Gas or bowel movements disturbing night time sleep

[Veronique]

Help!!  My son has slept through the night practically since birth.  He is now 9 months old and within the last month or so has developed this gas problem that seems to wake him up after 30 to 45 minutes of sleep at night.  He can stay up for several hours on end.  He used to wake up after 45 minutes because his pacifier had fallen out of his mouth.  I had to go in and replace it and that was all it took.  I know this is making me the prop, but it wasn't too bad, so I didn't take the trouble of breaking the bad habit.  Now, however, replacing the pacifier doesn't work.  He lifts his legs up and fusses as if he has gas.  Every time I have doubted whether it really was gas, he passed the gas and went back down very easily.  One night I tried PU/PD for 2 hours.  He just screamed more and more.  I also tried to stay by his bed and comfort him.  That didn't work.  The only thing that worked was getting him up and letting him sit while playing with his toys where he passed the gas on his own.  That usually happens in about 20 minutes.  If I try to massage, burp, rub his tummy, or exercise his legs, he just screams more. 

He naps great during the day.  Generally, we don't have this problem for his daytime naps.  Sometimes a bowel movement disturbs his sleep, but not often.

I am trying to figure out what could be causing the gas.  I am currently breastfeeding, but started him on solids at 7 months and am taking it slow.  He is allergic to dairy, but I have eliminated that from my diet.  If any of you have had similar experiences, I'd appreciate your feedback. 
I am concerned that we are creating a habit where he figures out that if he fusses, he gets to stay up and play for a little while.  I am at my whits end.

[ktmum]

Hi there
My DD always been windy but has never slept well!! :shock:
Ive got a couple of Qs for you then i might be able to help
What time does he go to bed??
What times his last meal??
Does he burp after his last feed??
Are his Poos ok is he consipated??
Does he have a bath B4 bed??
Have you tried the colic movements with Baby massage??
Does he do this all night or only once after u put him down
If he is allergic to dairy could he be intolerant to anything else??
Sorry for all the qs just trying to get a bit more detail so if i can suggest somthing i will
Hugs
Ailah

[Veronique]

Sorry for the late reply.  Here are answers to your questions.  Thanks so much for helping!! 
What time does he go to bed?
He used to go to bed between 7 and 7:30 PM.  However, with the waking issues, I have been putting him to bed later (around 8 PM) which turns into even later times (as late as 9 or 10 PM if he can't get rid of the gas bubble).  His routine (going to bed and waking up time has gotten out of whack as a result of all of this).  However, I am happy to say that his nap times don't seem to be affected...which is wierd.  I would think that if he gets gas at night, he can get gas during the day and that would be affecting his sleep.
What times his last meal??
His last meal used to be right before bed, but with the recent gas, I have changed his routine to be about an hour before he goes down.  I let him play a little while and then give him a bath after he eats now instead of before.
Does he burp after his last feed??
I don't put him down anymore unless he burps, has wind, or poops because I know from experience that I'll be up all night with him if I don't address it from the start.  If he doesn't burp, I know I'm in trouble because it will be coming out the other end...which isn't so easy to pass. :lol:
Are his Poos ok is he consipated??
His poos have been really good.  He has been constipated in the past, but I had been supplementing his food with Acidopholus (pro-biotics) and that has seemed to help.  I recently stopped because I was wondering if this might be causing some gas, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.
Does he have a bath B4 bed??
Not every night, but I'm seriously thinking about adding it back into the routine for every night.  It does seem to help a bit.
Have you tried the colic movements with Baby massage??
I'm not sure what those movements are, but I have tried to massage his tummy in a backward C motion and downward pats on his tummy.  I have also bicycled his legs and rolled him on an exercise ball (tummy down) to try to get the gas to pass.  Sometimes these tricks work, but most times, he just needs to sit and play with his toys where he has to reach for them and it works its way out then.  However, this could take a while.
Does he do this all night or only once after u put him down
Just when I put him down...after a feed.  The problem arises when it takes him two hours to go down at night to begin with and then I have to give him a dream feed (I haven't dropped that yet) and the whole saga continuew for a couple of hours after that.  Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and wants a feed.  He hasn't done this much, but it has caused us to have a few long nights.
If he is allergic to dairy could he be intolerant to anything else??
It is possible.  However, I have tried to eliminate all gassy foods from my diet and any food that might possibly cause problems like nuts.  Unfortunately, I am starting to eat less and less healthy because the healthy stuff is what causes gas.  I am starting a food log to see if I can link anything to this problem.
Thanks for any help you might be able to give me.
Vickie

[ktmum]

Hiya hun
My daughters wind was worse at night too and I think its a common time for them to get tummy ache - I remember when she was really tiny between 5and 6pm was a living colicky hell!!
Feeding before a bath is a good idea i think as a nice warm soak will help your lo relax and promote any pending bowl movements!!
I do quite a bit of baby massage and I shall dig out my notes over the next few days and try and pm you some helpful moves. Even if it doesnt have a direct impact on the gas the more relaxed babe is the more likely they are to pass wind!! ( if you massage their tummys make sure you do it in a clockwise direction the same way the bowls move!!)
My DD has her last bottle at 8pm before bed now and goes through ( MOST OF THE TIME !! :roll: ) til about 7 ish with maybe one night waking.
Check with the BF boards lot, but Im pretty sure your lo should be able to drop the Dream feed by now if its causing problems, but take that advise from them cos im no expert in that department!!
As for other allergies i thinka trip to the doctors might be in order to check it out, but you must make sure you eat well too ( Gosh im nagging now!! :oops: ) Your Doctor should be able to advise you too about what you can eat thats healthy but wont cause tummy probs in lo.
I know its not much help but you sound like you are doing a great job anyway but I would go with Food, Food going down time!!, Bath, Massage, BF , Burp!! then bed and hopefully a bowl movement before then!!
If I can be of any further help hun just shout
Ailahxx

[Tonya]

I would try some gas drops, like Mylecon, to see if it would help.  You can put them directly in the mouth, or put the drops in the nightly bottle (which is what I always did).

They work wonders!

[Veronique]

Thanks for the tips!  I will certainly try them.  I have tried Milicon, but that doesn't work so well for intestinal gas and our pediatrician said that it sometimes can cause constipation. 

We went to the Dr. on Friday and found out that he alot of our night waking problems is caused by teething.  It may be upsetting his tummy, too.  I have also discovered that a recent food that I added to his diet may be the culprit for the intestinal gas.  It is either peas or carrots.  I'm scared to try either one right now until I get a good nights sleep.   

Thanks again for the advice and the encouragement!

Vickie

[ktmum]

Could well be teething hun i know that is usually accompanied by some shocking nappies :shock: 
Are you using any meds for it??
There is some quite good homeopathic stuff out there too
Sounds like its a combination of alot of issues!! Poor you
Take heart that it will get better and keep on to your Doc re diet if the situation doesnt improve
Hugs
Ailah