A "gassy" baby?

Well, I've finally had the baby and she's just over 3 weeks old and
breastfeeding like a champion. Things are going pretty well for us, except
that in the evenings she becomes quite unsettled and appears to have a lot
of what I can only describe as "gas".

She becomes unsettled around 7:30 pm and keeps wiggling and crying for a
couple of hours until she finally settles by 9:30 or 10 pm. All through this
time she keeps burping and passing gas and generally looking uncomfortable
and giving off occasional and sudden pained cries. A bit of tummy massage
and bringing her legs up to her tummy repeatedly seems to settle her
briefly, but then we're back to the crying and passing gas.

Could it be something in my diet that's giving her excessive gassiness in
the evening? Are there particular foods I should try to avoid because they
tend to cause gassiness in babies? She seems to do a normal amount of
burping and farting through the day, with the only problem occurring in the
evening, like she's stored up some excess gases and they just have to go at
that time. I know that it's normal for a baby to be unsettled for an hour or
two some time during the day, but DD seems to be in pain and distressed, so
if there is something I can do to at least reduce some of her discomfort,
I'd love to hear about it.

Kasia

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Matthew 21 June 2005
Lara 13 Oct 2006

Check out our family at
http://www.geocities.com/engram_au/

Sounds like typical colic to me - some people have had success with Mylicon
drops (worked well for my DS), but some (true) colic is just unexplainable.
Sometimes a change of scenery works (walk outside in the stroller/sling),
sometimes different kinds of holds work (like face down over mommy or
daddy's forearm, and bounced) and sometimes absolutely nothing works! Foods
that can cause tummy issues are dairy, wheat and one other that I have
forgotten now, but if that were the case, you'd be seeing this behavior at
other times too, nit always at the same time. Some ppl report extra
gassiness with broccoli, and I was told never to take the herbal supplement
called "Beano" while bf'ing but I don't recall why now.

You could also try Gripe Water (don't know if you can get it where you are)
which has been touted a "miracle cure" for colic for decades. YMMV though.

HTH, it's no fun

CY
"Engram" wrote in message
u...
Well, I've finally had the baby and she's just over 3 weeks old and
breastfeeding like a champion. Things are going pretty well for us, except
that in the evenings she becomes quite unsettled and appears to have a lot
of what I can only describe as "gas".

She becomes unsettled around 7:30 pm and keeps wiggling and crying for a
couple of hours until she finally settles by 9:30 or 10 pm. All through
this time she keeps burping and passing gas and generally looking
uncomfortable and giving off occasional and sudden pained cries. A bit of
tummy massage and bringing her legs up to her tummy repeatedly seems to
settle her briefly, but then we're back to the crying and passing gas.

Could it be something in my diet that's giving her excessive gassiness in
the evening? Are there particular foods I should try to avoid because they
tend to cause gassiness in babies? She seems to do a normal amount of
burping and farting through the day, with the only problem occurring in
the evening, like she's stored up some excess gases and they just have to
go at that time. I know that it's normal for a baby to be unsettled for an
hour or two some time during the day, but DD seems to be in pain and
distressed, so if there is something I can do to at least reduce some of
her discomfort, I'd love to hear about it.

Kasia

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Matthew 21 June 2005
Lara 13 Oct 2006

Check out our family at
http://www.geocities.com/engram_au/

"CY" wrote in message
news:XsV3h.227199$FQ1.49020@attbi_s71...
Sounds like typical colic to me - some people have had success with
Mylicon drops (worked well for my DS), but some (true) colic is just
unexplainable. Sometimes a change of scenery works (walk outside in the
stroller/sling), sometimes different kinds of holds work (like face down
over mommy or daddy's forearm, and bounced) and sometimes absolutely
nothing works! Foods that can cause tummy issues are dairy, wheat and one
other that I have forgotten now, but if that were the case, you'd be
seeing this behavior at other times too, nit always at the same time.
Some ppl report extra gassiness with broccoli, and I was told never to
take the herbal supplement called "Beano" while bf'ing but I don't recall
why now.

You could also try Gripe Water (don't know if you can get it where you
are) which has been touted a "miracle cure" for colic for decades. YMMV
though.

HTH, it's no fun

CY

Thanks, CY. I've almost cut out dairy from my diet since I'm allergic to
milk proteins, but I have been eating quite a bit of wheat products lately,
so that may be the culprit.

The other culprit, which I forgot to mention, could be the antibiotics I've
been on becaue my caeserian scar got infected. Until Saturday I was on
flucloxicillin which can cause diarrhoea in babies, so that could be
affecting her, too. It's only today that I've notices her poos returning
more to normal rather than being just this brown liquid. Perhaps with a
reduction in wheat and the fact that I'm not taking those antibiotics any
more might have a good effect. And I can definitely buy gripe water here, so
I'll give that a go if this continues for much longer.

Kasia

You might try putting her on her belly to relieve some of the gas.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"Engram" wrote in message
u...
Well, I've finally had the baby and she's just over 3 weeks old and
breastfeeding like a champion. Things are going pretty well for us, except
that in the evenings she becomes quite unsettled and appears to have a lot
of what I can only describe as "gas".

She becomes unsettled around 7:30 pm and keeps wiggling and crying for a
couple of hours until she finally settles by 9:30 or 10 pm. All through
this
time she keeps burping and passing gas and generally looking uncomfortable
and giving off occasional and sudden pained cries. A bit of tummy massage
and bringing her legs up to her tummy repeatedly seems to settle her
briefly, but then we're back to the crying and passing gas.

Could it be something in my diet that's giving her excessive gassiness in
the evening? Are there particular foods I should try to avoid because they
tend to cause gassiness in babies? She seems to do a normal amount of
burping and farting through the day, with the only problem occurring in
the
evening, like she's stored up some excess gases and they just have to go
at
that time. I know that it's normal for a baby to be unsettled for an hour
or
two some time during the day, but DD seems to be in pain and distressed,
so
if there is something I can do to at least reduce some of her discomfort,
I'd love to hear about it.

Kasia

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Matthew 21 June 2005
Lara 13 Oct 2006

Check out our family at
http://www.geocities.com/engram_au/

Hi --

I wouldn't bother with reducing wheat. Dairy (which should be
completely out of your diet, in your circumstances) is the most common
cause of tummy upset in infants. Nothing else comes close ...

except antibiotics. Remember that YES, whatever you take, she takes,
and any antibiotic can be difficult on the tummy.

I'd try the Mylicon drops and see if she improves once you've been off
antibiotics for a few days.

Congratulations on the baby's arrival!
--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.

"Beth Kevles" wrote in message
...

Hi --

I wouldn't bother with reducing wheat. Dairy (which should be
completely out of your diet, in your circumstances) is the most common
cause of tummy upset in infants. Nothing else comes close ...

except antibiotics. Remember that YES, whatever you take, she takes,
and any antibiotic can be difficult on the tummy.

I'd try the Mylicon drops and see if she improves once you've been off
antibiotics for a few days.

Congratulations on the baby's arrival!

Thanks Beth

I'll try cutting out dairy completely, although in my case "dairy" consists
of some milk in coffee every couple of days (I drink tea black), a slice of
cheese every couple of days, a thin smear of butter on bread and I sometimes
sneak in a square or two of chocolate... I hate soy milk with a passion so I
suppose I'll go on calcium tablets, which I should be taking anyway! I know
I don't eat much dairy but in the case of allergy even that amount can be
enough to set things off in a baby.

The second course of antibiotics "lite" (ie. cephalexin) will finish on
Friday and because all the lumps and painful areas seem to be almost gone, I
won't be taking anything after this day. Combined with no dairy, I hope
things improve for my little girl.

I gave her a bath at the usual acting up time last night and it did wonders.
She went for a swim, which she seemed to really enjoy, then had a feed and
went off to sleep for 6 hours straight! No crying.

Kasia

"Engram" wrote in message
u...
Well, I've finally had the baby and she's just over 3 weeks old and
breastfeeding like a champion. Things are going pretty well for us, except
that in the evenings she becomes quite unsettled and appears to have a lot
of what I can only describe as "gas".

Hi Kasia - I just e-mailed you some info that might be helpful.
Amanda