Friday, October 8, 2010

Burping Your Baby

The aim of burping your baby - rubbing or patting his or her back - is to bring up any air that your baby may have swallowed during feeding, as trapped air can cause a baby some discomfort.

Trapped air is more common when babies are fed from a bottle because there is more opportunity for air to enter the baby's mouths. When babies are breastfeeding, their mouths are usually so closely locked onto the breast that little air can get in.

Two basic ways to burp babies are to sit them on your lap so that they are leaning forwards. They should supported securely around their chest. Now pat gently on the back. Do not pat too firmly because this may make your baby regurgitate milk. Another method is to hold your baby against your shoulder and rub their back gently, using upward strokes. Make sure that you have an old towel over your shoulder in case our baby brings up a little milk. This is know as possetting. Don't worry that there is something wrong if your baby does not burp. It simply means he or she had no need to do so.