Anyone else have a baby who just will not take medication?

[23mum]

I have tried every trick in the book. Syringe in the cheek, she just cries and gargles it all in the back of her mouth until I give up and she spits it out. Put it in food, she won't eat her food. Feed her food without medication and then put the medication in her food when she's not looking, she won't realises I've deceived her and then pandemonium commences. She is too smart for me. I give up

She realises*

I had it with ds. He had so many antibiotics that he was an expert in refusal. What I ended up doing was:

Bring him into me in big hug.
Hold his chin up (for some reason he could swallow but not spit out from this position)
Put syringe in and empty it into his mouth.
Put chocolate button in afterwards.
Let go once swallowed.

I feel like she would just throw herself about and make it impossible for me. She's only 9 months but she can throw a wicked tantrum. Hopefully when she's old enough to bribe with chocolate buttons that will be problem solved!

Have had similar issues and found putting a tiny bit of jam/syrup/honey within helped then sucking it up with the syringe once mixed.

with it*

My youngest has been like this since she was born, she's 4 now. She does sometimes agree to take it and is getting better. She once refused part of a course of antibiotics and there was literally no way of getting it into her. She ended up in hospital and had to have surgery as a result. The most successful things I have found is dolly doing it (as she got older) but it's hit and miss. Also, I'd put some squash in another syringe and she could do mine. As a baby I used to lie her down and hold her nose - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Horrible though.

I feel like the syringe is a lost cause for me now - as soon as she sees it she knows what's up.

Yes I'm not a fan of holding her nose/ holding her still etc although I have tried it. She just gets herself into such a state and will either wait for me to give up before she spits it out or ends up choking (I suspect rather exaggeratedly) but still

@MaverickSnoopy That's awful about your daughter having to have surgery because of it, that's exactly what I'm worried about. Incase one day she really needs it and won't take it

'I feel like the syringe is a lost cause for me now - as soon as she sees it she knows what's up'

Have you tried putting it in alittle flavoured milk, or is she too young?

Sorry op just seen she is only 9 months!

My son is like a bird soon as he sees the syringe he opens his gob 🤣 always been good with his meds.

@Holdmycoat suppose I could try in a bottle though? She does take a bottle

@Emmamoo89 not jealous at all :)

Exactly the same boat here and my little boy is 9 months old too - it goes in a bottle here! I know it's not recommended because you don't know what the dose if they got but I would never then give more before the next dose was due. It works for us. I have found that orange ibuprofen is slightly more palatable for him, but if he doesn't want to take it there is murder! Occasionally I dispense the 2.5ml onto a spoon SUPER slowly must be 10/15 teeny spoons of it but if he is in a better temperament then that works.

Yes I have a medicine refuser. Although last course of antibiotics I managed to hide in a thick milkshake and she would drink it through a straw.

If it's something they actually need, as opposed to a bit of calpol for teething say, then I'm afraid it was the hold down method in out house, however brutal it might seem. The consequences of not taking it are worse.

My little one was like this up until a few months ago. Out of hours nurse had to pin her down to take it, all very distressed. But now she is so adamant she doesn't want to see that nurse ever again she takes medicine in tiny 1ml amounts.... I feel your pain.

I used to mix it into a petite filous out of sight. Is this one she’s already sussed out?

So glad to hear I'm not the only one, thought I must've been doing something wrong!

Haven't tried in the bottle or in a petite filous yet so those will be my next tricks I think

When you feel guilty about forcing it, think of the consequences of not taking it.

When I was was 3yo I had pneumonia. I believe I was pretty bad by the time I was taken to hospital. I remember sitting on the bed with my arms folded refusing to open my mouth. They then turned me over and injected me. I can remember feeling that was definitely cheating.

But I wasn't going to let them do that again so after that i took it without a fuss, which was ultimately helpful.

Although I also have a memory of a couple of days later in the hospital the nurse appearing with the medicine, and taking it like a good girl, then vomiting all over the nurse. I sat there looking at her, absolutely covered and thinking, "well, you did make me take it. You have to clear it up. Your fault." 🤣

Neither memory feels particularly traumatic.

I also remember feeding the boy in the next cot biscuits because he said he was hungry. Unfortunately he had a sign on the cot "nil by mouth" which naturally I couldn't read. He had to have his operation postponed for 24 hours. When the (rather despairing nurse) had departed, I climbed on his cot and we both thought this was really funny. We also decided that the nurse was just being mean saying he couldn't eat.

I just stick the bottle teat on the end of the syringe. Works great

@MargaretThursday aww those are lovely memories lol!

I have tried forcing it/ shutting her mouth/ my mums tried holding her down. She just cries and wriggles and gargles it in the back of her mouth until she ends up coughing or just dribbling it out when I'm done. What's funny is as soon as I give up, she's happy as Larry again. She knows exactly what she's doing

@HS1990 ahh... interesting..

I was really poorly once as a small child and wouldn’t take any medication. My mum told the doctor this and he tutted at her and said just tip her upside down. Apparently it worked. Never had to try it myself but if you’ve tried everything else I thought it might be worth a shot.

DS was like this as a baby and people don't understand that you can't force them if they do what your baby is doing. DS would hold it in his mouth for as long as it took to be able to spit/dribble it out. He was admitted to high dependency with pneumonia as a baby and the most experienced nurse there said she'd crack it. She couldn't. He had to have iv antibiotics.

He grew out of it as a toddler and took meds no issue. By 8, he would take tablets.

Blowing in the face!!!

I'm afraid I held him down. Squeeze in cheek and immediately blow into his face. The shock makes them swallow. Hideous but it works. He grew out of it by 3!

@Ahwig Eh??!

@ShowOfHands That's so scary, glad he's ok now. But yesss it frustrates me when people say "oh just do this it worked for my baby" because if they saw my baby having a complete full body meltdown after just catching a whiff of some medicine they would understand it's not that easy