Bubble Trouble

How to Control Baby's Gas

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

Gas pain is uncomfortable. When those bubbles form, the bloating can make even the biggest man double over in pain. So it comes as no surprise that infants with gas pain cry and cry and cry. Parents want nothing more than to comfort their baby. But how? And once the current crisis has passed, what can parents do to prevent it from reoccurring?

A baby's cries, movements and actions are their ways of communicating. It's up to parents to decipher what their baby is saying. "Tummy gas is very common in infants, affecting more than half of all newborns within the first two months of life," says Gale Prachniak, a lactation consultant from Women's and Infant's Hospital in Rhode Island. "Gas bubbles can often cause discomfort, leading to crankiness and crying. There are a couple [signs] that a baby is suffering from gas. These include pulling their legs up toward their body or lying in a curled position in an effort to relieve the discomfort. While the condition of gas may not be extreme at this time, this is a sign for Mom and Dad to take notice, so it doesn't get to that point."

"My son, Mike, cried from gas pain almost constantly for eight months," says Margaret Helmstetter of Sierra Vista, Ariz. "I had tried everything to calm and relieve him – walking, patting his back, burping. Nothing helped. I even tried changing my diet, as he was breastfed, and that didn't help either. When I asked the doctor, he told me to do my best and that it would go away."

According to Prachniak, a parent has several options before calling their doctor or using medical intervention. "Mom and Dad are Baby's best chance for gas relief," she says. "First of all, try applying a light pressure on Baby's tummy to soothe and help release the gas. Another option is to carry Baby in the football hold – face down on your forearm, with her legs straddling your elbow and her chin in your hand. This will help bring the gas bubbles up and make them easier to expel by patting her back. Mom or Dad can also place Baby belly down over the knees and gently bounce the legs."

If none of these suggestions help, Prachniak suggests that it's time to call your doctor. "Not every baby will react to non-medical methods, and it's OK if your baby doesn't," she says. "It may then be time to ask your doctor about trying infant drops that help to break up gas bubbles and relieve pressure in Baby's tummy. They work quickly and will offer the relief that Baby needs."

Helmstetter has gone that route. "When none of the 'mommy methods' helped, I asked my doctor about an over-the-counter to help relieve the gas pain," she says. "I used 'grippe water.' It is an over-the-counter medicine from England that blends licorice and peppermint. It comes in a clear liquid that acts like water but has a nice odor, and babies don't mind the taste. I would give my baby a few drops, Baby would expel the gas with big burps, and [his] tummy – and Baby – would calm down."

Want to see more?

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• Decoding Your Preemie's Signals
• Newborn Surprises: Normal Oddities that Worry First-time Parents
• Coping With Colic: How to Help Your Baby – And Yourself
• Songs to Soothe Your Baby
• Talk about it!