Saturday, December 3, 2011

5 More Tips For Relieving Your Baby's Gas Pains

One of the most consistent issues parents face with their new babies is the discomfort that gas can cause. That is why I am revisiting this topic. For a new baby, gas is inevitable. For the first couple months the digestive system is still adapting to both processing nutrients and expelling waste. The issues that cause gas pain are related to both slow movement of waste through the bowels, and difficulty digesting. Even when your baby is only eating breast milk or formula the simple process of breaking down the nutrients can be hard on your little sugar-pop. So here are five more things you can try.

1. Warm peppermint and fennel compress.
To make a compress  wrap a some fresh peppermint and fennel with a soft piece of cotton cloth and soak in warm with water for about two minutes. After soaking, squeeze out the excess water and place the warm damp compress on your little darling's lower abdomen. To finish, wrap a cloth around your baby and the compress to make sure it won't move. Leave the compress on for about 20 minutes, re-moistening it with a bit of the same warm water that you soaked it in to begin with about every five minutes or so. The scent is calming and the herbal properties of fennel and peppermint have been used to assist in digestion for hundreds of years. Using a compress is a very good natural way to help your sweet little bubble blower absorb a bit of the herbal benefits gently, and in a way that doesn't give her tummy more new substances to digest.

2. Give a supplemental bottle of water.
One thing that your baby can ingest that does not cause gas is water. Water is not digested in the same way as other foods, and so causes no gas by itself. Also water can dilute other fluids making it harder for gas bubbles to form. Although he may not drink much, just a little bit goes a long way. Water can also stimulate the bowels to move, which is very helpful. It is important to note that you should not replace a feeding with a bottle of water, since there is no nutritional value, but a little extra water after a feeding can do wonders for a little tooter who is prone to gas trouble.

3. Swaddle with your infants legs folded.
When your infant has trouble with gas, one sign is when she pushes her legs straight out. This is an instinctual reaction to abdominal pain and is meant to help push off anything that might be pushing on her belly. However, pushing the legs out straight actually tightens your little giggler's behind muscles, which doesn't help matters move along.When your infants legs are wrapped up in a folded "criss-cross-applesauce" style in front of her, the instinctual tightening of the abdomen in response to gas pain is much more helpful. To do this type of swaddle, wrap the arms as you normally would, normally, then fold the legs up and crossed. While holding the legs with one hand bring the bottom section of the blanket up and tuck it into the front of the swaddle. It is also important to remember that all swaddling should either leave your baby's legs free to kick about or have them wrapped up near the body with the knees apart to prevent hip dysplaisia which can sometimes result from straight-leg swaddling.


4. Tummy time across your thighs.
Sometimes the gentle pressure of regular tummy time is not enough to relax your infant's abdomen. Or your little pipsqueek may just dislike regular tummy time, and the combination of the pain and the position may make the situation worse. In these cases, laying your baby across your thighs, with their head on one thigh, and their tummy on the other is a great thing to try. Not only is contact with you soothing, but as your baby lays on your lap, you can gently bounce the leg that his tummy is resting on very lightly. Let his legs hang down as you do this and softly stroke and pat his back. The combination of your warmth, the gentle pressure, and the position of the legs is often a near magical combination for producing the relief your baby needs.

5. A foot massage.
For babies that have a continuing problem of gas I like to suggest trying a reflexology massage. Reflexology is the art of stimulating areas on the feet and/or ears to affect other areas of the body. It is similar to acupressure, but the way it is applied has more room for error. The area of your baby's feet that is associated with the bowels is in the center of the bottom of the foot  between the arch and the ball of the heel. As your baby lays on her back hold her feet up and gently rub this area in a soft circular motion for a few minutes. This gas relieving reflexology method can be done a few times during the day. I like to do it just before the morning feeding, just before the later afternoon nap, and just before the bedtime feeding. The reason I do it before feedings and before sleep is because the way that reflexology works is not immediate. Reflexology is designed to treat the underlying issues (in this case movement of waste through the bowels, and efficient digestion), not to relieve the immediate symptoms.


Though there is no cure-all perfect remedy that will work for every baby, these tips have come in very handy for me over the years. Some babies are more prone to gas and gas-related pain than others, but the nice thing about babies is that they outgrow these kinds of things eventually. It is very important for you as a parent to remember to try and stay calm and gentle in these frustrating times. Keep trying new things until you find something that works, and then enjoy the silence as long as you can. The only thing as intense as a the feeling of frustration when a baby cries is the feeling of relief when they finally stop. If you have found these tips helpful, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions and comments are always welcome. Happy parenting!

There is a NEW post from NAOMI up today (9/5/14)! Check it out HERE.

14 comments:

  1. Babies are very delicate in everything. That's why we have to make sure and we have to give our best shot in taking care of our babies. We have to use only the mildest formulas to apply to their skin to prevent rashes.

    -admin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks my little munchkin is terrible at bringing up gas and now has colic she is only 3 weeks old and I can not envisage 9 more weeks of this! I have tried pretty much everything but to no avail! I will try the compress as that is something I haven't tried! Wish me luck!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw! Good luck! I hope she feels better soon.

      Delete
    2. Good luck! You are not alone.

      Delete
  3. My 7 weeks old preemie is suffering from bad stomach cramps. Dr changed his formula 3x and still no change. It's painful seeing him go through this and i could make him feel better.any suggestions??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, I hope everything worked out alright. I will still respond in the hopes that other parents in your position will get some benefit.

      The tricky part of treating stomach cramps in a preemie is that they are limited on what they can eat, and too much physical stimulation can be stressful for them. Most of my tips are not very beneficial to a preemie who has not been cleared to return home.

      I would recommend an increase of Kangaroo hold time, and trying to get your hands on some surrogate breast milk. If you can emphasize to your primary nurse the importance of extra Kangaroo-hold time, the volunteer baby-holders can schedule an extra shift for your itty-bitty miracle.

      Some NICU's are better at these things than others, and some preemies will respond more quickly than others, but any NICU should have access to breast milk donations, and volunteer baby-holders.

      The last-resort thing that I have seen work once was for a mother who shared a room with me and my son while he was in the NICU. She purchased a very small, low-vibration, personal massager. She would wrap it in a warmed burp-cloth, and 20 minutes after her preemie baby girl had eaten, the mother would hold her in a kangaroo hold, except for having the massager on low located between the baby and herself on the baby's lower abdomen (just below the belly button). This seemed to sooth the cramping dramatically.

      As I said, I know this info probably comes too late to make a difference, but I hope other parents will benefit from it as well.

      Delete
  4. It's an effective blog having the info regarding the Gas pains for the babies which need to follow for their prevention in a natural way, Nice sharing.. Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for all your tips! But I'm getting conflicting info on using water. I have a 6 week old and dip her paci in very dilute chamomile water, and ginger tea water. Is this ok?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes this is ok. The fear is that your baby might ingest a significant amount of water which can disrupt bowel functions. Or in other words, give your baby gas and diarrhea. There are several possible bad outcomes from this, but it is generally not something that can be caused by a few drips of water. As a matter of fact, for some babies who are suffering from constipation, a couple drips of water after a feed can really help move things along. Also, chamomile is very soothing to the nervous system and has many benefits, and ginger is great for digestion. Just be certain the concentration of the ginger is extremely dilute, as it can be spicy.

      Delete
  6. Great site. My 6 week old has suffered severe wind since around 2 weeks. Have tried everything and have a doctors appointment tomorrow to see what else I can do. I'm going to try the reflexology. Will let you know if it works in time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Please don't give an infant water. It can affect their iron levels in a very dangerous way.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello my 2weeks baby has the colic, what do I do? Is colic pain same as gas?

    ReplyDelete
  9. The things you have shared for baby colic remedies was very informative to me .Nice and keep it up your share.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi my friend Michelle has a 4 year old son who is very gassy and constipated his tummy gets hard alot any tips I can give her for her son.? He wears pull UPS training pants.

    ReplyDelete