Burping

[aspgr]

I've read often that it is not necessary to 'burp' babies by patting them on the back etc. since the wind will come up anyway.  Is this true?

[jills]

I'm afraid I don't think this is right.....burping does seem necessary.  The wind may well come up eventually, but in the meantime it can cause considerable discomfort for baby, and when it does come up, may well be accompanied by some sick.  Also, although the cause is unknown, many babies suffer from colic to some degree....and trapped wind can be a part of this problem, so burping a baby is always a good idea.

That said, breast fed babies are less likely to need burped, as often they latch so tightly, that very little air is taken in, so little needs to come out.  But they still need at least a brief burping session post feed.

[smudge]

Personally I believe that all babies should be 'burped' after feeding. No wind - no pain! (Hopefully)!

[GuavaHalf]

Sounds like something written by someone who hasn't had children.

[SGKelloe32]

I would definitely say that burping needs to be done, as a very small baby cant move to get their wind up, my little girl sometimes used to scream for hours if her wind hadn;t come up properly, around 7-8 months is when we stopped, once she became mobile her wind came up very easily itself.

[Nickienickie]

HI ... I never had to burp my baby but then again I couldn't put her down for the first 6 weeks of her life as she cried the minute I did it .. I read somewhere ( so it's got to be true ha ha )  that 'western' mothers are the only ones who burp their babies as in other cultures mothers have to carry their babies on their backs, in slings etc and the movement helps 'wind' them naturally ..

[Nickienickie]

ps she didn't cry because of wind ... but because she didn't like being put down .. honest ! I did breastfeed my baby - I believe it can make a difference ..

[Rock Mommy]

I was told by my mother-in-law that her mother had always said that "Babies keep wind in the same place".  I sort of poo poo'ed this at the time, but have since had 2 children, and discovered, to my surprise, that this is true.  Both babies had a 'sweet spot' (different places for each child) that once found would almost guarentee instant winding as soon as they were touched (although with my second baby you only had to sit her in and she expelled wind in some form or another) - Yes, I guess I'd say you do need to burp!

[BUNNY]

My mum said she was told that whilst babies do need to be burped, that patting them on the back doesnt necessarily help.

[Kay]

aspgr,whoever told you that has'nt had baby's!  I winded all my 4 and it was a relief to hear that BURP. 2 of mine suffered badly with colic and I found that lying them face down on my knees to rub their little backs did the world of good as the wing is being shifted.

[Lardybloke]

I used to sit my little girl on my knee and whilst supporting her, gently bounce her up and down. Worked everytime. Infacol is worth its weight in gold.

[Richh]

Re. Jills post that breast fed babies need less burping - a agree.  Less air goes in, so less need to come out.  But my second daughter had to go onto a bottle at a very early age, and the amount of wind she used to get using Avent bottles was incredible.  And most of the time it was was very dissicult to bring up, causing her a lot of pain.  A friend at work told me about a brand of bottles called Dr Brown's, which have a unique system to replace the milk that comes out of the bottle with air (unlike the Avent bottles, which create a vacuum, and some of the air that replaces the milk that is drunk gets swallowed too).  We switched to these bottles, and the change was amazing.  I cannot recommend them highly enough.

[Richh]

Re. Jills post that breast fed babies need less burping - a agree.  Less air goes in, so less need to come out.  But my second daughter had to go onto a bottle at a very early age, and the amount of wind she used to get using Avent bottles was incredible.  And most of the time it was was very dissicult to bring up, causing her a lot of pain.  A friend at work told me about a brand of bottles called Dr Brown's, which have a unique system to replace the milk that comes out of the bottle with air (unlike the Avent bottles, which create a vacuum, and some of the air that replaces the milk that is drunk gets swallowed too).  We switched to these bottles, and the change was amazing.  I cannot recommend them highly enough.

[libbi]

DR browns bottles!!! they really do make a difference, worth every penny

[Skellen]

also try Colief, you add 4 drops to the bottle(or to a little youve expressed) makes infacol look rubbish!!!

[possumlove]

well that's alright if you can breasfeed but i coudln't because of my medication which dried my breast milk up  sadly i need this for my crohns disease...i was very upset...but it think it's unfair for these people in here to carry on about breast feeding being best rar rar rar we can't all do it you know and we don't you think we would if we could you are so bloody lucky