Bottle Feeding Tips

Question by makotsute:
Tips for a very gassy 3 week old?
I’m having a lot of gas issues with my 3 week old daughter. She gulps so much air as shes feeding (bottle fed) and no matter how many times we take the bottle away to slow her down, it doesn’t make a difference. She fights being burped by tensing up and crying making it very difficult to get any gas out, and even when she does burp well it doesn’t seem to make a difference. As she sleeps you can hear the gas gurgling in her tummy from across the room. It’s becoming frustrating as she never sleeps soundly and takes forever to put back to bed.

I’ve discussed it with my doctor, who doesn’t seem to think there is an underlying issue. He suggested adding a little sugar to her bottles to help (not sure how it would, but we tried it) It worked for a little while but doesn’t seem to be making a difference anymore.

Other things I have tried:
- burping more often (currently she burps about twice every half ounce) and in every position imaginable
- loosening the bottle lids
- tightening the bottle lids
- removing all air from liners
- leaving a little air in the liners to make sure there’s enough airflow for formula to pass
- sitting her up to eat
- sugar
- ovol (makes almost no difference at all)
- ‘bicycling’ her legs
- switching formulas (currently on similac senstive lactose free, it concurs with her superior than others were)
- checking all soothers to make sure they were not leaking air
- using store bought bottled water vs. boiled tap water

Let me stress – this is not a colic issue- she fusses and wakes up often, but not screaming unrelentingly. She’s overall a fairly content baby. She does have other symptoms suggesting GERD… however my physician doesn’t believe GERD exists in infants and will not diagnose… lol.

PLEASE moms, any tips/home remedies/otc medicines/tricks you have, do share! My little girls tummy and my sleep deprivation will thank you! =)

Read More >>