Facts About Gas and Sleep

There are two main scapegoats that I find people use to blame their children’s sleep problems.

One is teething; the other is gas.

Gas is a major cause of collapse when your child fusses at bedtime, as there is no way to know who is at fault. You hold your child by the knee, rock him on the back for half an hour, and nothing comes out. Then they argue when they’re put down and Mom connects with, “No burp = baby breathing = gas pains = no sleep.”

Yes, they forget that the baby may not have suffocated because the baby didn’t have any air to begin with.

Many of the parents I work with have told me that they had children who were short of breath. They tell me: “He wakes up three times a night with gas pains.”

The strange thing is that after starting the training and the baby started sleeping through the night, the problem seemed to be gone, which leads me to believe that the issue was not the breath, but the connection that the baby makes with tossing and sleeping.

Parents often find it hard to believe that cheating can actually help them sleep. Besides, of all the wonderful bedtime rituals that people have, I’ve never heard anyone tell me that they can’t sleep at night without a good, solid half hour of being spanked over and over again.

But for a baby, being held by Mom, listening to comforting stories or singing, and reluctant, repeated touch of any kind before sleep can be a milestone in their journey to sleep.

In babies older than three months, I have seen a few cases where they had problems with passing gas. The human body is usually good at releasing itself once a child begins to spend enough time in an upright position.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t spank your child, obviously. It’s done for good reason and babies can be upset if they have air, but it’s rare for a baby to have a large air bag in their stomach and not be able to get it out through the nose, especially overnight.

However, if you’re worried about your baby grabbing gas bags before going to sleep and want to make sure they’re properly released before putting them down, no problem. I would just suggest that you move her to a meal that goes before bedtime and don’t let her fall asleep while you are petting her. If you see her eyes starting to close, or yawning or clenching her little fists, stop and stop. We want him to go into his room awake so he can make the journey alone.

As you know if you are a regular reader of my blog, or have used the Sleep Sense Program, a big part, maybe one of the biggest parts, of having your baby sleep through the night is that he learns to sleep on his own, without bottles or bouncers or any other external help to help him.

Again, I’m not saying that your child doesn’t have asthma, or that you don’t recognize the problem. You know your child better than anyone else, but in my experience, the problem seems to correct itself every time the connection between a nap and a nap is broken.

As a quick disclaimer, if your child has a fever, is not pooping, or is restless, it may be a good idea to see a pediatrician. These can be signs of a more serious problem.