My daughter is five months old. It's her first time being pretty sick with an upper respirator infection and ear infection. I have to give her 3.5 ml of antibiotic and .5 ml of decongestant and .8 ml of tylenol twice a day. She is breastfed and does not like swallowing this bubblegum flavored medication, especially the antibiotic. I've tried blowing in her face, but she saves it up in the back of her mouth and spits it out. This morning it took me 25 minutes to see that she got most of her medication. Anyone have any advice on how to make this an easier process? Thanks for any help!
Thanks for all of the responses. I tried things tonight while giving meds, and squeezing her cheeks seemed to help, because she couldn't close her lips to spit it out completely. It's still a horrid process, but it went a little quicker. She doesn't take a bottle, she just spits it out. Nor a pacifier, she sucks her thumb, so pacifiers and bottles just don't work with this girl. She is mighty opinionated, even at this age.
My daughter doesn't like the bubble gum flavor. Her favorite is grape. I would see if you could get another prescription and ask the pharmacy to add the grape flavor. What we do for these kids!!!! lol
I use a syringe and SLOWLY squirt it between the inside of the cheek and the teeth. It will go toward the back of her mouth around her tongue and reduce her ability to spit it out. Don't squirt a lot in there at once or you'll risk choking her.
Hey, I know you've got tons of responses, but my 1 yr. old has an ear infection, and I FINALLY found something that works! CHANGE FLAVORS!!!
Serioulsy, what you described is exactly how giving her meds is, but this time (at walgreens) they gave me a sheet of like 30 flavors to choose from. I chose banana, which sounds nasty, but she is taking it, and when she is done she wants to suck on the doser, so I'll take it! Hope that helps.
I found the droppers are much easier than the medicine spoons & put it in her cheek as far back as you can. Good luck! I totally sympathize.
I found the trick was to go to the side of their mouth and squeeze it back that way. If it is in front they can push it out more. My younger one had a double ear infection when she was just a month old so I can understand. That's how I was able to get it in.
my son is the same way, I found putting it in a 1oz bottle of breast milk got it down!
My daughter is 5 1/2 months old. We have been giving her medicine off and on since she was 3 months old. Some things that have worked:
-shooting it down the back of her throat with a dropper
-putting it in a bottle with formula or breast milk
-putting it in a medicine dispenser with a nipple, you can find these at WalMart, a pharmacy or Babies R Us.
Good Luck!
I know you said you breastfeed but does she ever take a bottle?
i would put my childrens medicine in the bottle and give it to them that way.
you might try pumping and mixing in the medicine in a bottle for her. will she take a bottle?
Does she ever take a bottle? If so, put the correct dosage in a bottle and let her suck it out through the nipple. You can also add a little formula or breastmilk to make sure the entire dosage is consumed.
Hope this helps!
My daughter was also breastfed and my pediatrician advised me to put her meds in nipple for a bottle and she would'nt mind. I just held her close to me as if she were being fed. It worked every time. Hope this helps :)
I always put the medicine syringe in the corner of my sons mouth towards the back... they usually can't spit it up because it goes right down the back of their throat. They can't really use their tonue to try and spit it out either. Goodluck!!
I would advise doing some research on the effect of over the counter meds and ESPECIALLY antibiotics. My daughter (nine months) has had one "cold" and it was gone in a two days with just the help of Lavendar and Peppermint Essential Oil (cupping a few drops in my hands and letting her breath it in) She also isnt vaccinated making her less susceptible to colds, ear infections, etc. (Vaccinations make an infants immune system break down causing them to become sick more often.) I wouldn't give my infant OTC meds, so I cant help you out with your actual question, sorry.
M.,
You most definitely need to ask your pediatrician first but I am quite certain that you can mix each with a little bit of breast milk in a bottle and give it to your daughter. You may even be able to mix all three together and give it to her at once but I would ask your PED. I also breast feed but my little one took droppers just fine. You just have to make sure that you put it to the back of the throat and let a little out at a time, not all at once.
hope this helps,
S.
The best way is to squeeze the meds into the cheeks at the back of the mouth. They are unable to use their tongue to spit it out that way. I have found that for my kids who hated the meds. Doing it then giving them their pacifier right after they would suck on it and I knew the med went down. If all else fails. Give it at feeding time with the same concept.
M., I assume you are giving it to her thru a syringe? I had the same issue w/ my son. I still do if it's liquid and he's 5 yo now. I had to place the syringe in the mouth, inside one of his cheeks where the meds were pointed toward the back wall of the cheek/throat and release the meds there. He would spit and sputter and cry but he'd take it. Good luck, I'm sure many others have already given you great tips too!
Hi M.,
I have luck when I put my son in his bouncy or on the changing table and then put the syringe in his mouth and against his cheek and give him a little at a time. Good luck!!
K.
I don't know if this will help or not but if she takes a pacifier they sell these pacifiers with a medicine attachment, just put the medicine in there and let her suck on the pacifier, I picked mine up at Wal-Mart, but my kids never took pacifiers so I never got to use it.
My son has had to take lots of meds being a preemie...his nurse recently told me to put the dropper as far back in his mouth as possible without gagging him, of course! and then squeeze his cheeks in and out, like you are pinching his face on each cheek, it supposedly gives them a chewing motion that makes them swallow
it may sound cruel and it may worry u but i have been told to get the meds as close to the back of the mouth as possible so they have no choice but to swallow.
Hi M.,
My daughter sounds exactly the same as yours when she was her age. What works for us is orange juice. I dilute her antibiotics with orange juice and let her suck it with a straw. Yours may be a little too young for the straw, but you can dilute the meds with OJ and while you are breastfeeding, insert the dropper of diluted meds & OJ in the side of her cheek and administer the meds this way. Hope this works for you and hope your little one feels better soon.
when my daughter was that age, i use to give her meds mixed in with her milk or some water.very little milk or water but enough to drown out some of the taste of the meds. also put it in her oatmeal...
Hi M.! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this at such a young age. Mine is 16 months old and we're just now having her first bout of infection. She's doing okay now though...just alot of rest and fluids. I don't have great advice on how to administer the medicine. Maybe one of those pacifiers that they just suck the medicine out. It seems like she might not take it though. I also want to encourage you to have her checked by a chiropractor. I know it seems strange, but children see chiropractors all the time. My husband and I are both chiropractors and we see kids get well all the time in our office. If you'd like to read more about it our website is www.familyfirsthealthcenter.com
We also have some very good links for pediatrics. Please email me personally if you'd like more information.
God Bless
J.
i have a little one that also hates to take his meds when he is sick so when he was an infant i found a medpacifer you suspense the meds into the pacifer and they simply suck it out -does your baby usually use a pacifer?? that's what i use to do so good luck J.
My son used to do the same thing even if i put it toward his cheek and far back, so what i started doing was putting a pea size amount dropped onto a baby spoon and gave it to him that way, not alot for him to really know what it is and he took it that way, took a little longer to give it to him but atleast he got his medicine. I would put the about into the dropper and just drop alittle bit onto the spoon at a time and it worked like a charm.
Good Luck, Hope that helps
G.
