What Is Gripe Water and What Is It Good For?
First thing first; What is gripe water? Gripe water is a non-prescription medication used to treat colic and other gastrointestinal disorders and discomforts in infants in various nations across the world.
Gripe water is a liquid form of herbal medicine. There are various varieties, but most formulae include a combination of herbs, such as: fennel, ginger, chamomile, licorice, cinnamon and lemon balm.
On any given day, a colicky baby may cry for several hours. Though the exact etiology of colic is unknown, some believe it is caused by gastrointestinal discomfort caused by gassiness.
The good news is that your infant can be soothed in a variety of ways. The herbal cure known as gripe water has helped millions of parents relax restless newborns all over the world.
When a baby is unable to release gas, he or she is more likely to develop stomach discomfort. Some babies cry for hours, and it can keep up to even days at a time.
Because the herbs in gripe water are said to help with digestion, this cure is thought to help with gassy colic. Did you know that teething discomfort and hiccups are also treated with gripe water?
Ok, Understood but When Should I Give Gripe Water to My Baby?
A baby's primary mode of communication is crying. Nobody knows your baby's cries like you, so you'll be able to tell if he or she is sleepy or hungry right away.
Although crying is natural, your baby may cry excessively at times, even if he or she is well-fed, changed, held ets. This could be a sign of another issue, such as teething or colic.
Is Gripe Water Safe?
Although gripe water is typically harmless, it should NOT be given to babies under the age of one month. At this age, the digestive tract is still developing and delicate.
Gripe water comes in a variety of forms. You might be hesitant to give this supplement to your infant if you're only accustomed with standard formulas that contain alcohol and sugar and if so do not give them to your baby.
While alcohol, sugar, and artificial tastes are present in certain gripe water formulae, they are not present in all varieties. It's critical to always utilize gripe water that's been specially formulated for newborns. Make sure you read the package's ingredients list. Sodium bicarbonate and peppermint are also found in some kinds of gripe water.
So, What Kind Should I Give My Baby? What Do You Recommended?
Instead of giving you one or two of our answer we asked our BabyPillars family members what do they give their babies? Which one worked for them and which one they suggest. We got a lot of answers that were the same but also great not so common answers including DIY ones.
Recommended Products and Remedies by Moms and DIY At Home.
Sara M. Our 3 month old loves Wellements! We typically only give him the nighttime one, but have used day and night.
Kim S. Original (green) and nighttime (purple) mommy’s bliss. Day time works amazing the night time definitely helps calm him down and he sleeps very well 6-7 hrs at a time only waking once a night for a bottle and is up and alert at 7-7:30 am every morning.
Emmily P. Make your own. Get a box of chamomile tea and a box of ginger tea and make them together. Way better deal too.
Tione M. We use the night time Mommy’s Bliss and it works wonders for us! Hiccups are gone within a minute of giving her the gripe water.
Kelly T. My pediatrician doesn’t like gripe water but I swear by mylicon. My son literally farts the whole time he drinks his bottle and overall is a lot less fussy. It’s gentle enough where you can give it at every feeding too which is a plus!
Lisa C. Currently using gas drops as needed + Gerber Soothe daily for my 2 month old. The gas drops seem to relieve him a little bit, but it’s so short-lived, which is why I guess we can administer up to 12 times a day.
The probiotics were recommended by his pediatrician office. We have noticed less (severe) episodes of painful gas/grunting, but he def still has gas pains every now and then. Hard to tell if it’s the probiotics or just his tummy maturing. I just know his gas pains used to make ME cry 
, but now, they are a little more tolerable.
Carolina K. My baby was VERY gassy, i tried gripe water, leg exercises, mylicon, we thought he was a colic’y baby.. he ended up having a tongue tie causing him to swallow so much air, we got that fixed & he was like a new baby after a few weeks!! we also use the playtex baby bottle with the liners, you remove all the air in the bottle before feeding!
Tori H. If you formula feed, Enfamil Nueropro Gentlease one I switched my son on was a totally new baby, and occasionally gas drops when he gets really gassy. I swear night and day difference.
Ruby B. DIY HERE. My daughter was severely colic and it turned out it was from her holding in her gas. Plus the crying makes them suck in even more air. I would do baby fart Exercises (yes no kidding) you can find them on YouTube. SO much would come out every hour or so. I’d do it at every diaper change. She’s a year old now and she isn’t colic anymore (just whines) but it lasted a good 6 months.
Melisa M. DIY belly massage helped the most for my girl. Sometimes warm bath submersion would work too.
Lori A. DIY Peddle, peddle, peddle honey. Hold your babies legs or feet and just move them in a slow peddling motion for several minutes. Do that for a couple minutes at a time and repeat if necessary. Advice I got from the nicu when my daughter was a preemie and there for 2 months. It does help get the gas moving.
Is it True or false? Does it help my baby?
There is little evidence that gripe water is effective, and one small study in India concerns whether drinking gripe water causes vomiting in newborns who have already shown signs of colic.
Along with sodium bicarbonate and dill oil, the original mixture included alcohol and sugar. Alcohol is no longer used in products nowadays.
While gripe water has not been proven to be a reliable solution for soothing colicky newborns, it is usually considered harmless. Use other relaxing tactics as well. Make an appointment with your doctor if you've tried various home cures and your baby's condition hasn't improved or worsened.
What do you think? Which gripe water helped your baby? or which exercise? we would love to know, write your thoughts in the comments below.