Digestive Issues in My 9 Month Old

Updated on June 01, 2009
M.H. asks from Springfield, VA
11 answers

I am calling the doctor today, but wanted to get other experiences as well. My little girl is having major digestive issues now that I am giving her more finger foods. I have always had to watch what I gave her, none of the green veggies, ever since I introduced baby food to her at 5 months old. She is up around 2am with stomach pain/gas. I have to stay up with her for 1 hour+ before it passes and she is able to sleep again. She has been on the same formula since 3 months old and is a great sleeper when this isn't happening. She immediately started to feed herself cheerios and puffs right at 5 months. I couldn't belive it, my son didn't do that until 8 months old. She was using the pincer grasp at 6 months! She loves food and is starting to snub the baby food because she wants what we are eating. She has liked everything I have given her! The one exception is yogurt, she hates that. She seems to eat the gerber turkey sticks and diced carrots with no problems. I've tried peas, beans, ground beef, sweet potato, pancakes, tomatos, avacado, watermelon, peaches etc... She loves it all! Then she is up for the 1+ at night! I feel so bad for her because she wants to eat all of this. I have to hide peas and beans when I make them because if she sees them, she freaks because she wants some. I know those are big gas producers. Has anyone else gone through this? Does it pass? I am going to stick with the stage 2 food as much as I can, but like I said, she is starting to snub it. My son never went through any of this!

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So What Happened?

Thank you all. No, she is not on any milk products besides the formula. It is the same formula she has always been on and when I scale back the solid finger foods, she is fine. I'm thinking her system still needs time to get use to it. She has been better the last couple of nights, just waking for a bottle and going back to sleep. I have been feeding her less at dinner and that seems to help.

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C.D.

answers from Tampa on

I have a friend who's daughter was very gassy at night to the point of screaming in pain. they took her to a specialist who suggested cutting down on her gluten intake, which helped tremendously. Good Luck!

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A.D.

answers from Fort Myers on

My infant had digestive issues as an infant as well. A pediatrician will liking give you a medication to mask the symptoms. A lot of times, as in the case of my daughter, infant digestive issues stem from neurotransmitters blocked and can be resolved through chiropractic treatment. This helped my daughter greatly. Probiotics and digestive enzymes were also suggested and we used them. The cause in my daughter's case was tortocholis (sp?) due to her positioning in the birth canal during birth. The birthing process is a traumatic one and if any vertabrae or muscles are left unattended health problems we never thought could be related begin occuring. Dr. Mike and Jana Lampe are experts on infant and child chiropractic care inh Cape Coral. They are wonderful and have a 1 and 3 year old themselves. I could go on and on with stories of their successes with kids. Give them a call ###-###-####. Nutritional Dr. Herschel Stanford can help you as well. He has a chiropractic background, but I use him for naturopathic alternative medicine. He will use kinesiology techniques to determine the digestive issues and any food allergies that may be a cause. Between the both of them, I predict you could have this issue resolved in a matter of weeks without any medicine that comes with side-effects.
A.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.M.

answers from Tampa on

Hi- what formula is she on? Does it have soy? sugar? she may have used alot of her available digestive enzymes with that for starters.
I start with avoiding the worse digestive problems- any thing made w/ cows milk, ESPECIALLY if it is pasterized because that kills all the enzymes in it so it is VERY hard to digest, esp for little bodies, wheat , and anything made from corn, or with corn.
If that doesn't handle her problem then call me at ###-###-#### and I can go through the next level of handlings.
Please don't put her on any adult digestive products- I have seen too many problems w/ those for little bodies.
doc

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J.M.

answers from Sarasota on

Have you tried Gripe Water? My son is only 3 months old, but when he has really bad gas, we give him a dose of Gripe Water and he is better almost immediately. We have used this since he was about 2 weeks old, due to colic, but it still works like a charm. I would definately discuss your daughter's condition with you doctor, but give the Gripe Water a try, it may cut down on the time you are up at night. Good luck to you!

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E.M.

answers from Tampa on

Hi M.. Of course a doctor is going to give you the best advice and probably the same advice that all the moms give you here. Its trial and error. My son was spitting up constantly for 5 months before I put him on acid reflux medicine. If you are not into alternative medicine or things like chiropractic care, which I wish I would have known about when my son was going through his trouble, then ask her doctor about acid reflux. Even if they are not spitting up, it can still happen and feel very uncomfortable when laying down. Spitting up is just one of the signs not the ONLY sign. Godd luck and I hope she sleeps good for you again soon.

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J.F.

answers from Tampa on

Sounds like she needs acidophilus for babies. You can get it in liquid form at the health food store. It helps implant good bacteria in the colon which helps digestion.
J

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L.C.

answers from Naples on

Are you sure it is gas issues that she is up with? Your doctor visit will determine, I'm sure, but maybe she's just going through a sleep phase, or growth spurt. My son did this--he had been a good sleeper then started getting up in middle of night. After a while of him basically crying back to sleep, we realized he was just hungry. Do you give her a bottle before bed? She might need to have her hunger staved off til morning.

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N.R.

answers from Lakeland on

I nursed my daughter for a long time (15 months), and she was eating regular food - not baby food from the start. The only time that I would feed her baby food (which smells & looks gross) is if we were traveling - other wise, I had a small mini food processor and I would just process what ever we were having - one item at a time, with a tiny amount of nursery water, less and less as her teeth came in. HOWEVER- when I added milk to her diet - she suddenly stopped sleeping through the night, and would ball up and scream because of gas pains. It was my husband who figured it out - because he is lactose intolerant - he suggested that she might be too. When I switched to lactaid brand milk in her dinner sippy cup - viola - no more gas, no more screaming at night. Do you give her any milk? Is the formula that she is on - the same since the beginning? Is there a lactose free version to try? We travel alot - so carrying a cooler with lactaid was a real pain. I don't let her drink soda - so if we go out I bring a sippy of lactaid in a little insulated bag. NOW - I have discovered a new product- Digestive Advantage - chewable tablets - one with breakfast and she is good for 24 hours. PERFECT. If lactose intolerance turns out to be your daughter's problem - I highly recommend the chewable tablets when she can - as it really simplifies life - no more carrying lactaid milk around - able to have shakes, pizza etc.... during the day if we are out and about. Good luck!

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I.K.

answers from Tampa on

your story is like looking into a mirror. A doctors visit will ease your nerves & make sure everything is AOK.
I thought I broke her! My daughter had the same problem. A finiky tummy. Use Mylicon or the Lil' Tummy's version. harmless. Mylicon was recalled last year, but is safe again. we also used the football hold to ease her discomfort. My oldest daughter is now almost 7 so this too will pass and you will sleep again! Best of luck!

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R.R.

answers from Tampa on

Hi, my son had GI problems in the beginning that we didn't realize. I would recommend seeing a GI doctor. My son was diagnosed with GERD. The acids were going up his esophagus once we lied him down and required a medication. We also held him upright for certain time after eating and elevated his bed. He had as needed over the counter adult med that was adjusted to his dose, plus prescription daily med. It made a big difference! Wishing you the best of luck! Our son is almost 3 years old and has grown out of it.

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K.H.

answers from Naples on

Hi M..
I'm sorry your little one having digestive problems. My daughter had some similar problem as well and when you mentioned her diet, it was all too familiar.

First, I just want to say that we must be careful with a lot of foods today. They are so processed and have so many fillers that I can't believe one wold even consider them food or nutritional. Get to know ingredients and check for them - even in the baby products.

These puffs that you spoke of, I gave them to my dd when she was an infant. She LOVED them of course but they would constipate her tremendously. After I figured that out, I then realized that a lot of processed wheat-based foods cause my daughter lots of tummy problem. Also, dairy gives her lots of gas, diarrhea and a colorless rash on her face. Even when I give her lactaid, she still gets the bumps. I guess the reality is that milk was made for cows and not humans so, many of us cannot tolerate it. I'm 28 an only realized I had wheat and dairy problems when I associated it to the new findings in my daughter.

Anyway, a good probiotic (ask your dr.), maybe even see a chiropractor (Dr. Jenni from Fit For Life in Naples is my dr. and we love her), cut down on pre-packaged processed foods, wheat products and dairy products (vanilla almond milk is GREAT for kids). Maybe you can just whip up your own food.

Also, I forgot to mention that when I first introduced food to my dd, she had stomach problems - gas and constipation. My dr. told me that we probably introduced the foods to her too early and that we should back off and a try again in like a month or so. Every child is different though.

And for gas, my friend who is a massage therapist suggested rubbing my dd's tummy in a clockwise motion. It definitely helps get the gas moving out. I still use it on my dd today and she'll be 4 soon.

Well, I hope this helped a little.
I hope she feels better soon!

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