Note for Marcie

[BarbaraL]

Hi, Marcie! Congratulations on the new baby! My "baby" is 13 now... the time does fly! Reason I'm writing: my daughter was "gassy" too; cried every night for a solid hour from about 4:30 - 5:30. Our salvation was a product called Mylicon drops (I think that's how it's spelled). Basically, it breaks big gas bubbles into little ones that the baby's digestive system can handle. You might want to ask your pediatrician -- the drops were a godsend to us. Of course, they might have some fabulous new thing now, too! My daughter didn't need the drops after a month or two (or three). Hang in there!

[Vanessa]

Congrats Marcie! My brother & wife had twins last Aug. She uses tummys (drops) for gas and it really helps A LOT. She has those drops in her purse and close by always.

[Marcie]

Thanks for the note, guys. I do actually give the kiddo Mylicon when he's got a bubbly tummy. My friend and I have discussed how much it actually helps, and have decided that it helps as a distraction as much as anything else (they have to stop crying for a minute while they contemplate this weird new flavor in their mouth). It does seem to pop some of the bubbles so they aren't so miserable.

The challenge for me is trying to prevent the gas in the first place, as a nursing mom. Citrus, chocolate, dairy, onions/garlic, and cruciferous veggies all can be a culprit, and the trick is in finding out which ones cause the most upset. It's hard to limit all of those things from my diet, and still get enough calcium and nutrients (okay, so the chocolate wasn't that healthy anyway...). And let's not forget, this is in the context of being too tired and busy to cook anyway.

Enough whining! Thanks for thinking of me, everyone.

[Shirley Panek]

Marcie -

I have a daughter who just turned 5 months old. I breastfeed, and noticed with her that my drinking milk seemed to give her a lot of gas, so I pretty much cut that out of my diet. I've been getting my calcium mainly from calcium-enriched orange juice, and I try to remember to still take my prenatal vitamins to get those nutrients that I may be lacking. It's hard to remember that we are still "eating for 2" when we breastfeed.

I don't drink a lot of caffeine, since I have terrible withdrawl symptoms (if I don't have any the next day). But I notice that if I have caffeine it tends to upset her more. Not gas, just overall crying. It may be that caffeine may be affecting him? Just a thought. Good luck! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[JennyLiz]

Hi Marcie! Congratulations! Keep breastfeeding- it's really the best thing you can do for your baby. My doctor told me that they're finding out that what YOU eat doesn't affect the baby as much as they used to think, so keep getting all of your nutrition and don't skimp on the veggies. (I know, everyone told me not to eat broccoli, chocolate, etc.) Time will help also, as the baby's digestive system matures.

I had a friend who was nursing a colic-y baby and was down to eating just Cheerios. Finally gave up nursing only to find out the baby had severe reflux!
Hang in there! JennyLiz

[Marcie]

Good observations, everyone. I think cow's milk is the biggest offender, which is why I'm drinking enriched rice milk now. I also nursed my oldest son (until he was 14 months old) and he would get blood in his stools at around 3 months old. When I cut out the dairy, problem solved! I was able to go back to dairy when he was about 9 months old and had a more mature digestive system.

As for this baby, I'm trying to be more cautious about my diet until he's a little older (anything to have a less irritable baby!).

[shortcook]

Marcie, my doctor told me right from the start to watch what I ate when breast feeding. Onions and Garlic aren't the only culprits,broccoli and peas are a problem too. Keep a diary of the food you eat and see day to day what seems to be the problem. If you suspect something don't eat it for 2 days and see if it makes any difference. By the way peppers and tomatoes effect some people too. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif

[Beth]

Good luck and lots of patience to you! My first cried all day every day and only napped once or twice for 5-15 min. each day. My second didn't sleep a lot more, but he cried less and had less Mylicon because we figured things out earlier. It was any dairy for us, but it took 4-5 days of having it out of my diet to see improvement, not the 2-3 the nurses and dr. told us....so you might keep that in mind.

[Anne]

Hi Marcie. Congrats on your youngest. I hope the digestive situation improves soon. My oldest would nurse for half an hour, cry for two hours, sleep for an hour or two and then start the cycle over again. I tried everything I could think of food wise but it sounds like you are having more success nailing down the culprits than I did. Time was the only cure for us, and at age 6 week my daughter outgrew her digestive troubles. Good luck.