I read the books, now I am asking you...

J

jaypea

Cathlete
Hi Moms out there...

I am a new mom-my son is 6 1/2 weeks. I have some questions that maybe you can help me with. I breastfeed him, almost exclusively. At night, I put a bag of pumped milk in a bottle with 1-2 oz. of formula. I do this (from a recommendation from my sister who is a mom) so he sleeps a little longer. O.K., here's my ?'s. Since my son is really gassy, can you recommend a brand of bottle that has worked well for you? Also, I tried taking dairy out of my diet, like the pediatrician suggested to help with the gas, but it didn't help (I didn't have any dairy for one week). Can you tell me of any other foods that may trigger the gas, or are some babies just really gassy? Any info would help!
-Jen
 
The best bottle I have came across and have used exclusively and swear by is Dr. Brown's. I've seen it carried at some Walmarts and Babies R Us. They are kinda expensive, something like $12 for 3 bottles, but they really work. It elminates almost all of the air from the bottle which eliminates the creation gas due to the way the inside is designed. If you get a chance to look at it then you will see what I mean. DS was very colicky as a baby and this bottle helped tremendously. It also is supposed to keep babies from getting earaches. DS never had an earache until right after he turned one and was completely off the bottle.

Personally I think some babies are naturally more gassy than others . I forget the name of the drops my SIL used to give her son for his gas. When I get home I will try to remember to look in the cabinet to see what the name is. My SIL gave me some when DS was a baby but I don't remember ever using it.
 
Not to discourage you - truly, every baby is different, so this is just my experience. I tried 8 different types of bottles, and have become convinced that some babies will manage to suck air in with the milk no matter what kind of bottle system you use...

I would think that if you do a good burping afterwards, residual gasiness (sp?) could be from the milk/formula. Sometimes mine would react to sugar, fruit, broccoli, onions, garlic, peppers, and the list goes on. I had to start writing down what I was eating to try to figure out after the fact what caused a problem. It was easiest to go on a bland diet for 48 hours and then start adding in things (kind of like an allergy diet) Not sure how bad a problem your little one is having, but it might be worth discussing with a lactation counselor. If it's anything like mine, by the time you figure out the triggers, they'll have grown out of the problem :) Good luck!!
 
Are you giving you little one dairy formula? Or soy? It may be the formula all together.

I had to cut out almost all veggies, green and red, and then start bringing them back into my diet slowly and one at a time. by doing this, I could tell that Logan was gassy after I ate spinach and broccoli. Dairy had no effect on him. Every baby is different, though. You will have to play around with your diet until you find what works.


I have the same feeling about bottles as Gracenote. I don't think there is a special bottle. When you think about it, they all work exactly the same way, you have to hold them all up so air doesn't get it, yet it still manages to give our babies gas.


Good luck!
Missy
 
Actually I disagree wholeheartedly that all bottles are the same. However, the majority are the basic run of the mill bottles with nothing really special about them other than the nipple or bottle shape. The only reason I think that Dr. Browns bottles are different is due to the filter system (don't know the correct term for this) that is made to filter out the air and keeps the baby from sucking the air down. It is hard to explain since I don't have one in front of me and I haven't used one in almost 2 years. I only know from my own personal experiences since I did not breastfeed DS and from using different brands of bottles that would make DS's colick so bad.
 
Thank you for your quick responses. I have heard of Dr. Brown's bottles, and I will check them out-it's worth a shot. Right now, I am using Avent bottles. I also plan to follow the advice of going to a bland diet for 48 hours, then slowly start adding things back in. My son, Andy, had bad gas even before I started addding the oz or two in with pumped breastmilk at night, so I don't think it's the formula, but I will keep my eye on it as I add more. Kristi-I also tried the Mylicon drops, and sometimes they would work, and sometimes not.
Thanks again for all of your suggestions!
-Jen:)
 
Good luck finding a solution! It is never easy especially since every baby is different. Hopefully starting from a bland diet will provide you lots of answers.

Best wishes!
 
I use Playtex Ventaire bottles and my baby has had virtually no gas issues. We bought the mylicon just in case and only used it 3 times during the time I was breastfeeding (but once she spit it out we later discovered!). She's a great burper and does have a great overall constitution, though, so she may just not have problems with gas. But based on my experience, I'll use the Ventaires, again.
Diana
 
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