8 days old, unsolvable wind after every feed - sleep deprived & tearful FTM

[vradz83]

Hi all,

My milk came in on day 3, and since then my little boy has had really bad wind, the result of which is that he finds it very difficult & uncomfortable to lie on his back. He'll be put down on his back maybe a couple of times during the day, but the rest of the time he's so uncomfortable it wakes him up. He will only really sleep on his front or side, on either me or his dad. It's especially bad during the night.

The main issue is that no matter what we try, we can't bring any wind up, even after about 8 different positions/methods. Not just us, grandparents haven't had any luck either. Infacol doesn't seem to be working.

I've got to the lack of sleep stage of just crying when he refuses to settle; I hate feeling so helpless, that nothing that we are doing seems to make him feel better. Also, I'm not sure how much longer I can function on this little sleep!

Any ideas or words of wisdom?

What makes you think it is a wind issue?

It's normal for newborns not to want to be put down, many will only sleep on their parents' chest at first.

Have you tried swaddling him and rolling some cellular blankets either side of him so he feels like he's still being held? My DS was the same.

On the subject of wind I think it's fairly usual for breasted babies not to have much. I found grandparents were a bit obsessed with getting wind up because they were used to formula fed babies.

It was the breastfeeding counsellor on Monday who observed and said it looked like wind, rather than the grandparents; midwife also said that she sees a lot of bf babies with wind. Have started swaddling him which has helped a little, but he is still very cramped up and restless.

To be honest a breastfed newborn who doesn't want to be put down and needs to be held and close to you, especially at night, sounds like 90% of other newborns. If he's crying about being put down but not actually producing any wind then I would assume it's not wind.

Hi vradz, v sorry to hear your little boy is suffering ?? my dd was exactly the same, EBF but still terrible wind at the bottom end! What helped was wearing her in a sling a massive amount, lots of gentle tummy massage & leg bicycling at every nappy change & as you say, sleeping on your chest. Please, if you haven't already done so, read around safe co-sleeping. This was our saviour for about 2 months, she slept on her front on my chest but I was in a bed on my own & following all the guidelines. This was the only way we could both get some sleep. No amount of infacol or colief or whatever else £££££ worked.
Best of luck to you & hope you start to enjoy your baby boy more when you have both had some sleep x

Breastfed babies can definitely have wind, mine certainly does. Seems strange that you can't get the wind up though, mine usually burps away when getting back rubbed or tapped. Also you can hear wind in her tummy. Can you hear your baby's tummy? I would also agree in the rolled up towels thing. That helped us a lot. Try rocking/pushing in pram?

I too am not sure this is definitely wind (although obviously someone who has seen your baby has more of an idea I would think than some strangers on the internet). It's just odd that you don't get any wind up. It could just be him learning to use his brand new digestive system. My DD was quite squirmy at 2-4 weeks old and we decided she was just learning how to poo.

Not settling, crying when away from a parent etc are all totally normal newborn behaviours. He isn't designed to be far from you - he's far too vulnerable, so hold him, let him sleep on you. Take it in shifts and rest during the day. Might he sleep in the pram? Maybe DH or a grandparent could take him out for a quick walk while you nap in the day.

Bf babies do get wind. It's a big fat myth that they don't.

A paediatrician once showed me a really good method for bringing up deep wind. You hold the baby facing you and
slowly stroke up one side. It's the side the large intestine goes up (google). This sounds weird now, like maybe I dreamed it, but I'm sure it brought up big deep burps.
Also look into reflux - my baby was the same from 2 weeks old, wouldn't sleep on back, was reflux. Stay strong, try and stay calm. It is awful, and not everybody wants their baby sleeping on them all the time, but it does pass.

Tey Dentinox, we found it much more effective than Infacol. It comes with a crappy spoon, so ask the pharmacist for a 5ml syringe as well. Much easier to administer.

We were diagnosed with a dairy intolerance at 6 weeks. He was just writhing all night. Very distressing. His poos were very acidic, stung the eyes. Some babies also have exzema with it. So keep that in the back of your mind for later on.

But if he's not writhing or in pain but just won't settle other than on you, and won't tolerate sleeping on his back, then yeah, it could be just typical newborn behaviour. The first 4 weeks you basically can hardly put them down at all. Hence -> slings.

It could be wind, but tiny babies often loathe being put down on their backs and will get upset. I had to hold my DS upright against me for most the time, he would only go down to sleep occasionally. Then he started at 4 weeks all night grunting and I was terrified he was in pain. Not so, just a development phase. Do wind properly to make sure that all the wind is up. We used to sit him up and hold his chest and jaw with one hand, and then rub his back, squeezing him gently like a water bottle getting the wind out!

How can anyone look at a baby and say they have wind? This would be an amazing skill.....:)

The description of your baby sounds normal for a new born - he just wants to be close to you and prefers to be upright or on his side and in contact with you, and shows distress and restlessness when he is not able to be that way. It passes.

Too much handling and patting and rubbing and whatever the whole family are doing to 'try to get wind up' could be making things a lot worse.

How about just going with the flow and keeping him close, on or next to the breast, and doing whatever he seems to be 'asking'?

If you are convinced it's wind could you try a baby massage class?

The one I go to is excellent and my 10 week always burps or has a massive poo v soon after we go!

I was just about to say that myself dottytablecloth - baby massage could definitely help here. I remember learning how to gently massage following the route of baby's digestive tract and it definitely made a difference.

But as pp have said, a non-sleeping baby who doesn't want to be put down is perfectly normal at 8days. By all means do what you can to help your baby to be comfortable, but they don't call this the fourth trimester for nothing. Call in whatever respite you can get from family and friends to give you occasional opportunities to get some sleep. It's a really tough time but it won't last forever.

Thank you for posting OP.
My DS is three weeks old and is pretty much the same with regards to being put down and appearing full of wind.
My DH and I seem to spend all of our time holding on to him and having him sleep on us and I'm so relieved to see this is normal for a newborn!
Hope you get some more sleep soon X

OP, how are things two days on?