Babies, Bubbles and Bottles

Babies and gas bubbles just don’t mix. When gas bubbles are trapped in your baby’s tummy, you know it. He gets cranky, difficult to console, pulls his legs up towards his body to get some relief and cries. Luckily, there are a number of steps you can take to prevent bubbles from getting trapped in the first place—and ways to get rid of them if they do.

To help prevent gas bubbles…

• Feed your baby before he gets very hungry, eats too quickly, and swallows a lot of air. 
• Choose the right bottle. Playtex® has two bottles specifically designed to keep air and milk from mixing. The Playtex® Drop-Ins® System and the Playtex® VentAire® Advanced Bottle System.
• Break down feeding sessions providing smaller amounts more often during the day to help your baby’s digestive system handle food better.  (A baby’s tummy is just about the size of his fist. That’s tiny!)
• Hold your baby in a semi-upright feeding position so that fluids move through his digestive system more smoothly and he will swallow less air.  The Playtex® VentAire® Advanced Bottle System and Drop-ins Bottle System are specifically designed to support semi-upright feeding.

If your baby does have trouble with bubbles…
 

• Burp your baby regularly during feeding—when switching breasts while nursing or every three to five minutes if using a bottle.
• Lay your baby on his back and gently pump his legs back and forth bicycle style to get gas moving.
• Try the football hold. Drape your baby over your forearm face down with his chin or cheek resting in your hand, and his legs straddling your elbow. Always keep a firm hold on the diaper area. This position applies gentle pressure to your baby’s tummy and helps with the release of gas.