Need Tips on Bellyache and Burping

Hello R. I am a mother of 2 and this is a easy one. First the air gulping, what you need to do is make sure he has a wide open mouth when he latches on covering your aureola (the darker skin of the breast which is around the nipple in a circle shape) if he only latches onto the nipple, you will need to break the suction by inserting your finger in the corner of his mouth, and then try the whole process again. It is important that he takes the aureola as well as the nipple into his mouth. This position will ensure he won't take in air. R. this is going to be trial and error, your son will get frustrated at you breaking the latch but soon he will learn how to open his mouth wide enough so not to take in air rather than food. Since you didn't give any info on the position you burp your baby in I will just assume you do it over your shoulder. You want the babies tummy somewhat on your shoulder and in firm yet not hard pats with an open hand just wait for your baby to burp, or you can put him on your thigh for example put him on you right thigh with his legs facing the outside of your right thigh place your right hand (open palm) on his tummy for support and use your left hand to pat his back firmly as I mentioned in the latter. Newborns have a tendency to take a while to burp since they are new to our little world their bodies are adjusting to these new functions. So don't fret my 14 month when she was a newborn took a really long time to burp maybe 5 minutes or more, so just give him time being a new mother can be frustrating so just know there are many ways to get help and info. I hope this was helpful for you I tried to be very detailed.

You can try the infant mylacon drops for gas. Give it to him before you feed him and it will help him burp easier.

Also make sure that when you are burping him that his rib cage is up or out. That will help the burps escape easier. Basically it is making sure the his shoulders are back. The best way to do this is to put your fingers under his arms with your other hand supporting his back and neck and then lift up with the hand under his arms. That will lift his ribcage up and out so the bubbles can come out.

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Hi R.,
I found that every baby is different when it comes to being burped or getting burped. For my son (whom I breast fed), I simply rubbed his belly in a counterclock-wise motion. This would also work if I rubbed his back while he was on my shoulder. For my daughter (who was bottle fed), the only thing that would work is if I held her slung over my arm, with her facing outward and arms hanging down with her butt on my hip and then twisted left and right with my hips as though I was swaying to the music. I used to be concerned that she would get dizzy but she would quiet down and then pretty soon, she'd burp. I'd pat her back and bring her up to my shoulder and everything was good. I also found that feeding her formula with iron in it was causing all kinds of stomach problems and once I switched to formula without iron, she didn't have the constipation she displayed with the formula with iron.
Good luck! I hope you find whatever works for your baby.
L. Long

The bellyache maybe something you are eating and it's upsetting his tummy through your breast milk.

Hi R., I too have a 3 week old. I am a first time mom as well. What I find that helps is what most of the ladies have said below. But one way in particular that helps is to support the back of your babies head while holding him on your lap and rock him back and forth a few times. THis helps to stretch out his tummy and let the air come up. I find also that by letting them naturally stretch after they unlatch from you really helps- and sometimes they will burp on their own. Hope that helps.. Good luck!

Hi R.! I'd say the best support you can get would probably be through a lactation consultant or La Leche League. Call your local hospital and ask for the maternity ward and they can give you phone numbers and information on local assistance. They can show you all of the different holds as well as different burping techniques. Since it's your first it will probably just take some time. A little guidance will help you to perfect the great job you're already doing, Good luck!!

When my son was born he was having the same problems but a lot of crying with it. I read in the parents magazine about "little tummies". It helps alleviate gas and fussiness. You give it to them before they eat. Have you heard of the product "little noses"? It is made by the same company. I bought mine at Wal-Mart. It really worked for my son! Good Luck!