Our little Hunter seems to have gotten off to a really good start in life. She was born at a healthy 3.6 kilos and despite her weight dropping slightly and undergoing phototherapy for jaundice, she is now well over her birth weight and drinking really well throughout the day and night. You forget just how much these little humans can eat in their first few months of life!
With that being said, I started to notice at week three that her fussy and ‘niggly” time would start in the late evening where she would go from the calm and content baby we knew her to be, to a not-so-happy little sausage come 7/8pm. And any mom will know all too well that there’s usually only ONE culprit to blame here :The dreaded wind build up! Yup basically all the day’s trapped wind that, despite all your best efforts at mastering the perfect wind technique, is what’s causing your little one to experience so much discomfort in her gut and tummy.
I’ve always been well aware of the many colic drops we have on our market, some which work and others which, in my opinion don’t offer much relief whatsoever. But there is one solution I often overlook when trying to find relief for my baby’s cramps. I’ve known about the very good source of probiotics which can be found in Reuterina, but somehow have always questioned its effectiveness as a solution to colic. I honestly only ever used it when my kids were older and mainly when they were on antibiotics. And it’s a shame that we overlook this product when looking for colic relief when you think about how a probiotic like Reuterina Drops aids in keeping the gut healthy and balanced. I mean it really makes sense that we should start with the basics and ensure their gut is in good shape from day one.
DID YOU KNOW? Besides its obvious digestive role, your tummy and the rest of your gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are also the primary site of your body’s immune defences. Which means having a healthy tummy is not just nutritionally important but also vital for fighting the disease-causing bacteria (pathogens) and allergens that enter your gut. “Good bacteria” are naturally occurring bacteria (intestinal flora) that live in your GIT and play a significant role in helping maintain its health and immune capabilities.
If the levels of these intestinal flora are compromised, you can turn to the Reuterina™ range of supplements to assist in restoring and maintaining a natural balance.
So a little one a month ago I sent hubs off to the pharmacy to buy some Reteurina Drops in the hopes that we would see a change. I realised that it probably wouldn’t be a quick fix solution, but more something we would have to see through for several days before we noticed any major difference. And so we began giving them to her every morning ( I found that mornings were her happiest and in my mind it made sense to give it to her before her fussy time although I doubt it makes any real difference, so long as you give it to them at least half an hour before their feed)
Three weeks in…..
And I have to say that three – four weeks in we really noticed a big difference. Of course with most things of this nature it’s hard to always pin point exactly what has helped because so often it’s a process of elimination. Could it be she’s drinking better now and not taking in as much air? Could it be the massage I give her every night before bed to help her dispel of excess wind? (AKA fart like a BOSS!!) Could it be because I didn’t drink dairy today? I mean how can we really be sure and what’s just coincidence?
Well, I learnt the hard way and three days ago our beloved Reuterina Drops went MIA. For days I couldn’t track down the teeny tiny bottle of drops that usually sat in my bedside draw. And then all hell broke loose yesterday (day 2 of no drops) where we had possibly the worst days/nights yet with our little Miss. She was fussy all day, from the moment she woke up. She wouldn’t sleep for longer than 20 minutes (she usually sleeps for at least 1.5 hour stretches and sometimes up to 3 hours and only waking up for feeding), she was squirmy and just generally unhappy for the better part of the day.
When things just went down hill….
We decided to take her and the boys for a long walk in the early evening and she was ok for most of the time she was in the baby carrier but the second I put her in the car to come home she screamed like I’ve never heard her scream before. And she carried on screaming all the way home, through her bath, through her feeds and for another hour trying to get her to sleep. It was traumatic! I think it was only at this point that I realised what it could be : the fact that I hadn’t given her the drops in 48 hours! So I’m putting them back to the test!! I’m gonna report back in two days if putting her back on the drops do in fact make any difference.
Three days later…..
Well it’s been three days since I wrote the intro to this post and I’m happy to report that Hunter has showed a vast improvement. So much so that last night (the second night of being back on the Drops) was her best night yet. She slept from 8- 12.45 and went straight back to sleep until 5.30 am with MINIMAL squirming and fussiness. Even her day time routine showed a huge improvement with her only fussing ever so slightly between 5 and 6pm.
Now, again we can pin it down to coincidence, but I’m just not wiling to take that chance! And right now my hubs is even convinced the Reuterina Drops are responsible for a more content and happy baby. He asks me every day if I have given them to her, petrified we have a repeat of the other night!
So what have we learnt? It’s very important that we are disciplined with giving her the drops everyday. I’ve have also learnt that a balanced gut doesn’t always just mean no diarrhoea or rebalancing when baby is on antibiotics. It impacts colic, constipation and regurgitation (not to be confused with reflux) in both breastfed and formula fed babies. (Note; I am only speaking from experience of breastfeeding my baby)
The great news is that Reuterina Drops are so easy to administer to your little one, making it a no- fuss step in trying to ensure your baby’s gut is kept in good shape and helping her immature little tummy to function at it’s best. He’s what you need to know about Reuterina probiotic Drops, designed specially for infants and babies!
•5 Drops daily
•Either directly into babies mouth, on a teat, on nipple, in a spoon or on the dummy (although you may have to juggle the dummy into babies mouth while holding it upright)
•It is slightly oily, much like breastmilk and has no taste, so you are not introducing a foreign flavour to a small baby
And above all, it is clinically tested
•Isolated originally from humans (so no weird pig strains)
•100+ clinical trials in all areas including colic, diarrhoea, constipation, regurgitation
• Clinical trials performed on actual humans ( there no comparing your baby’s gut to that of a mouse or rat…)
Guys it’s a no-brainer and there is nothing to lose by giving it a go. At the very least you are ensuring your baby’s gut gets off to a good start and you can rest assured knowing your baby’s tummy is well protected.
For more information visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
This post was written in collaboration with Reuterina SA.
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