windy baby - when is it reasonable to introduce medicine

[Sam1975]

Hi, my DS is 5 weeks old and whilst I have tried various winding positions, these are rarely successful...since a week he seems to suffer increasingly from wind, which interrupts our bf session halfway through by causing him to frantically cry, arch his back etc..ca half an hour later he is ready to continue his feed, is howeve very restless, which then again results in the same wind problems, from which on he usually also asks for continuous comfort feeds in between which if I give in, only worsen the wind problem in the long run. Duration of crying after the feed is usually ca. 1 hour, and then we usually manage to calm him down. I think (and please correct me if Im wrong!) that wind is quite a common problem in newborns due to their immature digestive system, and Im not sure whether this already qualifies as a colic and justifies giving him the likes of Infacol etc? Any advice much appreciated!

infacol may very well help. We never found it did but others swear by it. We found dentinox colic drops to be more effective TBH. Both are available over the counter. You dont need a prescription. Gripe Water might be useful too.

As you are BFing you could try drinking some fennel or camomile tea as both will help your baby with wind.

I FF'd and would make my daughters bottle up with camomile tea. It had an amazing effect on her wind problem.

If nothing else seems to be working you could try colief. It is basically an enzyme which helps the babies gut break down the proteins which can cause wind.

hth.

We found infacol was brilliant

Infacol was about 50% of both my daughters' diet for the first three months of their life. . Your DS is absolutely NOT too young - this is the time when they suffer most from wind, he'll grow out of it in time. Meanwhile you can try various remedies to give him (and you) some relief.

Infacol, IIRC, isn't actually abosrbed by their system, it just helps all the little bubbles of wind join together to make a big bubble which is easier for them to burp up. So you're not giving him drugs, per se. I think you'l probably find it'll help no end, so don't put yourselves through any more angst - it's not cheating! (Sounds mad, but this is what I felt with DD1, like I should be able to 'fix' this without recourse to medication... and that I was somehow wimping out if I didn't. [barking emoticon]. Had no such qualms with DD2 and we had a much happier and more peaceful first few weeks!!)

There are other things you can try too - Colief is supposed to be good (but Infacol worked for us so I didn't need to go there) and gripe water from two months IIRC. Gripe water is mostly Dill, I think - something about 'warming the gut' ?? Dunno, but it also works...

Also, if you're BFing - watch what you eat. Onions and tomatoes used to aggravate DD1... Dairy used to constipate DD2 and give her cramps. Still does now if SHE eats too many yogurts!

Good luck, and give yourself a break!

db
xx