5 week old baby - are persistant explosive farts normal?

[roundgirl]

My DD has always been breastfed, apart from one bottle of formula at night. In the first three weeks she had dirty nappies nearly every time we changed her but in the last two weeks things have really changed. 15 mins after every feed she is screaming in agony and we have a few hours of explosive farts, where she really seems in pain. She pulls her legs up and goes purple. This seems to build up over three or four days and then she does one massive dirty nappy (loose stools so she's not constipated). She seems exhausted the next day and sleeps loads and then the whole cycle begins again. We are getting no sleep because she screams 15 mins after all her night feeds and is really difficult to settle.

This is my first baby so I am not sure if this is normal new born behaviour or if i should take DD to the doctor. Does anyone have any advice or remedies? I don't know if constant explosive farting is normal at this stage?

Thanks very much for any help.

xxxx

The amount of farts a small baby can produce is terrifying! The discomfort does get better as they get older. Some babies poo several times a day (my DD) other once a week or even less (my DS1 and DS2).

Sounds pretty normal, you can try gently massaging the tummy in a clockwise direction which sometimes helps.

sounds she is in this nice transitional phase from pooing all the time to pooing infrequently.

of course if you are worried she is in a lot of pain it is always wise to ask dr but it sounds normal to me

do you know the tiger in the tree hold?

warm bath can be very soothing too

How funny, I just clicked on here to post almost exactly the same question!

I don't have it quite as bad as you, but we seem to have 12 good hours after each poo, in which DS will feed and sleep nicely, and then the pain begins. He starts to bring his knees up when laid on his back, progressing over the next 12-24 hours to being uncomfortable even on his side. the discomfort increases over the next 12-24 hours till the point where he can only go to sleep held vertically with his back supported (in baby bjorn, for example), no idea why this helps. Finally he manages a monster dirty nappy, which is normal consistency etc, and the cycle begins again.

DS is 6 weeks, exclusively BF (will happily take a bottle of expressed milk, syringe of gripe water etc) and we've had this, with varying cycle lengths, since he was born. I will watch with interest to see if anyone posts any good ideas!

My baby has been having this problem at night for 5 months! Also exclusively BF - No formula at night - he wakes up often in agony and I can hear a gurgling/popping sound in his tummy. He wriggles around in pain. I find it so distressing and have been hoping he will 'grow out of it' but he hasn't! He doesn't have a problem with getting his wind up...actually like your baby, it's the opposite, he farts loud and proud and always has done! He did poo a lot as a newborn, then it calmed down at around 3 months. I sincerely hope your baby gets through this quickly as it is very frustrating both for them and us!

Good Luck

Gowri recommends 'bowel yoga' which I've been doing with DS after each nappy change:

5x lift of bent leg into stomach
5x lift of straight leg
5x press of crossed ankles into tummy, repeat crossed the other way

Just saw osteopath today who also recommended putting one hand under baby's bottom, holding ankles with other hand and rotating legs clockwise in a big circle

All are designed to help bowels move stuff along, including farts....

I also give DS Lycopodium 30c homeopathic pillules which seem to bring forward his farts to early evening so they don't disturb his (and my) sleep.

My 5 wk old baby has exactly the same symptoms as described here. I hope to hear some more advice on how to cure this or at least help reduce the symptoms.

I do a similar baby massage routine to those above;

5x diagonal arms and toes, stretch apart then meeting diagonally across the body (hands to toes - won't necessarily reach!)
5x gentle crab arch to stretch the tummy.
5x buttocks massage using the flats of your hands under their bottom and lifting slightly.
5x circular tummy rub clockwise following the path of intestines.
5x bicycling of legs
All that loosens the gas and moves it around for the final action of;
5x straight knee bends up against tummy (as if starting to do a backward roll)

Rince and repeat until no more farts come out.

All of it should be gentle but firm and don't do it immediately after a feed as they're likely to be sick. Give things a moment to settle.

Hth

DD was the same. I also found that what I ate made a difference. DD was born slightly early and the midwife told me that her gut was slightly immature. I had to stay away from "windy" foods for a while because they came through in my milk. Peppers were the worst culprit.

roundgirl, would you think about dropping the formula feed? To see if this is the culprit?

Sounds normal to me. Now on DC3.

It will pass (no pun intended).

Sounds common, but like some kind of food intolerance. Dairy is a possible culprit. DS2 does lots of explosive farts, which I understand can be an indication of digestive issues. It's been much worse when I've eaten certain foods - dairy, cashew nuts and possibly oranges. We have a famly history of allergies.

You can read more info here.

There's little point in a mum omitting dairy in her own diet, if her baby is having any formula :)

Yes, I'd suspect dairy, too, but the baby's intake, not the mother's!

Yes, I think that was what I meant - blame it on the newborn fuzziness! :)