Windy baby - probiotics? My diet?

[GeorgieJo]

Hello,

Most nights I stay up snuggling my very unsettled DS. He is 9 weeks old, ebf and seems to get masses of wind trapped in his bowl, making him really uncomfortable. Does anyone have any ideas about what might help?

Keep hoping that it will get better as he gets bigger, but no luck so far!

He burps very quickly after every feed, I have tried Colief and Infacol, I cut out dairy from my diet weeks ago…

It definitely comes and goes, so worry that it is my diet but no idea what the culprit could be.

My MIL suggests probiotics - does anyone have any experience of using them?

Or any other ideas about what to try?

Horrible to watch because he really wants to sleep through it but struggles in pain...

Thank you so much!

I think 9weeks is too young for them. there should be plenty of probiotics in your milk.
have you tried different types of bottles? (I hope I deciphered ebf correctly)

Why have you cut out dairy? I'd start eating dairy again, you need the calcium, and clearly it hasn't made a difference anyway.

Babies are often windy. It can often be due to a lazy latch, so that they are sucking in air with the milk. Make sure there is a strong latch each time, and definitely no clicking noise.

If the wind is in the bowel, have you tried baby massage? Rub some olive oil on your hands and rub in a clockwise motion around the tummy button - you can often feel the wind in there. Then follow up with leg bicycling, and repeat until it comes out. Tiger in the tree hold can also help get it out.

I wouldn't do probiotics for someone as little as this. I found that DS had terrible wind when I ate onions. You could try cutting those out.

I've also heard that infacol can make wind worse not better, so it may not be helping you.

mousmous - ebf = exclusively breast fed

He is exclusively breastfed - and the wind is in his bowel not his bowls... (Sorry!)

I was worried he was a bit young too. They say the probiotics can be introduced from birth, and rationally I don't see why I am more nervous about them than infacol, Colief etc. but for some reason I am!

I think I replied to you on a different thread Georgie - I really suggest you get him checked for tongue tie.

I tried probiotics for windy DD, also cut out various foods incl dairy, didn't make a blind bit of difference. In fact she was tongue tied.

The fact that it comes and goes doesn't mean it's your diet, could just be how much air he's swallowed at different feeds and how much you were able to get out by burping.

Thanks Minpie - he does have a minor tongue tie, but lactation consultant said since it wasn't affecting his feeding there was no need to cut it.

Perhaps I will get a second opinion…

Yes please do! I know at least two people who have been told their babies had "minor" tt not worth treating, several weeks later the tt was causing all sorts of problems and had to be cut anyway.

If you know he has a TT then that would be my first assumption as to what is causing the wind.

Also even if a TT looks quite minor, it can have a more major effect depending on size and shape of baby's mouth, your nipple etc.

Where are you based?

Central London - if you have any recommendations of who to see that would be fantastic!

Thank you

Ah good hoped you'd say London

Right, if you can spend £80 I recommend you book a private appt with Mr Graham I Smith at Kingston Hospital. He will assess the tt and snip if he thinks necessary. No GP referral or anything else needed. He does mostly evening appointments IIRC. That's where we took DD and it was all very straightforward and quick.

Another option, but rather more expensive (£3-400 iirc), is a private appt with either Dr Malcolm Levinkind (he is a dentist who specialises in tt) based in Harley St and Finchley, or Mr Shailesh Patel (based at Kings for NHS but not sure where his private practice is based).

You could also ask your GP to refer you to the NHS tongue tie clinics at any of the big London hospitals (Kings is the best known but St George's also has one for example) - but that may take longer and your GP may be reluctant to refer if there is no weight loss, "only" wind. Also for NHS referral, some clinics require a letter from lactation consultant saying there is a TT and it's causing problems - not sure if the LC you saw would do this given what you said, so that could be another expense and delay.

Your difficulty is that it's Christmas and so quite a few doctors will be away, hence plenty of names to try. Although, you could probably wait a week or two seeing as the tt isn't causing weight loss or milk supply loss issues (I presume).

Untreated TTs can cause problems later anyway (look up mawbroon's posts for example) so not a bad idea to get it looked at now.

PS there are also various lactation consultants (eg Ann Dobson is well known) who will come to your house and do the assessment and snip there. Personally though I preferred a surgeon and I have also read a few tales of snips by LCs reattaching afterwards, which put me off.

In the meantime have you tried bicycling his legs, or laying him flat on his tum over a blanket on your knees?

I found with dd1 that the first 3 months were a wind fest ( also had tt which was snipped by lactation counsellor - now worried I didn't go to surgeon..!) but at 12 weeks it was as if a switch was flipped and the wind was so much better.

The thing about tt is that it's about function as well as appearance and not all ties are necessarily released. Also I was rubbish with dd1 and didn't work at re-teaching her to latch properly after the snip so feeding/wind didn't improve particularly noticeably.

Now dd2 also has a tt it is Groundhog Day here....

Ps should I really see a consultant? (Sorry for hijack, OP)

Echo I think it's just my own particular preference/prejudice to go to a surgeon rather than a lactation consultant for the TT snip. as I say it's just based on my own observation that all the stories I read on MN of tts re attaching were where an LC had done the snip. But I'm sure there are thousands of snips by LCs which don't reattach.

also in my case we were easily able to see a surgeon (Graham Smith) for £80 which was less than most LCs charge so I figured why not.

I was never told to do any re teaching latching after the snip - I just fed her same as before. So I would be surprised if that's why it didn't help for you?

For us it took a week or so to notice the difference but after that BF was so much easier, and dd was much less windy, took bigger feeds and was sleepy and calm after feeds (which almost never happened pre snip).

Thanks minpie for suggestions. Will pursue after Christmas.

Echo great to hear that it might get better soon! I do try bicycling etc but could definitely do more of it...

Just started a new thread but should've come here first... Exactly same problem with 16 wo...
Just had tie done again...
Waiting for results - bf still a battle 1 day after but guess she's older so had learnt to feed a certain way.