Breastfeeding, Sleeping, and Gassy Baby

Sonya - posted on 11/13/2008

i ordered a swing...it comes tomorrow...fingers crossed my little one will take a nap in it! good luck with the foods...its hard but not forever! i miss cheese a whole lot but compared to the pain my little one was feeling, i can live without cheese for however long it takes. chocolate will be hard though :) another trick that i learned from my Indian auntie is to take carraway seeds and add them to a herbal tea and for you to drink it. carraway seeds are a natural cure for gas in adults, so if you drink it in a tea, it will pass to your baby also. i've been drinking tea with them and it seems to help - or at least it helps me relax!

Mara - posted on 11/13/2008

Thanks Sonya. I am definitely going to try eliminating some items from my diet. It's hard to give up some foods, but if it makes her feel better and allows us both to get some more sleep then I'll give it a whirl:) As for the swing, it has been a lifesaver for me. The key for us iss that I can't just put her in it and expect her to be calm and go to sleep. She is not a self-soother. But if I can get her to fall asleep and into a deep sleep (which is actually getting easier these days), then transfer her gently to the swing and tuck her in, she'll sleep for up to 3 hours in the mornings/early afternoons. Imagine what you can get done with 2-3 hours;) We are still working on the later naps, since she'll only cat nap here and there, but oh well. She's only this little once, right:) We've tried bathing her at night and she likes the bath, but hates getting out - she screams until she's dressed, cuddled and held. I would like to get into the habit of giving her a bath and then a lotion massage, but doesn't really work if she's screaming. I've tried making it extra warm when she gets out and heating the bed with a heating pad so she won't be so cold, but it doesn't work. I think I'll just have to wait a little while until it's warmer and she's a bit older.

Sonya - posted on 11/13/2008

wow i could have been reading about my 8 week old! i find that eliminating dairy and obvious gassy veggies (cabbage, broccoli, spinach) helps a lot. i also read that chocolate is a huge culprit...one that i hadn't given up but will do so for awhile after the night we had last night! i also find that the baby manages to end up in the bed with me, sometimes on me to sleep, and during the day has to be held most of the time. do you find that a swing works well for you? i didn't get a swing but was thinking of trying one just so i can do a few things around the house. i wear the baby in a sling but i can't do anything "hot" with her in it and i think both me and my husband would like a better meal these days! I also find bathing the baby right before bed helps eliminate some of her gas issues if you haven't tried that....and the best cure in the middle of the night...offer her the breast...seems if it goes in one end, helps it come out the other!

Brenda - posted on 11/13/2008

Obvious dairy was the culprit w/ my son....Some mama's have to really read labels....I just avoided cheese and milk and slowly reintroduced them into my diet. I also took "Dairy Ease" it's an enzyme that helped my system break down dairy which seemed to help when I reintroduced milk and cheese. Also if I just couldn't resist a bowl of ice cream (blush) and my son was having some GI issues as a result I would give him a 1/4 tsp of Mylanta SUPREME (it is aluminum free). Ohh I also gave him "Gripe Water” which also seemed to help.



On another note...hang in there! Now I can eat anything...I love spicy food and my now 10 month old does not mind at all

☼

Mara - posted on 11/13/2008

I was wondering if it has to do with sugar since I have a terrible sweet tooth. I think I might start with this and if that doesn't work move on to dairy...thanks:)

Cristan - posted on 11/13/2008

I had to eliminate all dairy products from my diet for the first 3 months for the same reasons (dr sears has an explanation on why in his Baby Book). Eventually I reintroduced it and it's fine now (my son's 6 months) but as soon as I stopped, my baby seemed better....

Christine - posted on 11/13/2008

My 7 week old is exceptionally gassy as well-he has GERD syndrome (you can look it up on the La Leche website)- Its reflux-combined with an immature gastero-intestinal system. We just hold him upright-lots of tummy rubs. I have been told that eliminating things from my diet may not help-its just because they are so young. From experience though, I find with both my children I cannot have chocolate or lots of sugar. That makes them gassy and squirmy.

o-and gotta love the gripe water too......