Too much gas - what to do?

[uzmanm]

Hi,

I have a 13 days old daughter who has gas pains about 4 times a day. These are episods that lasts from 20 minuts to 1.5 hours with shrieks and pulling her legs up and making fists. I was told to stay away from dairy and wheat products, which I stopped their intake more than a week ago. Still the gas didn't subside.

I heard about Mylicon drops and Gripe Juice to ease the gas. Are these safe for a 13-days old? I really don't want to give her anything other than breastmilk, but it is unbearable to see her in pain. If not these, what else can I do?

Thanks in advance,

Filiz

[KerrySmithIBCLC]

Hi Filiz! Congrats on your baby and I'm sorry she's so uncomfortable!

How has her weight gain been so far? How many poopy diapers does she have a day, and what color are they?

Gas can be caused by foods in the mom's diet, and dairy is the most common culprit. It can take a couple weeks for all dairy to leave your system and your milk. I would also cut out iron (such as with your prenatal vitamin) and caffeine, which are two things that are pretty easy to eliminate.

A very common cause of gassiness in the baby is a fore/hindmilk imbalance and/or overactive letdown. This can cause a buildup of lactose in the baby's system, which can cause bad gas pains and explosive bowel movements. Here is more information:

http://breastfeeding.hypermart.net/toomuchmilk.html

Here's more information about general fussiness in the baby:

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html

Mylicon might be helpful, but there are disadvantages to introducing anything other than breastmilk to the baby, so I would check out those links and investigate other causes of the fussiness, as well as non-medicine ways of trying to eliminate the gassiness.

Good luck!

[uzmanm]

Thanks Kerry. My daughter almost gained back to her birth weigth as of Tuesday (she was weighted 8lb 2.5oz). She has about 5-6 dirty diapers, but the stool is little in several of those such that it just stains the diaper. The stool is mustard color and somewhat watery. She also has about 6 wet diapers (some coincident with the dirty diapers - at least I see them together when I change her)

I'll check the links you provided. Now that you mentioned fore/hindmilk imbalance, I had another concern. When I squeeze my breast, I see my milk coming out as drops, i.e. it is not like streaming or jetting as some (my) mothers say it should be. Is this normal at this time? Should I expect more milk in the coming days/weeks? I breastfed my baby every 1.5 to 2 hours (on her cue).

Thanks,
Filiz

[KerrySmithIBCLC]

When I squeeze my breast, I see my milk coming out as drops, i.e. it is not like streaming or jetting as some (my) mothers say it should be.

Very normal. The only time it will really stream out is in the middle of a letdown. At other times it will probably just dribble if you were to hand express. You can try an experiment - when your daughter is nursing and starts to gulp the milk, then squeeze your other nipple at that time. You will probably find the milk sprays out. But even if it doesn't I would not worry. If her weight gain is fine, then she's getting enough to eat. Once she regains birthweight, which should occur by 10-14 days postpartum, she should be gaining about 5-8 oz/week for the first 4 months.