Wind in babies

[hindonly]

Hello,

I'm hoping other mums out there will share with me what they do to control the amount of wind in their bubs!?

My dd Cara who is 4 wks seems to get quite a bit. We burp her mid feed and also at the end, and use infacol or marinas drops.
This does help a little but she still suffers from it. It affects her sleep as well since she moans & groans. cries and twists & turns, goes red in the face and brings her little knees up.

I hate to see her go through it and she does have bit of a time with it!

Thanks in advance,

Carol

[Lachlan's Mum]

Hi Carol

Just a thought but have you considered that bub may be suffering from a little reflux? Our Lachlan had it really bad and we too thought it was just wind at first but from the symtpoms you are mentioning esp the leg pulling it may be more than just wind. Maybe you should make some enquiries with your Dr just in case...reflux can be very painful and cause numerous sleep difficulties.

[ZAKA]

Hi,

Both my girls had wind problem the first more than the second and had trouble sleeping. I know you are not meant to put babies to sleep on their front but I must admit the minute I turned them over to sleep it was sooooo much better :D With Zoe we tried all sorts of drops and I think the Infacol was the best but keep in mind a lot of babies get a lot better by the third month when all their bits develop that little bit more.

[Hokey Pokey]

Hi there

My second DD suffered alot if wind. Here are some tips I learnt along the way.

Lay baby on her back, very gently grab her by the ankles and nice and lightly gently rock her legs back n forth so her knees slightly bend upwards, very similiar to when they do the hip check on a new born... hope that made sense lol but it helps to loosen the air in bubba! :o

I used those drops and found them no help at all!! :(

Is she a bottle fed or breast fed bubba?

[jessica]

Hi,

My little angel is almost six months old and still suffers from wind - we have had her checked by doctors etc but all say she's fine. It usually only bothers her at night, particularly recently where her sleep patterns have gone haywire! Ive also found that turning her on her side or on her belly helps alot, I know all about the SIDS problem but it gives her some relief!

We tried the drops but never found they did much at all...

I was told to watch my diet as I breastfeed but even after having the blandest and most boring diet the gas is the same, though it does peak after certain meals (capscicum particularly!)...

Two other friends, babies the same age are also having some wind problems at the moment? Maybe because at this age solids are being introduced - BUT then I was told that often solids particularly proteins (meats) can settle the belly!!

Its all a mystery!

jessica

[ellasmummy]

Hi Carol.

My 7week old daughter has had really bad wind pains since birth and i have tried everything you can think of and nothing had worked. I have since found out that she had reflux and she has the same symptoms as your little one.

I took her to a natropath and i was told that she was lactose intolerent and then my health centre nurse advised me to give her a little myalanta before a bottle. (it is written in the Royal Childrens Hospital handbook)


I know it sounds weird giving myalanta to a baby but believe me it really works i now get atleast 6 hours sleep a night.


I hope you find this helpful.

Leah

[willsmum]

We also did the Mylanta thing for reflux and wind type symptoms and it worked.

Also you can grab their ankles while they lay on their back after a feed and do a bicycle riding motion. Another way to move trapped wind is by gently rolling them side to side. (All hints came from the Child and Youth Health helpline in Adelaide and they worked for us - they also have an excellent website with heaps of health and development info - www.cyh.com )

[Mumoffour]

I know this may sound a bit wierd but try propping the head of the cot up on phone books. My son had dreadful wind/ reflux and this helped. We tried the infacol/ infants friend and they made him projectile vomit ( the wind under the milk!! :eek: ). Gripe water helped.

[Taylor & Lachlans Mummy]

My darling son suffered, from wind which gave him reflux & constipation. I found Brauers (sp?) Colic relief works really well, it is mainly natural ingrediants & it relaxs their tummy muscles allowing wind to pass more easily. It is specially made for children from birth so it is safe to use on little bubs. You just use 1ml in stead of 2

Their web address is www.brauer.com.au it has all the info on there.

Lachlan had this problem both on breast & bottle, and finally grew out of the reflux at 6mths & now only occasionally gets wind / constipation when hes over stuffed himself or teething.

I hope everything goes well. :)

[RISA]

For anyone whose child does have reflux: did you know there is a community group based in brisbane that provides support and information to reflux parents? They are the Reflux Infants Support Association (RISA) Inc, and they can be contacted by

If you would like to know more go to:

www.reflux.org.au
or contact them by
phone on 07 3229 1090 (leave a message, and a contact will get back to you)
email at info@reflux.org.au
post at PO Box 1598
Fortitude Valley, 4006

I hope that helps

Glenda

[jodiew12]

Hi Glenda,

Thanks so much for letting us know about this organisation. I have 6 month old twins who were born at 34 weeks. Dylan had extremely bad reflux for the first 3-4 months of his life. It then seemed to settle and mysteriously go away and now it is back with avengence and he is so unsettled and uncomfortable with it. He is now on medication which I know helps ease the pain and discomfort but I hate giving him medicine 3 times a day.
Jodie

[Stacey]

Hi everyone,

My dd suffers from reflux has been for 4 months now ... I'm at my wits end ... tried all the different formulas as I carn't breastfeed she is only on formula.

Can someone tell me more about mylanta .... how much would you give a 4 month old baby????

tired and depressed
Anna's Mum

[nickosmoo]

Hi

Yeah Nico had really bad wind when he was little too - same symptoms - squirming, going red, whinging and pulling his legs up. We used to tilt his bassinet up slightly at so that his head was higher than his feet and rubbing his tummy gently in a clockwise direction (following the path of the large intestine) and lifting his knees gently up to his chest slowly helped his get rid of it.

He was a rapid eater and I could hear/feel the wind in his belly as he ate - someone suggested holding his up virtually vertical when I fed him so that he would be able to control how the milk flow - I was breastfeeding but I'm sure it works the same way with bottle. That sort of worked until he got too heavy to hold like that.

He still has wind but it doesn't give him anywhere near as much grief as before - I think as they get older they get used to dealing with it and it doesn't become such a painful experience (not all the time at least)

Good luck

[Lachlan's Mum]

Hi All

Lachlan suffered bad reflux when he was younger (had to be medicated and also was admitted to hospital it got that bad).

I have posted plenty about this before. I found out about the association just before Lachlan's reflux got undercontrol and we all began to live again...so in the end did not need to contact them. Great to know they are there though, for those who need them.

Just a couple of things I want to say though:-

1. the best formula EVER (and we tried many) is NAN HA

2. we were told that mylanta is not to be used long term...it is prescribed/recommended to parents to see whether it helps....as reflux can be hard to diagnose....and if it works then chances are bub has reflux and THEN proper long term medication can be assessed and prescribed...which initially will be something like Zantac syrup (unless you need something stronger).

I don't really know why Mylanta is not recommended as a long term thing but I think it has something to do with the mercury in it...and the recent studies linking this to alzeimers (sp) disease......

For those parents at that "desperate" stage (and I have been there believe me) and find that a bit of mylanta works (I think 1.5 to 2 mls for a baby of about 6 mths is what we were told....but don't quote me) go for it.....but make an appointment to see your paed. or even GP (but to be honest reflux is not a GP's speciality) and get it properly diagnosed and treated.

Reflux is a serious and painful condition which can lead to probs with sleep, eating, settling etc .....get it checked out! You'll be glad you did.

[mumof2girls]

Both my girls suffered with this problem and I found that after their feed at night we would wait about an hour and give them a relaxing bath and gently massage their tummy, this use to help them relax and move the air bubbles around, they use to pass a lot of wind this way. We also to to find that if we didn't lay them completly flat then that would help as well (we would put them on a small tilt) not sure why this worked but it did.

Hope this helps, it sure did for us!

Kay

[Supermum]

Oesophagul Reflux is a mechanical problem - not just an issue with too much wind. Sometimes the valve between the gut and the oesophagus doesn't work as well as it should and continues to open up, letting out not only recently eaten food but also the stomach acids. Generally the problem rectifies itself when bub starts becoming upwardly mobile as gravity keeps it down.

My first son had reflux so bad his little gut was ulcerated and he was eventually placed on Losec, generally an adult medication, to reduce the acid. We actually travelled down a number of paths before we did this though and I'm hoping you won't get to the 'screaming for 15 hours a day' :eek: before bubby and family gets some relief.

I found a number of things helped us out (even just a little) in the earlier days.

Marina Infant Mixture - all natural product. Designed by a north queensland pharmacist to help his new baby daughter who was suffering from pain as a result of reflux. Gets the wind up quickly.

Sleeping bub on belly - we didn't do this until the third month as this was my first baby and I was so worried about SIDS. If I had my time again I would have done this earlier.

Get it checked out by a paediatrician at the very least or a paediatric gastroenterologist.

I'm with Lachlan's Mum. Chronic reflux is debilitating and effects so much more than your bubby's belly and wellbeing. Whole families experience it, mum's feel exhausted and alone and if your reflux bubby is also a projectile vomiter - you'll be doing twice as much laundry as your peers!

It's sad to see and hear your baby upset ... especially brought on by pain. I hope it improves sooner rather than later for you and bubby.

cheers,

[Izzys'mum]

Hello

My dd is 7mths now but when she was about 4 wks she suffered from wind as well. We found that 'Infants' Friend' oral drops helped.

It helps with the relief of colic and wind in the bowels, restlessness and irritation caused by inflamed gums during teething, Helps keeps bowels regular and will produce natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child from colic. Our dd didn't mind the taste either.

Good luck

[BJelly]

Hi, our baby now 7weeks old, suffered from colic.

One of the best things we did was get a triangle pillow supported by a cushion on either side and pop her in it. That way she is able to sleep on her back on a 45 degree angle. She also gets the comfort of feeling the "arms" of the pillow, and we give her a dummy too if she needs it. She may still have a little grizzle before going off to sleep, but it's not a real cry. If she starts to cry in earnest, I pick her up and walk with her and when she's calmed down, I try putting her down again. I also check there's nothing else causing her to cry, eg hunger, soiled nappy, wind.

Before this she would rarely sleep more than half an hour at a time between 12 midday and 12 midnight every day - we were having major problems getting her to settle. (Thank goodness she'd sleep in blocks of 2- 5 hours the rest of the time). Now she is a much happier, calmer baby - and I'm feeling much better too!

I now think some of her wind pain before wasn't caused by her feeds, but from gulping air when she was crying. Because I've noticed that even when I've tried burping for up to half an hour without success, I can burp her better after she's cried. I'm breastfeeding her, and I've also tried not to give her so many little meals, so that she isn't getting so much of the lactose rich foremilk. I think I was confusing her signs of tiredness for signs of hunger - we were having marathon feeding sessions at one stage (6 hours at a time!) - she'd go to sleep on the breast, but when I took her off, she's seem hungry again - so in the end she wasn't sleeping or eating right.

I hope this helps, take heart from the fact that even the experts can't agree on what to do about colic, or even what causes it etc. You can only try different things and find out what works best for you and your baby. Good luck!

[wattle]

The telephone books under one end of the bassinette worked for us too, and we had great success with 'Infants friend' - hard to find though. He seems to be much better now at 3 months but still prefers sitting up for a while after a meal.

I'd skip broccoli and cabbage too for a while.

[sarahs]

My son suffered from terrible colic when he about 5 weeks old. My Mum asked me what I was eating and suggested I cut out Weetbix (I was craving chocolate and using them covered in sugar as a substitute). Like magic the colic disappeared. A couple of weeks later I ate All-Bran (doh! Didn't consider that it was also a wheat product!) and it was instantly back. Not long afterwards Mum saw an article in the paper that new research suggests colic is caused by a food allergy. Mums who are breastfeeding should try cutting down (one at a time and then re-introduce if it doesn't help) wheat, eggs, fish, dairy, nuts, chocolate... I can't remember the whole list (but it was pretty much everything!)

If you are breastfeeding and having colic/wind problems it might be worth trying!!!

Cheers
Sarah

[weisje]

hi stacey,
You sound as desperate as i was, it does get easier you some how get a rythm going.My little girl is now one and still has it . it took me a long time to get her diognosed she is on losec which i have since been told that this is one of the best drugs for it . I went to 7 different health nurses and 3 different clinics to get some help,you have to be a little persistant. when we tried mylanta it was a god sent it helped nilly instantly ( a chemist can tell the dosage of any drugs as long as you know their weight)and were advised to see our doctor that is when we started on losec our little girl was back she had a complete change around, sleeps eats & drinks. I tried all the different formulas, i did find the nan ha was good but had to change again to karicare HAAR .There is also a S26 thickened one,karicare also sells the thickener as well which helps when solids are started, I also found if you made it up the night before it would be thick enough to spoon feed her enough to settle the hunger to finish it off in the bottle. Swimming is also good at one stage we would feed her in the pool as she was most relaxed in there.

[Briannabear]

Hi guys!
I have a 4 1/2 month old baby, and she had wind problems and colic from birth. She is heaps better now thanks to some good advice and products. The food we eat affects their system if you're breastfeeding. The position that they are in when they are feeding makes a difference too. The best thing we found was a product called "The Rainbow Brand - Baby Soothing Syrup". Its a homeopathic remedy for colic and wind. It was a life saver for us! We tried other things but didnt find they worked as well. The best mix for them is 10ml water to 10 drops of syrup. Use a medicine dropper to give to baby. Our naturopath actually makes them but you can buy them in most health food shops. :D

[janija]

hidy ho

my son is 3 months old he has had wind troubles since my breast milk dried up and we had to put him onto formula we have tried everything infacol, infants friend, gripe water, boiled water the bicycle motion we even tried the reflux formula but it all seems to have made him worse he has a swollening noise it sounds like the wind is getting stuck in his throat i have taken him to the docs and they r not concerned about him because he is healthy and still putting on wait it breaks my heart to see him in so much pain the only thing that calms him is a warm bath and then the vicious cycle starts again he does not sleep at all during the day and wants a feed every 1hr i am at my wits end i feel like i am doing something wrong :( :( :(

[catnapjack]

I have recently been through the same. Our son has reflux (sore gullet causes swallowing of excessive amounts of air) and also a dairy intolerance which may account for the straining and reddening in the face followed by wind. A paediatrician or child and Youth health nurse will help. Properly diagnosed and treated, those symptoms can be managed. Good Luck :)

[Tizi]

Mylanta shouldn't be used long term because it contains alluminium which has been linked to the onset of Alzeimers. It should only be used occasionally and as a diagnostic tool.

My peadiatrician told me to give my ds 2ml and see if it alleviated the crying. If it did then it is reflux. He is now on Zantac and Losec to reduce the acid production in his stomach.

[andre]

You're getting heaps of advice here and Matty is our first so I only have 6 weeks experience under my belt - but thought I'd leave a quick note.

Matthew tends to pull his legs up and arch his back too at different times during the day - not not necessarily after a feed. When this happens we've found that placing him on his belly over the broad, padded arm of the lounge chair, and patting his back is really effective. He relaxes instantly and after 5 mins or so we're usually able to pick him up and rock him to sleep. Another alternative is placing one of those 'pillow rolls' on a soft mat on the floor and draping him over that - again patting his back.

Without stating the obvious - don't leave bubs alone in either of these positions!

Don't know whether this will work for you but hope you find a solution.

Good luck:) .

Andre.

[maxmummy]

my little guy is nearly 2 weeks old, and has just started doing the weirdes things.. he is screwing his face up and turning red, pulling up his legs, and passing wind and eventually burping with such force he almost breaks in half! he grumbles and moans in his sleep from about 5am onwards, and has gone from sleeping in stretches of 4-6 hours, to sleeping no longer than an hour. he seems hungry all the time but hardly drinks a thing. he is on breast milk and formula (about equal amounts)
any ideas? any one experienced this?? i feel so sorry for him.... any advice will be appreciated
maxmummy

[cherib]

Hi. My baby is nearly 4 months old and is suffering terribly from wind problems but only at night. He sleeps quiet well till a certain point and then begins to squirm the rest of the night. I don't mind the squirming so much except that the next day, he is so tierd from a disturbed sleep. What symtoms did your little one show? I am breastfeeding and everyone tells me that he is hungry and that is why he squirms. The paed says babies over 3 mths don't suffer from wind so it's teething. I am so confused.

[sarahs]

My first son was very colicy when he was little and my mum suggested it may have been something I was eating. I had a really sweet tooth and was having weet-bix (try 9 a day)instead of chocolate - turns out he was intolerant to wheat in my breast milk. Soon as I stopped eating high fibre cereals he was fine. Second son had the same reaction to cereal. Interestingly I read an article not long after mum's suggestion that said diet can be a major reason for colic in babies. Naturally they listed pretty much every food - wheat, eggs, dairy, nuts, chocolate, fish, etc etc - and suggested you cut one out at a time and see if it makes a difference.

A settling technique the midwives on birth of second son taught me (and I wished I'd known first time around!!!) Was pop bunny rugs in the microwave for 20 secs. Put one folded on bub's tummy and swaddle them in the other. If bub has a pain in the tummy it will settle them within 5 minutes. If they are hungry it won't. This worked like magic (particularly if someone other than me did it - I think me smelling like milk was not particularly helpful).

The other good news is that their little digestive systems become more developed and the colic just miraculously disappears at about 12 weeks.

Good luck!

[tegz_84]

My son is 3 in half months old & won't let go of his wind, most the time the normal pat on the back does not work, but I have him sussed now. I sit him on my knees (facing me) & move my legs up & down (kinda like a horsey ride), I can hear the air jiggling in his tummy. After a minute or two he does 2 massive burps. Works wonders for him!!

[MelissaPuli]

My little one is just three weeks old and going through exactly the same. We've tried the traditional methods of chamomile tea (weak), Marina Infant Liquid, Gripe Water, Bayleaf in warm water... they all seem to work for a few hours but then we are back to the same old drawing board. I guess it's all trial and error.

[sweetdreamstoyou]

by word of mouth, i was recommended to visit the :flowerz:chiropractor :flowerz:to erradicate the pain that wind was causing my 4month old baby girl. i was sceptic but was desperate for relief.

i highly recommend it to everyone who has this problem. days and nights of my baby screaming in pain have now gone.

i still give my baby gripe water to help burp.

my baby is enjoying her life now and is so happy. the whole family is happy.

[Leen]

Hi Carole,

It may also help to put baby in bed on an angle of 45 degrees, put them on bottom of bed, best is in a baby sleeping bag (with arms) and if need be a loose blanket over baby.
It will get better once baby sits up by itself more and more. Sit baby up for 10-20 minutes after a feed on an angle of about 45 degrees.
Cheers, Leen