Many small things we do not consider important as adults can cause significant irritation and discomfort for a newborn baby. Sometimes you don’t even know what the problem is. Is he thirsty, hungry, a little too warm, a little too cold, or is it just random? As a result, your baby may lack sleep, tiredness, prolonged crying, etc. To understand what is going on with your baby, you must take care of many small things. We’re going to talk burping and how to burp a newborn that won’t burp.
What is Burping?
When we eat any food, we chew and swallow it. But in doing so, we take some air along with the food. The excess air enters our upper digestive tract. If this air is allowed to enter our stomach, it may cause significant irritation and discomfort. So, to stop air from entering our stomach, our body has a mechanism to remove this air from our mouth by a process known as Belching or Burping.
Do Newborns Burp on Their Own?
While it is a spontaneous phenomenon for adults, newborns sometimes can’t burp on their own. Meaning that they have no mechanism for removing that excess amount of air. That air can form bubbles with the milk they’re getting and cause abdominal discomfort. For prevention, the burping must be induced by the parents or someone caring for the baby. Therefore, they must have some training in burping a newborn that won’t burp.
How to Know if Your Newborn Needs Burping?
As mentioned above, if the air is trapped in the baby’s UDT (Upper Digestive Tract), the baby will experience irritability. Here are some signs you can look for to determine whether your baby needs burping immediately:
- Clenched fists.
- Arching the back.
- Frequent crying.
- Bringing the limbs towards the belly.
Effective Methods for Burping a Baby that Won’t Burp:
Burping, as mentioned above, is very significant for a newborn. Are you willing to know how to burp a newborn that won’t burp? Although you can use some basic burping techniques to make it easier for your child to burp, the effectiveness may vary from baby to baby. Some newborns require less effort to burp, while others may need a somewhat solid approach. The three most common methods are
- The Over-the-Shoulder Method:
This method requires you to gently hold your baby against your shoulder and pat its back with a cupped hand. It may cause some reflex that ultimately aids in the burping process.
- Lying Across the Lap Method:
In this approach, the baby is laid down on your lap and is then gently rubbed at the back until it ultimately burps out that extra air.
- Sitting on your Lap Method:
You have to hold the baby’s chin and jaw with one hand while it is sitting on your lap, and with the other hand, you give regular gentle taps on its back until it ultimately burps.
What to Do if your Baby still isn’t Burping?
If your baby needs burping, it is highly likely to burp after using the methods mentioned earlier. However, if the baby is still not burping, you may try moving the baby’s legs back and forth while gently rubbing the belly. You can increase the techniques’ duration to get better results. If the baby still isn’t burping, you should try to contact your pediatrician.
Causes of Gassiness in Babies:
Gassy tummies in more than 90% of the cases are due to these reasons:
- New food:
Suppose you have fed your baby any new food that it’s not familiar with. The new taste and new ingredients can upset the stomach.
- Gut problems:
Infants can have little gut problems, especially if they are a few weeks old only. Their digestive system has not matured completely. Any disturbance in the digestive system can cause a gassy stomach.
- Crying more:
If your baby is crying more than usual days, it might be struggling through a painful gassy stomach.
- Air swallowing:
In more than 80% of babies, stomach gas is due to swallowing the air. Mostly it occurs when you are bottle feeding your newborn instead of breastfeeding.
- Viruses:
Any virus that makes its way to the baby’s GIT tract can cause gassiness in the tummy. A few newborns have a sensitive stomach, which can be affected even by the mother’s diet.
Tips for Preventing Excess Gas in Babies:
Suppose you have noticed gas in your baby’s stomach. Don’t worry about it a lot. There are many to get them back healthier. First, you need to prevent excessive gas from accumulating in your baby’s tummy. Let’s dive into how you can stop air from entering your baby’s gut:
- Feeding on Time:
Feed your baby before it’s asking. You don’t have to wait for your baby’s meltdown. A meltdown is not only because your baby is hungry. Mostly meltdowns occur when your kid is feeling tired or stressed.
- Burping:
Burping solves all the gas-related issues of the stomach. During breastfeeding, your baby might have swallowed air causing uneasiness for him. So, try burping it 2-3 times until it feels comfortable again.
- Colic Carries Position:
If burping is not working or you are wondering how to burp a newborn that won’t, you can go for colic carry. It is a specific position to relieve your baby’s excess stomach gas. You must hold your infant by placing its stomach on your hand and its head on your forearm. After maintaining the position, try to rub the back of your baby, and it will relieve this gas rapidly.
- Using Drops:
You can use gas relieving drops for your baby. They are specially used against the gas accumulated from air swallowing or trying new food formulas.
- Getting a Bicycle:
Buy your baby a bicycle! Yes, cycling is as healthy for babies as for adults. It can surprisingly help remove the gas at a good rate.
- Lying on the Stomach:
Let your baby lay down on its stomach in front of you. Increasing the tummy time will assist in comforting the stomach.
- Rubbing Back:
Gently rub your baby’s back in any position your baby is comfortable in.
Following these tips will decrease your baby’s risk of suffering from excess stomach gas.
How to Relieve Gas from Your Baby’s tummy?
If your baby is suffering from gas in the stomach, you can get it relieved using super easy methods. A few of them are:
- Always feed your baby in an upright position instead of lying them down.
- Burp your infant with a proper method correctly.
- Don’t skip rubbing or massaging the back of your kid.
- Develop your kid a habit of bicycling daily.
- Take care of your baby, and don’t let him cry more.
- Try to be consistent with the food instead of trying new ingredients.
Let’s know some drastic effects gassiness can leave on your newborn:
- Your baby can be more irritating than usual. This irritable behavior is due to feeling uneasy
- Your infant will no longer be sleeping a lot. It will be uncomfortable for him to get to sleep.
- They will cry more often, making it harder for you to know why.
- Your kid will become more stubborn. It can even push or kick if you try to burp them.
Is it Okay to Put the Baby to Sleep without Burping?
Most of the time, it goes well without burping, and your baby gets good sleep. You have to notice your kid’s behavior when he wakes up, whether it’s irritable or comfortable. You can let him sleep without burping if you see no such issues. However, if it seems fussy, you should try burping after feeding. Sometimes the infants get so stubborn that they won’t let you pat them, so you must know how to burp a newborn that won’t burp. To avoid inconvenience, rub your baby’s back when he’s slept by keeping him upright against your chest.
What is the Fastest Way to Get a Baby Burp?
Among all the methods of burping your baby, the fastest and easiest is putting your kid over the shoulder. Put your baby against your chest and its face over your shoulder. Pat is at its back gently. Your kid will be comfortable in this position and burp faster. However, you can try walking through if your kid cries more.
How Long does Burping Take?
It will hardly take 2-3 minutes to burp your infant properly if you know the method. You don’t have to spend a lot of time patting your kid.
Conclusion:
If you notice your baby getting uneasy, crying more often, feeling comfortable, or pulling its legs, take it as a symptom of an unhealthy stomach. To make him comfortable, you can make your baby burp to release the gas from its stomach. If the gas is not released, it can cause several bad effects on your baby’s health. So, to keep them safe, you must know how to burp a newborn that won’t burp easily. You can try burping him during sleep too!
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