What to Do When Your Baby Has Gas

Gas in infants is one of the most common problems parents will deal with when it comes to their newborns. The condition’s severity may vary depending on different factors but the development of gas in your baby’s stomach is usually considered a normal process since this is a natural byproduct of digestion. It does not matter whether you breastfeed or bottle feed: your baby will likely have gas at some point. However, the diet of a breastfeeding mom can often be directly related to gassy symptoms in newborns.

If the mother consumes lots of foods that produce gas (such as legumes) or has a diet which is highly acidic, then it is most likely that the newborn will experience gassiness as a result. Gassiness may also be due to too much air intake through the mouth which happens when your baby is crying or is being fed.

Stress and too much noise in your baby’s atmosphere can also cause gas to develop in his stomach. Additionally, you must also consider the fact that your baby has a relatively underdeveloped digestive system, and he may also lack the intestinal flora which is very helpful during the digestion process. All these factors may contribute to your baby’s gassiness in some form or fashion.

Since your baby has no other means of communication yet aside from crying, it is important that you recognize the symptoms of infant gas when they occur. One of the common symptoms that you may notice if your baby has gas is that he is constantly crying even after you fed him or have changed his diaper. Your baby may also have hiccups or may spit up often.

This spitting up is due to excessive gas in the stomach after feeding, and can usually be remedied by burping your baby more often.  Sometimes, your baby’s abdominal area may look bloated or full and he may keep on pumping or kicking his legs due to discomfort. Obviously, having excessive flatulence is the most common symptom, but for some babies, constipation or diarrhea may also be present, as well as sleep disturbances.

If your baby has gas, there is generally no need to worry, especially if the symptoms presented are very mild. In general, gassiness in infants can be remedied very easily either through burping, formula changes, diet changes (if the baby is breastfed) or infant gas drops.  If you think that your baby has gas pain, try the following to soothe him or her:

• Make sure that you burp your baby as often as possible, especially after feeding sessions. You can do this by placing your child on your shoulder or across your lap and patting his back gently. This can be helpful in releasing excess gas within his stomach.

• Gas relief drops or gripe water can sometimes alleviate gassiness. Be sure to check with your pediatrician before giving your baby any medication.

• When it comes to infant gas concerns, exercise can work wonders as well. By gently pumping your child’s legs in backward and forward motion while your baby is laying on his back you can release a lot of the excess gas in his stomach.

• Giving your baby a warm bath can also be a natural gas relief as this can relax your baby and allow him to pass gas more easily, which will bring relief as well.

• Gently massaging your baby’s stomach can also help release the trapped gas in it and provide your child relief from the pain.

There is no one common cure if your baby has gas, but by using these tips, you can help to relieve the discomfort when it does occur.

Acid Reflux And Babies

Understanding the Risks

When most people think of acid reflux disease, images of spicy foods, heartburn, upset stomach and other troubling symptoms often come to mind. Rarely does anyone think of small children or babies when it comes to having acid reflux. However, this condition is not restricted to adults – babies can and do develop problems when it comes to excessive acid in the digestive system, so it’s important to be aware of the risks and symptoms.

When you’re talking about acid reflux and babies it’s important to distinguish between gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the normal, harmless reflux that happens to most babies from time to time. Almost all babies will “spit up” at one point or another. This can happen from a trapped air bubble during feeding, hiccups, drinking too much milk, or even a cough or cold. In general, these rare episodes of spitting up are nothing to worry about, and resolve themselves in time. As long as your baby is growing and thriving, occasional spitting up isn’t a problem.

GERD is a more serious condition, one that may require medical intervention to treat. Babies who suffer from this type of acid reflux often have a difficult time keeping down foods, whether breastfed or bottle fed. The acid can damage the delicate tissues of the baby’s esophagus and cause further digestion problems if not treated. Contact your baby’s pediatrician right away if your little one shows any of the following signs:

• Irritability during feeding or nursing
• Refusal to eat or nurse
• Continuous, hoarse crying at feeding times
• Spitting up after most feedings
• Weight loss
• Excessive drooling
• Crying when the abdomen is touched (an indication that your baby has abdominal pain)
• Frequent coughing after feedings

When treating acid reflux and babies’ overall health, it’s important to turn to a pediatrician for a confirmed diagnosis. There are several tests for this condition, including monitoring the pH of your baby’s esophagus, urine and blood tests. In severe cases, an endoscopy may be required to be sure that your baby’s internal glands are working properly.

For mild cases of GERD, there are formulas specifically designed to help reduce the instances of spit up and discomfort. These formulas may be a bit thicker than traditional formula, and feedings will need to be adjusted on the advice of the pediatrician. For breastfed babies, mothers can reduce the amount of acid in their diet and baby’s milk supply by cutting back on colas, acidic foods, spicy foods and other traditional heartburn/acid reflux culprits.

There are also several medicines on the market which can reduce the amount of acid in the baby’s system. However, with regards to acid reflux and babies, these treatments should be given with due caution. This is because anything that represses stomach acid can leave your baby more vulnerable to infection. It can also cause digestion problems, as some nutrients cannot be as easily absorbed if the amount of acid in the baby’s system is diminished.

If your baby is spitting up frequently and the pediatrician determines that GERD is not the cause, there are still things you can do to improve your baby’s digestion and reduce these normal incidents of reflux. The biggest thing you can do for your baby in this instance is to burp him or her often.  Pause about half-way between each feeding to gently burp your baby. There are also special bottles for bottle-fed infants that reduce the amount of air that your baby swallows during feedings.

GERD and normal reflux can be difficult for parents to tell apart. For this reason, if you have any concerns about your baby’s feeding habits, you should let the pediatrician give you a firm diagnosis. Acid reflux and babies’ health does not have to be a cause of concern – there are many effective treatments once a diagnosis has been made. So the sooner you contact the doctor, the quicker you will have peace of mind.

Understanding Colic and Routines: Sleep in Newborns

One of the major problems that new parents face when trying to help their little one cope with colic is consistent sleep. The sporadic sleep patterns that can occur as the result of all the crying make keeping your baby to a schedule extremely challenging, to say the least. Sleep in newborns differs from sleep in older children in several important ways.

By understanding how your baby’s sleep patterns can affect irritability and crankiness, you can work to reduce colicky symptoms that occur because your baby is stressed and unable to sleep. Because adequate sleep is intrinsically tied to having a healthy baby, you want to be sure that you are doing everything you can to promote healthy sleep habits from the start.

In general, newborns tend to sleep much of the day and night, waking only to feed. However, this sleep doesn’t occur all in one long stretch – generally, newborns only sleep for 3 to 4 hours at a time at the most. Bottle fed babies do not wake as often as breastfed babies, but this is generally because breast milk is more easily digested, and so babies wake up hungry more often. Because of this continual sleeping and eating pattern, it is not uncommon for babies to get their days and nights confused – to them, there is no immediate difference.

Even without having days and nights confused, a colicky infant will often start to cry in the evenings, and may cry throughout the night, only to fall asleep in the morning just as parents need to get ready to face the day! When this happens, it leads to additional stress for everyone in the family, as parents try to juggle the responsibility of caring for their newborn with the very real need to rest and get some sleep.

Parents of a baby with colic have few options when it comes to evening fussiness, but there are some things that can be done to encourage sleep in newborns, particularly if your household is typically very busy in the evenings. First, you must understand that babies take their stress cues from those around them. This means that if everyone in the house is rushing around, trying to get to after school activities, handle appointments, watch television, and take care of other activities, your baby can easily become overwhelmed.

Some babies, when they become overly excited by their surroundings, cannot cope and relax again, and this causes prolonged crying that cannot easily be soothed. One of the best ways to help your baby avoid this kind of colic is to set up a routine that reinforces daytime wakefulness and nighttime sleeping. There are several ways to do this:

• Make daytime more active.

Sing songs, talk to your baby, and spend time on chores and other noisy activities during the daytime. Your baby will get used to this increased activity gradually, and will come to associate the daytime with wakefulness as he or she matures.

• Make nighttime more restful.

Likewise, when evening rolls around, dim the lights in your home, try to keep the noise levels down, and minimize the amount of activity that your baby is exposed to. This may mean keeping the television off in the main room in the evenings, and it may also mean asking siblings to keep noise levels down once it’s time for baby to start winding down for bed.Swaddle your baby. Some babies relax better when they are tightly swaddled. Usually this works best with younger infants, as this mimics the confines and warmth of the womb. If your baby is fussy and flails a lot, try swaddling as a solution.

Remember, sleep in newborns is not the same as sleep in older children and adults.

Even if you can get your baby to adjust to your schedule, you shouldn’t expect him or her to sleep through the night in the first few months of life. Instead, you should aim for more wakefulness during the day, and more sleep at night. If you work on minimizing the stressors that can make your baby wound up and cranky in the evenings, then may be able to reduce colicky symptoms and get more rest.

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• Babys Bliss GripeWater is a highly effective, herbal supplement used to ease the gas and stomach discomfort often associated with colic, hiccups and teething.

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