How do I get my 9m old baby to take calpol?

[IDontDrinkTea]

Please help. My dd is ill, has a temperature and won’t stop crying but I can’t get her to take any calpol. She’s normally exclusively breastfed, has always refused bottles and for the past four days has had croup / a heavy cold / vomiting.

So far I have tried: giving it in a syringe, giving it on a spoon, mixing with yoghurt, mixing with fruit purée, putting on top of her morning weetabix, dipping a dummy in it, dipping pom bears (her favourites) in it, dipping my finger in it, mixing with squash and putting it in her little cup she drinks water from, squirting it in her mouth and trying to just holding her mouth shut til she swallows and all sorts of other things.

None of them have worked. She will not let you anywhere near her mouth. If you manage to get it in her mouth she spits it out. If you hold her mouth shut so she can’t spit it out, she’ll get so distressed she ends up being sick.

So does anyone have any advice for getting calpol into her?! Her temperature is getting higher and higher

You’ve got to get the syringe so far in that it goes straight down the throat. Or is that cats?

Paracetamol suppositories!!!! They are they only thing we use with our breastfed baby. Call the pharmacies first as not all keep in stock

I feed my baby in rugby ball. Put medicine in her mouth and then quick put my nipple in. Often some is spat out but most is swallowed.

Wrap her in a blanket, swaddle style. Put her on Your lap, tucked in the crook of your arm. If the swaddle doesn’t work, you can tuck the arm nearest to you down the side of your body, and use the arm she’s tucked into to hold down the other arm. Tip her back a bit, and syringe a tiny bit of calpol into the inside of her cheek, then using the hand that’s holding the syringe, stroke her throat upwards to the chin to encourage the swallow reflex. Repeat until the whole dose is given.

I used a really small syringe (1ml) and forced a tiny bit in at a time (almost too small an amount to soit our) the doctor at hospital recommended this as he said babies often spit out or sick it up when it's too much at once. You'll likely have to pin her down and force it in though (aim for her cheek so she tasted it less)

Good luck

This ^ Yes!! Suppositories! We had them for my DD who was a nightmare and used to spit it all out. They’re very common in Europe. Can also get suppository neurofen on the Irish pharmacy site online delivered to your home. We had to have GP prescribe the calpol ones but she didn’t bat an eyelid at the suggestion. They also work lots quicker. My friend whose LO has febrile seizures with high temps has used them super successfully too

You need a strong enough flavour to disguise it, so mix it into chocolate yoghurt or ice cream.

In strawberry yoghurt always seemed to work for me when everything else failed. I know she's only 9 months but don't let her see you put it in! But I see the yoghurt trick hasn't worked for you so I guess the only other option is the suppositories? Have you tried ibuprofen instead in case she prefers the taste of it??

Does she eat yoghurt? Mix it in that.
Or the squirt into the cheek method.

When you squirt the syringe, push it to the side of the cheeks- it makes it harder to spit out

Secondly, if you blow on their face, it makes baby's swallow. (She probably won't like it, sand will scream, but it makes them swallow what's in their mouth)

Inevitably some will be spat out, so keep area trowel under the chin to save getting sticky clothes

Use the calpal that contains sugar, I presume you can still buy it, it was the only one my children would tolerate. I just feel when a child is unwell I would rather they take the medication then worry about the sugar content. It wasn't very often I used it anyway.

Use suppositories. There is no point distressing her when she hates it at much and there is another option. When she's older you'll be able to bribe and reason but she's too little yet.

Yip, suppositories.

Yup. Squirt into cheek then blow sharply in her face and she’ll swallow. Very quick and then she can start feeling better!

Another vote for suppositories. So much easier!