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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Trapped wind - infacol?

25 replies

BettyBoo246 · 15/08/2013 08:13

Hello
I posted earlier this morning about my lo having trapped wind, mainly during night feeds! It's now at the point where either of us are getting much sleep as he's screaming the house down coz he's hungry but can't feed as it hurts and by the time I've settled him its his next feed :(
I have been googling all night and wondered if anyone had had any success with infacol? He's only 2 wks old so I'm assuming still too early for gripe water??
Any help / advice would be appreciated, its really getting me down i feel so helpless :(

OP posts:

tiktok · 15/08/2013 09:19

How do you know he has trapped wind,Betty?

2 week old babies get distressed for many reasons.

Often, at night, they may want to feed on and off and doze snuggled up to you in bed. What happens if you cuddle up with him next to you in bed?

starlightloz · 15/08/2013 09:28

I mentioned gripe water to my health visitor yesterday as my baby boy is 16 days old and seems to suffer for about an hour before bed. I can tell it's trapped wind from how he tenses his body and sort of arches his back.She said gripe water doesn't do any harm and some babies take to it brilliantly. No mention of him being too young for it and I do trust her judgement as she has been amazing with advice previously. Another good solution is baby massage, local Surestart centres tend to offer courses. I also find swaddling helps so my baby is comforted by being absolutely snug whilst I pat his back to dislodge the wind. Hope you find a solution so your little one doesn't suffer and you both get some sleep soon.

cupcake78 · 15/08/2013 09:35

Are you breast or formula feeding? If he's on bottles go with anti colic bottles!

Infacol can take a while to work and he needs it before every feed. My HV also said gripe water is ok to use. Warm water shifts wind really well, give him a drink and wait 30 mins as does baby massage and warm baths.

My dd 6 weeks had a terrible time at 2 weeks but it has got easier. There is also a growth spurt around 10 days to 2 weeks that can cause fussing and behaviour that could seem to be wind.

tiktok · 15/08/2013 09:36

Babies tense their bodies and arch their backs when in distress/discomfort. It does not have to mean trapped wind.

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 15/08/2013 10:19

I think it's wind as he's blue round his mouth and wen he tries to continue his feed just ends up spitting and coughing it up, also stretching out and tensing legs and tries to throw himself back everytime I put him over my shoulder.
My hv was not much help at all just tld me to feed before he cries and don't let him drink the last half oz (frothy bit)
I've tried every position I know of to wind him but it just seems to stress him even more.
Not sure whether to go straight to gripe water and only give in small doses or try infacol first but obviously that can take days to start working 😴

OP posts:

tiktok · 15/08/2013 11:06

Blue round the mouth is not a sign of wind - despite the myths! If your baby is blue round the mouth, he needs to be checked out. Your baby may have troublesome wind, but the blueness is not a sign of it. Throwing himself back may be because he has had what he needs.

Your HV's advice was sound - babies who are upset and crying do swallow more air when feeding, and over-feeding can cause splutteryness.

What do you feel about co-sleeping? You can do it safely, if you follow the rules :)

MisselthwaiteManor · 15/08/2013 11:12

It could be silent reflux, my DD coughed and spit and cried during her feeds and was diagnosed with reflux. I've found winding her by sitting her on my knee and hula hooping her a few times during a feed, and then walking about with her tummy-to-tummy in a sling after a feed seems to squeeze the wind out.

Becky5W · 16/08/2013 01:53

A mw in hosp after I had my dd told me that babies go a blue/grey colour around mouth when they need winding. We are having trouble with colic and we have tried infacol twice now and it really hasn't suited dd. Health visitor recommended it but she went off her feeds altogether and was so distressed so we stopped it. It doesn't work for every baby but maybe worth a try. We also tried gripe water.. You aren't meant to give gripe water to babies under 1 month old as stated on nhs website and also the instructions on the gripe water bottle so just double check with docs first as don't know about yours but my health visitor is useless and I don't trust a word she says!! Gripe water made dd very sick and a lot of reviews also say this too! We again stopped using it. Your baby may have the start of colic as that's what my girl is like. If you don't get anywhere with health visitor, got to doctors. They should be able to help and diagnose whatever is wrong.

cogitosum · 16/08/2013 02:25

I've tried infacol for the last week with no success. My midwife recommended colief so going to try that tomo but understand it's a faf!

I've heard good things about gripe water but it does say it's only suitable from 4 weeks. I asked HV and she said it could affect their kidneys if it's given too early so I'm not going to risk it.

We tried co-sleeping but it didn't work as he needs winding after every feed so just feedinb lying down then letting him sleep didn't work.

tiktok · 16/08/2013 09:16

The blue-grey tinge round the mouth has nothing to do with wind - this is a very pervasive myth with no foundation to it at all, and yes, I have heard HCPs repeat it, too, but it is really rubbish! How can wind in the stomach travel and affect the skin round the mouth? The blue-grey tinge is actually a result of the translucence of a baby's skin, which reveals the tiny blood vessels under the skin which look blue-grey (just as the veins you see elsewhere on anybody's skin are that colour). Sometimes this colour is more obvious when the baby has been crying, just as he might be red in the face. But babies cry for many reaons - not just wind.

Gripe water has a tiny amount of sodium in it, so I suppose this is why it is thought unsafe for very new babies, but the amount you give to a baby is so small, I wouldn't have thought it a problem - just my opinion and obv it is better to go with the manufacturer's instructions :)

AnyoneButLulu · 16/08/2013 09:24

Infacol is very safe and pretty cheap so it's worth a try - if it doesn't work then try other things. Worked well with DD, but another NCT mum said to me "oh I tried that, it's rubbish, didn't work at all" I asked her if her baby had trapped wind and she said no .

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 16/08/2013 15:37

Thank all for the advice! I'm on day 2 of infacol, no change yet tho but hv said to persevere with it for a 4/5 days as it needs to get in his system. She did mention colief but said was expensive. If infacol has no effect I will try dentinox drops after.
It's just so hard at night, he can only manage an oz of milk before he starts spitting and coughing and tensing up, the hv also said not to wind him if it makes him scream and cry but surely this would make him worse if I just let him continue to feed?? :/

OP posts:

cogitosum · 16/08/2013 18:45

I've just got the colief so will come back and let you know how I get on if you'd like.

Apparently it's the only one that's been properly tested and proven to work. If it does work it's worth any money! I'd pay almost anything to sleep for a few hours!

It sounds like our babies are very similar as we have exactly the same issue.

LindsayS79 · 16/08/2013 22:06

Hi Betty
You should maybe give colocynth granules a go too. You get them in Boots pharmacy and you put them under the tongue or in a bottle.
I have found them great for moving wind as my LO farts like a trooper afterwards!! Just seems to give that little extra assistance to get wind moving!
I have trouble burping my LO but the granules seems to help with the bits I can't get up.

StuckOnARollercoaster · 17/08/2013 17:51

Hi Betty, have you tried the 'bear hug' way of winding your baby. I read about it on a thread here and it has much better results than the usual baby on shoulder, or sitting her and rocking backwards and forwards.
You snuggle her into your body with her head between your breast and shoulder and give her a really tight bear hug. I get the strangest sounding burp but it does seem to really relieve her.
My dd had bad pains at about the same age - doctor gave us a prescription for infacol for wind to try first, and also gaviscon if that didn't work and it was reflux.
The infacol seemed to do the trick, but I wonder if it was just time or my improved burping technique. The pain just seemed to subside week 3, and by week 5 I'd got a bit lax with the infacol and burping and we haven't reverted back to all the pain we had at week 2.

cogitosum · 18/08/2013 03:32

Ooh I'm not the op but tried the bear hug and it worked well. He burped much quicker than normal. Thank you stuckonarollercoaster

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 18/08/2013 18:02

Yes let me know cogitosum! I've heard colief is the best just more expensive and abit of a faff to give! I'm on day 4 of infacol and still no change but hv says u av to persevere with it, I'm really not sure if it is colic as he's starting to have the same trouble now in the day (hv says colic should be just evening/night) anyone tried aptimal comfort?

OP posts:

cogitosum · 19/08/2013 13:25

Well we started colief Saturday night and have had 2 pretty good nights but he still gets fussy and cries in the evening.

I think colic is usually in the evening but can be at any time.

Interestingly the leaflet actually says colief won't always work and can be used diagnostically. If after a week things haven't improved then it's not the lactose that's the problem.

cogitosum · 19/08/2013 13:34

Oh and it's a real faff. I'm having to express a little then add the drops, feed it it him on a spoon and then feed normally. It's also only meant to be given 6 times a day and ds feeds loads more than that so he's not having it with every feed.

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 19/08/2013 15:03

Well I still can't see any difference with infacol, he's spitting most of it out too so not sure it will ever get in his system! I mite give it this week then try dentinox drops.
Can't wait till he's a month and then try gripe water, although starting to hear that's not all its cracked up to be either :(
I've just got some anti colic teats so will c if they help, I'm buying anything that says anti colic on it :)

OP posts:

cogitosum · 19/08/2013 15:25

I found infacol useless too. I think it's. Wry commercial whereas colief seems more medicinal.

I've heard good things about gripe water from nct friends with slightly older babies. DS is 4 weeks on Saturday so I'm going to try it then. Can't wait! Apparently it's good at making them burp which I think is his biggest issue now a colief has helped him poo without as much pain.

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 19/08/2013 15:32

Same here I'm counting down the days till he's four weeks old :) fingers crossed it will work! A friend of mine said once she could use gripe water and also changed her milk to aptimal comfort she really noticed a difference. I don't really want to put him on different milk just yet as going to see if these teats work first.
Hv said all infacol does is make his little air bubbles into one big one so easier to bring up?? I really don't hold out much hope as I don't think big or small air bubbles he still won't bring it up lol

OP posts:

tiktok · 19/08/2013 17:09

Infacol does indeed 'work' in that way, but there is no evidence this actually helps in any way.

Original poster

BettyBoo246 · 19/08/2013 17:15

is that how the dentinox drops work too tiktok?

OP posts:

tiktok · 19/08/2013 23:24

Yes - active ingredient simeticone sometimes known as simethicone. Neither works systemically ie not on the baby's body but on the air in the stomach. Supposedly.

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