Our Little Big Burper
October 1st, 2011 by nanay
In the middle of feeding a preemie a bottle of milk, one is supposed to pause the feed to burp the preemie. I think the rationale is to get out any air that he/she swallowed to make room for more milk and to make him/her more comfortable for the rest of the feeding. Â Also, it gives preemies a small break from feeding, which is actually a vigorous activity for them. Â At the end of feeds, we sometimes find Ben panting, as if he just had a workout.
I may be reading too much into this, but I think Ben relaxes when he’s being burped.  When I sit him up, his shoulders seem to slouch and he closes his eyes, getting into a zen moment (though he may just have no control over this, which is more likely).  Or maybe he’s just gearing up for the big ones he knows are coming.  Nurses have told us that he burps before his back is even patted and one nurse has gone as far as saying, “My God, he burps like a truck driver.” Burping, I guess, is one of Ben’s talents.
