Colic & Gas

The first few weeks are the worst. It does get better. When Elliot hit six weeks, I began to see the light. And then by three months, it knew I was going to make it. I kept reminding myself to enjoy what I could during each stage; and not focus on the bad.

My son had gas/spit-up problems. We used Gripe Water. It's cheaper if you get it online (even including shipping... www.vitacost.com), but they carry it at Walgreens, too, if you want to try it right away. It worked within seconds when he was little. And it's all natural. I would feed him, burp him, and if he seemed to be having problems (scrunching up his legs and crying), we would give him some.

We burped him after each feeding; even if he was asleep. We would walk around patting him until we heard something. That usually kept him from waking up in his sleep with gas.

Here are a few other things that worked well for us:

Chamomile tea (1/2 teaspoon)
The book "Babywise" (burping positions)
Stomach sleeping (see SIDS post)

As for food...I tried going off dairy and that seemed to help. Also, I drank chamomile, peppermint, or fennel tea during the day. I also started a list of things I ate and Elliot's reaction after each feeding. That helped, too. It looks like it takes the food about 24 hours to go to the milk. But with somethings it takes less. :( Wish it were a science.

Also, I found that when I didn't eat a whole lot, Elliot would be gassy. (I eat the wrong thing and he's gassy and I don't eat anything and he's gassy...what's up with that??) I have tried to keep chicken breasts and frozen fish fillets in the freezer. Put a little bit of salt seasoning on it, and stick it in the oven frozen...microwave a few vegetables and wa-la.

And I didn't try to entertain him all the time. I read that babies need to learn to entertain themselves. And I tried not to be afraid to let him cry. When Elliot cried, I checked his diaper, burped him, and then put him back down (if it wasn't time to eat or be awake). Then I would set the timer for 10 minutes and let him cry. I would go back in and burp him again and lay him back down and set the timer again. At six weeks and four months they have a growth spurt, so if he tried to suck on my arm or neck while I burped him, I would feed him; even if it had only been two hours or so.

I did some research, and here are a few foods that nursing mothers should avoid. Some babies aren't bothered, but our son had terrible spitting up/colic issues. I tried staying away from all of these, but I wasn't getting enough calories and it was effecting my milk production. I went back to eating almost everything, but did my best to stay away from beans, dairy, eggs, and carbonation until he was a couple of months old. He quit spitting up as much and his digestive system seemed much better. :) (We gave him Gripe Water and Homeopathic Colic tablets and they helped TREMENDOUSLY. See Flying/Travel/Medicine post.)

Beans/Lentils
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Caffeine
Carbonated Drinks
Cauliflower
Chocolate
Citrus fruits (lemon, orange, grapefruit)
Corn
Dairy products
Eggs
Hot peppers
Iron supplements
Medicines
Onions
Peanuts
Pineapple
Shellfish
Soy and tofu
Spicy food
Tomato
Wheat