hiccups after every feeding?

So what's the deal with hiccups? Benjamin gets them after every single feeding and has to be swaddled super tight and snuggled super tight to get rid of them. What causes them? I don't think it's a burping issue because he is a champion burper and we burp several times throughout the feeding. Ella gets them occasionally but not nearly as often as Ben does.

Any ideas/suggestions?

 

Hiccups are just a spasm of the diaphragm. It may be that when his stomach gets full it triggers a nerve causing the hiccups. Babies aren't nearly as irritated by hiccups as we are so I wouldn't worry about it at all. No ideas to prevent them though, sorry!

 

Mine had hiccups all. The. Time. when they were newborns, too. I always chalked it up to them remembering to breathe plus mastering eating. Eventually after 2 weeks or so, it lessened.

Good luck!

 

I remember when I was at the pedi's with the boys for their checkup. One of them must have had the hiccups. The pedi said to me, "They bother the parents more than they bother the baby." So I wouldn't worry about it! More of a nuisance to us as parents than anything!

 

thanks ladies. I just feel so bad for him when he starts up with them. Poor guy.

 

I've been told that they actually aid in digestion. That being said, gripe water helps stop them, among other things.

 

Hiccups have always been a sign that my babies are tired. The same was true with my oldest DD. As soon as they get the hiccups, we put them down and they go right to sleep!

 

what's gripe water?

 

It's an herbal supplement containing ginger and fennel. It's used to treat colic, hiccups, gas, and other GI discomfort. They sell several brands at Whole Foods. My girls love it and I know a lot of people who use it and they also have great results.

 

my girls were like that also...pedi said its totally normal and doesnt bother them.. pretty much faded once they got a little older...never used gripe water but i bought a bottle just incase at my local CVS

 

As a pp mentioned ... tired or over stimulated. Often people dont' realize at such a young age that they can't go more than an hour away. So feeding, diapering, really an hour is all used up. Everyone wants to talk to them and look at them when they are so young. The swaddling sets them up for nap time and relaxes them. Yeah, but no pain for the baby.

Heather

 

My boys (4 months now) have hiccups every day several times a day. my pedi recommended i use Colic Calm (a brand of gripe water) and neither twin has ever been colic. he said among other things that it gets rid of the hiccups almost immediately. it has worked every time i give it to them immediately just like he said, but it can get expensive so i only use it for the 'painful' hiccups that seem to upset them and make them cry. they both LOVE the taste of it. it also helps when they are gassey and i am unable to burp or massage the gas out, the stuff is miricle stuff...every new parent should be given some to go home with, lol. it's all natural too :0) i have been told that it will also help when they start teething...?

 

I agree that it bothers us a whole lot more than it seems to bother them. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless the hiccups cause them to spit up, then I might try the gripe water.

 

it seemed like my boys were constantly hiccuping. in our case it was just one of several indicators that they had a reflux issue. not all hiccups point to reflux, but if you've had other signs like sleeping with head tipped back and extreme fussiness it could be something to check into.

when they were in NICU the nurse staff told us it can also be a reaction to stress and overstimulation. as PP mentioned, they said "it bothers the parents more than it bothers the babies."

when jacob was released from NICU we ended up calling the hospital less than 2 hours after we got home because we were concerned that he was hiccuping too much. they told us to relax, and sure enough they went away on their own and he didn't seem to care either way.

 

We knew that our girl had reflux issues because she fusses and makes those awful faces and squirms a lot. Those were the first indicators that older DS had reflux when he was born. But our little boy does fuss a lot and sleep with his head back. It may be something worth checking into.