a faff if you're breatfeeding is Colief but I've got friends who swear it was the only thing that worked. It's expensive but if you ask the GP you can get it on prescription. You just have to express a bit of milk before each feed to mix the drops in. Thinking of you x

[Saffron]

Helen GV Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> > Thankfully she settles and sleeps while

> in the baby bjorn (makes me wonder about reflux

> too..)

What kind of baby bed does your little one sleep in? Little Saff has outgrown her Amby baby hammock. The baby hammock is highly recommended for colic, wind, and reflux b/c of the way it craddles the baby in a gentle curve with the head slightly higher than the feet.

You're welcome to give it a try for a few weeks, and if you like it, I'd be happy to sell it very cheaply. If it doesn't help, I'll just chuck it back in storage, nothing lost.

xx Saff xx

[melbourne groover]

I would second the amby hammock - my daughter used to be quite windy as a baby and she slept brilliantly in it, am sure it helped her.

If you do try it, you do have to persevere for a week or so as it takes a little bit for them to really get into it.

[Helen GV]

she's in a moses basket.. Thank you that would be great Saffron, I'll pm you :)

[Helen GV]

and I'll add colief to the list of things to ask the GP, thanks Bishberro

[Gussy]

Hi Helen, my sympathies, my little boy was the same, awful awful, and to be honest it only significantly improved around 6 months, sorry!! I used to cry at night listening to him in so much discomfort it was heartbreaking. We did have a noticable improvement from 12 weeks, but it wasn't until he was nearly sitting up that I didn't class it as a problem anymore. Maybe he is different though as he swallowed a lot of air at the breast (half tongue tied). However, I'm going to try to tell you everything I learned:

Try all the over=the-counter wind remedies - infacol (says give before a feed but I gave some before and then another dropper during a feed), dentinox (found the most effective but the dropper is wide for a little mouth, I used a clean dropper from the infacol bottle), gripe water (ok but lo didn't like taste). Nothing cured my little man but they did help.

Burp halfway through a feed as well as after. Become a master of your little ones anatomy! The stomach is located on the right hand side with bubs facing you. Its further down than you think. Experiment with tapping, rubbing, over shoulder, facing down on knee and patting. I could actually feel air trapped in his tummy. I found if I leaned my man right backwards (facing me) with head almost lower than body for about 10 seconds and then sit up, I would get a good burp. Tiger-in-the-tree hold works for some babies as well.

Baby massage. They teach some good methods (circling tummy, cycling legs, legs over head).

Try 2 week cows milk exclusion from diet. I did this and it was extremely hard work. I never realised that cows milk proteins are in EVERYTHING!! I was eating very little, although I did get used to it. You need to be strict and give it 2 weeks to see if your baby has cows milk intolerance.

Breastfeeding - the kellymom website is excellent and article posted. I did single-sided feeding for many months to cut down on the gassy foremilk and make sure bubs got lots of hindmilk.

Colief is used for babies with lactase deficiency, an enzyme which breaks down the lactose in milk. It is actually quite rare condition and so I wouldn't just experiment with colief, maybe try it last - gp will be able to advise. Plus its a total faff with breastfeeding, you need to express onto a sterile spoon and mix and try to give, not easy in a 9 week old.

Homeopathy. There are quite a few remedies for colic-type/wind symptoms. They are easy for bubs to take.

Sling. My son would only sleep in the sling, but it kind of lost its effectiveness around 10 weeks....keep using it!

Front sleeping - ok ok don't shoot me, i know, i know, but I was always in the room when he slept and I kept an eye on him and the pressure on his tummy helped with the griping pain. Not for everyone I know or recommended.....but I was desperate!!

I hope that helps, its really tough, but it will get better. Don't get fobbed off by the gp, yes things will improve by 12 weeks but if you're not feeling they are much better after that go back and insist on a referral. You know your baby best. Good luck! x

[acompson]

Dulwich therapy rooms - well the shop underneath, sell a specialist tea which is designed for the baby rather than you. Apparently it's been really well received by mum's who've tried it. They give out samples tea bags if you don't want to buy a box.

[Claire.Hobbs]

I would recommend going to see a cranial osteopath as we had same problems, it cleared up almost immediately after one visit.

[Helen GV]

thanks again everybody for your posts, I have already made an appointment for cranial osteopathy, next friday was the first appt i could get!

I have been one sided feeding for a while as she favours one side, and my just-turned-2 yr old still feeds a bit so i can give him the other side to make sure my milk stays up. I went to work yesterday and so expressed some milk, and apparently she burped wonderfully after taking the bottle, which had teats for newborns so probably slow delivery and therefore less gulping of air. She was settled and slept the whole afternoon, and then when i went to pick her up she fed a bit from me then started howling! think she might be allergic to me... ;o)

[Fuschia]

Helen, maybe it's a forecful let down. Have you tried expressing a bit before a feed?

[Helen GV]

no, to be honest i havent, but i will give it a go. the let down doesn't feel strong but maybe only because i'm used to it