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Why do I need to wind my baby?
Babies will take in air to their stomachs during a feed, thus causing an uncomfortable sensation in their tummies. Your goal is to help the baby to expel these air bubbles by encouraging your baby to bring up wind or ‘burp’. Sometimes, this produces a bit of excess milk and sometimes just a satisfying noise, but always it helps settle the tummy.
What are the best ways to wind a baby?
- Have him sitting upright on your lap. It is rather hard to get a baby to sit straight, but one good way to do this is to press your hand into the small of his back. He can lean into your body side-on for extra support. This should do the trick.
- Another way of winding your baby, which is generally effective, is to hold him over your shoulder, so he is facing the opposite direction to the way you are. This is good although can be a bit messy as you may find your shoulder covered in baby milk (a phenomenon termed possetting).
The good thing about regurgitated or rather, possetted, breast milk is that it does not smell as bad as the formula milk version! A way to combat this problem is to place a cloth over your shoulder and as long as your baby is not a champion projectiler, this should work like a bib.
How long will it take for my baby to bring up wind?
Usually, it won’t take long for your baby to bring up wind, so you should not have to wait too long to try and settle him down for a post-feed sleep.
This article was brought to you in association with Gurgle.com
