This aint wind it's a hurricaine baby................

[staylucky]

Hello ladies.

I want to ask in all seriousness, to those of you who say breastfeeding does get easier, are you making it up???!!!!!

Ok have got past sore nips, thrush, growth spurts and constant feeding, unsupportive family and it seems the final frontier is .....wind

DS's not mine

He's now 6 weeks. He has wind that would put most grown men to shame, he doesn't poo he just farts loudly, screams and whatever hits the nappy I change. I have no idea where it's all coming from, I mean I can't beleive he has all this in his tiny little tummy! Speaking of which he's in a lot of pain. Bubbling tummy, twisty wriggly baby, going puce in the face, waking often from sleep.

I've tried infacol, dentinox nd gripe water (not all at once ) but all seem to work for a couple of days then we're back to square one.

My family suggest it's something i'm eating...I guess that's possible as he's been the same since birth but i'm absolutely exhausted from holding/feeding/winding/trying to settle pretty much 24 hours a day, I can't figure out what in my diet wpuld cause this and I haven't got time to start cutting things out.

This could be the thing that makes me stop. What's kept me going so far is that breastmilk is the best for him, but if i'm making him ill then I can't keep going

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I will try anything!!

Anyone....please???!!

Hi Staylucky - DS2 had really bad wind from when my milk came in. I found downing camomile tea by the bucketload seemed to help him - plus cycling his legs and doing tummy massage (in clockwise direction) and burping him midfeed and if all else failed a warm bath would relax him enough to get some wind out. But the one thing which REALLY helped him was going to a cranial osteopath - the cord was around his neck at birth which apparently gave rise to his digestive problems - after a couple of treatments he was like a different baby. I'd really recommend it. And by bfing him you really are helping him as bmilk is easier to digest. It will get easier - I promise...

dinky thanks Hun have heard wonderful things about cranial ost so will look up a practitioner in my area. Me and dh are at our wits end he's been either feeding or screaming all day. he's not slept for more than an hour either so is really beside himself. God I hate feeling so useless I could cry myself

Thanks for the suggestions x

Staylucky - try swaddling if you can and white noie - may help calm DS (worked a treat with both mine). And co-sleeping (even during the day) with the baby - snuggling up with them is a great way to keep them quiet when they're not feeding.

Good luck - it will get better. Just keep cuddlng that little one and keep up the good work with the bfing.

I'm sorry if I sounded as if I was making fun in the op. In all honesty I feel like a complete novice at this. Reading some of the posts on here is a real eye opener. I am hoping there is a good book or two I can pick up to find out more about the mechanics of bf.
I'm in absolutely no begginings of a routine yet and really winging it from one hour to the next.

I'm hoping things settle down soon this is the most challenging thing I've ever done but the most rewarding too :-)

Thankyou mnetters, you rock x

Oh dh & I have made te decision to move to formula. I am absolutely exhausted baby won't stop crying I am sure I'm doing something wrong sonmewhere I just can't wait another few days to see how it goes.

This site is wonderful but it's so far removed from my life. I don't know anyone who breastfeeds or has done so for longer than the first month and I have no one to talk to. I'm gutted but dh was my last line of support and he's telling me now that bottle would be better.

I guess 6 weeks is better than nothing x

Staylucky - you've done a great job feeding so far. Do you have local bf support groups? Maybe try getting hold of one of those to help you. If you do move to formula, maybe you could mix feed (some bfs, some formula feeds so DP can help out at nights) until you feel abit better and happier. One thing to think about - if your baby is suffering from wind issues, formula may accerbate it as is not as easily digestible as breastmilk for babies. If you feel like you've reached the end of the bf line for you and you're ready to stop, then it might be the right decision for you and your family - if you feel like you'd like to carry on bfing with the right support, then maybe try to get in touch with local bf support groups which might help you to carry on.

Good luck whatever you decide to do - and keep enjoying that lovely baby of yours.

MY DS2 is 9 weeks and has stinky wind too!

Fed up of being told its what ive eaten as it is a constant problem and surely if it was something i was eating then it would come & go unless it was something like diary or wheat that I eat everyday? and then i would have thought he would have reflux or more serios symptoms if it was?

He was a BIG baby -10 pound and was described by gp at his 8wk check last week as a "moulded baby" he is a bit of a curved shape where he was so squashed up inside me. She has said he will just straighten out eventually but I think it is all related and am taking him to a chrianial osteopath tomorow- will let you know how we do!

I have been feeding my DD for nearly 19 weeks now and she was exactly the same.
She has done 6 dirty nappies today all preceded my huge noisy wind.
She was in pain in the beginning, but they bicycling thing helped as did regular winding.
Having said that, bf is only right if its right for both of you, good luck.

My baby is still a windy little thing at 7.5 months. She had terrible coclic and trapped wind from birth, it caused us so many problems (ie lack of sleep) and seemed so painful for her. The best things i've found to help are:

1. Time (sorry, unhelpful for now I know)
2. Regular winding (patting back etc) in middle of and at end of feed (suppose you are doing this anyway, just do it until you hear a burp religiously)
3. The cycling with the legs thing worked wonders, got loads of trapped wind out that way
4. NOT feeding baby by pulling her ontop of me during the night - this was my favourite position, but i've realised that by feeding her with her lying next to me in bed works best and she doesn't seem to get any trapped wind this way
5. In the daytime and before bed I put DD in an African sling, not sure if you've seen these, basically it's literally just a long piece of material wrapped around you and baby, baby sits on your back, legs spread around you, the position is fantastic for bringing out wind both ends and she usually does a few burps before having a little doze on my back - i'm sure you'd find something on youtube regarding suitable material and how to tie it, it really is fantastic - my Ghanian friends swears that African babies never suffer from colic because of these slings lol

BTW I found breastfeeding incredibly hard for the first 6 weeks, but it is second nature now and painfree (and very easy too - no bottles or preparation before I leave the house!), i'm glad I stuck with it.

oh, just read you decided to move to bottle feeding, I know how hard it must have been for you this far so a big well done there (genuinely!).

Hello

Thanks for your messages. I managed to hang on in there and i'm genuinely pleased I did.
Unbelieveably the thing that has saved my sanity is ...........a dummy

Nuts but that bit of help settling him has eased of the whole getting ridiculously upset with his tummy and getting more and more worked up.

It's given me a couple of pretty normal, calm days to de stress and put things into perspective. Bizzarely i'm quickly more aware of what his diff cries mean.

A last massive help is that DH can help settle DS too,he has been screaming at him up to press.

Feeding is more settled as I can tell when he wants a feed now and not just have him chewing away on me 24/7.

I've dropped the infacol ect and am just being really vigilant with winding and paying close attention to when he's swallowing air.

It's been dead easy for me and people around me to blame bf for problems we've been having as its an unknown but actually it's going dead well again and I feel 100% more confident.

Thankyou again, I feel so for having got so upset. I just really want this to work.

I think it will

Well done for persevering it's amazing how a few days of peaceful baby can do! DUmmies are great if you have a sucky baby and IMO anything that gives you a break and makes BF a more positive experience is worth it.