My baby swallows too much air while nursing—how can I reduce it?

Swallowing air during nursing is quite common in 1-month-old babies. To reduce it, you can pay attention to these tips:

• Position: When nursing your baby, make sure their head is higher than their body. Keeping them in an almost upright position reduces air entering the stomach.
• Latch: Your baby's mouth should cover most of the areola (the dark part), not just the nipple. Make sure their lower lip is turned outward.
• Taking breaks: Try taking short breaks every 5-10 minutes from nursing to burp your baby while holding them upright. If they don't burp at first, try again a few minutes later.
• Your diet: Certain foods like cow's milk, cabbage, broccoli, and onions can pass into breast milk and cause gas or fussiness in your baby. If you suspect a particular food, try eliminating it from your diet for 1-2 weeks and observe the difference.
• Flow rate: If milk comes too quickly, your baby may not be able to swallow and might swallow air. If it's coming too fast, try expressing some milk first before nursing.

When to see a doctor: If squeaking during nursing gets worse, your baby can't gain weight, fussiness increases, or you notice blood, mucus in stools, talk to your pediatrician. But if your baby is doing generally well, this is usually a temporary phase.