Getting Him to Burp

I had this problem with my son, and the one thing that helped was to lay him down on his stomach on my legs and pat his back. I also found out that when I was burping him, I was patting very gently, but my mother could always get him to burp and it was because she used a firmer pat.

My little one was born on July the 7th and he does the same...falls asleep and wont burp but he doesnt wake up. But you can try stopping the feeding halfway through the try burping him and then go back at it..that way he atleast got some gas out. Sometimes though that keeps the baby from going to sleep so if thats the case then try infant gas drops.

I agree I would burp him half way through the feeding before he is asleep. Maybe when he starts to doze a little. Then let him go back and fall asleep. good luck.. I have a 4 month old born July 10..

My son is 9 months old now, but used to have a similar problem with him. I found that if I held him for a few minutes on his back with his head slightly lower than his tummy - letting his abdomen stretch just a little - that usually when I leaned him up to burp he would without waking up. It's a trick my mother-in-law recommended.

Good luck.

J.,

I don't know that burping is necessarily the problem with him waking, but I think some children need to burp more than others (mine never really needed to), so I won't say that it couldn't be part of the issue. I wonder if another reason he is waking is because he is realizing that he's not nuzzled against his mommy and then doesn't know how to soothe himself back to sleep. He is old enough now that it would be a good thing for him to start to learn, or you will be setting yourself up for more difficult sleep issues than this!

I wouldn't nurse him to sleep at all. In fact, I'd do my darndest to keep him awake while he nursed - play with his little hands and feet, talk to him, etc. Then burp him or change him or do whatever you think will help him be comfortable and ready for bed. Hold him or rock him or sing to him or whatever until he is drowsy, but not asleep. Then lay him in his bed, give him a kiss and leave the room. If he fusses, go back in to check on him in 3 min, rub his head, put his pacifier in or help him find his fingers, or other things that you know he finds comforting, then leave the room. If he fusses again, wait until 5 min to go into him, comfort him again but do not pick him up, then leave again after a minute or to. If more fussing, wait 7 min, 9 min, and so on until he goes to sleep. Be consistent with this method for a couple of nights and he will learn to soothe himself to sleep, as well as get himself back to sleep if he wakes later in the night.

I did this with both of my children (my youngest is 7 months now), and they both slept well through the night at an early age. The longer you wait to teach him how to self-soothe, the more difficult the adjustment will be for him when you do. Honestly, 4 months is not too young. Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt that he is waking because of needing to burp but that is normal in an infant's sleep cycle. If he burps then good, if not that is okay too.

Hi, I agree with Colleens advice.
I would also try lowering him down to a flat like position and raising him back up on my shoulder a couple of times back and forth with the rubbing and patting on the back. Not fast, just gently. You should be able to do this without waking him after nursing. Think about when you put medicine in a dropper. You will see air bubbles rising to the top. You can lean the dropper sideways and watch the bubbles moving back and forth with the motion. It is a little slower than that with the baby and sometimes our minds are in a rush to get on to the next task. Relax and enjoy this time with your baby and once hes burped and asleep you can put him down without worring that you will have to be right back in there. Habits are hard to break. Best wishes, R.

I nursed 2 of my 4 babies. I realized that breastfed babies do not burp as much as bottled fed babied...they are not getting the air from a bottle and do not need to burp. Never burp the baby if he is already asleep. I would put him on his side to sleep. If you want him to burp, then I would not let him go to sleep.

M.

Try a gentle circular motion up his back and spine while he is nursing. I didn't breast feed, but while bottle feeding in the middle of the night I would always do that and my three little heathens would fall fast alsleep without any problmes