A Parent’s Guide to Soothing Your Gassy Baby at Night

Why is my baby so gassy at night?

If you’re reading this exhausted in the middle of the night while your baby squirms, grunts, and cries with their little knees pulled up to their chest here is what you need to know about gas.

Infant gas is one of the most common parts of the newborn stage as their digestive system is still developing. It will get better with time. Here is what you can do about it tonight!

why gas hits harder at night

Babies swallow air all day long while feeding, crying, or even just breathing with an immature digestive system.

During the day, being upright, moving, and feeding frequently helps gas work its way through.

At night, when your baby is lying flat and still for longer stretches, that trapped air has nowhere to go, which is why symptoms often seem to spike right at bedtime or in the middle of the night.

when will gas pains get better?

Gas pains are common in the first 3 months as your baby’s digestive system is maturing.

Your newborn spends most of it’s time laying flat on it’s back and doesn’t move independently yet.

Being upright and moving are all things that help with reflux and gas symptoms!

My newborn sleep and feeding guide is full of tips to help you navigate the first 3 months with your newborn and establish healthy sleep and feeding foundations.

What gas looks like at night with your baby

• Pulling knees up to the chest and arching the back
• Clenched fists, red face, and grunting
• A hard belly
• Crying that eases after passing gas or a bowel movement
• Frequent, short bursts of fussiness rather than one long inconsolable cry

Tips to help your baby with gas at night

1. Position during the feed: Keeping baby’s head higher than their stomach and avoiding a very reclined feeding position may reduce swallowed air.
2. Paced Feeding: Some babies need to be burped during the feed rather than only afterward. Try a mid-feed burp and another at the end.
3. Keep baby upright after a feed: Holding baby upright for 15–30 minutes after feeding can help, particularly if there’s also spit-up or reflux.
4. Pause during wakings: If baby wakes grunting, squirming, pulling their legs up, or passing gas but isn’t fully crying, give them a little time before immediately intervening. Babies can be surprisingly noisy sleepers, and movement/grunting doesn’t always mean they’re awake or are in discomfort.
5. Bicycle legs at every diaper change
6. Follow with a gentle knees-to-chest press
7. Tummy time (while awake): gives pressure to belly area
8. Football hold to apply gentle pressure to the belly 

Other things that can contribute to gas at night with your baby

• Mom’s Diet/Food sensitivities: Reconsider what you’re eating (if breastfeeding). Dairy, caffeine, or cruciferous vegetables affect some babies more than others. This isn’t a universal rule, so don’t overhaul your whole diet but if you notice a pattern, it’s worth testing. Discuss this possibility with the pediatrician rather than assuming it’s ordinary gas.
• Feeding mechanics: Fast flow, shallow latch, clicking during feeds, gulping, or struggling with a bottle nipple can cause baby to swallow more air.
• Bottle nipple flow: A nipple that’s too fast can lead to gulping; too slow can cause frustration and air swallowing. A bottle feed should be taking approximately 15min. 
• Overfeeding: Large feeds or feeding again very soon after a full feed can contribute to abdominal discomfort.
• Daytime sleep/feeding schedule: An overtired baby may feed more frantically, swallow more air, and then have a harder time settling overnight.
• Room/environment: A baby who is already uncomfortable may be more sensitive to being overtired, overheated, or overstimulated at bedtime.

baby sleep support

If you’re reading this exhausted, take a breath. Gas isn’t a sign of anything wrong. It’s just a new digestive system figuring itself out.

You haven’t done anything to cause it, and you don’t need to try every tip tonight. Pick one thing that feels doable, an extra burp mid-feed, a little bicycle-leg session at the next diaper change, and build from there.

Be gentle with yourself, too. This phase is hard, but it’s short-lived. Most babies find real relief by 3-4 months as their bellies mature. 

If you are looking for help with more consolidated sleep for your baby, we are here to help! We offer support through 1:1 sleep coaching plans, sleep coaching consult calls, and The Well Rested Sleep Course will help support you on this journey to falling asleep independently, weaning night feeds, sleeping through the night, and lengthening naps when your baby turns 3-4 months!