My gassy little girl...Help me

[lizjackson]

Did anyone have trouble with horrendous gas??  I can't believe what can come out of her and it looks painful.  I have decreased my dairy intake significantly, per my doctors advice, but she still goes on.   I also have tried to supplement with some formula, my milk supply is not quite enough..  could this be apart of the problem?  Anyone else with a gassy baby?  I think that this may also be waking her up in the night..  Thank you.

[First Time Mom]

Hi Lizjackson,

My dd had horrific gas her first 5 weeks and she did not burp well. I found Oval drops helped greatly, she's bf'd on both sides so I would give it to her between the switch of sides. I was also told to cut out strawberries and citrus fruit in addition to the dairy. Formula may add to her gas pains though and supplementing will decrease your supply. Not sure how young your lo is or how often she is feeding but if she is very young and you are feeding 2 hours or less she is getting too much top milk and snacking which could also contribute to the gas. Crying bouts will also add gas as they suck in air.

[lizjackson]

Thank you for the thoughts.  I will eliminate the citrus and strawberries.  I drink a lot of OJ.  Hopefully that will help her out.  She is 3 months old today.  She is still wanting to feed about every 2.5 hours.  I did not know that about the top milk.  Can you explain more... 

I have been giving her some formula because it seems that I don;t always have enough for her.  She will quit eating after about 5 minutes on each side and sometimes she is still hungry it seems.  I worry that she is not getting enough milk.  Not sure what to do with that.  Any help is so appreciated.  Thank you so much.

[First Time Mom]

What is she doing to show you she is still hungry? She could be frustrated that it's harder for her to get bmilk than the formula (she doesn't have to work for the formula). I would try to put her back on the first side if she still fusses plus this would help supply (if there is an issue). Do you pump? I was never able to but it does increase supply. Top milk is the "watery" stuff, the heavier and more filling calories are in the hind milk. Some babies are efficient eaters and will only nurse for total of 10 minutes. Always check to see weight gain and wet diaper counts if you're concerned with your lo getting enough.

[daisymelan]

I would have to agree with the other poster.  If you are concerned about supply, the worst thing you can do is supplement.  Make sure you are getting enough liquids and all the other things you need to do to keep supply up.  After you are done feeding her, pump for 15minutes or so to stimulate more milk.  You may not get much, but it will help up your supply.

In regards to gas, have you tried gripe water?  Lots of mamas on the site have said it works wonders for their los gas.  My lo always had gas, but it never made him uncomfortable.  Also do leg exercises with her to help her "get it out".

HTH

{{hugs}}

[Samuel's mum]

Just to continue on what was being said about the 'top milk' or foremilk. It's important you don't switch sides before the baby has had a chance to reach the hindmilk (or the fattier milk) in the feed. An imbalance of too much foremilk is certainly a contributing factor to wind. Babies vary on how quickly they feed but basically don't break her off the breast to swap sides - let her come off naturally. You could also look at the position of your feeding. It sounds silly I know but check her head is definitely higher than the rest of her body. Check also her lips are not tucked in and she has a good full latch. (If she has a dry puffy patch on the centre of her top lip that could indicate she is taking in wind when she feeds because of her positioning).
If you supplement with formula you will never allow your supply to catch up with what she needs. If she feeds more and you remain hydrated and eat well there is no reason why your supply can't improve. Why did you feel you had supply problems in the first place? If you weren't using a strict schedule and responding to her growth spurts then supply is very rarely a problem. I hope you weren't going by amounts you pump or how your breasts felt as neither of these are reliable indicators.
 
I would agree with daisymelan that:  If you are concerned about supply, the worst thing you can do is supplement.

I hope you are able to find a way to conquer her wind problem. I agree it seems so painful!

[lizjackson]

I feel like I don't have as much milk as I used to.  Like, I am not as big as I used to be.  There was a day or so were she was not latching on at all for me.  I think that she did not feel well.  I worry that that ruined my supply because I supplemented a lot.  I feel that she does not get all that she needs because she does not EVER feed for more that 7 minutes on each side.  And sometimes not even that.  I do not move her to the second until after she appears to be done and ready for a burp.  Just now, I feed her and she did not seem to eat a lot (I just am assuming this), so I gave her a little formula and she ate it as well... what does that mean... I worry that she is not getting enough food.  Also, how can I increase my supply... pumping after each feeding and completely stopping any and all formula???  Please help me get back on track..with my supply because I want to breastfeed until she is 1 and I am getting so concerned that she is not eating enough..  Thank you...

[First Time Mom]

Your supply would not get permanently ruined from 2 days of supplementing but may if you do this daily and continue, what she takes in formula she is not taking from you so your body will say "hey, we don't need to make more, no one's drinking it!". When you say she took a little formula I think most babies will, especially bf'd babies- it's so easy for them to drink it. My dd would never turn down a boob, she would always drink some, hungry or not, she may not take a full feed if not hungry but she would take some. Have you tried to put her to 3 hours instead of 2.5? It may make her hungrier to take more at a feed. How many feeds is she getting and how many night feeds? If she has lots of night feeds she's loading up and not needing as much in the day.

I would not worry about not being as big as you once were. I never feel "full", only feel slightly full at my dd's 4am feed. The only times I EVER felt full was when my dd slept through the night w/o waking once (happened twice). How many wet diapers does she have in a day? This is a good indication of her feeding. Is she gaining weight? If you are concerned would it be possible for you to go to a bfing clinic nearby to get her weighed more often and to check latch? Again, the only way to increase supply (if you truly need to) is to let her suck more frequently temporarily and to pump. Doing this, it does not take long for the body to make more.

[deb]

Have you tried using probiotics? You can get them for adults, kids, and even babies - powder you mix with EBM or formula. I ended up giving a little to Natalie when she was 5 days old as her farts could literally clear a room!  The very next day, no more farts!

[lizjackson]

ok, I think that this is all in my head.. thinking that she is not getting enough milk and that my supply is ruined.  I am worrying too much.  I am going to stop the formula.  She has always gained weight.. but I don't know how much since her 2 month appointment and will not have her weighed again until her 4 month visit.  She has plenty of wet diapers.  Is it ok that she feeds for such a short period of time??  I am going to try to spread out her feedings to 3 hours tomorrow, hopefully she will eat more. 

She gets up 1 time during the night and I sometimes will nurse her DF style around 10 but not all the time.  I do appreciate your help.  I think that I need to stop worrying and trust that if she was indeed not getting enough food she would show me by crying, etc.. right??? 

oh and where can I get this gripe water??

[First Time Mom]

Been there done that! I think we all worry at different times about our lo's getting enough through bfing because we can't see exactly how much they take. My lo is light in weight so I still worry periodically. It is ok to feed for that short time period, she may be efficient. Longer feeds don't always mean better feeds- my dd will sometimes take 30 minutes to feed at night when she's tired and I can tell she's not taking in more than some of her 15 minute feeds. You may have to go to 3 hours gradually, adding 15 minutes at a time. I'm not sure where you are but Gripe water is common and sold in drug stores here in Canada.

[Idahomom]

I found gripe water in the natural foods section of our grocery store, so if you don't find it in the regular baby section, try the baby section in natural or organic foods.  Also I use simethicone drops (like Mylicon, but we use Little Tummies - cheaper).  Two seperate nurses told me they were completely safe to use even with every feeding because they don't absorb into the body, just go through the digestive system and gather all the little bubbles into big ones to be passed as gas.  DS stopped having bad gas for a while, but started up again when we introduced solids, so he's back on the drops.

[Samuel's mum]

You are right that maybe you have been worrying too much! Trust your body - breasts have been working just fine for thousands of years! It was interesting that you mentioned that you were worrying your breasts didn't feel as full. This is completely normal as breastfeeding becomes established. If more people knew this then perhaps there would be less people starting to supplement.
Good Luck.

[lizjackson]

thank you everybody for your help. i feel much more confident about continuing on with breastfeeding.  hopefully i will also notice a difference in her gas when the formula is gone!!