If your baby seems gassy, squirmy and hard to settle in the evening, you're in good company. Young babies are often at their fussiest in the late afternoon and evening, and wind is one of several reasons, alongside tiredness, cluster feeding and colic. You can reduce swallowed air with how you feed and burp, and help trapped wind along with tummy massage and leg movements while your baby is awake. When it's time to sleep, your baby still goes down flat on their back. A few tummy signs, such as green vomit or a swollen, hard tummy, are never just wind.
Why does my baby seem gassier at night?
The evening is a common time for fussing in the early months. The AAP's colic advice says fussy periods tend to happen between 6pm and midnight, and that crying spells often get worse in the early evening. The NHS colic page says colicky babies may cry more in the afternoon and evening, and lists a very gassy tummy among the signs.
Wind may not be the whole story, though:
- Cluster feeding. The Australian Breastfeeding Association (Australian Breastfeeding Association) says feeds often bunch together in the evening or early morning in the first few months, and that babies tired after a busy day may be more unsettled and need extra comfort.
- Crying and swallowing air. The AAP says babies fuss when they swallow air during feeds, and fussing can mean they swallow more.
- Colic. No one knows exactly why some babies cry so much. The AAP says there's no definite explanation for colic, and the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne's guideline says the word "colic" wrongly implies a tummy cause.
So if your baby passes wind and still cries, it doesn't mean you've missed a trick. Colic and PURPLE crying covers coping with long crying spells.
How can I tell if my baby has trapped wind?
The NHS guide to burping lists these signs of trapped wind:
- crying
- arching the back
- drawing the legs up towards the tummy
- clenched fists
Many babies also squirm, grunt or go red in the face while passing wind or a poop, then settle. What matters more than the wind itself is how your baby is otherwise: feeding, weight gain, wet diapers and whether they settle in between. A baby who is unwell, refusing feeds or vomiting needs a different response (see below).
How should I burp my baby during night feeds?
Burping and wind has step-by-step positions and timings. In short:
- The AAP's burping guide suggests burping bottle-fed babies every 60–90 mL (2–3 oz) and breastfed babies when they switch breasts, and notes that some breastfed babies swallow very little air.
- The NHS says there's no fixed rule: pause if your baby seems uncomfortable, or wait until the end if they seem fine, and a couple of minutes should be enough.
- Many parents find over the shoulder the easiest position at night, because it keeps your baby upright and calm in a dim room.
At night, keep it short and quiet. The AAP says no baby burps every time. If your baby is settled, a minute or two upright on your shoulder is enough, and the AAP suggests keeping them upright for 10 to 15 minutes after a feed if they tend to spit up. Then lay them on their back in their own crib.
Can feeding position or paced bottle feeding reduce wind?
Bottle feeding
The NHS bottle feeding advice says to:
- Hold your baby semi-upright, with their head supported.
- Keep the bottle horizontal, just slightly tipped, which helps the milk flow steadily and reduces the air they take in.
- Let your baby take breaks and give them plenty of time.
- Never force them to finish the bottle.
Paced bottle feeding builds on this. The Australian Breastfeeding Association's paced feeding guide describes holding your baby upright, using a slow-flow nipple, letting them draw the nipple in, keeping the bottle mostly horizontal and pausing every few minutes, which it says makes feeds gentler and more comfortable. Paced bottle feeding explains how.
Breastfeeding
A good latch helps your baby feed efficiently; see latch and positioning. If you have a fast flow, the Australian Breastfeeding Association's oversupply page says some babies swallow more air and can seem gassy or uncomfortable, and suggests pausing for a burp during or after feeds or holding your baby upright. Its fast-flow page suggests feeding in a laid-back position, or expressing a little milk until the let-down eases before latching your baby. The Australian Breastfeeding Association also describes lactose overload, with frequent green, frothy or explosive poops and wind, though it says this is unlikely to be a concern in a baby who is mostly settled and feeding well. La Leche League or a lactation consultant (IBCLC) can talk it through.
Before feeds
Feeding your baby when they're calm, before they're very hungry and crying, may help too. The AAP suggests this to make hiccups less likely, and its burping guide notes that a baby who fusses during a feed swallows more air.
Do tummy massage and leg movements help?
They're worth trying while your baby is awake and calm. If your baby is still uncomfortable after burping, the NHS suggests:
- Lay your baby on their back.
- Gently massage their tummy.
- Move their legs back and forth as if they're pedalling a bicycle.
The AAP also suggests baby massage strokes for colic, and laying your baby tummy-down across your knees while you gently rub their back. That tummy-down hold is for awake, supervised time only. Baby massage has strokes to try and tips on when your baby is most receptive.
Is it safe to let my baby sleep on their tummy to help with wind?
No. Whatever the wind, reflux or spit-up, put your baby down to sleep on their back.
- The AAP's safe sleep guide says to place babies on their back for all naps and at night, that the side position is just as dangerous as the stomach position, and that babies will not choke on their backs.
- The NHS reflux page says babies with reflux should sleep flat on their back, not on their side or front, and that you shouldn't raise the head of the crib or Moses basket.
- The AAP says that if your baby falls asleep tummy-down on you, move them to their crib on their back.
Keep the crib clear of rolled towels, wedges and positioners too. See safe sleep.
Do gripe water, gas drops or probiotics help?
The evidence is weak, so check with your doctor or pharmacist before giving your baby anything, and don't give any remedy in place of a feed.
- The NHS says anti-colic drops, herbal supplements and probiotic supplements aren't recommended because there's no evidence they help colic.
- RCH Melbourne's guideline calls simethicone (the active ingredient in many wind drops) and gripe water or other herbal colic mixtures "not effective, possibly harmful".
- RCH describes emerging evidence for one probiotic strain in exclusively breastfed babies under 3 months, but the NHS still doesn't recommend probiotics for colic.
Colic remedies goes through the evidence for each one.
What's worth noting down?
A few days of notes can show whether evening fussing follows a pattern: feed times and length, how your baby fed (fast, gulping, pulling off), burps, poops, crying times and what helped. This helps your doctor, pediatrician or La Leche League or a lactation consultant (IBCLC) tell wind, a fast flow, colic and illness apart.
When to get help
Sydney Children's Hospitals Network says green or yellow vomit is usually a sign of a twisted or blocked bowel, a medical emergency, and that babies can look well while the bowel is being damaged. The NHS list of urgent signs includes a weak, high-pitched or continuous cry, and a temperature of 39°C (102.2°F) or higher at 3 to 6 months. Also call 911 for red, black or brown vomit, or a swollen tummy or blood in the poop in a baby who is pale, floppy or very unwell.
Get medical help today (same-day doctor, after-hours doctor or your pediatrician's after-hours nurse line) if your baby:
- has a swollen, hard or tender tummy
- has blood in their poop
- is projectile vomiting, or keeps vomiting and can't keep feeds down
- is refusing feeds or feeding much less than usual, or has fewer wet diapers
- won't stop crying and is very distressed
Most of these are on the NHS reflux page's urgent list.
Talk to your doctor or pediatrician if evening crying and wind are wearing you down, your baby isn't gaining weight as expected, or symptoms carry on after 4 months, as the NHS suggests. If you're finding it hard to cope, put your baby down safely on their back in their crib and take a few minutes. your pediatrician's office can help. If you ever feel you might harm yourself or your baby, call 988 (call or text) or 911 now.
