Trouble Passing Wind and/or Bowel Movement

by Michelle
(Sydney, Australia)

Our baby is 11 weeks old and throughout her first month suffered almost constantly from what our doctor described as "colic i.e. Pain and discomfort passing wind and bowel movements, pulling knees up to chest, pained crying etc).

At around 6 weeks this disappeared much to the delight of myself and my partner as this had been a very hard time for us all.

However for the last 2 weeks she has again been experiencing what appears to be excruciating pain when trying to pass wind or a movement each night at around 6.30-9.30pm (this time around it is ONLY at night time and she is fine throughout the night).

When she does finally pass either or both she is instantly relieved and her pain subsides and although she is very tired all goes back to normal.

I'm wondering if this is again symptoms of Colic?

She did have 2 weeks of seeming to have overcome it all though and now it has returned. Could these be symptoms of something more serious?

Are there any suggestions for helping to relieve the pain that she is in when this happens as it can be quite distressing for us all! Have tried various drops but these do not seem to make a difference? NB. She is exclusively breastfed.

Find answers and comments to this question below.

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Baby Help Line Response:

Hi Michelle!

I feel so much for you! While most newborn babies have tummy pain to some degree, some babies certainly have it worse than others.

It must feel pretty bad that the symptoms are now back again.

My first though is if you have done anything differently regarding your diet? The pain was gone for two weeks and is now back. Sometimes babies can be sensitive to moms eating habits, and for example if you drank less coffee or ate dairy or less gassy foods during those weeks, maybe that is what made the difference! For some tips on foods to avoid during breastfeeding, click here.

Other possibilities would be if you have changed the breastfeeding position, so that she suddenly swallows more air, or if she for a while was carried more in an upright position or was burped more regularly during those two weeks.

Try to be a bit creative and see if there is anything at all you might have done differently during those two weeks that made her better.

But then again, it might of course also be due to something that you won't be able to figure out.
Then do talk to the same doctor again, just to be sure he is not judging it in some other way, with all the information he has.

Now, whether this is colic be definition or "just" severe tummy pain, you should of course do all you can to help your baby. Have you tried infant colic massage? I've done that for two of our kids, and it helped. Buy a book about it or ask the doctor.

Regardless of how you ate during the calm weeks, some colicky babies find great relief when Mom changes her diet a bit. Some babies are really sensitive to foods that make you gassy, such as broccoli, cabbage and beans, while others react on caffeine. Some babies are also greatly helped if moms excludes all dairy products from her diet.

You can also try drinking fennel or roibos tea and even give a little bit to your baby, to mitigate the gas production.

If you can, also invest in a baby sling or carrier, since babies that are carried a lot are known to have less colic.

I know in some places they also treat colic with Losec or similar, you can always discuss that with the doctor, if the situation is unbearable.

Finally, try breastfeeding your baby in a upright position, rather than the usual horizontal position. Have her bum resting in your lap and keep her as upright as possible. This way she is likely to swallow less air.

I really hope your daughter gets better soon. In most cases, babies' tummies are mature enough to stop hurting as much when they are around 3-3.5 months.

It will pass!

You can read more about colic here and also find stories and tips from other parents how they survived through it.

Take care,

Paula

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