Gripe Water

[reneeinnorthwes]

Hi,

Quick... desperate question... I just had a baby 5 days ago and I think he has some serious gas that is causing him pain.

Has anyone used it? I did a search and it comes up in the new mom threads but people talk about using it... not necessarily when they used it and their opinion of it. It is not FDA approved.

Is it okay to use for a 5 days old? When is the point when I should use it? What is the point when gas is excessive? He is crying a bunch and seems to be in pain!

Thanks so much,
Renee

[greta]

Hi Renee,

Hugs to you and your little one...

I've used gripe water for both of my sons, but to be honest, I probably wouldn't use it for a 5 day old. I don't think I started using it in the first month (can't remember when it was)

The things I would do with a 5 day old: with the baby on his back and bicycle his legs, bounce while holding him on an excersise ball (if you have one)...Good grief, I can't remember the other things I used to do. I'll try to clean out the webs and I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

It takes a while for our little one's digestive system to cooperate. unfortunately, sometimes patience and time is the only thing that helps.

I'm not sure that really helped...Greta

[LaraW]

I remember calling the doctor to ask about using mylicon drops when my dd was 3 weeks old. It was OK to use it then.

Some other things you can do, like Greta said is to do the bicycle thing, pull his legs up like when you change a diaper, and you can lay him on his tummy on your leg and bounce a bit.

Good luck, those first few weeks are the hardest.

[reneeinnorthwes]

Thanks so much! I think I am more comfortable holding out until we have our dr. appointment in a few days.

I'm off to do bicycle legs and we will try the big ball too!

Thank you so much!!!!!

Renee

[LHBryan]

Hi Renee! Congrats on the birth of your baby!

I'm so sorry about the gas. I can empathize! Hannah's wasn't that bad sounding until a little older, but she did have gas that early on and I used the Target brand of Mylicon. Our pediatrician's nurse told me to not be afraid to use it for every feeding. It probably helped some. But, when her gas got worse, I did buy gripe water (around 6 weeks) and think it worked better. My pediatrician's office thinks it's fine to use (even in conjunction w/ Mylicon) b/c it's all natural, but I would definitely wait for the dr.'s approval with such a young baby. Our office has a nurse who responds by phone to new parent inquiries, so you may try giving your dr.'s office a call to ask about it. Otherwise, the best suggestion I received from several people is to keep shifting the baby's position--just like when adults have bad gas pains, they can't get comfortable and keep shifting around to get some relief. So, bicycle the legs, curl them up and hold them to the baby's chest for about 20 secs and stretch them back out, do the football hold with pressure on the stomach. Also, my LC said put a towel in the dryer and hold the baby in a football hold with the warm towel on their stomach. Hope this helps! I'm typing quickly while our gassy little one naps and will come back if I think of more suggestions. At the moment we're having to use Mylicon, gripe water, and Tylenol to help our little one!:eek:

Hang in there!

-Laura

[maryellenmd]

((Renee)).

Congrats on the birth of your baby!

I ditto what everyone else said about doing the bicycle movements with the legs and the mylicon drops. I found that those really helped DS when he was a newborn with the gas. The football hold worked well for us too.

I do remember trying gripe water when he was maybe 6-8 weeks old. He had reflux and was very colicky. It was supposed to help him sleep. A lot of people said it helped them, but it didn't really do anything for my little one.

[TKay]

Just wanted to chime in with my two cents. I think the bicycle legs are the best. We did them all the time. I got the Mylicon drops at WalMart for MUCH less than the brand name. I didn't price compare between WalMart and Target, but definitely get the generic if you try it.
Congratulations on the birth of your baby boy! Hang in there. It gets so much easier. You'll get through it--and so will he. :)

[JenCooks]

Same info but hopefully it will make you feel better to hear it from more people. My 2nd son had terrible gas for about 8 weeks and right away the Dr. told me to use Mylicon and Gripe Water. I also have a friend that is a pharmacist and he told me it is virtually impossible to give your infant too much of either medicine. I could tell my son felt much better about 15 minutes after giving him the Gripe Water.

Good Luck and remember that babies grow up way too fast so even if you are carrying around a crying baby all night try to cherish the moment!! Much easier said than done . . . :)

[lisas3575]

We found that gripe water really helped DS. Congratulations and hang in there. These first weeks are for sure the hardest!