Max and gas...oh dear, where do I begin? The last 3 nights, we have been spending a lot of time in the guest bed with Max so we can get some sleep. You should see Max's hair in the morning from all of the tossing and turning he does all night from the gas. Last night wasn't too bad, I actually got some sleep and when I woke up I realized that Max was no longer laying next to me, he was laying with his head on my shoulder. I must have been sleeping hard for that not to wake me up! Highly unusual.
Right now I have 3 cousins expecting and it takes me back to the beginning. I expected alot of problems but everything that I experienced was different from what I read about( I read alot). I had no clue why Max was crying so much and I'm not sure how old he was but it was somewhere between 1-2 months old when the other problems calmed down and we started figuring all the other things out. I had gotten to know Max better. I think the cries tended to me a bit more distinct at that time and I would notice that Max would stiffen up, and scream, then relax a bit, then soon after do the same cry again. I would look at his face and I just knew it was pain. It was sudden and not a constant cry like the other cries. Around this time you could also hear grumbling in his belly which amazed me.
I did a lot of searching on the internet after that. I read one mom's story and how she mentioned that when the baby cried she would feed him not realizing that this was actually making the problem worse because she hadn't realized it was gas that was making him cry. That was me! I also had been having low milk supply so I initially thought he wasn't getting enough milk. We even bought a scale to weigh him before and after feedings to make sure he was getting anything. I know so many moms have babies with gas and it is so hard to figure out why and what to do to keep your baby from experiencing any pain. And then you go to the Dr and they just tell you that many babies go through this and they will outgrow it. Did that make me feel any better?! I don't think so!!! And we were at the Dr's office a lot in the beginning.
So I tried the big obvious elimination diets since I was breastfeeding and eliminated dairy for like 3 weeks. It was so hard because there is all kinds of hidden dairy in food that I had no clue of. Well that didn't seem to make much difference and I missed dairy, so I started back on my normal diet. I have heard from moms that they could tell a difference immediately with certain foods...I didn't. Plus Max spit up a lot...he pretty much lived in bibs. I would put him in the car seat with an additional burb cloth draped over him he did it so often. After every feeding I had to hold him upright for like 10 minutes and especially until he burbed, which I had to be super diligent about, before I laid him down. And I started giving him gas drops with every feeding(which I am starting to think I should do again now). There are so many different things to try it becomes overwhelming, you have to start somewhere. I even tried probiotics I had read about...didn't work for us, but I felt better that at least I had tried it. I also switched to Dr. Brown bottles.
I still remember when I was pregnant and getting a bunch of gifts and one item was gas drops. If I remember correctly, my aunt told me that my cousin said not to be afraid to use them. Well I clearly remember the night that Daren and I looked at each other and wondered why Max was crying so much and we remembered those gas drops and got them out and used them for the first time while stumbling around in the dark. We didn't know it was gas at the time, but were willing to try anything. And gas drops every once in a while didn't help, only with every feeding did we notice a little difference.
I think back to everything and wonder if my problems will help anyone else. I know this is a small posting for a big problem, but it's something. I'm sure I will be giving more advice to my pregnant family or anyone else that needs it, because I think if I can help anyone going through something similar it is worth it. By the way, I also know several moms that swear by taking the baby to the chiropractor and it helping with a variety of issues including constipation.
In the end, having a gassy baby stinks. ;) There are a ton of different things you can try. I only tried a few that made sense for us. Just do as much research as you can, talk to your pediatrician, and try anything else you feel comfortable with to see if it works. Oh and everyone is full of advice on this topic, so listen to it and in the end, do what you think is best. Every child is different and you know what is best.
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