What makes baby gassy

Feeding time can come with a lot of crying, gulping, guzzling, and suckling—in other words, a lot of air, which eventually manifests itself in the form of a burp or gas. Try being a little extra vigilant about burping your baby during and after a feeding to see if you can keep some of the gas at bay.

Settle Down. Bottle-fed babies can ingest a lot of bubbles. To combat this, tilt the bottle at an angle that fills the entire nipple with milk. There's lots of shaking going on and the bottle is often piled high with bubbles on top of the actual formula. Also consider using ready-made formula for gassy babies, as well as specially vented bottles that may reduce the amount of bubbles. Adjust the Angle. Shu advises. You want to hold your baby in a position that allows the liquid to slowly sink to the bottom while the bubbles rise to the top.

If you keep the bubbles closer to the surface, the natural—and easiest—means of exit is a burp. Trapped bubbles will likely pass in the form of gas.

Examine the Menu. Certain kinds of foods—those that are harder to digest—are known to cause excess gas, and the introduction of solid foods can be a definite game changer. So if you're contending with a particularly fussy or constantly gassy baby, it might be worth taking a look at their diet—and yours.

The gas-causing food you eat broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beans turns up in your breast milk, which might mean extra gas for your little one. When fussiness, squirming, and other gassy behaviors persist beyond your baby's first few months, it's reasonable to wonder if they have a food allergy or intolerance.

The biggest clue: They're dealing with other significant health problems too. Visit the doctor if you suspect this. Date Start date Date E. End date Date E. Latest Posts Ivy's remarkable progress three years after fetal heart surgery.

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Recent Comments. It could contain alcohol, sugar or other potentially harmful ingredients that aren't clearly listed on the packaging. Some research has found that the foods in a mom's diet might make breastfed babies gassy, but the evidence is far from conclusive. Before you completely revamp what you're eating, see if there are other subtle ways you can help your baby swallow less air at mealtimes, including working on your latch, burping baby twice at each feeding and trying different nipples or bottles if you pump.

Work with your doctor to nail down foods that might make breastfed babies gassy, including:. One review of the research that does exist found that none of these formulas significantly reduced crying, but most studies have been limited, with very few babies involved. That said, some parents do find their babies may have a sensitivity and do better when they switch. Hydrolysate formulas, or those containing less milk protein, seem to be more easily digested by some infants. Other anti-gas formulas contain probiotics, but check with your doctor before making the switch.

One blend you can most likely skip: lactose-free formulas. If you think your baby might be lactose intolerant, talk to your pediatrician. Because gas can make babies fussy, it might seem like a gassy baby is colicky — but colic and gassiness are two distinct conditions. Colic in babies has many causes beyond an underdeveloped digestive system, including overstimulation and an immature nervous system. Not sure if fussiness is caused by gas or colic? A baby is often colicky because he has a hard time self-soothing.

Your baby is more likely suffering from colic than gas if he typically starts crying around the same time of day often in the early evening — especially if those crying bouts last for at least three hours, three times a week, for at least three weeks.

Colicky babies are often inconsolable and have episodes of frequent, intense crying that can turn into screaming for long stretches of time, even though they're otherwise healthy.

Many gassy babies are not bothered by their gas, but some become restless and cannot sleep until they have passed their gas. Others cry for hours. A handful of simple home treatments can usually soothe a baby and relieve their gas pains.

In most cases, infant gas is nothing to worry about. However, discussing gas with a pediatrician can offer reassurance and help a parent or caregiver to determine why the baby has gas. In this article, we look at causes of gas in babies, its symptoms, and how to help relieve the trapped gas. Almost all babies get gas. Gas happens when air gets into the digestive tract, such as when a baby sucks on a bottle and swallows air. Gas does not usually mean anything is wrong.

Babies can swallow air if they latch onto the breast incorrectly, or if they nurse or drink from a bottle in certain positions.

They can even swallow air just from babbling a lot. Babies tend to swallow air when they cry. If this causes them to have gas, you may hear them passing it after crying. It can be hard for someone to tell if gas is causing their crying or if crying is causing their gas.

Less commonly, gas may signal a gastrointestinal condition, such as reflux. Talk to a pediatrician, especially if the gas happens a lot or is severe. Sometimes a virus causes stomach problems, such as gas, vomiting, and diarrhea. In older infants who eat solids, new foods may cause gas.

For some infants, frequent gas may be one of the signs of a food sensitivity. Gas is not a medical condition. For most babies, it is a temporary but sometimes painful symptom.