Solutions to Your Feeding Concerns
So your baby’s feeling fussy at feeding time? Showing discomfort beyond the usual hunger cries? Gas, constipation, spitting up, and more can be all in a day’s work as her immature digestive system adjusts to breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Explore the tabs above to find out more about some of the most common feeding-related issues.
What Causes Gas, and What Can You Do About It?
Occasional gas is completely normal. The two most common causes are:
Swallowed air. Babies swallow large amounts of air when feeding and crying. If the air is not burped back up, it passes into the digestive tract. This trapped air can make baby uncomfortable.
Digestion. Gas is a natural part of the digestive process that occurs when food is broken down.
What are the signs of gas? Your baby may show excessive fussiness during and after feedings, pull her legs toward her chest, have a distended abdomen, or appear to be bloated.
What can you do about gas?
Try burping your baby once every five minutes when you’re breastfeeding, or once after every ounce when you’re bottle feeding. If she doesn't burp after a few minutes, change her position and try for a few minutes more before you start feeding again.
Here are some other ways to relieve gas pain:
Massage her tummy.
Hold her in your arm, facedown, using your hand to apply gentle pressure on her tummy.
Bounce her gently, as if she were on a car ride or in a bouncy seat.
Over-the-counter drops (simethicone) can make burping more effective at getting rid of gas.
What is Lactose Intolerance?
Lactose intolerance in babies is usually temporary. Most often, it’s a situation in which the intestine, while still developing, has trouble digesting and absorbing lactose. This can cause gas, and can occur after a stomach illness or diarrhea. Similac Sensitive formula is a nutritionally complete option from the makers of Similac that helps reduce fussiness and gas due to lactose sensitivity.
Permanent lactose intolerance is very rare in babies. You’ll want to discuss the situation with your health care professional before making changes to your baby’s diet.
Is your baby experiencing gas or other conditions? Visit Feeding Expert to explore more feeding problems and find out how you can help.
What Causes Spit-up?
As messy as it can be, spit-up is a normal part of babyhood. It can happen when your baby burps, swallows too much air, or eats too much. As long as he’s growing and gaining weight, there’s no reason to worry about these common causes of spit-up.
Did You Know?
Your baby's tummy is about the size of a small marble at birth. After 3 days, it's about the size of a ping-pong ball, but still can’t hold much.1
Until she’s about 4 months old, your baby’s tummy can only hold small amounts of milk at a time. Too much milk during feedings can lead to things like fussiness or spit-up.
What can you do to reduce spit-up?
You probably won’t be able to eliminate spit-up completely, but you may be able to reduce the frequency by:
Burping your baby frequently
Feeding her smaller amounts, but more often
Feeding your baby before she is ravenous to avoid gulping
Keeping feeding time calm and quiet
Limiting activity after eating
Keeping your baby upright for 30 minutes after eating
Asking your health care professional about switching to Similac Sensitive for Spit-Up™. It’s clinically shown to reduce the frequency of spit-up among healthy babies by 54%.†
How much and how often to feed
Your newborn will probably be hungry 6 to 10 times in a 24-hour period. As she gets bigger, her stomach will grow, so she'll eat more at each feeding and eat less often.
Age | Average number of feedings per day | Average amount per feeding |
Birth to 1 week | 6 to 10 | 2 to 3 fl oz |
1 week to 1 month | 7 to 8 | 2 to 4 fl oz |
1 to 3 months | 5 to 6 | 4 to 5 fl oz |
3 to 6 months | 4 to 5 | 6 to 7 fl oz |
6 to 9 months | 3 to 4 | 7 to 8 fl oz |
9 to 12 months | 3 | 7 to 8 fl oz |
The best way to feed your baby is to allow her to take as much as she seems to need. If she's fussy and hasn't been fed in more than two hours, it's probably time for a feeding.
How is spit-up different than vomiting?
If spit-up becomes more forceful, with more volume, it is considered vomiting.
When is vomiting cause for concern?
Frequent vomiting can indicate reflux disease, intestinal obstruction, or a protein allergy. Contact your health care professional if your baby’s vomiting:
Increases in volume or force
Causes choking episodes
Leads to other problems (discomfort, fussiness, poor weight gain, or weight loss)
Is accompanied by a fever, diarrhea, bloody mucus in the vomit, or distended abdomen
Is green or yellow
Is your baby experiencing gas or other conditions? Visit Feeding Expert to explore more feeding problems and find out how you can help.
What Causes Diarrhea?
What Can You Do About It?
When your baby’s stool suddenly becomes softer and more frequent than what’s normal for her, it may be that she has diarrhea.
What causes diarrhea?
Diarrhea may be caused by an infection, or your baby's inability to properly digest nutrients in her food.
When should you be concerned?
If the frequency and volume of diarrhea become excessive, or if you notice any of the following symptoms, call your pediatrician or health care professional:
What else can you try?
If diarrhea persists or worsens, see or talk to your health care professional. Switching formulas may help. Similac Expert Care™ for Diarrhea, found in drug stores, provides complete nutrition and reduces the duration of loose, watery stools during mild to severe diarrhea in infants older than 6 months and toddlers.
Is your baby constipated? What can you do about it?
If your baby is constipated, her stool will be hard and dry.
How can you ease your baby’s constipation?
Some doctors recommend offering 1 to 2 ounces of prune, apple, or pear juice, added to formula or breast milk. The sugar in these juices will help to loosen the stool. Do not give your baby over-the-counter stool softeners unless advised by your pediatrician or health care professional.
Ask your health care professional about switching to a formula such as Similac® Advance®, which does not contain palm olein oil, an ingredient that can harden stools in some babies.
Bowel Movements? What's Normal?
The normal range for bowel movements in babies is vast. Infant stool varies from baby to baby, and from day to day. Stool can be yellow, green, or brown and still be considered normal. Normal consistency ranges from runny applesauce to play dough.
Is your baby experiencing gas or other conditions? Visit Feeding Expert to explore more feeding problems and find out how you can help.
Why Does Your Baby Cry?
Crying is your baby’s only way of telling you something’s bothering him. It doesn’t always mean he’s experiencing serious discomfort. Check first to see if he’s too cool or too warm, hungry, gassy, tired, or needs a diaper change.
But a change in his crying pattern can be cause for concern. Trust your instincts, and call your pediatrician or health care professional if you’re concerned.
How can you soothe your crying baby?
You know how to comfort your baby by swaddling him, offering him a pacifier, or placing him in a swing. If these don’t work, and you can’t find a reason for his discomfort, try:
Gently bouncing or walking him, or taking a car ride
Creating white noise (quiet music, vacuum cleaner)
What is colic? What can you do about it?
When infants cry for three or more hours a day at least three days a week for three weeks or more, they could have colic. This is commonly known as the "Rule of 3s." Colic generally begins at two to three weeks; it's unusual after three months.
No one's sure exactly what causes colic. For most babies it’s not a sign of a serious medical problem. If your baby had a serious medical problem, his cries would be more continuous.
Sometimes baby’s excessive crying is due to his sensitivity to the protein in some formula. Ask your health care professional if switching to a formula designed for baby’s sensitive digestive system might help. Similac Expert Care™ Alimentum® starts to reduce colic symptoms* in most babies in just 24 hours.†
Ask for Help
Trying to soothe a colicky baby for a long period of time can wear down even the most upbeat mom. A good support system gives you a much-needed break when your baby’s crying gets overwhelming. Ask for help from your partner or a family member to get relief when you need it. If the crying makes you feel like you might lose control, place your baby safely in a crib and walk away to collect your thoughts and calm down. NEVER SHAKE AN INFANT. Get sleep when you can, and try to remember — it is temporary.
Is your baby experiencing gas or other conditions? Visit Feeding Expert to explore more feeding problems and find out how you can help.
A Word About Food Allergies
If you suspect a food or milk allergy, what should you do?
If you suspect your child has a food allergy, contact your health care professional.
How can you recognize a food allergy in your baby?
The typical signs of a true food allergy are:
How are food allergies treated
Your health care professional may recommend switching to a hydrolysate formula such as Similac Expert Care™ Alimentum®, which is easy for babies with milk allergies to digest.
Most food allergies resolve within the first year.
How can you switch formula?
A guide to switching formula:
Switching your infant’s formula should occur only if you and your health care professional have identified a problem and believe a different formula could help.
Avoid switching from a cow-milk-based formula unless advised by your health care professional.
There is no medical evidence, but some moms find ready-to-feed formula sits better with babies. And ready-to-feed may be helpful if you’re traveling to areas where water quality or variability is a concern.
When switching formula, it is not necessary to mix the two formula types for a short while. A clean switch is appropriate.
It can take a week or longer before an infant’s symptoms change after switching formula.
When should you call your health care professional?
Call your health care professional if your baby:
- Is crying excessively and you have ruled out hunger, wet diaper, exhaustion, being overly warm or cool, or external pain
- Has a rectal temperature higher than 100.4°F (for infants younger than 2 months)
- Refuses food for longer than is typical
- Vomits excessively or has excessive diarrhea
Listen to your instincts and talk to your health care professional about any concerns.
Did You Know?
Nutrition is key to all of the ways your baby develops in her first year of life. Find out about how her brain and bones are developing.
Still Have Questions?
Is your baby experiencing gas or other conditions? Visit Feeding Expert to explore more feeding problems and find out how you can help.