My 5 wk old baby keeps getting hiccups after feeding - we're going in circles - help!

[thegreenfairy]

I am BF my 5 week old baby and she is putting on a good amount of weight.

However, she has an increasing tendency to posset quite a lot when I am changing her nappy, even with a pillow under her head and then gets hiccups really badly, which upsets her after a few minutes - left alone they can go on for half an hour, by which time she is losing the plot.

The only thing which seems to end the hiccups is letting her suckle - she won't take a dummy when she's got them.

So she takes in more milk, eventually needs a change, and then we're back to square one.
And by the time she's 'topped up' it's almost time for her next feed, so she doesn't sleep, then gets overtired, and crotchety by the end of the day.

Anyone got any hiccup cure suggestions? I sometimes wait half an hour after a feed before changing her and it still happens - I'm at my wits end!

My dd gets hiccups pretty frequently as well (and she's 4 months now!) so I can sympathise. One thing that works for her is to pat her in the middle of her back holding her over the shoulder.
Hope that helps!

I'm now on my 3rd, a 4 week old dd who also hiccups a lot. Not sure if this is your first, but over the last 2 I have become a lot more relaxed about changing them...with the first I would change immediately, now I frquently don't (!) Does she get hiccups if you don't change her? Can you try the burping position with her arms flung over your shoulder and legs fully outstretched?

My DS3 hiccupped a lot as well, thankfully did not seem to get too distressed. It usually happened after burp/posset after feed and is to do with immaturity of nerve supplying diaphragm. It does settle with time , not that that is much help right now .
Try walking about house with DD in what we call "young lion" position on your arm: on her tummy with her head at the crook of your elbow, legs dangling (also good colic position..). This may bring on another burp and hopefully stop hiccups. Even if it doesn't, it is a position most babies like and find calming.
Good luck!
PS: DS3 now 15 weeks and I cannot remember the last time he hiccupped.

Hi Violeta,
I have a suggestion but I don't know whether u guys would believe that or not.
When you find out that your baby is getting hiccups just cut a small piece of thread which is about 6-7 inches and rub your saliva on that thread and put that on your babies head, trust me the hiccups will stop right away, I'm sure that this might sound very funny to you but again there is no harm in trying it out isint it?
You can actually try this out with adults also it works with adults too.
This is what when my mom used to do when I was a kid and i have been following the same since then, it worked on my children as well as my grand children.

!!!

I had lots of hiccupping withmy dd - disappeared when she was 3 or 4 months, same as mummyfor3. Gripe water seemed to help...