Gassy nights are one of the most common struggles in the first few months of life, and the good news is that most babies outgrow frequent gas by 6 to 8 weeks of age as their digestive systems mature. Until then, a combination of feeding adjustments, gentle physical techniques, and smarter nighttime routines can make a real difference in how well your baby (and you) sleep.
Why Babies Get Gassier at Night
Babies swallow air every time they eat, cry, or even suck on a pacifier. During the day, you’re more likely to notice discomfort early and intervene. At night, feeds happen in the dark when you’re half-asleep, burping gets rushed or skipped, and your baby may spend longer stretches lying flat, which makes it harder for trapped air to move through. The result: more fussing, squirming, and grunting between midnight and dawn.
Newborns also have immature digestive tracts. The muscles that push food and gas through the intestines are still learning to coordinate, so air gets stuck more easily. This isn’t a sign that something is wrong. It’s a developmental phase that resolves on its own for the vast majority of babies.
Reduce Air Intake During Night Feeds
The single most effective thing you can do is help your baby swallow less air in the first place. How you approach this depends on whether you’re nursing or bottle-feeding.
Bottle Feeding
Use a slow-flow nipple to mimic the gentler pace of breastfeeding. Before placing the nipple in your baby’s mouth, tilt the bottle downward so milk isn’t immediately available. Let your baby suck on the empty nipple for a few seconds first. This prevents gulping, which is the biggest source of swallowed air.
During the feed, hold the bottle so milk fills the nipple only about halfway. This controls the flow rate and keeps your baby from working too hard to keep up. When your baby naturally pauses, tilt the bottle down while keeping the nipple in their mouth. When sucking resumes, bring the bottle back to horizontal. This “paced feeding” technique dramatically cuts down on the frantic swallowing that traps air in the stomach.
Breastfeeding
A shallow latch is the main culprit for air swallowing at the breast. In a good latch, your baby’s mouth opens wide around the breast (not just the nipple), their lips flare outward, their chin presses into your breast, and their tongue cups underneath. If you hear clicking sounds or the latch feels painful, your baby is likely breaking the seal and pulling in air with each suck. Relatching, even in the middle of the night, is worth the effort.
Physical Techniques That Move Gas
When your baby wakes up squirming and pulling their knees to their chest, these hands-on methods can help gas pass more quickly.
Bicycle Legs
Place your baby on their back with bent legs. Hold one foot or leg in each hand and make slow, gentle circles, bending one knee in toward the belly while extending the other leg out. Alternate sides in a smooth pedaling motion. Watch your baby’s face carefully. If they seem uncomfortable or resist, stop and try again in a few minutes.
The “I Love You” Belly Massage
With your baby on their back, use gentle pressure from two or three fingers. First, trace an upside-down letter “I” on the left side of your baby’s belly, stroking downward. Next, trace an upside-down “L” starting on the right side, moving across, then down the left side. Finally, trace an upside-down “U,” starting low on the right side, going up, across the top of the belly, and down the left side. This follows the path of the large intestine and helps guide trapped gas toward the exit.
You can do both of these during a diaper change or right before putting your baby back down. They work best when your baby is calm enough to relax their abdominal muscles.
Rethink Your Nighttime Routine
Many parents hold their baby upright for 15 or 20 minutes after every night feed, hoping to prevent gas or reflux. Research from the NDC Institute suggests this doesn’t actually help, and it can make nights harder by unnecessarily disrupting sleep. Being upright doesn’t improve digestion, and babies will burp on their own, often quite loudly, in whatever position they’re in.
Instead, focus your energy on a good feed with minimal air intake, a brief burping attempt (a minute or two of gentle pats), and then putting your baby back down. If a burp doesn’t come quickly, it’s fine to lay your baby on their back. Spending 20 minutes upright in the dark waiting for a burp that may never come just costs everyone sleep without a real payoff.
One thing that does help: give your baby a few minutes of tummy time before the last evening feed. This gentle pressure on the belly can encourage gas to pass before the long overnight stretch. Tummy time only works while your baby is awake and supervised, so keep it to the pre-bedtime routine rather than after a middle-of-the-night feed.
Does Your Diet Matter?
If you’re breastfeeding, you’ve probably heard that certain foods cause gas in babies. The reality is more nuanced. There’s limited scientific evidence that foods in a mother’s diet cause intestinal issues in breastfed babies, and no specific foods have been proven to cause gas in infants. Spicy foods, despite their reputation, haven’t been shown to cause discomfort in nursing babies.
The one exception with the most evidence behind it: cow’s milk protein. It’s the most commonly reported food substance linked to gas and fussiness in newborns. If your baby seems consistently uncomfortable after feeds regardless of technique, a two-week trial of eliminating dairy from your diet may be worth discussing with your pediatrician. Many mothers report that foods like beans, onions, garlic, and cruciferous vegetables cause issues, but just as many babies tolerate them without any trouble.
Gas Drops and Gripe Water
Simethicone gas drops are widely sold in baby aisles, but the evidence behind them is disappointing. A systematic review published in BMJ Open found moderate to low evidence showing no benefit from simethicone for infant gas or colic. Multiple studies concluded there was either no difference or, in some cases, a worsening of symptoms. The drops are generally considered safe, but they’re unlikely to be the fix you’re hoping for.
Gripe water has an even weaker case. It isn’t regulated by the FDA, and there’s no scientific evidence confirming it’s safe or effective for babies. The ingredients and manufacturing processes vary by brand with no standardized oversight. Many brands have been recalled over the years for posing dangers to infants. Most pediatricians don’t recommend it because there’s simply no way to guarantee quality or safety.
When Gas Might Be Something More
Normal infant gas comes and goes. Your baby fusses, passes gas, and feels better. But if your baby cries intensely for more than three hours a day, at least three days a week, for more than three weeks, that meets the clinical definition of colic. Colicky babies are typically healthy and gaining weight normally, but the crying episodes last for hours and nothing seems to help.
Watch for these patterns that go beyond typical gas: clenched fists, legs curled tightly over the belly, an arched back, a hard or visibly swollen belly, and a face that turns bright red from prolonged crying. A pediatrician can do a physical exam to rule out reflux, infection, or a food allergy, all of which can mimic gas but need different approaches.
For most babies, nighttime gas is a short chapter. The digestive system matures rapidly in those first two months, and the strategies that feel like a lifeline right now will soon become unnecessary.