It is a highly valuable skill to learn to help our babies release all that excess gas & to feed properly. Read this informative guide to learn how to burp a baby.
How to Burp a Newborn Baby
Kids desire the best, so do the parents. In order to live up to their kids’ needs, parents have to foresee what their kids need. If you turn your eyes on your child for having a runny poop, this should clue you into that your child may need the burp.
Infants and newborns are unable to burp without your help. Therefore, it is up to you, the parent, to burp them as well as release the gas from their tummy. Even though this might seem daunting, there are a couple tips you can use to make burping your baby simpler. Once you learn this trick, burping your baby will feel more natural.
Importance of Burping Among Babies
Before understanding the techniques to burp your child, you need to know the importance of babies being burped. It’s common knowledge that smaller babies have smaller stomachs and for them to be well, they will need to drink as much as baby formula and breast milk their stomach can hold.
Often, your baby will swallow air as they feed, burping will assist them to release the air. If your baby has a little air bubble in the stomach, it can cause them to feel irritable and gassy. As you burp your child, you free them from the gas bubbles which, in turn, can prevent them from eating their fill or sleeping.
Signs to Watch For When Your Baby Needs to be Burped
Your baby won’t let you know when they need to be burped. There are signs to watch for to know when to your baby needs to burp. Once you learn to pay attention to these signs, you would tell when you’re little one needs to be burped.
Here are the signs you need to look out for to know if your baby needs to be burped.
You Notice Your Baby All of a Sudden Stops Drinking Breast Milk or Baby Formula
If you see that your little one all of a sudden stops taking their meal after just taking a bit of their regular milk intake, then this might indicate that there is trapped air in the stomach that will need to be burped.
Drinking Milk Suddenly Becomes a Difficult Task
Babies are typically excited and happy when it comes to feeding time. Once you see that they start making a fuss or act troubled just when you are about to feed them, that is an indication they may need to be burped to free the air in their tummy.
You Notice those Making Strange Expressions on their Face
If you see a particular facial expression on your baby’s face just when they are about to feed or when feeding, then they might be trying to tell you their discomfort so that you can get them burped for them to resume feeding happily again.
You Notice that the Tummy of Your Baby Feels Harder or More Bloated than Usual
If you see their stomach being more challenging than expected, it might mean that their belly is filled with gas and will need to be burped for them to resume feeding naturally.
Your Baby Cries or Acts Fussy After Feeding
If you have tried everything for your baby to stop crying, and they continue. They might experience pain, which might be caused by the air in their tummy. This can easily be prevented by burping them as it will likely bring them comfort.
Your Baby Produces More Than Usual Gas
If you notice that your baby fart’s more than other times, they may be attempting to release the accumulated air in their stomach through farting.
Your Baby Finds it Difficult to Sleep and Wake Up Between Intervals
There could be several reasons why your baby will find it difficult to sleep. Accumulation of gas in their stomach is one of the many reasons for this. Then it is time for you to burp them and free their tummy of gas bubbles.
Your Little One Continuously Burps Up All Milk
If you notice that your baby is frequently spitting up the milk in their tummy, it might be a sign that there is trapped air beneath the milk in the stomach, which causes them to spit out the milk after burping. This condition should not be mistaken for GERD or infant reflux.
What is a Good Frequency to Burp a Baby?
Burping a child helps prevent gas bubbles in the tummy after a meal. Whether you prefer to breastfeed or bottle-feed, most babies can tell us when they need to burp. You should note that you must burp your child immediately after a meal. Some babies would have to be burped a little more than others. Since mum’s diet causes indigestion, they might need to be burped outside feeding time.
During Breastfeeding
Usually it’s hard to determine when your baby should be burped. A nice rule for breastfeeding mums is to burp their babies before changing breasts; that’s generally considered halfway before full feeding. If your baby likes to stick to 1 breast during a session, then keep a record of the time they spent feeding and burp in between.
During Bottle-Feeding
To determine when to burp your child during bottle-feeding can be difficult. Some bottles, such as non-vented types, may cause your child to take more air. This will make your child burp earlier than usual. Alternatively, it would help if you burped them just before they begin to slow down their feeding, which might signify that they feel quite quicker than they do.
Important Things to Know
To avoid the process of burping to be messy, it is advisable to use the following item.
Burping Cloth
You will need this to avoid making a mess of your baby’s clothes when they burp. So it is advisable to have one on standby.
Baby Bib
To avoid your baby from burping on their cloth without you being prepared for it, it recommended to put a bib before starting to feed your child.
Baby Wipes
This is the essential material required to wipe your child’s cloth and face after they burp. You can choose to use a baby wipe or a wet washcloth.
Steps on How to Make Your Baby Burp
You can burp your baby in many ways, but they are three prominent positions for doing this. You can choose the ones that work best for you.
Place Your Baby on Your Lap
- Place your child on your lap so that your baby is in an upright position.
- Lay a burp cloth to cover your leg.
- Use your less dominant hand to cradle your child’s jaw with your index finger and thumb.
- Lean your child forward to ensure their weight is on your less dominant hand.
- On the other hand, gently tap and rub your baby’s back.
- Repeat steps until your child burps.
Facedown On Your Lap
- Place a burping cloth on the top of your knee.
- Lay the child face down over the burping cloth, with the head lying over it.
- Ensure that your child’s head is higher than the level of their feed to avoid dizziness.
- Support your baby’s head by cradling his chin with your hand during the night.
- Use the other hand in order to rub and to pat your child’s back.
- Repeat the procedure until they burp or spit.
Over Your Shoulder
- Hold your baby safely with their chest against your chest with your less dominant hand.
- Place the washcloth over the shoulder your little one is leaning in.
- Use your dominant hand to rub and pat your baby between their shoulders gently. Doing so will limit the strength of the impact.
- Slide your hand in a downward motion as you gently tap.
- Repeat until your baby burps or spits up.
Conclusion
There is a good chance your baby will fall asleep while feeding. It’s unnecessary to wake him/her up for burping. Sit them up on your chest to burp them. There’s a difference between spit-up and burp as the former doesn’t generate liquid. The latter contains liquid. As your child grows, they will take less air in their mouths when drinking milk. They’ll be able to sit up by themselves and will burp themselves.
Babies are dependent upon their mothers for virtually everything during the first twelve months of life. Initially, learning how to burp a baby the right way can appear tricky, but you will master the skill with time and patience.