6 week old suffers from terrible gas pain!!!

Jamie-Lynn - posted on 03/12/2009

My son wasn't pooping well and had bad cramps - the doctor told us to try a low iron formula. If they can't handle the iron it slows down their system causing more gas to build up and less bowels. We did low iron formula for 4 days and then switch daily with regular formula so they don't become deficiant. So one day low iron, one day regular, then next day low iron etc......It took the bad cramps away!

Sara - posted on 03/11/2009

I daughter had bad constipation and we gave her prune juice in her bottles at the recommendation of our doctor. Add about a ounce to start out with and then you can titrate it up or down depending on how he responds to it. Also, you need to make sure it is the adult prune, which is pure prune juice, no the baby kind which has apple juice in it too. If he is breastfed, you can give him one ounce of prune juice mixed with an ounce of water and see how that works. As for the gas, we tried both the mylecon drops and the gripe water, which didn't do anything. When my baby would get upset, it was almost like she was having tummy cramps. The doctor put her on a prescription medication that helped to relax her intestinal muscles and that solved our "gas" problems. I would talk to your doctor. Good luck, and hang in there! They do outgrow it, it's not a lie! :)

Miranda - posted on 03/11/2009

My son is the same way. I give him a half ounce of water. Also, what I've found to work is if I lay him on his belly over my knees while I'm sitting on the couch and rub his back, it makes him feel better. If you're going to try that, just make sure your baby is good at holding up his own head.

Veronica - posted on 03/08/2009

Try little tummies, doing the bicycle with his or her legs, rubbing the belly.  No juice or water that young.

Yesmine - posted on 02/24/2009

my son had really bad gas i switched him to soy milk and changed his bottles to the playtex drop ins they work great and the mylacon drops work temp. changing his bottles might just do the job

Mary - posted on 02/24/2009

You can also do a little rub on his belly called "I love you"   How you do it is.....You take two fingers and starting under his ribs you rub down his belly in the shape of an " I "  then you go across the top of his belly and down the rught side in the shape of an upside down " L "  then you start at the bottom of his belly on the left side go up....across...and down the other side in the shape of a " U " 

I saw this on a tv show....It was a show for mothers but I can't remember the name of it.....this rub down is to help the gass move through him.  Jayden had alot of gass as well because no matter how long I tried or who tried to do it he wouldn't burp most of the time so the doctor told me to try a little Ovol in his bottle.....We also did this and both things help soooo much.....but I see that you found another way.....whatever works right!  I am glad your little one is doing better.

Chivell - posted on 02/24/2009

I used to give my lil man a couple drops of brandy in a cap of water it used to get rid of his wind really quickly and then he'd sleep well... Dont be owrried about giving young babies water my little man is thriving and he's been given water from a very early age and a cap full of waters not going to hurt. Because there no artifical stuff in it to react (just to make sure we used filtered water also).

Have you tried changing formulas? Contipation was a reaction from the formula i was using so swapped and havent had any problems since.. If your still breast feeding you could also try giving him 1 bottle a day of formula it may help.

Goodluck hope these ideas work for you!

Amanda - posted on 02/22/2009

So glad to hear the bicyling and the karo worked!  Yeah!  Gassy babies can be very distressing!  A tip for the extra water...we ended up doing that because even thought the karo got the BM started back up again, they were still very hard even after a week of Karo.  We went to the extra water to help out, which works great, but you may not to do that if the karo works good enough.  You're looking for BM like thick peanut butter...if he has the little rabbit pellets, that's when you know he still needs the either karo in more bottles or extra water.

Stasia - posted on 02/22/2009

I don't know if you are breast or bottle feeding, but if you are breastfeeding keep a diary or what you are eating and what days are worse, try cutting out certain foods and see how it goes.

If you formula feed, maybe try switching formulas, It could be something in the formula.

my daughter also got a lot of relief from massaging her belly downwards and in an upside down U. good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 02/22/2009

Thank you both so much for the advice! I have to say, the bicycling of the legs really helped him to pass the gas and made him feel better. The Karo did work! I was concerned about the sugar, but I'm glad to know that it's not an issue at this point. I haven't tried adding an extra ounce of water yet, but I'll let you know how it works out when I do!

Sara - posted on 02/22/2009

i had the same problem with my daugther mylicon works and its ok to use i just put it in her bottle also i switch to a "gentle" formula which is still milk based but easier to digest works great she really gets "painful" gas anymore

Amanda - posted on 02/22/2009

My son had the same problems.  I know this is hard.  Here is what we did that worked:

1 - Karo WORKS.  I didn't want to give it to him because of all the sugar, but my ped explained to me that the digestive system of a young infant will not process the Karo syrup until they are about 6 months old or so (verified by the fact that, once he hit about 6 months, the Karo stopped working).  Because his body doesn't digest it, it makes it's way all the way into the colon and the body responds to the sugar by pulling more water into the colon, softening the stools and making it easier.  I gave my son about a teaspoon ( a good squeeze) in every bottle and in two bottles a day, we gave an extra oz of water (do NOT do more than 2 extra oz per day).  If you're BF, just give a bottle with some water and karo a couple times a day or do breast milk in a bottle with Karo a couple times a day (this is better).  I know it seems like juice is better because it's 'natural' - look at the labels, most of it isn't.  

2 - Bicycle his legs, this helps increase blood flow to the digestive system and encourages BM.  Do this especially when he's trying to go, it will help a lot.

3 - Warm baths help when he's having gas pain.  You can also do a heating pad on lowest setting with a towel between him and the pad - you're going for gentle warmth, not heat.

4 - When he gets to about 6 months of age, his body isn't growing as rapidly anymore so he can handle some extra water.  Right now he needs calroies!  At 6 months you can stop the Karo and switch to giving him an extra oz of water in bottles (when I make a 3 scoop bottle, I use 7 oz instead of 6).  I do this as often as needed - when his poops are hard, it's in every bottle, if they are soft, I keep it to one or two bottles.

5 - We had to switch to soy formula.  This was the bulk of where his gas pains came from - he had a problem disgesting the milk based stuff.  He had bad diaper rashes too, which indicates he may have an allergy to milk protiens.  You can try switching to the Gentlease or the A.R. Lipil...if those don't help, or if your son has the rash problem too, try soy.  Be forewarned, it takes about a week or so to fully work, so give it time.

I hope that helps!!