Many Natural Practitioners believe that wind in babies can be due to many different reasons :
Common thoughts are;
- Fast flow of milk so that the baby swallows lots of air whilst feeding
- Digestion problems in the gut and therefore the baby produces to much gas plus has trouble releasing the wind produced when it becomes trapped.
- Birth difficulties.
They believe many of these triggers can be prevented or greatly reduced by doing a few simple things.
IMMATURE DIGESTION and GUT FLORA IMBALANCES.
Babies whose Mothers have had ANTIBIOTICS around the time of birth and Postnatally often present with digestion problems. The first thing to try is probiotics for you and your baby. You can buy this from most pharmacy's or Health food stores.
The baby probiotics come in a powder and give normally it is 1/2 the dose you would give a child. Read the packing for the dosage or ask them when you buy it.
FLOW OF MILK FEED
Whether you are breastfeeding or bottlefeeding, your baby will probably take in small amounts of air along with his feed. This can become trapped in his tummy, causing pain and spasms, and can also prevent the baby from feeding properly as they may feel full when they are not or they may stop and start the feed in between episodes of screaming and pulling up the legs .
1)Try to feed your baby in a more upright position 45 degree angle to your body or even greater.
2)Slow down the flow of milk. You may have a strong milk ejection reflex which means the milk flows fast.
SO lean back while you are feeding your baby and this may help to slow the flow of milk down. Many Mothers with a fast flow of milk will only feed from 1 breast each time they feed so that your baby gets the foremilk(volume) and hindmilk(fat). It is better to give your baby feeds frequently 2-3 hrly rather than large amounts 3-4hrly until your baby can cope with the flow and the volume and is not crying with wind.
1 )Try to feed baby in a more upright position 45 degree angle to your body or greater.
2) Ensure you have the right size teat so that your baby can feed easily without having to try too hard to get the milk out of the bottle or that the milk is flowing to fast . Both these can cause your baby to swallow air whilst feeding.
3) It is better to give feeds frequently 2-3 hrly rather than large amounts 3-4hrly until your baby can cope with the flow of milk and the volume and is not crying with wind.
4)Sometimes it is worth investigating TRYING another Formula brand that may be more suitable to your baby, maybe discuss this with a NATUROPATH.
THE MOTHERS DIET
If the Mother is breastfeeding, then for some babies what the Mother eats will affect the baby. IF the mother has wind then quite often so will her baby.
Most of the time mothers and babies are in perfect balance with there digestion but sometimes they are not. Often breastfeeding research suggests to eat every thing in moderation. But when you speak to many Mothers they will often say certain foods would give their baby trapped wind or an upset tummy.
To settle an upset tummy and a crying baby, try liquid organic chamomile 'Kids Calm'
1)THE DIET SHEET
, this is to be used while the baby is newborn and until about 6-9 weeks of age to help make the mother aware of what foods maybe making her baby have digestion difficulties. It will not be all the foods but take them all out and then gradually add them back and see which ones make your baby more windy.
2)OTHER ideas to consider-- if digestion sees no improvement after using diet sheet for at least 2 weeks.
3)OR eliminate white flour/gluten and/or diary products for 2 weeks and see if this helps.
4)Breastfeeding mums may want to try to use Galactogogue tea which contains herbs to help milk quality and digestion of milk by the baby.
5) Herbal Teas
can help to reduce symptoms of wind in babies. You may just have to try a few to see which one works best for you.
tea is good for smelly rotten egg smelling flatulence, and when your baby wants to be cuddled and soothed and then gets angry and irritable when you pick your baby up.
is good for digestion and when you can hear your baby’s tummy rumbling or your baby’s tummy seems bloated and tight.Can be very calming as well.
HOW TO MAKE:Take one caffeine free tea bag or a teaspoon of seeds of preferred flavour and pour over 2 cups of boiling water and let seep for 5mins.-10mins .Then you can drink it yourself plus give baby 1-2 tsp of the tea before feeding them.
Babies who are not sleeping well because of wind will probably also be showing signs of over -tiredness. They will be even more irritable and hard to settle. By using some of these ideas of how to assist your baby to digest there food and expel their wind easily will help restore the balance so your baby will be calm and sleep better.
Sometimes babies have tightness around the diaphragm area following birth. This can be from an easy and fast birth or from a more difficult long birth resulting in Medical intervention.
When ever you change your baby’s nappy try to massage around the abdomen in a clockwise circular motion to help digestion and expel wind .Also by taking your baby’s legs and making bicycle movements with them also can help expel wind.
Some baby's also respond well to some tummy lying with their legs curled up under their tummy as a way of expelling flatulence.
You maybe interested in a Baby massage course.
Some babies with wind hate to be still and prefer jiggling and rocking. SO investing in a SLING or FRONTPACK is an easy way to help your baby stay calm and settled.
BUT if this is not suitable try a BOUNCER or a PRAM/STROLLER in the house that you can rock or sometimes a ROCKING CRADLE or SWING
Our babies are used to the noises in the womb like the placenta, which they say, can be louder than a vacuum cleaner to a baby. Sometimes our houses have over stimulating noise or the opposite, we try to be too quiet. Reassuring sounds to a baby can make them feel calm and relaxed.
Many babies love the calming affect of water. Sometimes climbing into a deep bath with your baby can help them to stop crying.
After a feed and a gentle relaxing massage a warm bath is very helpful and they may even expel there wind into the water!
Even just running the tap so they can hear water is enough to calm them.
What causes colic?
Food intolerances- Some babies colic is caused by food intolerances, that is, the inability of your baby's body immature digestive system to digest your breast milk after you have eaten certain foods.
Which food can cause colic include:
- Dairy products. Milk, butter, cheese, chocolate etc, and any foods or drinks which contain these.
- Wheat. Any foods containing wheat flour or flakes etc. Other grains, eg rye are often ok.
- Eggs, and any food or drinks that contain eggs.
- Citrus friut. Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarines, tangeloes etc.
- Yeasts. Foods that are yeasted such as bread or pizza, and sometimes non active yeasts, eg brewers yeast, mushrooms etc.
- Cane sugar. And all foods and drinks sweetened with sugar.
- Caffeine and tannin. In tea, coffee, cocoa and chocolate. Herbal teas, especially peppermint, fennel, chamomile are usually ok.
- Artificial colourings and preservatives
- Cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, Peas etc
- Peanuts. Raw, roasted or in peanut butter.
- Onions and garlic
- Capsicum and cucumber, lettuce,
If the foods you've eliminated have been causing a problem you will notice an improvement in your baby within three or four days (sometimes much sooner). Some babies digestive systems are upset by more than one type of food, so you might notice an improvement but not a complete cure by eliminating only one or two groups of foods.
Some women find this elimination diet very difficult. Its often hard enough to find time to eat when you're dealing with an unsettled baby, let alone try to find appetising substitutes for the foods you usually eat. However, it is worth the effort and were fortunate to have access to a wide variety of foods from which to choose.
Persistent 'wind'- Some babies swallow air while they're feeding. This is forced down into their intestines by the breast milk and causes belly ache and intestinal spasms till it is expelled.
Check that you baby is correctly 'latched on' to your breast during feeds. Try leaning back or lying down while feeding to slow the flow of milk. If you cannot see any difficulty but your baby is still swallowing air (you can normally hear them gasping it in, or hear the air 'exploding' in their stomachs while they feed), make an appointment with a La Leche Leader or a lactation consultant to have positioning checked.
A strong 'let down' reflex can also cause a baby to gasp in air as she tries to coordinate suckling and swallowing when the beast milk is coming out fast. If you hear your baby swallowing air, take her off the breast and 'burp' her before allowing her to continue feeding. You may need to do this several times during the early part of each feed. Do not restrict the overall length of the feed.
Transient lactose intolerance colic;
Maureen Minchin suggests that some babies receive more breast milk than their stomachs can cope with. If you have a abundant supply of breast milk which streams out of your breasts easily so your baby gets a relatively large amount with each pump of her tongue and jaw, she could be getting so much milk (with high lactose content) at each feed that there us insufficient lactase in her stomach to break it down before it is pushed into her intestines. A few hours later the undigested lactose in her intestines will have started to ferment, causing gas, cramps and general spasmodic pain.