Baby with gas, what can I do?

Baby with gas, what can I do?

New mothers know better than anyone else that sometimes baby’s gas makes you feel unwell and uncomfortable. But what causes these gases? And what can be done to prevent and treat it?

Learn all about it with Baby on Board.

When they are born, having an immature organism and not being yet prepared for the world that surrounds them, newborn babies take some time to adapt and, in this process, have sensations very different from ours.

Cold, heat, discomfort or pain (such as that caused by intestinal colic) are part of the most common sensations in a baby.

From a very young age, children start to show some discomfort with the accumulation of gas in their intestines, which is responsible for causing the famous colic in babies.

The crying caused by this sensation is quite common and creates in mums the desire to discover the best ways to prevent and solve the problem when they are faced with a baby with gas.

Not only can mums avoid foods that cause their baby gas during breastfeeding, but they can also take preventative action to try to avoid the situation and help their gassy baby to be more comfortable when this accumulation of gas occurs.

If you want to know the best ways of preventing and treating gas in babies, this article has been made with you in mind.

1. Baby with gas: why does it happen?

It is not an uncommon scenario, for mums, the discomfort of the child who, when he has gas, is restless, uncomfortable and writhes, thus enunciating that he may have pain.

Many mums notice that the baby’s gases are not being expelled when he starts to bend over or shake his legs, trying to relieve the sore area.

As well as being revealed by their crying and uncomfortable movements, it is also possible to notice that baby has gas when their tummy becomes very rigid.

Painful for the child and tormenting for the parents, who do not always know how to help, this scenario is actually quite common for babies.

The ingestion of air during feeds, sucking on the dummy or during crying are some of the main causes of a gassy baby.

Situations in which the baby drinks too much milk, feeds too slowly, drinks formula with air bubbles or cries for long periods of time can be responsible for the ingestion of air and contribute to an increase of gas in the organism of the child.

In addition, as we have already mentioned, some of the foods consumed by the mother during the breastfeeding phase can also promote a gassy baby.

2. How to prevent gas in the baby?

One consideration must be made: all babies have gas sometimes and to avoid colic completely is impossible.

Still, better than solving the problem will be to prevent it and, although no method is 100% effective, the truth is that there are ways of prevention that can greatly help to avoid you having to deal with a gassy baby.

To prevent the accumulation of gas in your baby’s system, you can start by finding out whether the position in which you are feeding your baby is suitable.

Good positioning during feeding can cause the baby to take in more milk and less air, which will cause less gas to build up in their system.

So, to prevent baby with gas, you can try out various breastfeeding positions and find out which is the most suitable for this purpose.

In the case of a bottle-fed baby, care to avoid air entering through the teat is also fundamental.

In fact, because of this problem, there are already options on the market whose shape has been specifically created to reduce the infant’s intake of air.

At the end of the feed, regardless of the type of breastfeeding, it is very useful to burp the baby, and it is also not recommended to make more rapid or abrupt movements with the baby at this stage.

Finally, for mothers who breastfeed, managing their own diet to make sure that they do not eat foods that cause gas or to which the baby may be intolerant, can be very useful in preventing this situation.

Foods that often contribute to a gassy baby are soya, eggs, nuts, citrus fruits and foods containing gluten, as some babies are intolerant to these elements.

3. Baby with gas: what can I do?

If your baby is already gassy, there are still a few ways you can help him to become more comfortable by promoting bowel movements and the release of accumulated gases.

To start with, you can gently massage your baby’s tummy. This will promote the movement of gas in the intestine and its release, creating relief for the baby.

Besides this, the simple act of changing the child’s position can help to unblock the intestine, making it easier to expel the gas.

Lay the baby on his back and gently move his legs in a continuous movement