Winding

Babies often gulp in air while they’re feeding and it can cause uncomfortable air bubbles to form in their tummies, whether you’re breast or bottlefeeding. You can help your baby expel these air bubbles by encouraging him to bring up wind or ‘burp’. He may spit up a little of his feed when he does it, so have a muslin handy!

How to prevent wind while feeding

There are several ways you can help avoid problems with wind both while feeding and afterwards…

- ?Whether you’re breastfeeding or bottlefeeding, make sure you feed your baby in an upright or near-upright position, as this will help any air bubbles to come up naturally.

- If you’re bottlefeeding, make sure you tilt your baby’s bottle so that the nipple is constantly full of milk and doesn’t contain any air. If your bottle-fed baby is regularly suffering from wind, you may want to experiment with using slower-flowing nipples on his bottle, or different shapes and styles of feeding bottle (watch our video on how to bottlefeed correctly).

Winding your baby? after a feed

Before you start winding after a feed, make sure that you have a muslin cloth handy, as many babies will spit up some milk when bringing up wind. Try different winding techniques to see which best suits your baby…

• Over the shoulder Hold your baby up high against your shoulder and gently rub or pat his back.

• Sitting up Sit your baby as upright as possible, supporting him with one hand on his chest with your thumb and forefinger holding his chin. Lean him forward slightly and gently rub or pat his back.

If your baby isn’t bringing up any air after a few minutes, don’t keep trying to wind him – it may be that he doesn’t have any to bring up, or it may be released later. Some babies absorb wind further into their gut, and can experience discomfort later after a feed as a result, often when you put them down for a nap. A warm bath and gently massaging your baby’s tummy in a counter-clockwise motion or gently bicycling his legs can also work wonders, especially with wind in his lower digestive tract.

Most babies stop having trouble with wind once their digestive tracts mature and they can sit up.

Using medication to treat wind?

Herbal remedies can be helpful in easing wind in both babies and adults – dill, ginger, chamomile, fennel, catnip and lemon balm act in various different ways to soothe the digestive tract and help break down any accumulated air. Gripe water is a traditional remedy – ask your pharmacist for information.