How to keep baby after feeding

After the birth of the baby, the mother has a huge number of new worries and skills. She must do everything right so that the child feels cozy and comfortable. It is very important at the very beginning of motherhood to listen to the opinion of pediatricians, experienced mothers and breastfeeding consultants regarding the health and feeding of the baby. Sometimes these opinions differ, and a young woman must choose the position that suits her best.

With the birth of a child, the mother learns to feed him - so that the baby is correctly applied to the chest, so that he eats and sleeps well. One simple action will help get rid of many digestive problems with crumbs - keeping the baby in an upright position after feeding. Why do doctors recommend keeping the child in a column, let's try to figure it out.

The benefits of holding a baby column

1. During the meal, the baby swallows quite a lot of air with milk. This is due to the insufficiently tight fit of the areola of the nipple with the mouth. A large amount of swallowed air leads to the formation of gases, to colic and anxiety of the child. Keeping the baby in an upright position helps to remove air through the mouth, that is, the crumb just has an eructation.
2. The vertical position of the child is the best way to get rid of hiccups. Hiccups are an involuntary reflex of the diaphragm, which can be easily eliminated if you hold the child with a column for some time.
3. Almost all children regurgitate some of the milk after eating. By keeping the baby with a column, you can minimize this amount or completely stop spitting up. This is beneficial for the child - he eats well, which means he is gaining weight well.
4. Holding the column is useful not only for digestion. In this position, the neck muscles work quite intensively, getting development and training. At the same time, if necessary, the mother will always support the head, and if the baby is tired, he will just lean it on the parent’s shoulder. Vertical exposure of the baby is equivalent to laying on the tummy.

All pediatricians recommend keeping the baby upright. But how to do it right?

How to keep a baby column

You can keep the baby in a column from the first days of his life. After eating, take the baby in her arms vertically and hold him to his chest so that the head peeks over your shoulder. With one hand support the baby’s butt and lower back, the second hand should be at the level of the neck, shoulders and head of the baby. Loosen neck support for a while to give your child the ability to hold his head on his own. But be always ready to provide support if the baby gets tired and starts to throw his head back. You can not hold the child with one hand and leave his head without insurance support, even for a second! Also, you can not raise the child by the elbows or hands. The baby's joints are very mobile and tender, they can easily dislocate. Careless attitude to the baby can lead to serious consequences.

During the upright position, the mother’s body should be slightly tilted back so that the baby is comfortable lying down. Keeping a child with a column is not only a physiological procedure, but also a way of spiritual unity with the mother. Keep the child upright for about 10-15 minutes. If you notice that the air came out and heard a characteristic burp in the baby - the mission is completed, the child can be put in a crib or put in the usual position.When laying the baby in a crib from an upright position, be careful and hold the head and neck of the crumbs well so that it does not lean back.

If belching does not occur, walk around the room or begin to gently swing from side to side to speed up the process. If the baby hiccups, take it vertically and carefully massage and stroke its back. So hiccups will go much faster.

When you need to keep the child a column

Some mothers are perplexed, how to keep the baby a column, if the baby most often falls asleep after feeding? Is it really necessary to wake a sleepy baby, raise it in your arms and change the position of its body? Indeed, the baby at the end of feeding most often falls asleep, since milk contains soothing and relaxing substances. And to wake him up every time in order to lift vertically is not worth it. Many breastfeeding counselors do not welcome keeping the baby upright, explaining this with an unnatural position. After all, not a single mammal in nature changes the position of the body of its cub after feeding. If the baby is healthy and well gaining weight - this procedure is optional. In what cases is it recommended to keep the child upright after eating?

1. If the child is lightweight, premature, grows poorly and gains weight. In such children, every milliliter of milk should be counted. In order to protect the baby from even minor regurgitation and loss of nutritious milk, the mother must necessarily hold the baby in a column.
2. The vertical aging procedure is also necessary if the child often spits up a lot. Visually, you can approximately determine the volume of regurgitated fluid. If it exceeds more than half of the milk eaten, be sure to keep the baby upright. This will let the air out and minimize the risk of reflux in the child.
3. It happens that after a long break in eating, the child eats eagerly, swallowing milk in large portions. This will certainly lead to air entering the stomach. After such feedings, it is also advisable to keep the baby upright.
4. There are babies who do not capture the chest well, putting in their mouths not the entire halo of the nipple. At the same time, a vacuum is broken between the chest and mouth of the baby, the baby often swallows air. If breastfeeding in the baby has not yet been established, keep it in a column after each application to the chest.

There are times when a child cannot be held in a column. This applies to full-bodied kids. Nature has provided for everything - the child spits up that part of the diet, which turned out to be superfluous for him. Indeed, overeating is as dangerous as malnutrition. This is especially noticeable among artisans. Mom cannot accurately determine how much the baby wants to eat, therefore, as a rule, makes a little more mixture. It’s not difficult to suck a nipple out of a bottle, not like mother’s breast. Therefore, children conceive overeat, experiencing after this discomfort in the digestive tract. In addition, overeating often becomes the cause of allergies or dermatitis, since undigested food is in the intestines. In these cases, it is not necessary to ensure that the baby does not burp. Just leave your baby in his natural position. The body itself knows that you need to get rid of excess.

Keeping the child in an upright position is the procedure necessary in most cases. Usually you need to keep the baby in a column for the first 3-4 months of life. After all, it is during this period that the baby’s digestive tract matures and learns to deal with gasses on their own. Help your child get rid of painful air bubbles, and the baby will sleep peacefully!

Video: how to hold a child in her arms and a column