For breastfed babies, gas might be caused by eating too fast, swallowing too much air or digesting certain foods. Babies have immature GI systems and can frequently experience gas because of this. Pains from gas can make your baby fussy, but intestinal gas is not harmful.
Gas in a breastfed baby is not uncommon and can be attributed to several factors: Gulping while feeding. If your milk let-down reflex is strong, your baby may gulp your milk to keep up and swallow extra air in the process.
Gassy Foods
Common culprits include beans, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Bloating, burping, and passing gas are normal. But if your baby is gassy or has colic, avoid these foods for a few weeks to see whether they relieve the symptoms.
Myth #2: You have to avoid certain foods so your baby doesn't get gassy. When a breastfed baby fusses for seemingly no reason, it's often attributed to gas caused by something the mom ate. But this isn't true in most cases. For a majority of people, what you eat is not going to make your baby feel bad.
When a baby has trouble sleeping due to gassiness, it may be tempting to place them on their side or stomach to see if that helps their digestion. However, to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the best sleeping position for a gassy baby—and every baby—is on their back.
If breast milk is causing problems for your baby, you'll notice that their fussiness occurs rather predictably after feeding time. This happens because digesting milk after a meal causes your baby's discomfort to worsen, and red-faced, grimacing cries are likely to result.
Using a pacifier.
“Almost all babies will find some baby gas relief by sucking on a pacifier,” O'Connor says, because the sucking action releases endorphins that will soothe them.
“pedal' their legs back and forth in a bicycling motion gently, a few minutes at a time, until they pass gas. Hold them upright against your shoulder, making sure they head is elevated. Pat or rub their back gently for a few minutes at a time until they pass gas.
Also, babies with colic may burp frequently or pass a significant amount of gas, but this is thought to be due to swallowing air while crying, and is not a cause of colic. The face may be flushed. The abdomen may be tense with legs drawn toward it.
Tummy time.
Placing a baby on their stomach while awake helps to relieve gas pains. By gently increasing the abdominal pressure, tummy time pushes gas bubbles up and out. Tummy time is also a great way to strengthen the head and neck muscles needed to reach early motor milestones.
If your baby shows negative symptoms after drinking breast milk. Consider how your baby responds to breast milk after drinking it. If symptoms occur such as fussiness, irritability, crying, gas, increased spitting up and/or drawing their legs up due to tummy pain, write down everything you ate that day.
Some people describe a “soapy” smell or taste in their milk after storage; others say it is a “metallic” or “fishy” or “rancid” odor. Some detect a “sour” or “spoiled” odor or taste. Accompanying these changes are concerns that the milk is no longer good for the baby.
Fussiness is one of the most common symptoms of a food sensitivity or intolerance. Fussiness before eating because of hunger, during the feeding and then more fussy as they become more uncomfortable can be common.
Can Swaddling Help with a Baby's Gas? Yes. If your baby is younger than 2 months, you can help them release gas by swaddling them. In addition to applying gentle pressure to their stomach, swaddling relaxes baby, which may help them calm enough to lull them to sleep.
The discomfort from gas will pass. Gas discomfort from burps and farts typically peaks at six weeks and improves immensely by 3 months of age. At that point, even the fussiest babies tend to settle.
At nighttime, there's less movement and the gas can build up and get trapped. Additionally, babies tend to feed close to bedtime, and air introduced during this feed can become trapped. Also, our digestive systems are still very active at night and the results of digestion can be… gas!
To prevent adverse reactions in the baby while breastfeeding, it's recommended to avoid consuming citrus fruits, cherries, and prunes. Citrus fruits have been associated with digestive problems, fussy behavior, vomiting, and diaper rash in breastfed babies.
Keep Hydrated
As a nursing mother, you need about 16 cups per day of water, which can come from food, beverages and drinking water, to compensate for the extra water that is used to make milk.
Mercy Pediatrician, Dr. Ashanti Woods, Discusses Effect of High Sugar Levels in Breast Milk. Mothers who consume large amounts of sugar could be passing the added sugar to their infants through breast milk, which could hamper the child's cognitive development.
Signs of a gassy baby include spitting up, crying, drawing legs up, and a reduced appetite. Usually, gas will pass; talk to your child's healthcare provider if the symptoms don't go away. Some babies have food allergies or sensitivities, lactose intolerance, or eat too quickly.
There's no need to remove your baby's pacifier while they're sleeping. In fact, doing that might wake them up, and we all know the old rule about never waking a sleeping baby. If the pacifier comes out at night and your little one is sleep sleeping soundly, don't feel like you have to put it back in.
“Warm baths can be great in helping relieve infant gas,” says Trachtenberg. Not only do most babies relax once they're partially submerged in a warm tub — which can help their gastrointestinal (GI) tract operate more efficiently — the warm temperature may help soothe sore tummies, as well.