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Burping a baby? Help!

My almost-five-month-old baby has reflux and has always been very difficult to get a burp out of, and recently it's become even harder. I thought he might not need burping anymore, but every time he falls asleep nursing and I try putting him down without burping him, he wakes up very uncomfortable twenty minutes later. So burping is still necessary.

My question for all you ladies is: does anyone have any good tricks for burping a baby? Our first child was very easy to burp, so I never needed any methods beyond putting her up on my shoulder and patting her on the back. That doesn't work with my little guy. I could really use any tips you might have!

Tags: advice, babies

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Permalink Reply by Maureen on June 16, 2009 at 6:33am

Try sitting him on your lap, bent forward a little like he's reaching for a toy, and patting his back.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Ouellette on June 16, 2009 at 8:45am

One tip that was shown to us when our twins were up in NICU after birth was this; after you've feed the baby, sit him/her up on your lap facing either to your left or right. While supporting the baby's back rotate the baby in a circle from the hips. And I mean a pretty good circle...the wider the better. It somehow loosens up the bubbles in their belly so that they make it to the top to be burped out. (For instance if it was you, while sitting on the floor Indian style...or criss-cross applesauce :), rotate your upper body in a circle either clockwise or counter clockwise.) Don't ask me why, but it worked every time with my boys. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Arwen Mosher on June 16, 2009 at 10:55am

Thanks for the tips, ladies! I'll try using them immediately!

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Permalink Reply by Karen on June 19, 2009 at 9:50pm

I had two reflux babies and I tried not to do the over the shoulder burp since it always brought everything right up. I would do the sitting on the lap burp, but even that can result in a puddle of spit up. I preferred to put the girls in a bouncy seat and then pat them from behind the seat. They were on an incline which helped keep the milk down, but it was usually pretty effective in getting the air bubbles out. Sometimes I could just put the seat on vibrate and that would burp them. I tried to keep them on an incline for 15 to 20 minutes after eating. If I laid them flat or held them upright everything would come up.

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Permalink Reply by Arwen Mosher on June 20, 2009 at 1:53pm

Thanks, Karen! That's a really good idea. I have noticed that burping completely upright tends to make the baby spit up, but I hadn't thought to try it on an incline. I will!

By the way, two reflux-y babies? You have my respect!

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Permalink Reply by Karen on June 20, 2009 at 5:58pm

They were nearly 4 years apart, so that made it bearable. But each of them were challenging in their own right. I would have lost my mind if I had twin reflux babies. And since you have a reflux baby, you can eliminate the sour milk laundry smell by adding Arm and Hammer Washing Power to your wash. It makes a big difference and is better than washing the same load two or three times to get rid of the spit up milk smell.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Ross on June 20, 2009 at 7:36pm

I use a trick I read somewhere and have loved. When burping my son, I sit him on my lap, leaning into my hand placed on his belly. The book I read said this extra pressure from the front help encourage the burp to come out. I don't know if it's true, but it keeps my son a little more content while we wait for the burp. Good luck.