Gas Relief For Babies: How To Stop Infant Gas Pains
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Figuring out gas relief for babies while you are pregnant will help you handle some of the less fun parts of having a newborn.
Babies often have problems when it comes to releasing gas, unlike adults. Their bodies haven’t quite learned the whole relax the bum, tighten the tummy system needed to effectively pass gas.
This can result in different tummy issues for your little one including bloating and cramps, which can be very painful. One way of telling if your baby is having gas problems is if they are constantly squirming and pulling their legs up.
Here are some tips for gas relief for babies so you can get your baby feeling back to normal:
Gas Relief For Babies
Burp them often
Even if your baby isn’t done feeding yet, you can burp them once they start to slow down so that gas buildup is prevented and air can be released. You can burp them in different ways:
- Chin on the shoulder – put the baby’s chin on your shoulder and gently give firm taps on the baby’s back until the burp comes out. Rubbing the infant’s back could also help.
- Tummy on the shoulder – this is when you place your baby’s tummy on your shoulder and gently bouncing the baby or rubbing their stomach.
- Sitting on the lap – put your baby on your lap facing away from you and place your hand on their chest to support the body. You can then lean them forward and pat the back gently. Don’t forget to put a burp cloth on the baby so that spit-up won’t go everywhere.
Working the gas out
Lay the baby on her back and move her legs and hips like they are riding a bicycle. This movement breaks the air pockets that could be uncomfortable. Try to make this fun by singing songs or making silly faces at your baby.
Tummy Massage
A massage can also help in working the gas out. Put the baby on her back and massage in a downward motion along the curves of the tummy. This can help move the gas along in their system.
You can also carry the baby face down with the tummy on your forearm. When their bum is higher in the air it helps the air bubbles rise up to their bum so they can more readily pass the gas.
Gripe water
This contains natural ingredients like ginger, fennel, and chamomile that can be good for digestion and help relieve tummy aches.
Baby Gas Drops 
Similar to gripe water these drops can help relieve infant gas pains. These were a lifesaver for the first few months with a newborn.
This is the brand that we used and they were so helpful!
- Relieves excess gas from food or swallowing of air
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No alcohol, saccharin or gluten
- Works in minutes
- Safe, gentle relief of gas discomfort
Warm towel
Putting this on your baby’s stomach can loosen up the muscles and let the gas come out – try pairing this with the tummy massage mentioned above.
Windi 
This device can help loosen tight muscles and let the gas out. You gently insert this in your baby’s behind. It also has a ridge that keeps you from inserting it too far. When you hear a whistle, you can tell that it is working.
The Windi can be a bit strange and be intimidating to use at first, but some parents swear it works wonders!
Related: 14 Things To Have In Your Baby’s Medicine Cabinet
- INVENTED BY A PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGIST: A hollow tube that safely, naturally and instantly relieves gas and calms colic.
- DESIGNED FOR YOUR BABY'S BOTTOM: The Windi is long enough to reach past the muscle that traps the gas and stimulate the sphincter, but has a stopper so you can’t go too far.
- ALL NATURAL GAS & COLIC RELIEF: No drops or ingestible needed, making the Windi a great alternative.
- SAFE + SANITARY: BPA + Latex-Free.
- 1 PACK: 10 Single-use gas relief tubes.
Remove the pacifier
Try to limit giving your baby a pacifier since this can actually cause gas build up due to the sucking.
Breastfeeding
Make sure your baby has a good latch if you are breastfeeding so that they won’t be sucking excess air and burp them regularly.
Bottle feeding
When bottle feeding, try a slow flow nipple. Before feeding the baby, make sure the entire nipple is filled with milk since air can get in and the baby will swallow it. Keep the bottle always inclined during feeding to fill up the nipple.
Some bottles like Dr. Brown’s bottles also has a built-in vent that gets rid of air bubbles.
When using a formula, try stirring instead of shaking since this can cause bubbles to mix with the formula. You can also wait a little bit for the formula to settle prior to giving it to the baby.
Feed sitting down
Sit straight with a pillow on your lap and place the baby on the pillow. Keep your baby on an incline to help the flow of digestion.
Hot bath
This can help in releasing gas. Put the baby in a sitting position if the lying down position isn’t working.
Touch therapy
Aside from massage, try to hold your infant as much as you can during the day. This helps in letting the baby burp and pass out gas.
Stop the crying
When your baby is always crying, the more air she will swallow and gas buildup will occur. Try distracting her with sounds and objects or you can take her for a walk. You can also rock them slowly or sing them a lullaby.
Avoid foods that can cause gas
Breastfeeding moms can also help lessen gas formation in the baby by not eating foods like cabbage, broccoli, and other foods known to cause gassiness.
I personally had to cut out dairy for the first six months that I was breastfeeding because my little guy couldn’t handle it. It can take about two weeks for the dairy to completely get out of your system, but within a few days of cutting out dairy, my baby was like a new boy. He was so much happier and the three hours of crying every single night stopped.
After six months I slowly reintroduced dairy and he was able to handle it as I built it back up in my system. Try cutting it out of your diet for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference for your baby.
Gas relief for babies is something that you might not have been prepared for so try the tips above and let us know which works for you!
Great article. What if they won’t stop crying because they still want to suck milk?