What can I do if my baby has gas?

Many parents notice that their babies seem to have gas. Maybe they tighten up, and look all frustrated, and they might pass gas, and so you're thinking that's it, or they're just extra fussy and so you assume that it might be an upset stomach or a gas problem. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it's other issues, and so I'm going to offer some suggestions that might help with breaking up gas. But if these things don't make a difference, then be sure to talk with your pediatrician, and they'll decide if it is indeed gas, or if it's something else that warrants further investigation or a different intervention.

A lot of breastfeeding mothers will automatically assume that if their baby has got gas or they have an upset stomach, that it's due to something they ate. And that might be the case, but you don't necessarily need to cut everything out of your diet to try to figure out what it was. And there's not a big generic list of things that you should or shouldn't eat while breastfeeding. In fact, most babies can handle most things in their mother's diet, but occasionally (and it's different from baby to baby), something that you're eating might be affecting them. So if you notice a trend, start keeping a food journal, and then maybe you can peg down what's bothering your baby. But in order to determine if it's actually going to make a difference or not, you need to cut it out for at least 1 to 2 weeks. Common causes for fussiness and upset stomach for babies are dairy products, chocolate and caffeine, so start with those. Keep in mind that foods that you eat that might cause gas for you, won't necessarily cause it for your baby, because it's caused by your stomach digesting it, and your baby is not getting the actual roughage that needs to be digested. So things like beans, and broccoli, and onions, that we all think about, won't necessarily cause gas for your baby.

If your baby is drinking formula, whether they're exclusively formula-fed or just being supplemented with formula, keep in mind that when you actually mix the bottle, that could be causing the issue, because it creates a lot of gas bubbles. And so let it settle before you feed it to your baby. If you're finding that that type of formula seems to be upsetting your baby, talk with your pediatrician, and they'll help you decide what type would be best.

Whether you're breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, a gas-inducing problem can be the flow at which the baby is drinking at. So you can actually have a really quick let-down, and in order to keep up with it, the baby swallows a lot of gas. And if you find that this is a problem while nursing, you can manually express or pump off a little bit of milk to start out with so that the flow is a little bit slower when the baby is latched on. See if that makes a difference. If you're using bottles, just be sure that you're using the proper type of nipple so that the flow is slow enough so that the baby can keep up with it, but not so slow that they're not getting enough.

Another suggestion is to never underestimate the power of burping. Burping is really important, and not all babies will burp after each feeding, but it's important to give them the chance to do so. And if your baby is having a lot of gas, you might want to stop halfway in between each feeding and burp them during and then after the feeding session. Like, if you're breastfeeding, burp them after one side before latching them onto the other, and then burp them again after the second side is finished. If you're bottle-feeding your baby, stop halfway, and then burp them, and then let them finish, and burp them again, and see if this makes a difference.

A baby's position can really help too, and bicycling motions. And so if you find that your baby has a lot of gas, you can lay their back on your lap and move their knees towards their chest in a bicycling motion, and sometimes that helps them work out the gas. You can also set them on the floor or on your lap, on their tummies, and gently rub their backs, and this can be very comforting to them.

A lot of parents turn to gas drops that you can buy at the store. And the American Academy of pediatrics has done some research on these, and the research has shown that they don't necessarily help to break up gas, but if you want to try it and you're willing to pay the price for it (it's expensive), then there's no harm in doing so. To date, we don't have any evidence to show that it's harmful for the baby to use these types of products.

Again, if these suggestions aren't helping your baby, talk with your pediatrician, and they'll be able to give you tailored information and advice. And if you have more questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/IntermountainMoms, and recommend us to your friends and family too.

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