Windy baby doesn't sleep day and night

[NanaJoy]

Hi,

I am new to Mumsnet. I read all the threads about windy babies and I am glad I am not alone, struggling with a very windy 7 month old baby. Everyone around me says it should have cleared by now and here we are to prove them all wrong.

My DS wakes up a few times during each nap and a few times at night, bringing his feet up, arching his back and screaming and the only things that seem to help are bouncing him on the yoga ball and bringing his feet up to release the wind and then he usually resettles after around 15-30min. We give gripe water and probiotics and I tried drinking loads of fennel tea and excluding many foods from my diet (he is BF) but nothing seems to do the magic.

I am really exhausted and it feels quite liberating to just admit it. I have 2 questions on which I would appreciate some insight:

1. Any chance swapping BF for formula would make him produce less wind in his intestines? This is probably the only thing I haven't tried
2. Do you think he is actually getting used to relying on me to help release his wind? Can babies pass wind and fart in their sleep?

I am not prepared to leave him to cry but I also don't want to create a habit of needing me to resettle instead of helping him pass wind on his own.

Thanks,

Have you tried no gripe water and probiotics?

What have you excluded from your diet and for how long?

He's waking up upset - unlikely that he'll be able to sort it himself.

I have two windy babies. Both have reflux and dairy/soya intolerances. I had to be very careful with solid food. So if you give some more details, I can tell you my experiences?

Mine was like this. He had a tongue tie. Cut today and not a problem since!

If you are excluding things from your diet you obviously suspect a food intolerance, if this is the case please take him to your GP and ask for some testing. You need to know what he is intolerant to, just to make things easier for you and him. If your GP won't do the testing ask for a referral.

As for the cause of the wind, have you had your latch checked recently and has he been checked for tongue tie as aamia mentions?

Agree with Iggly, if he is waking up distressed I can see no point in leaving him.

I do give him woodwards gripe water and I can say it makes things only a tiny bit better in that I think it's easier for him to expel the wind.

I also give probiotics daily - again, very minimal improvement.

I don't eat many fresh veggies anymore :-(((( - a slice of tomato here and there as I know acidic veggies can make it worse. Also try to limit how much broccoli I eat and some other "gassy" veggies are off the list. I tried excluding dairy for about a week and I didn't see much difference. I actually do eat a lot of dairy so I might try excluding again.... TBH b/c his wind fluctuates all the time I can't really say that my eating/not eating has been making a significant difference... but I keep at it b/c I prefer to minimise the chance of anything making it worse... as it's pretty bad as it is

Iggly - I would love to hear more about how you dealt with your babies.... and till what age did they struggle?

aamia - so happy your baby is better! I don't think it's a latch problem.... it doesnt sound like he swallows thaaaat much air....

JJJ - do you know a bit more about allergy testing? I hear that its often not covered by NHS as they are said not to be reliable...

I know at least 2 babies who have been diagnosed as dairy intolerant on the Nhs, on by a GP and one by a Paed. If you are bfing there isn't really anything you need to exclude.

I would seriously consider talking to a BFC.

If you are bfing there isn't really anything you need to exclude

If they're dairy or soya intolerant then yes you do.

Both of mine were/are dairy and soya intolerant. I excluded dairy for months. In the early months, it was hard to tell if it made any difference because young babies can be quite windy anyway. But now with my youngest being 10 months, I can have small amounts of dairy (literally a cube of cheese) and DD will get a bit of bum wind but that's it.

I'd stop the probiotics and gripe water. I found gripe water made dd worse. Have you ever drunk too much peppermint tea? It makes you very windy, much like gripe water might.

Dd and ds were very windy for the first 3-4 months. I had to go in a very restrictive diet (basically bland meals, no caffeine, no dairy/soya/spices etc). By 4-5 months they settled down but would have windy episodes if I slipped up. By 6 months I could have small amounts but not worth the hassle.

Once they were on solids, they had to have very plain foods. Both react to tomatoes, citrus, dairy etc (my eldest, ds, grew out of it by 18-24 months). For example, dd had some tomatoes at 8 months and got upset, rubbing her nose etc.

Both of mine also have reflux - goes in hand with intolerances.

You don't really get tests for intolerances as they're not allergies just sensitivities.

Honestly, ditch the gripe and probiotics. Try excluding dairy and soya for two weeks. What kind of solids are you giving baby?

Iggly obviously if there is an issue such as dairy intolerant you do, but for regular bfing there is nothing really you need to avoid. Sorry to hear that yours were intolerant.

Yes I just read your post as saying regardless of intolerances..

That's ok, obviously I wouldn't be recommended someone with a baby to eat anything but sometimes people (including me) don't realise when they first start bfing that you can eat anythng. Even had a MW tell me on day 3 that I shouldn't have eaten a curry the night before ffs.

you do wonder where the MWs get the info from!!

Saying that, mine did react when I ate chilli or onions which is frustrating (but only when they were younger, they got better as they got older)

thanks everyone.... I have to admit I keep my one cup of coffee per day... Iggly - did you babies have other symptoms that made you suspect dairy/soy intolerance other than wind? We don't have any hives or other symptoms listed as indicators... could it still be sensitivity to cow milk protein?

I will try to ditch the gripe water and probiotics and see...

I am also considering getting a lactation consultant to recheck my latch to see if he is swallowing abnormal amounts of air... I doubt it but maybe I am wrong...

Another question for those who struggled with windy babies - how did you handle the sleep disturbances? If they woke up in the middle of the nap tired and farting or tired and in pain....

Till not when wind bothered his sleep I kept picking him up and holding him till he settled and could sleep again. But I feel he is getting used to being picked up and getting more demanding out of habit... not just when he is windy... a habit I don't want to sustain...

JJJ-I agree with you for most babies - many babies I know did not react to mom's foods.... but I know some do and you just have to be vigilant for any changes in your baby...

Oh, and re solids - we have been very cautious.... and I dont mix more than 2 together to make it easier for him to digest. we give apples, pear, bananas, squash, potatoes, zuccini, parsnips, and carrots a bit (they made him constipated). BTW - are parsnips a gassy veggie? I just read this after reading before that it's actually an easy veggie to digest! Now I am reconsidering....

Have you given any protein? Both of mine were better on protein and carbs with very small amounts of veg. Not much bread or pasta though.

Symptoms of intolerance were reflux flare ups (vomiting if I had dairy/soya plus crying if they had to burp and arching back) bum wind and excema. Hives would be sign of an allergy which is more serious.

You might see an improvement after ditching the probiotics and gripe because they could be making wind worse. I also found they slept better if they were on their fronts as easier to get wind out.

With night wakings I kept it boring, quick cuddle and a feed. If I felt they became habitual, I wouldn't feed for some wakings and just cuddle. I also put them down very quickly so they were still drowsy sometimes and settle themselves back down.

Sorry for disapearing for a while... I hope you can still see this- I am updating...

So I have ditched the probiotics and gripe water and I think we are doing better indeed!!!! Still have some crying episodes but far less...

Iggly, I think based on what I read about intolerance and about the symptoms you described we are for sure just windy and not intolerant as he is otherwise well...

I am starting to introduce chicken tomorrow... so more protein will go in. Hopefully that will help too...

Looks like overall we are on the right track - just got to find more patience to wait it out! :)