Can't Get Formula Fed Baby to Burp?

HI J.,

I had the same problem with my daughter. So, I now bounce her on my knee while patting her back, and that method seems to work for us. :-))

M.

My son spat up a ton (had reflux). (You say your daughter is teeny -- is she a preemie? My son was.) Sometimes I would burp him half way through his feeding and then again at the end. For a short amount of time this helped, but then the pediatric GI told us burping mid-feeding could actually make the reflux worse. Try feeding a little less each time so that your baby isn't so full. There are many ways to burp a baby, and some work better for certain babies. Try pushing your hand firmly against her back and rubbing in a medium speed circle. I cannot remember if clockwise or counter-clockwise works better based on which side the stomach is located, so experiment. Make sure there is light pressure on her tummy as well -- either your other hand (as she's propped up on your leg) or your shoulder area (not the point of your shoulder, just the flat area). If you're patting her on the back, you might be patting too softly. Of course, you do not want to pat too hard, either, but the pats need to be firm. Sometimes holding our son upright and patting him on the bottom (imagine sending the burp straight up) worked well. Our pediatrician also recommended laying our son across my lap (for pressure on his tummy) and patting his back. My husband would do this sometimes, but I never felt comfortable doing that for some reason. If the spit up is just a teaspoon or two and only with a burp, reflux may not be an issue for your daughter. If she spits up more often, especially if she is arching her back or drawing her knees to her chest (signs of discomfort), you might want to have her pediatrician evaluate her for reflux. BTW, Mylicon drops never did a thing for us. Gripe water helped a teeny bit with pain. We ended up having to see a ped GI and putting him on a couple of meds. We didn't want to but ended up with little choice as his reflux was really bad. Also, do not listen to anyone telling you that the problem is that you are using formula. You might need to switch to a different formula (Alimentum, while expensive, was one of the two the ped GI recommended -- the other, Nutramigen [sp?], smelled horrible!) that is easier on digestion. I had been breastfeeding my son prior to this, and his ped GI (at UCSF and reputed to be one of the best in the Bay Area) had us switch off of my breastmilk and on to Alimentum. One last idea: to help your child pass gas, lay her on her back (though not until at least a half hour after feeding if she spits up) and move her legs like she is riding a bike. That helps move the gas out more quickly. Congratulations on your new baby, and know that her digestive system will work things out eventually!

Give her less and try to get her to burp a little. I put her up on my shoulder and gave really firm pats, no way she couldn't burp. Sometimes, I sat her up, leaning forward, and did the burping.

For a while I burped after every ounce. Then I moved to two ounces, three ounces, etc. and she NEVER spit up again. She's not one to puke now that she is older, so I think the lack of spitting up is just not in her nature. She has to be seriously ill to puke. Then it's like a faucet was opened up.

Try different burp position. She might need a little pressure on her lower belly to get it out.

Stephanie

Formula isn't a natural food for babies so they have a hard time digesting it. They spit up more often than a breastfed baby. Any chance of going back and breastfeeding?
You could try changing bottles to one that allows for less air flow. Change feeding positions, but basically you just have to burp her more often... possibly during the feeding.

My daughter was spitting up a large amount of breast and formula after each feeding. I was concern and was adviced to add a small amount of Mylicon into her bottle. She did find after taking in Mylicon for the first 4 month. Another solution could be the formula you are giving her. Try Good Start it is known too help baby digest much easier. For a fact, it helped me with my 3rd child. Be sure that each day she is taken in enough fluid and her diaper is wet. Otherwise, contact your doctor ASAP.

Dear J.,
When you are done feeding, turn your baby up. Either over your shoulder or sit her on your lap with your hand on her tummy and pat her back with the other one. Just be patient and try to keep her turned upright as much as possible. Air travels up.
My little boy was so gassy that I joked we should had named him Gus...it was only one letter away from gas.
After feeding, even if he went to sleep, I would just put him up on my shoulder and pat him while I walked around til he burped. My daughter BELCHED after eating. She did it so loud one time that it scared her and she started crying. It was a world class belch. All I can say is I'm glad she got it out and it didn't stay in her tummy.
Tie your hair up and have a rag over your shoulder in case of spit up.
Babies swallow air as they drink so gas is inevitable.
Just keep trying. If she loses some of her food, it's okay.
Best wishes and congratulations on your baby girl!

Congrats on your new little one! I had a hard time getting a burp out of my daughter and she also spit up large amounts. What I did find was when I was trying to burp her and she wouldn't burp, that sometimes just by standing up it made the burp come up. Don't know why, but I know that it did. Also, you can try putting a little pressure with your hand on the small of her back and rubbing upward. Sometimes that helps to bring the air up. Good luck!

I went through a similar experience with my 1st. I had to take the bottle away from her a lot while she was eating to make sure she was getting a lot of air. Bottle fed babies tend to get more air then breat fed. Once I did that it helped. Sometimes the gas is created by the type of formula and the bottles you use. I tried different kinds of bottle and formula until I found what worked best for her.

Wellements sells an all organic Gripe Water that helps with gas. It worked really well for us.

Hmmm....sounds like she is getting to much air as she drinks from the bottle. I would suggest making sure she's using the right stage nipple on the bottle or try using a different bottle & nipple. Believe it or not they get used to specific styles of bottle & nipple and will throw a fit if you switch them. (Although yours may be to young for that. To burp mine I either held her straight up on my shoulder which usually worked but would sometimes take as long as 10 minutes or rest her chest/belly on my leg while sitting on the couch while rubbing her back. That sometimes worked too. Good luck!

My second child was the same way my pediatrician recommended that I feed him in a more upright position and burp after every 1/2 to 1 ounce. It worked for my child and elivated the big spit ups after eating. Give it a try. Good luck.

I had the same problem with my son and we tried everything including mylecon. We finally changed his formula to the Enfamil Prosobee and didn't have any further problems. My son is 10 now and had no problems switching from soy formula to regular milk when he turned one and he has been drinking regular milk since.
Hope this helps.

T. Tait

I started out breastfeeding my son, then had to switch him to formula because he couldn't breastfeed (he was born tongue-tied and we didn't figure that one out til he was about 2 1/2, whole other story!!) anyways he spit up just as much on the breast milk as he did formula, we ended up having to put him on a special formula. WHen I couldn't get him to burp I patted him on the bottom instead of the back or would rub his back in an upward motion from the bottom up, sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. Alot of it is trial and error to find what works the best for your baby! Try asking your doc if he recommned a formula that might be easier on her tummy. GOOD LUCK!!!! Congrats on your "teeny baby girl"!

My daughter who is 4 months sometimes burps and sometimes doesn't. She is flatulent in the morning and we are not worrying about it. She went through a stage of spitting up, but some babies are just spitters. She is almost through it now. We decreased her volume and fed her more often, this helped tremendously. If you are concerned call her Dr. and I'm sure he/she will say she is fine.

We had to lay our baby on his back for a minute or two then burped him.

Hello J.,
My daughter always spit up like you would not believe. She would burp, but would still spit up. My sister-in-law exclusively breastfed my niece and she spit up just as much as my daughter. Does it upset your daughter when she spits up? Or does she just spit up and is happy? You could try just rubbing her back, that works sometimes.
Best of luck,
C.

Hi J.,
Congrats on your new baby. My baby was also very gassy and seemed overall pretty miserable for the first couple of weeks. We decided to change his formula,thinking that might be the problem. We switched to good start supreme and it seemed to be much more tolerable for him. I noticed even when I mixed it there were hardly any bubbles in it compared to the other on we used. Just a thought,hope this helps!

My now 7 year old was two weeks early but very little. 5lbs 14oz and dropped an entire pound after coming home. I had similar problems with burping, among many others. The only way I got her to burp was to put her in a position that applied pressure to her stomach and in rythem alternate patting her back firmly, and rubbing her back clockwise with an upward motion. Your doing a great job, so keep up the good work!!!