Tempted to stop breastfeeding, bad gas and lots of night feeds

[kylie33]

I'm really tempted to stop breastfeeding as my 3 month old has had terrible gas since birth and no sign of improvement. It wakes her up at night and makes her really upset. I am also feeding her 3 hourly around the clock. I have really enjoyed the intimacy of breastfeeding her and part of me would be really sad to give up, but I'm also pretty exhausted with the constant night waking because she needs feed or has trapped wind. I know some would recommend cutting out dairy but I am not convinced that would solve the problem. Should I try formula for a couple of days to see if that makes a difference?

[weaver]

Hugs lovey that is hard for you and baba.

The decision to try formula is a really personal one, only you can make that choice.  If you haven't tried cutting dairy, and want to continue bfing, then it really would be worth giving it a shot for a week or two, and see if you can't really enjoy your bfing for more time to come.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I agree with Anne...a very personal decision and trying to cut dairy may be a worthwhile first attempt. Formula will not necessarily result in fewer night feeds though and if dairy is an issue it will still cause a problem. Also worth a look at the routine to see if anything else is contributing to the nw's.

[1stimer]

I agree with anne...I had similar issues with ds and once I really cut out dairy and soy it has helped. It was hard for me to do but once I got used to it I was fine. It took me a little longer to adjust...probably a month to really cut out all the dairy including cream in my coffee etc. And he is still feeding every 2 hrs at night..sometimes 3 hrs at 13 weeks.

[Mariellamom]

I totally understand you. Good job on doing it for that long with gassy baby!
My DD is mostly gassy at night which makes me totally exhausted. I also feed her every three hours.  Last two days tried to implement cluster/dreamfeed and all gassy things that would normally happen at 7-9 am started happening at 4am.
I am trying to move her legs after each feeding today . Maybe that will help. But in the night it is difficult of course.
I decided to cut on many products to help her and to feel less guilty. But not sure what to eat??
Dairy... Do the goat products cause the same issues as cow's products?
Butter and cheeses will also be considered problematic?
I stopped eating any fresh fruit and any vegies at this point. Someone told me that even oatmeal can cause stomach issues. Not sure how long I can stand such a diet since they say you have to cut things at least for 2-3 weeks period. 
Then wheat, nuts, eggs. It is frustrating and discouraging to me also.
( I am coming from a Post Soviet background where such a diet is a sure thing for each breastfeeding mom... Crazy...)
Sorry I popped in like that. Maybe this comment/complain should be on a different board
I have very sore nipples and she has a tongue tie which makes breastfeeding not enjoyable and painful most of the time ( even with constant use of the nipple shields).  But I really want to stick with it because of so many benefits ( my DD is only 6weeks old ).  On the other hand it really is exhausting when nothing really helps to solve the problem.
Sorry I am no helping. Just really understand what you mean...

[weaver]

Hi Olha, sorry you are having such a hard time  

I wouldn't listen to every suggestion you hear about what your baby may or may not be reacting to.  Dairy is the most common irritant for bf babies so I would add everything back into your diet, definitely fruit, veg, nuts, these are all very healthy things, and you need to eat properly to keep your energy up.  Oats, for example, are most often associated with increasing milk yield, not with causing tummy issues. 

To trial cutting out dairy, you need to drop milk, butter, cheese, and yoghurt, cow, sheep and goat cheese. If you just leave that out of your diet, then you'll be able to tell whether it makes a difference to LO. 

Have you asked to have TT dealt with?  And have you seen a lactation consultant?  BFing really shouldn't be sore, soreness is a sign that something is wrong. Well done for persevering.

Probably best in the future if you start your own thread, or this one could be split by the BFing mods.

[kylie33]

Thanks for your comments everyone, Olha sorry you having such a hard time, you have my sympathy!

If you cut out everything from your diet that people suggest you would be left with a very unbalanced diet! I am just trying to eat normally and hoping that LO will grow out of wind! I am lacto vegetarian so giving up diary would restrict my diet to much I think.

Since my last post I have had a couple of longer gaps between feeds at night, 5 hours the night before last and 6 hours last night! I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on why this could be? Yesterday I fed her as normal at 4.30pm. Then she was looking very tired so decided to bring her feed forward to could put her to bed and I fed her at 6.45pm from a bottle of expressed milk (trying to get her used to bottle) she only took 1.5oz then I put her to bed a 7pm. She was unsettled between 7pm and 9pm (we are still working on getting her to sleep and staying asleep in the early evening) and I fed her again at 9pm so that I could go to bed and get a few hours as I didn't get much sleep the night before. She then slept from 9pm until 3am! I would obviously like to repeat this but am not sure what I did that made this happen (sorry this is so long winded) do you think it was either;

1. Cluster feeding
2. The fact that she had a smaller feed at 7pm meant she took more at 9pm
3. The fact that I gave her frozen expressed milk at 7pm meant that as I wasn't feeding her myself my breast was fuller at 9pm so she got more?

Grateful if anyone could shed some light on this!

[Mariellamom]

Thanks!
I can imagine how difficult it is to cut dairy especially if it is my main favorite types of food. Also the calcium source is kind of irreplaceable in this case I think. ( calcium supplements are not working that well as I understand ;(

Kylie, hope things will go better for you soon!
Weaver, yes, dealing with TT issue. Probably will snip it again. I also was told by the doctor that very often TT is linked to problems with digestive system and causes gassiness. Will see if it will be the case ( if we ever get that fixed.)
Again sorry for popping in ;-))

[1stimer]

I switched dairy milk for unsweetened almond milk and while it's not the same it's still good and I'll probably stick with it even after ds is no longer having the issues...I think it has more calcium too:)

[weaver]

Kylie, I'm also a lacto-ovo vegetarian but developed a dairy intolerance all of my own (lucky me!) so have cut dairy out.  It's not a problem.  I mean, I missed cheese to begin with, but from a nutritional point of view, there is no need to worry, it's easy enough to make up good fats and calcium, in particular, is a doddle to make up.  I originally cut dairy completely when LO2 was about 3 mos old and am still bfing her at 2.5 yo, so it's perfectly possible to do it.  I wrote a list of dairy-free stuff for another poster on the Colic, Reflux, Crying board, if you're interested to see it.
Someone, please help me!!
It is of course your decision

I'd say the explanation for LO's longer sleep is definitely cluster feeding.  At that age, I would be doing 4 pm feed, then 5.45/6 pm, then 7pm and then a DF around 10.30. 

[kylie33]

Thanks Weaver, maybe I should give it a try. LO has silent reflux and is on losec for that. It just seems like a lot of hard work but maybe worth a try for 2 weeks (would that be long enough?).

[weaver]

Yes. I think 2 weeks would be a great trial period. No harm in giving it a go, eh? Best of luck