Hi Fern
Dunt be so worried. Last time, I also think that holding bb like the way you do now is too tough for bb. My husband burp my gal over the shoulder and i was the one always hold my gal' head, afraid it hurts her. hehehehe. But now not anymore. BB can tahan more than we think.
Its true, sometimes, bb can burp himself... but very rare. The best is to burp bb after each feed to prevent spit up. If he doesnt burp after 1 hour like you say, just leave him alone lah. ;o). We only try to burp our girl for 15 mins, then will put her down for either sleeping or playing. If any sound of discomfort (crying), we will pick bb up, and thats the time she just make a big burp sound. and sometimes, even we already burped her, we put her down, she still cry.. We pick her up again, then another burp...