Hello! I am not sure if I should be concerned, but my three week old does not burp. He's only burped three times in the past few weeks - and that was on his own. He is fed breastmilk from a bottle. I am wondering if this is something any have encountered and if I should even worry about it! He seems to get fussy a few times a day - sometimes inconsolable - and am wondering if this is a tummy ache due to not burping during feedings. Thanks!
HI, take a big towel and put it in the dryer. Heat it up until it is warm(not hot) than wrap your baby in it. Also after feeding him lay him down on your knees on his tommy. make a smooth massage over his cloth up and down, put a little bit pressure. Hopes it helps.
Neither of my kids are burpers, from breast or bottle. They don't necessarily need to burp.
It's possible his fussiness could come from being gassy, though. If it's something you would want to do you could try getting him to the breast. Skipping the bottle would eliminate the risk of air getting in. He's definitely young enough to learn to latch if there are no other issues.
Aside from that there are several different positions to burp a baby in. I always set the baby on my lap sitting up with their chin supported in my hand and my arm going down their chest. Then you can use your other hand to pat their back. That seems to work well. You can also try it with the baby laying flat on your lap or your arm.
In my experience most babies tend to have a fussy time of day when nothing will console them. Commonly it's in the early evening, but all babies are different. Good luck!
M. -
My son (2 months old) has the same issue. At first I wasn't worried because he was pooing and gassing a lot. However recently this has become more of an issues as he will feed at night and then go right back to sleep without burping. He then wakes up two hours later grunting with a tummy ache. This morning, for his 2 month check-up, I asked if there was something else that I should be doing or if I should be concerned. The Pediatrician told me that there wasn't much else I could do but could try the Mylicon gas drops (which we have been doing) - and encourging him to pass the gas by bicylcing his legs. She also mentioned sometime sucking on a pacifer works too. She indciated that eventually his digestive system would be mature enough to pass gas on its own and that it would get better. All in all I felt better that there really wasn't much more I could do. Good luck!
I agree, relax... that is ok. My daughter never burped and my son, does not burp when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He just drinks and goes right back to sleep. Trust me if there was a problem, you would know. Just in case you may think there is though, to be on the safe side, Gerber has gas drops that are good, just give him one drop in the morning and he will be good, to ease your worry. Good luck
I read a lot about this because my son didn't burp much either until we put him on part formula. What I found out (including from the Prentice emails you can sign up to get--I recommend them!) was that it isn't necessary for them to burp. If you have a really good bottle and they swallow little or no air, then they may not have to. HOWEVER, read up on burping techniques. One thing I found out was that you need to give them good strong taps on the back--too light and it will do nothing. Next time you go to the dr, have the nurse show you how hard they do it--it seems like they are doing it TOO hard, but in fact it gets the job done and my son LOVES it (even when he doesn't burp!). He'll fall right asleep.
A suggestion: try Gripe Water--you can get it at Whole Foods, its all natural and my sister/best friend SWEAR by it for fussyness. I was also told by Prentice that babies often have predictable times a day when they are fussy...for no reason. Babies just get fussy sometimes. Mine always got cranky at 2:00pm and then again around 10:30pm.
M.:
Relax... if he needs to burp he will. I have seen many mom's spend much to much time tring to bup their babies. If he needs to burp.. he will.
Babies can be fussy for many reasons.. sometime we can fiqure it out... sometimes not.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
800 LACTATE
I agree with the other moms. My kids never burped and they were fine. Also, they had their fussy moments. That was a part of their newborn lives. Don't try to force burping if he doesn't want to, it's not necessary.
Good luck and congratulations!
J.
My daughter never burped either & she always ate from a bottle forumla & breastmilk. I finally asked my doctor to make sure it really was ok & she felt it was fine. My guess is the bottles are either designed better or the postion I feed her in she truly wasn't getting much air. I wouldn't worry too much try to burp him if he doesn't then that is ok. As long as he is not spitting everything up. Good luck with your new bundle of joy!!
K.
I agree with Courtney. Put him on the breast in order to reduce gas. Otherwise, it looks like everything is going very well. Contratulations!
Amy
