Why do you need to burp your baby?
Whether you decide to breastfeed or bottle feed your baby, burping is an essential part of your feeding routine. As your baby feeds air bubbles can become trapped in her tummy causing pain and discomfort.
Successful burping takes time and lots of patience, as your baby grows and develops burping will become much easier, newborns will always require a lot of your time and support to burp successfully.
The stepping stones to successful burping is to gently move your baby between your shoulder or sitting facing you on a feeding pillow with a beautifully straight back to help the air escape and relieve any tummy pain.
Signs of a windy baby...
- Inconsolable crying
- Frustration
- Inability to latch
- Arched back
- Blue tinge to her lips
For successful burping respond to your baby’s cues and body language
Top tips to help your breastfed baby to burp
- Initially let your baby feed until she comes off naturally before burping.
- If your baby is a sleepy feeder or falls asleep during her feed, gently take her off and sit her up to wake and burp her.
- Try multiple burping positions to allow any air to escape, if she is totally asleep then lay her down on a flat surface and gently massage her tummy. Once your baby is fully awake sit her up engage with her and wait for the burps.
Top tips to help your bottle fed baby to burp
- Offering your baby warm milk increases successful burping.
- Ensure the teat of the bottle is full of milk and held at the right angle reducing the air intake.
- Feeding your baby in an upright position will help to reduce air bubbles and help your baby to burp.
- If feeding a new baby I would stop to burp every 30ml. If your baby is older then I would aim to stop for burping twice for each feed.
- Your baby will usually be able to self burp after three months.
#FALSE. You do not need to burp your baby if you breastfeed.
#TRUE. Always wait for a burp…there will ALWAYS be at least one.
