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Right, where to begin.......
Our daughter suffered with gas and mild colic, so we've been through the mill with regards to potential solutions. This is what worked best for us.
You can get an OTC medication that you give the baby before they start to feed that can help them 'release' during and afterwards (you should always burp during the feed rather than waiting til afterwards anyway). It's better for babies who are bottle fed as it can be added to the bottle and is easier for the baby to take, although I can't for the life of me remember the brand name of the one that we used (Disflatyl is another one that works well though). Whatever it was, it was absolutely brilliant. My daughter never suffered from wind again while we were using it.
Generally, however, breastfed babies are less lilkely to suffer from colic and trapped wind than bottle fed babies. Also, if you are feeding from the bottle, keeping the baby as upright as possible while ensuring that the teat is always filled with milk can lessen the amount of air swallowed. When breastfeeding, be careful what your wife eats as this may also cause gas. I hear that eating spicy foods increases the instances of trapped wind in breastfeeding babies.
As she got older, I also found that raising her arms above her head helped her burp (it works for me too).
Gripe water is also good, and can ge used to prevent and cure colic and trapped wind. You should always have some on standby. However, when we were in the States, we couldn't find any anywhere.
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