Essential Tips for Winding, Burping, and Managing Baby Hiccups

As an Advanced Newborn Care Specialist, I will be helping you to problem-solve day & night. You and your baby will have ups and downs, it is quite normal to have days when a routine feels hard to follow and things are not going to plan, often there are simple solutions to remedy these seemingly difficult things that arise.

How to help baby burp / wind

It is so important to burp your baby at every feed.

Typically, I like to recommend winding your baby at least once during each feed, and again after they appear to be finished. Newborn babies can take some time to wind, hang in there! (And if it just won’t surface, don’t panic, it will eventually work its way out the other end!)

Once a baby reaches about 8 weeks old, winding becomes a more efficient process.

Often, not winding your baby frequently in those early days, can lead to them feeling full because they have trapped gas or air.

By successfully burping your baby, you are ensuring a full feed and making sure your baby is as comfortable as possible.

During night feeding, or dream feeds, babies are often so relaxed and sleepy that they don’t gulp as much air while drinking, they may not need to wind at all. Even so, putting them upright against your chest for 5 minutes is a great way to check and give them that opportunity to burp before going back down to sleep.

Although there is no ‘right’ way to wind a baby, together we will go through my tried-and-tested techniques and find which of these methods (or combination) suits your baby best.

How to help baby hiccups

Hiccups can sound and look quite dramatic, but just like in the womb, they are very common in young babies and rarely cause them any discomfort or distress.

Usually starting some time after feeding, they will go away on their own after 5-10 minutes. To assist your baby, you can hold them over your shoulder with light patting on their back, or upward strokes from the base of the spine to the neck.

You do not need to wait for the hiccups to have stopped before putting them down to sleep.