trying to understand how gas is formed...

hi there, i have been abstaining from eating various foods, i have
been reasoning that if they are known to be gassy for adults(e.g.
baked beans, cola) , then the gas might end up in the baby

but now it is occuring to me that i dont have the slightest idea of
what gas is or how it would move from the mothers stomach, through the
blood and collect in the glands which produce breast milk.

could someone enlighten me? thanks

B

wrote:

hi there, i have been abstaining from eating various foods, i have
been reasoning that if they are known to be gassy for adults(e.g.
baked beans, cola) , then the gas might end up in the baby

but now it is occuring to me that i dont have the slightest idea of
what gas is or how it would move from the mothers stomach, through the
blood and collect in the glands which produce breast milk.

could someone enlighten me? thanks

Unless there is an allergy or sensitivity,
there is no need to curtail your diet while
nursing. I don't know the technical details,
for for dairy, it's the proteins that pass
through, so if there is a sensitivity (which
there was, in our case), there is a need to
abstain from dairy.

I know that flavours pass through, such as
spices. Also, other molecules such as
antibodies do pass through. However, part
of the cool thing is that babies get exposed
to foods from their culture through their
mothers' milk. Research has shown that
babies whose mothers eat spicy food prefer
spicy food.

-- Anita --

You are not going to avoid gas in an infant. It's their digestive systems
that are immature and until it matures, the baby will have some discomfort
and gas. It's just a part of life. Some babies have gas worse than others.
However, I would not abstain from any food unless the baby has a definite
problem with it and not just some gas. You are making more trouble for
yourself than it's worth.
--
Sue

wrote in message
oups.com...
hi there, i have been abstaining from eating various foods, i have
been reasoning that if they are known to be gassy for adults(e.g.
baked beans, cola) , then the gas might end up in the baby

but now it is occuring to me that i dont have the slightest idea of
what gas is or how it would move from the mothers stomach, through the
blood and collect in the glands which produce breast milk.

could someone enlighten me? thanks

B

Hi --

For most babies, mom can eat anything she likes with no effect (positive
or negative) on the gassiness of the nursing infant.

High-fiber foods, like beans and brocolli, can make adults gassy. In
this case, it is the fiber itself that causes the gas, and the problem
won't affect the nursing infant, since fiber doesn't pass through into
the breastmilk.

In some cases, the baby's immature digestive tract won't be able to
handle the proteins that mom is eating. The proteins DO pass into the
breastmilk, so in this sense, baby is eating just what mom is eating.
About 30% of nursing infants may have some sensitivity to what mom eats,
a sensitivity which can result in uncomfortable gas, abdominal cramping,
or occasionally more serious problems. In the most serious cases, mom
needs to figure out the particular food trigger and eliminate it
ruthlessly from her diet.

Infant protein senstivities aren't that common, fortunately. Cow's milk
protein (really, ANY non-human milk protein) is the most common trigger.
Any other allergen on the standard list (eggs, nuts, shellfish, soy,
etc.) can potentially be an issue. And occasionally you get an infant
with a sensitivity (or allergy) to something not on the standard list.

In short, don't eliminate foods from your diet unless you can identify a
problem. Identify a problem by keeping a strict food diary -- Don't
just guess! (Serious problems, such as food sensitivies that lead to
bloody stool or food allergies that lead to hives will be identified by
your pediatrician.)

I hope this helps,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

On Jul 24, 10:30?am, "
wrote:
hi there, i have been abstaining from eating various foods, i have
been reasoning that if they are known to be gassy for adults(e.g.
baked beans, cola) , then the gas might end up in the baby

but now it is occuring to me that i dont have the slightest idea of
what gas is or how it would move from the mothers stomach, through the
blood and collect in the glands which produce breast milk.

could someone enlighten me? thanks

B

There are some common foods that have compounds in them that can pass
into breastmilk and cause gassiness in the baby. Cruciferous
vegetables like broccoli are an example. People get confused because
many such vegetables are *also* fibrous, and cause gas in adults for
that reason, so they start telling you to avoid high-fiber foods in
general, which doesn't make much sense as fiber doesn't get into the
milk, being indigestible.

But gas in babies can have many causes, including an immature gut, as
Sue noted. Many babies aren't much bothered, even though their bowels
make a good deal of noise, while others apparently find the gas
painful. Still others don't have much gas. You just never know. None
of my babies ever seemed to be much bothered by anything I ate, except
for the time I was on antibiotics for mastitis, and then they still
weren't bothered much themselves, they just smelled funny (exactly
like the antibiotic pills).

An elimination diet can make a huge difference if your baby *is* one
of the ones that is reacting badly to cow's milk protein or something,
but there is no point in borrowing trouble if your baby seems to be
doing fine. I'd try to eat healthfully, limit alcohol and caffeine and
such, and leave it at that.

--Helen

Sorry this is long, I just wanted to share my experience in the hopes
of helping someone else figure their child out. My son was super
gassy and miserable. I tried getting help from my doctor and midwife
and both said "babies are gassy - live with it". As a first time mom,
I toughed through it for a while thinking that all babies screamed
like he did. I figured it must be the normal peak in fussiness around
8 weeks, then I thought it was colic, then as the sleep deprivation
set in I didn't care what it was but just wanted some relief. He was
impossible to burp - it would take 15 minutes most feeds. He spit up
constantly (we're talking a huge splat sound hitting the floor and
making an 8" mess many, many times a day). He wouldn't sleep long -
he'd wake up from a dead sleep, screaming, crunching, arching and then
after an hour or two fart for 10 minutes and then fall back asleep.
Gas relief drops and gripe water didn't seem to help either.

I eliminated dairy at 2 weeks and had improvement but then it got
worse again (in retrospect it was because I started drinking soy milk
as a replacement which also turned out to be a problem). I tried
keeping a food diary to figure out links between his super bad days
and what I was eating and still didn't have much luck (now I know it's
because he takes 3 days to react and then reacts for 3 days - I was
looking for more instantaneous reactions).

I eventually stumbled across something that said that mucousy poop was
a sign of food allergies/intolerances and a light bulb went off - I
did a total elimination diet (TED) just to see if it made a difference
and see if his crankiness was food related. I ate only chicken, pear,
potato, rice, sweet potato and canola oil. He was a new kid within a
week - sleeping, not spitting up, and normal crying/fussing instead of
screaming (although the mucous took almost 2 months as his intestines
healed). We then started trying to add foods back in one at a time
and the first few didn't go so well but did tell us how long it took
for him to react and how long it took to clear out of his system.
Once I realized it wasn't going to be quick diet I went to a
registered dietitian to make sure we were both getting enough of
everything.

We have been able to successfully add about 20 foods back in and he's
reacted to dairy, soy, egg, beef (he pooped blood on that fail),
wheat, yeast, and tomato. We're both still eating a limited diet
(he's 13 months old and still breastfeeding) but he's such a happy guy
it's been worth every meal of chicken, rice and sweet potato I've
had. Every time we have a failed trial and my DS is up all night
screaming and farting my DH and I look at each other and wonder how we
managed to survive when that was "normal".

I know it's rare and I'm not saying everyone should go to the extreme
of a TED. I'm just saying that it is possible. If my next child
follows the same path I'll probably start with eliminating dairy, soy,
wheat, yeast, citrus, tomato and chocolate as a first guess and then
see where that gets us before going all the way to a TED.

"Cath" wrote in message
oups.com...
snip
Cath - I just sent a question to your hotmail address regarding a friend who
has been through almost exactly the same problem as you with her DD2
(including the very restricted diet and the gas issues).
Can you please check your hotmail address?
Ta
Amanda