Hi MN
I wanted to share some tips that I’ve found to be particularly useful when improving my baby’s trapped wind which has meant she’s settled and sleeps better.
My DD was born 37 weeks so her digestive system was particularly immature which meant she was struggling to burp. But here’s my journey so far and hope that some of these things may help you if you’re going through the same endless cycles of crying after feeding, not burping, taking in more air, getting trapped wind and crying from the gas pains and lastly, interrupted and unsettled sleep!
So firstly, consider your milk, we used Cow and Gate infant and it really disagreed with her, it made her back arch and scream after every feed which made me initially think it was reflux. We switched her to the liquid ready made Cow and Gate as we noticed that these caused less issues when we used these in the beginning as we got our head around powdered feeds. This made an instant difference on the pain front but it didn’t stop the grassiness. So we switched to Kendamil and this has been a game changer for us. Would definitely recommend from personal experience but appreciate every baby is different.
Secondly, check your bottles/ teats. We firstly used tommee tippee anti colic but I could literally hear her taking in gulps of air as she suckled. We tried doctor browns for a few weeks as these were a massive improvment on the TTs as she had a much better latch that looked more natural. However they tended to leak and I could still hear air intake. Finally after being recommended a 100times, we used MAM tear flow 1 and they’ve been a godsend. No leakage and a really wide deep latch with a steady intake. My baby is a guzzler so the extra slow flow didn’t work for us as she was taking in more air but number 1 is perfect.
Thirdly, Infacol. It takes a few days to kick in (we’re on day 5) now and we’ve finally seen an improvement in her burping. Before she brought up nothing but we get regular burps now but you have to give her time and move positions frequently to get it all up. We find that infacol, then the feed (wind half way through and then at the end) and then the nappy change works best. When she’s been on her back after a nappy change, she tends to have one more burp ready to come up. I tried gripe water but it was too strong for her stomach I think and made her cry for 20 minutes after a feed. I also tried dentinox but didn’t get much out of it and it really smells.
Fourthly, during the morning/ afternoon, I put her in the sling to sleep for her naps. Keeping her upright is absolutely key as any missed burps migrate down and want to come out as farts. I can hear the gas bubbles in her belly so I’ve found if you hold her neck and keep her really close to you and then bend your knees so she’s ‘on her back’ helps to release the farts whilst she still sleeps. The pressure of her being against you in the sling and then the release of pressure from her stomach miraculously helps them pass without pain.
I also push her legs up against her chest to release a few farts when she is chill, but it doesn’t always work. I’d say to do it when you can literally hear the gas bubbles in their belly or when they’ve been straining to push one out!
Fifthly at night time. We feed, wind and then bathe her. This gets her nice and sleepy and then we swaddle her and take her into our room which is dimly lit with the white noise machine on. We give her a dummy to help soothe and drift off. Finally we’ve found bringing her Moses basket up and actually dropping that into the next to me cribs means she sleeps more soundly.
really hope these things work for any other struggling mums! I’m still only at the start of this journey myself (baby is 5 weeks) but I’ve noticed a big improvement so hope you see the same!