# Is gripe water okay for a 4-week old?



## hucifer (Mar 26, 2007)

I'm afraid that my son has colic. We are in the process of ruling out reflux. My acupuncturist recommended gripe water. Has anyone had experience with it, and is it safe for my breastfed son of 4 weeks?

Any information would be very appreciated!


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## Lady Madonna (Jul 2, 2004)

I've used Baby's Bliss Gripe Water (essentially, ginger and fennel) with DS from the time he was about 4 weeks, with great success, for occasional gas problems. I know gripe water used to contain alcohol, but the Baby's Bliss does *not* (I don't know about other brands).

I've read/been told that gripe water may contain sodium bicarb, which can be contraindicated for reflux, so that's something you should look into first.

Good luck!


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## twinalicious (Jan 10, 2007)

I have never heard of gripe water, but I was told not to give an infant water because there is enough in BM and if they are going to drink anything it should be BM. Mine had colic, it is directly related to what you eat. Dairy, chocolate, cabbage, onions, wheat are all big offenders. Watch what you eat and see if it makes any difference. It helped with mine but I also gave him a tea (only a tsp. or so) with fennel, catnip and slippery elm, that really helped! I also did homeopathic. If you want more info. PM me I would be happy to share.


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## kewpie-o (Jun 1, 2006)

I just gave my 5 week old DD her first dose of alcohol-free gripe water yesterday, and it really did seem to help her belly.


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## queen_anne78 (Apr 2, 2007)

funny i just got on here to ask the same question....my mom printed an article for me about something called "Colic Calm".......it says it's homeopathic and is some kind of gripe water...We think DD may have some reflux going on....I'll be interested to see more responses.


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

we used gripe water. It worked very well, but then I did the elimination diet. Turns out it was the dairy in my diet that was causing gas/vomiting. I would try eliminating allergens from YOUR diet first. Better to treat the cause than the symptoms.


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## nataliachick7 (Apr 3, 2007)

if your baby has reflux, gripe water is the worst thing you can give them:

One of the main ingredients in gripe water is sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which is a natural antacid. Unfortunately, on its own sodium bicarb is not a very good antacid, which is why it is not sold as such. The reason for this is that, while it very effectively neutralizes stomach acid, it also activates or "turns on" the acid producing proton pumps in the stomach lining, causing them to produce even more acid. Magnesium hydroxide and calcium carbonate are more often used as antacids because they neutralize acid without turning on the proton pumps.

When combined with a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) such as lansoprazole or omeprazole, sodium bicarbonate actually enhances the action of these drugs. In order for a PPI to inhibit or "block" proton pumps, the pumps must be in an active state. So when a PPI is combined with sodium bicarbonate, the bicarb neutralizes the acid, protecting the drug from degradation in the acid, and turns on the proton pumps, which are then blocked by the PPI. Zegerid is an FDA approved form of such a combination. It contains omeprazole, sodium bicarbonate, and a peach/mint flavoring.

Because gripe water contains sodium bicarbonate, which can actually cause more acid to be produced, it often provides temporary relief from the symptoms of reflux, but then causes it to come back even worse than before. For these reasons, I do not recommend the use of gripe water.
http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3438&KW=gripe+water


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

as far as I can tell there is not sodium bicarbonate in baby's bliss gripe water.


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## nataliachick7 (Apr 3, 2007)

i agree with eliminating things. my son is MSPI, and i have found that many babies have this-(milk/soy protein intolerance)


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## Island_Mama (Jul 12, 2006)

Baby bliss Gripe Water didn't work here, neither did Mylicon, or the Hylands pills. I gave her gripe water at 5 wks.


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## littlemizflava (Oct 8, 2006)

yes it is safe i used it and still use it for my ds's reflux if it helps my midwives aproved of me using it


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## hanno (Oct 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *inchijen* 
as far as I can tell there is not sodium bicarbonate in baby's bliss gripe water.

It does, but if it's not reflux, then it's not an issue.

We use it for gas and hiccoughs(when they last over an hour and he's just has enough--eep they just started, I may have jinxed it). We only need 1/4 dose of gripe water and he loves it.


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## ranchchic (Jun 3, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Island_Mama* 
Baby bliss Gripe Water didn't work here, neither did Mylicon, or the Hylands pills. I gave her gripe water at 5 wks.

None of those worked for me either. It is VERY frustrating! I have tried everything. I have done an elimination diet, taken her to the chiropractor, done baby massage, and many more things. Nothing seemed to work! She is now 13 weeks old and still colicky but getting better. Sorry I don't have any good news! You could just try the gripe water--I'm sure you are desperate to try anything. I know--I've been there.


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## Lady Madonna (Jul 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twinalicious* 
I have never heard of gripe water, but I was told not to give an infant water because there is enough in BM and if they are going to drink anything it should be BM. Mine had colic, it is directly related to what you eat. Dairy, chocolate, cabbage, onions, wheat are all big offenders. Watch what you eat and see if it makes any difference. It helped with mine but I also gave him a tea (only a tsp. or so) with fennel, catnip and slippery elm, that really helped! I also did homeopathic. If you want more info. PM me I would be happy to share.

Gripe water isn't water, per se; that's just what it's called - it's not a drink to replace any breast milk. Baby's Bliss is given in doses of 2 teaspoons or less (newborn dose is 1/2 tsp), and the active ingredients are sodium bicarb, ginger, and fennel. As noted several times, the sodium bicarb is a no-no for reflux. But ginger and, as you noted, fennel, are known to calm a variety of tummy discomforts.

My DS's issues weren't related to my diet - he has a funny latch and would swallow a lot of air while nursing sometimes. As a result, he would just occasionally get bubbles way down in his belly - you could feel them - that were too far down to burp up, but he wasn't strong enough to push them out in the other direction! Often, bicycling his legs or tummy massage did the trick, but if he was really uncomfortable, he'd fight that and cry (thus swallowing more air). A little bit of the gripe water, even less than the recommended dose, made a HUGE difference. It was really quite surprising!

My opinion is, if you KNOW it's not reflux, trying the gripe water can't hurt and might help.


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hanno* 
It does, but if it's not reflux, then it's not an issue.

We use it for gas and hiccoughs(when they last over an hour and he's just has enough--eep they just started, I may have jinxed it). We only need 1/4 dose of gripe water and he loves it.


Your right... i was being incredibly lazy. I thought mine was babys bliss and knew it didnt have sodium bicarb.... So when i got home and saw post- went and looked for it-- tada! Mine is not babys bliss.... no sodium bicarb... so it is out there!







sorry for giving bad info...


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## frenchie (Mar 21, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twinalicious* 
I have never heard of gripe water, but I was told not to give an infant water because there is enough in BM and if they are going to drink anything it should be BM. Mine had colic, it is directly related to what you eat. Dairy, chocolate, cabbage, onions, wheat are all big offenders. Watch what you eat and see if it makes any difference. It helped with mine but I also gave him a tea (only a tsp. or so) with fennel, catnip and slippery elm, that really helped! I also did homeopathic. If you want more info. PM me I would be happy to share.

Gripe water is basically the same thing as the tea you mentioned above...however, it's not something you drink. It's given in 1/4 tsp doses to an infant.
To the OP...yes, you can give a 4 week old Gripe Water. Make sure you read the ingredients. Some of it has alcohol IIRC. The stuff I have is made with an aloe water base.


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## ksera05 (Apr 14, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hucifer* 
I'm afraid that my son has colic. We are in the process of ruling out reflux. My acupuncturist recommended gripe water. Has anyone had experience with it, and is it safe for my breastfed son of 4 weeks?

Any information would be very appreciated!









I found a book recently that I recommend called "Colic Solved"...basically, it talks about how the existence of colic is a myth and how most cases are either reflux or a milk/soy protein sensitivity. I recommend picking it up and giving it a read..it might really help.


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## hucifer (Mar 26, 2007)

Thanks to everyone who responded. As the mothers of colic babies, I'm sure you can relate when I say I simply did not have the ability to go online until this evening when my DH could relieve me of my motherly duties.

I will definitely consider Gripe Water now. I have been keeping a food journal to see when his crying is worse...trying to rule out what, if anything, I'm eating that is making him so cranky.


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## CarmenJ (Jul 22, 2006)

I've tried both Baby's Bliss and Colic Calm, and I prefer Baby's Bliss.

Buy some and try it. Even if it doesn't help now, it'll be useful later when you have a teething baby on your hands.


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## nataliachick7 (Apr 3, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ksera05* 
I found a book recently that I recommend called "Colic Solved"...basically, it talks about how the existence of colic is a myth and how most cases are either reflux or a milk/soy protein sensitivity. I recommend picking it up and giving it a read..it might really help.

AWESOME book!!!


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## brightonwoman (Mar 27, 2007)

There is more than one brand...as has been mentioned, check for an alcohol free one...I started giving it to my colic-y baby at about 4 weeks though, and it made him (and me) SO much happier. It's a very small dose, so it's
really not like you're supplementing...


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## mjlsep96 (Jul 28, 2006)

I have had two babies with horrible colic. I first tried Baby's Bliss and one by "wellements" and sometimes it seemed to help a little, but most of the time it did not seem to help at all. Then I found ColicCalm online. It is the only gripe water that I know of that has a money-back guarantee, and when I emailed my doctor to see if it was okay, he said it was fine for me to try.

Oh my gosh, it was absolutely wonderful. I would give it to him during one of his horrible crying (screaming) episodes and he would stop crying within 2-3 minutes and often be asleep within the next 5 minutes. (that was if he was close to naptime... if he had just woken up it would just calm him down... but normally he would be having his troubles close to naptime).

ColicCalm is a miracle product. I only wish I found it earlier.

I have to also mention that we first thought it could have been reflux since I thought he seemed to have all the symptoms of silent reflux. My doctor gave me zantac just to try since he said it couldn't hurt to try (regular zantac made him worse so I got a compounded version which he tolerated much better by the way). I never thought it helped much but I was afraid to stop it in case that would make things worse. Anyway, the label of ColicCalm said that you should not give it within 2 hours of medication since it will lessen the effects of the medicine, so I tried to do that but it was SOOO hard. he would always get upset of course an hour after I gave the zantac, or right when he was due for it, etc. Later I finally got brave and stopped the zantac and I saw no change at all... I don't think he ever even had silent reflux! That was also after I'd called the company (ColicCalm) and found out that ColicCalm is VERY successful helping with reflux too! (in addition to helping with teething, and we are STILL using it for that too!

So my advice is to buy it... you can't go wrong. It is very natural (homeopathic ingredients of fennel, chammomile, etc.) and safe (no alcohol, sugar, allergens, etc.) and I've even heard that the sodium bicarbinate in Baby's Bliss is bad... go to ColicCalm.com to find out more!

Good luck mamas of colicky babies... there is a light at the end of the tunnel... you will get through it, but believe me-- coliccalm helps the most!!

Michelle


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