Hi there, mamas and papas. Burping a tiny newborn baby requires courage, strategy, and the finesse of technique! It also takes practice. With my baby Bracey, who is 10 weeks old but only 40 weeks old in terms of his gestational age, I have had to figure out how to keep him propped up with my hands while burping him since he does not have the head and neck strength to hold himself up. After all, he still weighs in at under 6 pounds, poor guy. I picked up some tricks regarding burping in the NICU which I am sharing with you guys today.

Why Won’t my Baby Burp?

What do you do when a baby won’t burp? In my experience, the first major burping issue you encounter with young babies is that they stop eating and appear to need to burp, and yet the burp won’t come. This was happening a lot to me with Bracey. Then, I figured out that his burps were so short and quiet that I wasn’t even noticing them. They sounded like gurgling. That said, to get to this little “blep,” you need a firm while gentle process. My biggest piece of advice regarding a newborn who won’t burp is to be patient: maybe they need to eat a bit more, maybe you need to hold them upright and gently massage their back for a longer period of time, and maybe their burps are so quiet and undetectable that you have not noticed them.

What if my Baby won’t Burp after Feeding 

If you have held your baby in a burping position for a good long while and no burp comes, you can try to feed again. If your baby seems to be rejecting the breast, they turn away or keep their mouth closed, you can assume that the feeding is done. Keep on listening, however, become the burp might still come later on. Sometimes burps come quickly and sometimes it takes a while for burps to emerge. 

Baby Bibs for Burping 

The best bibs for a newborn baby who is burping fit snugly around the neck while being soft, comfortable, and absorbent. Some parents prefer bandana bibs and others, like me, longer bibs that give you more protection. My kids were big spitters so the longer bibs meant less laundry. 

[organic drool bib] 

Best Position to Burp a Baby 

When it comes to the best burp position for a newborn, there are two ways to burp your newborn baby on your lap that I run through in today’s video. In the first baby burping position, you separate your thumbs from the other four fingers and create a triangle about an inch below your baby’s neck area. This triangle-shaped hand supports the baby, who you tilt forwards, elongating their torso and back. With your other hand, you pat your baby’s back. The second technique asks you to grasp your baby securely with both hands (separating thumb from other fingers in the same fashion) under their two armpits, using the four fingers of one hand to support the neck and head while tilting the baby forward, and the four fingers of the other hand to pat gently. A third burping technique involves burping your baby on your back (although I find this to be more challenging since little babies tend to roll up into a ball and round their backs, so it’s difficult to stretch them out ). Whichever burping position you choose, burp your baby with gentle pats. Do not wham your baby on the back. That is not effective nor necessary. Rather, what you need to do is to elongate their torso to encourage the gas to come up and out!

How Long to Burp a Baby

So with that said, how often and for how long should I burp my baby? If you are breastfeeding, I recommend burping your baby once you have finished on one side and then again when you believe you are finished with the other side. After burping, try to feed your baby again to make sure that they are awake, full, and rejecting more food. Formula-fed babies might need to burp more often, depending on how well they tolerate the formula. With bottle feeding, the chances that your baby can swallow air are increased so you might need to stop every few minutes and burp your baby. Try to keep looking at the bottle’s nipple to make sure there are no air bubbles. Generally speaking, if your baby has slowed down while eating, you should try to burp them for as long as it takes for a burp to come, since otherwise they might experience discomfort or gas. Of course some babies burp less often and will not burp after a feeding session, although in my own experience, that was rare. 

Burp Cloth 

In addition to outfitting your baby with a cute droll bib, make sure to have a burp cloth on hand. You’ll want a soft, absorbent, burp cloth that you can sling over your back. In my view, the best burp cloths the hospital receiving blankets and I tried to take a few home with me after giving birth to each of my 6 babies! These last forever, don’t stain, work great for swaddling and burping. Also called hospital swaddle blankets, I consider these a miracle product and baby must have!

How Many Burp Cloths do I Need?

Depending on how often you plan to do laundry, I would try to have at least 10-15 baby burp cloths. Your baby will be eating every 2-3 hours in the early days and weeks and these burp cloths will get wet quickly. You’ll want to have a few on hand, especially for outings. 

[hospital swaddle blanket] 

How to Burp a Baby Fast 

There is no way to rush a burp, you can only gently encourage a burp to come. Tapping your baby hard on the back is NOT a good idea, nor will it speed up a burp. The way to get a burp out is to elongate the baby’s torso by using a lap or back burping position, and to give the air time to come up while doing gentle pats. Patience is a virtue when it comes to burping. Don’t look at burping as a hindrance or hurdle. Burping your baby is part of the process of feeding your baby and a great opportunity for a hug!

How to Burp a Sleeping Baby 

I don’t recall burping sleeping babies too often, since usually a baby who is asleep is content and therefore, um, asleep! If you notice your infant squirming and appearing uncomfortable while asleep, I would try to figure out how to burp them. To burp a sleeping newborn, lift them up carefully and drape them over your shoulder or back, making sure to elongate their torso to encourage the air to come up. Once your hear or feel a burp, you can gently lay your baby back to sleep. 

What Happens if you Don’t Burp a Baby 

If you don’t burp, you might tend to assume that your baby is full and satisfied, when in actuality they need to burp. You will end feedings before your baby is full, and your baby will want to begin the next feeding even earlier. Burping is essential because it allows breastfeeding mamas to ensure that their babies are full. 

Burping does not get as much attention as feeding, of course, but it is an essential part of the feeding process. Your baby needs to feel comfortable to drink and only a burped baby is going to feed properly. So get your burping style going, mamas and papas! Please watch my video for more info and check back in on Cloudmom for more how to videos.