Wind is common from the newborn stage to about 3 months, as your baby's digestive system matures. Common signs of trapped wind include: squirming or crying during a feed. looking uncomfortable and in pain if laid down after feeds.
Hold your baby up over your shoulder, supporting them with your hand on the same side. When they're upright, gently pat or rub their back with your other hand. Sit your baby up on your lap and lean them forward slightly with their tummy against your hand. This gentle pressure may help your baby to bring up their wind.
The reason for the pain during the passage of gas in a breastfed baby is intolerance to the protein in the mother's diet. Also, dairy products could also be another culprit for the baby's gas. In a formula-fed baby, the gas pain may occur due to the intolerance to the protein in the formula.
If your child has flatulence or wind, they might sometimes have stomach pain and bloating too. This can happen when the gas builds up in your child's intestines and your child can't get rid of it.
Regardless of size, a baby's digestive system is not mature enough for anything but breastmilk or formula until she is four to six months old. Large babies have the same developmental timeline as smaller babies; their digestive systems are still immature and unable to handle solids.
At nighttime, there's less movement and the gas can build up and get trapped. Additionally, babies tend to feed close to bedtime, and air introduced during this feed can become trapped. Also, our digestive systems are still very active at night and the results of digestion can be… gas!
When a baby has trouble sleeping due to gassiness, it may be tempting to place them on their side or stomach to see if that helps their digestion. However, to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the best sleeping position for a gassy baby—and every baby—is on their back.
Colic. Colic is when your baby's healthy but cries often and excessively and it's hard to soothe them. One of the possible reasons is bubbles of trapped wind causing stomach pain.
If your baby often falls asleep after feeding but wakes up with trapped wind later, try sitting them up for a little while when they fall asleep. This will encourage the release of trapped air or gas before it travels further down the digestive system. Patting their back gently at the same time will also help.
Infacol can gently help to bring up wind as its active ingredient – simeticone – helps the little trapped gas bubbles join into bigger bubbles which your baby can easily bring up as wind – helping to relieve the pain.
Tummy time.
Placing a baby on their stomach while awake helps to relieve gas pains. By gently increasing the abdominal pressure, tummy time pushes gas bubbles up and out. Tummy time is also a great way to strengthen the head and neck muscles needed to reach early motor milestones.
If a baby is taking in excess air and then suffering with painful trapped wind, they will cry more, making the baby take in even more air. It is one big circle. Using a dummy to prevent further crying will limit the intake of air, thus preventing the tummy ache felt by a baby.
️ You can continue to use Infacol for several weeks. However, if your baby's symptoms persist or seem to be getting worse, despite increasing the dose to two droppers full, get medical advice from your doctor, health visitor or pharmacist.
While trapped gas may cause discomfort, it usually passes on its own after a few hours. Some people may be able to relieve pain due to trapped gas using natural remedies, certain body positions, or OTC medications. Avoiding known trigger foods or drinks can help prevent trapped gas from occurring.
Also, babies with colic may burp frequently or pass a significant amount of gas, but this is thought to be due to swallowing air while crying, and is not a cause of colic. The face may be flushed. The abdomen may be tense with legs drawn toward it.
Infacol can be used from birth onwards, unlike gripe waters, which are only suitable for babies of 1 month old, or over.
Ingested wind is the catalyst for refluxing. When newborns swallow air it sits amongst and under the milk. This air pushes the milk out – with or without the wind that created the posset. The more wind a newborn holds, the more often and projectile is the refluxing.
When a baby has gas, tiny bubbles develop in their stomach or intestines, sometimes causing pressure and stomach pain. Many gassy babies are not bothered by gas, but some become restless and cannot sleep until they have passed their gas. Others cry for hours.
Gas is particularly common during the first 3 months of life when your little one's digestive tract is still maturing. You may even notice it's worse at night. 3 Most of the time, gas is from swallowing too much air, but there may be other reasons your little one is gassy.
So does swaddling really help with gas? Swaddling makes no difference for gassy babies because the swaddle blanket doesn't put much pressure on your baby's belly if any, and your baby's legs should still be able to move a little when swaddling is done correctly.
This may be especially useful at night, before the evening feed. Infacol should be used for several days to achieve the best results, as treatment may show a progressive effect. Continued use may help to prevent a further build up of wind. You can continue to use Infacol for several weeks.
Can Infacol cause drowsiness or sedation? No, Infacol is not absorbed into the bloodstream and has no effects on the central nervous system.
Simeticone is not likely to cause any serious problems. However, if you give your baby more than you should, it may cause headaches, an upset stomach, diarrhoea or constipation.
The normal dose is one dropper full (0.5ml) given before each feed for several days, but don't worry if you forget one or more doses. To administer the dose squeeze the bulb and release the liquid onto the back of your baby's tongue.