Can you put baby down with hiccups? In most cases, it's totally fine to put baby on their back when they have hiccups; those little diaphragm spasms don't interfere with breathing so there's no physical or medical reason not to.
You might have noticed that your baby hiccupped before birth. Sometimes feeding your baby will help stop the hiccups, but if not, don't worry. Fortunately, babies do not seem to be bothered by hiccups and they often can eat and sleep even while hiccuping.
There is little that can be done for babies who are hiccupping, other than to sit them upright and try burping them. Most babies stop hiccupping after a few minutes, without any special care or treatment.
The ways that you can overcome these hiccups while the baby is sleeping are nothing different. As suggested above, using a pacifier or seating your baby upright can stop the hiccups.
Position your baby upright and burp if needed.
It's possible that the hiccup functions to remove swallowed gas from the stomach—essentially “an evolved burping reflex.” Gently patting your baby's back while they're held upright may ease the presence of an air bubble in the stomach.
If you feel your baby's whole body move, that suggests they're in a head-down position. You may also notice that you feel their hiccups below your belly button.
You can help them go away sooner by moving your baby, from bouncing her gently to trying new burping positions. Feeding can also stop the hiccups, just as we drink a glass of water. Helping her relax, even to a sleepy state, can also help the hiccups go away.
The key message here is that it is ok to put a baby to sleep without burping. For many babies, parents find they don't notice an improvement in sleep if they purposefully relieve gas before putting their baby down to bed. However, some babies do tend to sleep better by burping their baby before falling asleep.
Keep your baby upright after feeding
Instead of laying your baby down flat after feeding, keep them upright for about 30 minutes so gravity can help them digest their food. Otherwise, they're more likely to spit up.
Take heart that when sleepy babies feed, they're usually so relaxed that they're less likely to intake extra air. If you find that he isn't fussy, wiggly, or restless at wake-up time, he may not need to burp each time. In short, it's okay to put him to sleep without burping.
Spit-up is what happens when the contents of your baby's tummy come back up easily -- not forcefully -- through their mouth. It often comes along with a burp. It's not the same as vomiting, which is when your baby throws up their stomach contents with force and muscle contractions.
Place your baby face down on your lap or your forearm so they're looking sideways, supported by your knee or hand. Rub your baby's back gently with your other hand. Avoid this position if your baby brings up milk or vomits a lot. Some babies might be unsettled during and after a feed until they've been burped.
Distension and gastro-oesophageal reflux are the most common causes of hiccups.
If your child seems to constantly get hiccups, then it could be a sign of colic. Colic can cause spitting up and reflux, which can lead to continuous hiccups. We always recommend talking to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about your child's hiccups.
Suffice it to say that quickening and gas are both a regular part of pregnancy, so some initial confusion is to be expected. “Most of the time, a gas bubble will leave within a few seconds. Baby flutters are generally prolonged and consistent,” explains Bolton.
At 32 weeks pregnant, your baby is about 40.5cm long and weighs about 1.6kg. Over the next four weeks they will put on about a kilogram of weight as their body fat increases to protect them and regulate their body temperature when they're born.
How big is the baby? At the 30th week of your pregnancy, your baby will measure around 39.9 cm in length and weighs nearly 1.4 kilos.
Effective Latching – Too much milk can cause infant hiccups. But so can too much air. When too much milk and air get in the mix, it causes the stomach to expand into the diaphragm's area and create hiccups.
Hiccups usually go away on their own, but if they haven't gone away after about 5 or 10 minutes, begin feeding your baby again, which may help bring relief.
To help prevent the milk from coming back up, keep your baby upright after feeding for 10 to 15 minutes, or longer if your baby spits up or has GERD. But don't worry if your baby spits sometimes. It's probably more unpleasant for you than it is for your baby. Sometimes your baby may awaken because of gas.
Baby Reflux FAQs
Pacifiers may stimulate saliva and the downward push of the esophagus, both of which may help to get fluids back into the stomach sooner rather than later. However, doctors are still not recommending pacifiers as a treatment.