When to Stop Burping a Baby
Burping your baby is an important part of the feeding process — burping allows any air that they’ve swallowed during the feeding to be released. This air turns into gas bubbles during digestion, and it can be quite painful for a baby’s sensitive tummy.
Burping is important because too much air in a baby’s stomach can lead to fussiness, restlessness, and general discontentment.
Babies don’t come with rulebooks, and it can be difficult to tell when to stop burping a baby. Typically, babies that need to be burped are wiggly, whining or pulling away during a feeding, or downright fussy.
Let’s discuss a few important details about burping and how you’ll know when to stop burping a baby.
How much time should I spend burping a baby?
After a feeding session, try to spend 10-15 minutes burping your baby.
Typically, breastfed babies need less time burping because they don’t swallow as much air when they are feeding, compared to bottle-fed babies. (Related post: why does my baby hit me while breastfeeding?)
If your baby struggles to burp, there are a few different positions you can try that may help those stubborn air bubbles up and out. Here are 3 positions that usually work:
- Hold the baby against your chest, with their chin resting on your shoulder. Cup your hand and gently pat their back until they burp.
- Hold your baby upright in your lap, with one hand supporting their chest and head by gently cradling their chin. Use the other hand to gently pat their back.
- Lay your baby on your lap like he’s going to do tummy time. Make sure his head is higher than his chest, and gently pat his back.
All babies are different and some need more assistance with burping than others. These three burping positions are the most common for successfully getting air bubbles out of your baby’s tummy.
Be sure to always have a burping cloth or rag nearby; you never know when the burp may turn into spit up!
Find more tips on: What to do when baby won’t let you suction their nose
At what age can I stop burping a baby?
It can be tricky to know when to stop burping a baby. Typically, between the ages of 6 and 9 months is when babies can burp on their own, but it really depends on the child.
Developmental signs that your baby doesn’t need to be burped anymore can include:
- Baby can sit up on his own
- Or baby crawls or scoots around the house
- Baby eats some solid foods on his own
If your baby does these things but you think he still needs to burp, then keep going! You know your child better than anyone, and these are just guidelines to follow.
Usually, when babies can sit up on their own, the gas bubbles in their tummy are able to work their way out naturally (or they’ll come out the other end!).
Burping your baby past this age range is perfectly fine. It’s only beneficial to a baby’s tummy and their comfort.
Related post: Help! My doesn’t like grass.
Is it OK to put the baby to sleep without burping?
As long as you’ve kept the baby upright for 10-20 minutes and given them ample opportunity to burp and spit up, putting your baby to sleep without burping is fine. Chances are they let out a quiet burp that you didn’t hear, or they really didn’t need to burp after that last feed.
It’s possible that after you lay the baby down in the crib, they’ll become fussy, wiggle around, and struggle to settle down.
This usually means any remaining air bubbles are trying to work their way out of your baby’s tummy, causing them discomfort.
If your baby is overly restless and seems uncomfortable once you’ve laid him or her down after a feeding, you may want to pick them up and try to get any remaining air bubbles out before they go to sleep.
While going back into the nursery is generally not recommended, you don’t want your baby to be uncomfortable! If you have to go back into the nursery to burp the baby, try to be as quiet as possible.
Keep the light off and the curtains drawn, and don’t turn off the sound machine. Simply pick them up, pat him or her gently on the back until they burp, and back to bed they go!
Related post: What to do when baby won’t sleep in the new house?
Summary
It takes time to find the best positions to effectively burp a baby. Some burp right away, some take 15 minutes and all the positions you can think of.
Find the ones that work best for your child, and stick with those. Happy burping!