The grunting. The arched back. The face that goes from perfectly peaceful to scarlet in under three seconds. If your newborn has gas, you already know the feeling — that helpless, desperate loop of bouncing and patting, hoping something works. Here's are a few recommendations that we’ve found parents turn to time and time again.
Key Takeaways
What's Making Your Newborn So Gassy?
Your baby's digestive system is doing something remarkable: it's learning how to work. In the first few weeks of life, the gut microbiome is still establishing itself, the swallowing reflex is still being refined, and the muscles that move food through the digestive tract are getting their first real workout. Gas is almost always part of that process.
A few common culprits:
- Swallowing air while feeding: Whether nursing or bottle-feeding, newborns swallow more air than older babies. Latch, nipple flow rate, and feeding position all affect how much.
- An immature digestive system: Food moves more slowly through a newborn gut, giving gas more time to build up.
- Crying: A gassy baby cries; a crying baby swallows air; a baby swallowing air gets gassier. The loop is real, and it's exhausting.
The good news: this typically improves significantly by three to four months, as the gut matures and your little one's feeding mechanics get more efficient.
Gas Relief Techniques: What to Try
These are the moves that many parents swear by — practical, hands-on, and safe to use at home.
Bicycle Legs
Lay your baby on their back. Hold their legs gently and move them in a cycling motion — one leg forward while the other extends back, alternating. Do this for 30 to 60 seconds. The movement compresses and releases the abdomen in a rhythm that can help dislodge trapped gas and move it through.
Knee-to-Tummy Compressions
Still on their back, hold both knees together and gently press them toward your baby's belly, hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat several times. This tends to work well right after a feeding when your little one is more settled, and it's gentler than bicycle legs if your baby is fussy.
The I-Love-You Tummy Massage
Use two fingers and light pressure — never push hard on a newborn's abdomen. Trace an "I" down the left side of the belly. Then an upside-down "L" across the top and down the left side. Then an upside-down "U" across the bottom, up the right side, across the top, and down the left. This follows the path of the large intestine and can help move gas in the right direction. Warm your hands first, so it's more comfortable for your baby.
The Football Hold
For a gassy baby who can't settle, try laying them face-down across your forearm: tummy-down, head near your elbow, legs straddling your hand. The gentle pressure on the abdomen, combined with the face-down position, can often bring quick relief. Rock gently or walk around the room. The motion helps too.
Tummy Time (Awake and Supervised Only)
Brief tummy time sessions naturally compress the abdomen and can help release gas. Keep sessions short, supervised, and only when your baby is fully awake and alert — tummy time is never for sleeping.
Feeding Fixes That Make a Real Difference
Sometimes the most effective gas relief isn't what you do after a feeding. It's what you adjust during one.
Improve the Latch or Nipple Fit
For nursing parents, a shallow latch means your baby is swallowing more air with every sip. If you're hearing clicking sounds or noticing your baby pulling off frequently, a lactation consultant can help. For bottle-feeding, check the nipple flow rate — a flow that's too fast causes gulping, which means more swallowed air.
Adjust Feeding Position
Keep your baby at roughly a 45-degree angle during feeding, with their head higher than their stomach. Fully upright or semi-reclined tends to work better than flat. After a feed, hold them upright against your chest for 15 to 20 minutes before laying them down.
Burp More Often — and in More Spots
You don't have to wait until the end of a feeding to burp. Mid-feed burping — switching sides for nursing parents, or pausing midway through a bottle — can release swallowed air before it travels further into the digestive tract. Try a few different positions: over the shoulder, seated upright with support under the chin, or face-down across your lap.
Gas Drops and Probiotics: What the Evidence Says
Two products come up in every new parent group, so here's an honest look at both.
Gas Drops (Simethicone)
Simethicone, the active ingredient in most infant gas drops, works by breaking the surface tension of gas bubbles in the stomach, making them easier to pass. It's not absorbed into the body, and it's considered generally safe by most pediatricians — though as with any supplement, check with your pediatrician before use.
The catch: the evidence on how well it works is mixed. Some babies respond clearly; others don't. It can sometimes help in the moment, but it's not a fix for the underlying cause. If you try it and see no change after a few days, that's useful information.
Probiotics
Infant probiotics — specifically Lactobacillus reuteri — have a more interesting evidence base. A few well-designed studies suggest they can reduce daily crying time in breastfed babies with colic by several minutes per day over several weeks. The mechanism is likely related to gut microbiome development.
The nuance: they typically work slowly (think weeks, not hours), and the research is stronger for breastfed babies than formula-fed ones. They're not a quick fix, but for families dealing with persistent gassiness, it’s worth a conversation with your pediatrician.
Gas or Colic? Here's How to Tell
Gas and colic often look the same: a screaming baby, a desperate parent, a room that smells faintly of anxiety. But they're different things, and knowing the distinction matters for how you respond.
| Gas | Colic | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Episodes often resolve with relief techniques | Crying lasts 3+ hours and doesn't stop with comfort measures |
| Pattern | Often tied to feeding times | Typically peaks in the late afternoon or evening |
| Onset | Can appear any time in the newborn phase | Usually starts around 2–3 weeks, peaks at 6 weeks |
| Frequency | Variable | More than 3 days per week, for more than 3 weeks |
| Response to techniques | Often improves with the moves above | Minimal or temporary response |
The classic colic definition is the "rule of threes": crying for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks, in an otherwise healthy baby. If that sounds like your situation, it's worth calling your pediatrician — not because something is necessarily wrong, but because you deserve support and guidance, not just a shrug.
One more note: persistent crying accompanied by fever, vomiting, blood in the stool, or poor weight gain should prompt a call to your doctor regardless of what else is going on.
When Gas Gets in the Way of Sleep
Gassy babies wake often or struggle to fall asleep in the first place. If you're in that cycle, there are a few things that can help. Hold your little one upright for 15 to 20 minutes after evening feeds before moving them to their sleep space. Try a quick round of bicycle legs or knee compressions right before you lay them down. And make sure the surface they're sleeping on isn't contributing to the discomfort.
Newton's Wovenaire® crib mattresses are made without foam, glue, latex, or springs, which means no off-gassing, harsh materials, or heat buildup that can make an already-uncomfortable baby more restless. They're UL GREENGUARD Gold Certified, independently tested and certified for low chemical emissions. The cover and core are both washable, which matters at 2am when you're dealing with spit up on top of everything else.
This Gets Better
Three months feels very far away when you're in the thick of it. But newborn gassiness is one of those things that almost universally improves as your baby's gut matures. In the meantime, the techniques in this guide give you something concrete to do when your little one is clearly uncomfortable — and that matters.
For more information on the newborn phase, read these articles from the Newton Baby blog: Cluster Feeding: Why Newborns Do It and How to Cope · Breastfeeding and Baby Sleep: What Every Nursing Parent Should Know · A Dad's Guide to Newborn Sleep: How to Help Without Breastfeeding
