do formula fed babies have to burb at every feeding?

Question

Often, my 2 week old will fall asleep during her bottle, which is GREAT! However, I will try to burp her, and sometimes this will go on for upward of 10 minutes (constant patting and rubbing on her back in different positions) and it just seems to put her in a deeper sleep sometimes, and no burp. Is it necessary for a formula fed baby to burp at every feeding??

Answer 1

Usually, but some babies just are efficient eaters and don't take in a lot of air. You should at least make teh attempt to burp her like you are, but if after the 10 minutes or so she still hasn;t, I'd say she just didn;t get enough air TO burp.

Answer 2

Every baby is different. My daughter (4 months) also does not burp once she has drifted off, but she isn't a "spitter-upper," so it doesn't cause a problem. Bouncing your baby 3 times on your knee is the best technique I have found, usually once I do that there is no need to pat or rub... but the idea is to bounce a few times to loosen any air bubbles and then prop your baby up on your lap so that she is somewhat doubled over, and either rub or pat until you get a big juicy belch! If your baby doesn't wake up with dry spit-up on her face, chances are she is fine going without a burp for those feedings. Some babies must burp a few times after each feeding or they get horrible gas pains and/or spit up frequently. Nothing to worry about too much if your baby isn't having these issues. If she seems okay, more than likely she is. Good luck!

Answer 3

You should try to get a burp out of her after every ounce at this age. She is so little and the tummy just can't hold that much, if gas bubbles are trapped and come up while she is sleeping it will be uncomfortable and she may spit up, she'll be hungry again and before you know it she is feeding again! Or the gas bubbles work their way to the other end, causing great discomfort and colic along the way.

That being said, what I did with my guy is burped him every ounce. If he started falling asleep I would try to burp him before he went completely out. However that didn't always work since the back patting and rubbing sometimes made him go to sleep even more. I didn't worry too much about it but if he started to fuss shortly after laying down I would go in and try to burp him again, usually I got a burp and he would go right back to sleep. If not, I would try for a couple minutes to burp him when he woke up. Of course that only works if he is in a good mood and not already crying for a bottle (which is a rare occasion anymore at 10 weeks, in fact in the mornings he wants to play for an hour or so after waking before eating now which is a new thing).

You'll know if you need to burp her more often if she starts to get colicky. If my boy is going to be colicky that day, it starts anytime after 4pm and goes for on a bad day for 4 hours. However get some burps out of him, then give him some gripe water for the bubbles I can't get out and within 20 minutes after that he is fine. That's when I know he wasn't burped enough that day (usually a day that Daddy or Grandma did a few feedings, they don't understand that a small burp isn't enough, there's a belch waiting in there for them!).

Hang in there and just spend lots of time listening and observing your baby. You'll get to know what her different sounds mean. I know my boys hunger whines, his upset tummy grumps, his diaper needs to be changed sharp staccato cries, his I'm tired and want to sleep waaawaaa's, his pay attention to me Mommy screeches. He's 10 weeks old and he's pretty good at letting me know what he wants but then I think I am pretty good at knowing my son. You'll get there with your daughter too! And then you will know if she is being burped enough!

Answer 4

Nope, not always ..
8 times out of 10 my son HAS to burp .. [which I can tell because he'll start straining when I pick him up from feeding] but the other 2 times, I'll burp burp burp him and nothing, and he'll be just fine :]
Always TRY to burp them .. but if for some reason [after about 2-3 minutes] nothing comes out .. then no worries. Believe me, your baby will let you know if they need to burp! :)

**also, remember to NEVER lay your baby on their back up to 30 minutes after a feeding**

Answer 5

Yes, babies need to be burped whether they are bottle fed or breastfed. Sometimes it does take a while, but it's good for them. I would put my daughter in a seated position while burping her, that got fast results. And sometimes she'd burp on her own.

Answer 6

I would atleast try to burp them every feeding esp. midway thru their feeding. I usually burp halfway thru however many ounces until i get to 6 ounces and then it's every 2 ounces i burp them. Even tho she falls asleep it helps for the gas not to build up and her get an upset stomach. If you try for 10 min. and no burp then I would wait about 5 min. and then try again. Good Luck!

Answer 7

No it's not necessary, but very likely.. As long as the baby doesn't seem troubled by gas later after the feeding, there is no problem.. If she is, offer Mylicon drops before every feeding.. Active ingredient is simethicone which clumps all the bubbles together making them easier to be passed ( Same ingredient in Maalox and Mylanta for adults.. )

Answer 8

Just continue to try. I breast and bottle fed...the only time my little one burped was with the bottle.

Answer 9

You don't need to worry if she doesn't burp but you should try every time.

Answer 10

Do you need to burp after filling your stomach full of fluid? Yes, they need to be burped.