Gassy Baby Breastfeeding, over 10 Tricks that Can Easily Prevent the Problem…

Let us first focus on the foods to avoid while breastfeeding a gassy baby:

• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Onion
• Artichoke
• Peach
• Pear
• Corn
• Potato
• Pasta
• Carbonated soda/gassed water

Minimize, if not avoid, the intake of such foods that cause a baby becomes gassy.

A characteristic of a gassy baby is having a tendency to stress trying to get air out of the body system. Remember that a baby’s digestive tracts are still underdeveloped, resulting to digestion difficulty when a large amount of gas gets in to the intestine.

Gassy baby breastfeeding gets a bit tricky due to these causes:

• Diet of mother affects gassiness.
• Mom’s milk supply is large and/or too fast that the baby tends to gulp air while nursing.
• The baby cries excessively that too much air is swallowed.

Second, if the flow of milk is quick and abundant, make sure to hold your baby as upright as possible so that the child swallows the milk and not the air.

Third, on excessive crying, how to do when baby has colic?

Babies cry out loud to get any message across.

Hungry? Cry.

Pooped? Cry.

Sleepy? Cry.

No apparent reason? Cry.

Yes, you heard it right. There might come a time that your little one will cry for just no obvious reason at all. Diaper has been changed, just woke up from a long sleep, done feeding – it seems that your checklist has been properly ticked yet you are not able to figure out what the problem is.

If this wailing performance gets a rerun in patterns, then, it must be colic.

Now your mind is a bit baffled on what to do for colic babies. As the cause of this behavior has not yet been firmly established, how can you “battle” something that is unknown?

Here are some easy and effective tips on how to help ease colic/how to treat colic in babies:

• Environment is everything

Ensure that the baby’s environment is always clean and calm. If adults feel irritated in an environment that lacks or falls short of both, what more if it is a baby who knows nothing about the words adjustment or patience?

• Be observant

Does the baby respond negatively to a certain stimulus say putting the lights on in sleeping? Does the baby respond well if the lights are only dimmed?

• Relief the pressure on baby’s tummy

You can place the baby face down on your shoulder or lap and massage the back. Never underestimate the power of touch.

• Gripe water for newborns

You may try giving gripe water to colic babies. Gripe water consists of sodium bicarbonate and herbs like ginger, chamomile, fennel and cinnamon. It is also said that gripe water serves as remedy for hiccups and even teething pain.

In fact, there is a special brand of gripe water, “colic calm” (United States manufactured) that is sold internationally and is claiming effectiveness in treating colic in babies. A quick reminder though: before giving gripe water (or colic calm at that) to the newborn, please consult a doctor.

• 2 options for motion: walk or rock

While in a baby carrier, feel free to walk around so the warmth of the cloth and the rhythm you create when you walk can lull the child to sleep.

On the other end, you may place the baby in a swing or stroller and gently rock it until the child feels sleepy.

Playing classical music or simply a heartbeat soundtrack while doing either walking or rocking can definitely help in calming the colic in your offspring.

• Give yourself a break

The colic baby in your child lasts three to four months. With the intensity and pressure aside from the anxiety a wailing baby gives, this duration seems to be a little long but with proper attention, knowledge and understanding, you can definitely ace this challenging period as a mother.

• Newborn Colic Relief

You may do these easy steps to calm a colic baby down:

1. Lay the baby in a dark and quiet room and wrap the child cozily in a blanket.
2. You may also lay the newborn across your lap and rub the little one’s back (with that said, you may want to learn about infant massage).
3. You may put a warm water bottle on the belly of the baby or have the child suck a pacifier.
4. Still frantic? You may want to soak the child in a warm bath like how we adults revitalize ourselves after a stressful day.

How to prevent colic?

This is a good question to ask instead of asking for ways to keep up with colic. Well, the answer to this is there is no such thing as preventing colic. As mentioned, even the “real and solid” cause of colic is unknown so there is no specific way to prevent it.

There are a few prevention tips though (workarounds) that you may want to apply like:

1. holding the colicky baby near a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner because apparently, “white noise” and vibration helps soothe a child for sleep;
2. winding the baby especially after feeding and avoiding overstimulation.

Baby Colic Formula

Usually, pediatricians would start with a traditional cow’s milk formula that contains whey, casein and other milk proteins. Alternatively, if the child develops allergy or intolerance to this formula, doctors would recommend either soy-based or lactose-free formula option.

Formula with probiotic is also seen helpful for colic babies as it keeps the immune system functioning well thus reducing any discomfort that would trigger crying episodes.

Baby Colic Bottles

The best baby bottles for colic should have this characteristic:

A very good venting system that is designed to keep the air bubbles from being swallowed.

Remember that part of the reason why a baby becomes colicky is a gassy stomach. With bottles designed for such, we reduce the chances of irritability. Furthermore, since the air does not mix with the milk, the baby gets all the essential vitamins needed in a more effective way.