wind pain/colic

Hello everyone!!:nana:
our baby (ella) girl is 4 weeks old and she gets wind like clockwork in the early afternoon-night. The last few days she has started vomiting a little bit after a feed. Is this normal and does anyone have any tryed and tested tips. i watch what i eat and onion seems to set the wind off big time! what other foods can cause problems? Also when she has wind pains should i continue normal 3hourly feeds or delay a feed for a little while.
She also has just got a red spotty rash on her upper chest! the nurse seems to think it is heat rash! should we be worried or is this normal.

any help or advice would be gr8!!
thnx in advance

Hi firstbub,

I would continue to feed bub when she is hungry. At 4 weeks you can use something like infacol before a feed to help disperse any wind. But there are other things you can do; youcan gently massage her tummy in a clockwise motion, slowly but firmly make bicycle motions with her legs (as though she is riding a bike), push both knees towards her chest at the same time and hold them there for a few seconds (do this firmly but gently). This should help with the wind. I also found having a shower with DD helped - kind of like a massage I guess.

Cabbage, garlic, peas, beans (as in baked beans) can all contribute to wind.

The rash I can't comment on without seeing. But my advice would be, if you are concerned about it, see your GP. If the rash is spreading at all - seek medical attention.

It is not uncommon for babies to vomit after a feed and may not be related to the wind. She may just be taking more than she actually wants and so bringing up the excess. If it isn't bothering her (the vomiting), I wouldn't worry about it.

HTH

MG

The rash seems fairly normal to me, if it's spotty, it's likely to be heat rash and nothing to worry about. Annika was prone to them, because she was born in the summer time. I found giving her baths helped with that.

Annika was the queen of colic - really she was! She shocked doctors so much, that she had x-rays done on her chest and abdomen (she had reflux as well). So, I've tried many, many, many remedies for colic, hehe. The one thing I can say with a lot of confidence is that I haven't found that the anti colic preperations helped in the least! Annika was prescribed a stronger one, which was actually an infant sedative with an anti-spasmodic effect, but I was too scared to give it to her. Just something for you to keep in mind if it gets too bad.

Have you experimented with different ways of holding Ella? The two best positions I found were holding her body on my forearm, or holding her in a C position. Even when she forced her legs out, I tried to keep them in. When adults have belly aches, we tend to curl up in the fetal position, and hate lying flat on our backs, it makes the pain more intense, same rule applys for babies IMO.

Also, Annika used to settle, even if it was just for a little while, if I put one of her wraps in the microwave for a few seconds. I would make sure it wasn't too hot of course, but it seemed to really help.

I also suggest that you invest in a good bouncy ball. Rythm was, and still is, the best way I have found to settle Annika. The baby swing is also a miracle invention, and it is somewhere else to keep bubs upright. A sling/frontpack wouldn't be a bad idea either, lets you carry bubs around, and still have 2 free hands to get the housework done.

I used to cycle Annika's legs a lot as well. It helped to expel any excess gas, and relieve pressure in her belly. Massage worked in much the same way, but if you massage her belly, just make sure you do it in a clockwise direction - that's the direction in which the bowel works.

A soothing bath also helped a lot with Annika. Not sure, if Ella isn't a fan, perhaps you'd give it a miss.

There really is something to be said for the tried and true car ride. One night, DH and I were up until 1am, and at our wits end we buckled her in the seat and off we went. She was asleep by the end of the street. Just don't resort to it too often though, or bubs will rely on that method to get to sleep.

As for her feeding, I'd still feed her whenever she seemed hungry. The way I see it is that if you try to put the feed off, she'll cry more, and get more wind in her belly. Also, if you leave it too long to feed her, she'll gulp it down, and swallow more air with it.

Hope this helps!

Hi! OMG this sounds exactly like what happened to me!! I researched the foods and found that chocolate (bugger!), brocolli and cauliflower can cause wind in bubs. So I cut it out of my diet for a few weeks and noticed a bit of difference.

I spoke to the baby nurse at my chemist and she recommended 'Brauer' Stomach Calm for my bubs. She had 1/2ml every few hours and it really helped her wind!

When she was still having discomfort I would lay down on my back and place bubs sideways over my tummy - this worked really well! But if she had just had milk then a little would come up which is fine as long as it's not the whole feed. I also found that if I sat up with my knees bent and placed her tummy down facing away from me (with her legs bent behind her) helped too - in this position I would also just rub her back and it helped to get the wind out too!

My bubs also had heat rash (which I felt horrible about when the doc told me what it was)! She had it on her legs so for a while I just put her in light clothing on her legs. And she now has it around her kneck - still trying to get rid of that one! Think she may get too hot with a colar on her jump suits!

Goodluck! I hope you can find something that helps you!

Thank you for all your replies. It is good to know that we are not alone with these things. I suppose all we can do is try our best and try and work out what is best for bub.