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Original poster

How do you give your baby calpol?

27 replies

serah · 23/07/2005 09:00

Right.... tried:

spoon (yeah, right)
dormel dummy (yeah, like he's going to suck on THAT!)
syringe (big fight ensues, ending up with three times the required amount of calpol being used, most if not all being spat back out)

My doctor has said, upon trying to look in his ears and mouth that she had not come across a baby who objected so vehemently to being examined.

Maybe I just have an awkward baby... does anyone else? How do I get calpol in him if i need to?

OP posts:
lockets · 23/07/2005 09:04

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Original poster
serah · 23/07/2005 09:24

He's 7 months old...

OP posts:
Lonelymum · 23/07/2005 09:25

Pour out a spoonful. Dip your finger in it and get the baby to suck your finger. Kepp going until all gone. Would that be worth a try?

Bethron · 23/07/2005 09:28

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Original poster
serah · 23/07/2005 09:28

Anything is worth a try!

I have to admit I even considered adding sugar at one point as he didn't have any teeth. Guess what.. he's got a tooth as of last Friday!

OP posts:
vwvic · 23/07/2005 09:29

Are you using ordinary strawberry flavoured Calpol? I ask because dd1 was exactly the same, and just hated the taste of it. Try a different flavour, and see if that makes a diference. From my own experience, Disprol is banana flavour, Superdrugs' own brand is cherry flavour (favourite in our house).

If that fails, my technique involves siting you child on you knee, with a syringe of your choosen medicine, and a stash of some sort of bribery- chocolate drops/satsuma segments/juice/milk etc. The important thing is that it something you child really likes. Then, squirt a tiny tiny amount of medicine into the side of your baby's mouth, followed immediately by a bit of your bribery. The aim is that they want to bit of bribery so much, and there is so little medicine in their mouth, they swallow the two together. It takes ages to do (dd1 once took 30 minutes to take 5ml of calpol!) but it can work.

Sorry if you've already tried doing it this way, I don't mean to sound patronising. It's a PITA when they won't take stuff.

katymac · 23/07/2005 09:31

Cruel but effective

Sit on the floor with legs apart

Put baby with head between your legs

ut a leg over each side on the baby (pinning his arm and leg to the floor)

Tip his head up

Pour in medicine and stroke his throat

Works for me

katymac · 23/07/2005 09:32

vwvic is nicer than me

Original poster
serah · 23/07/2005 09:33

I tried the sneaky syringe technique. Unfortunately, my baby is able to rotate his head almost 180 degrees so I can't see his mouth let alone stick a syringe in half the time! Oooh. Anyone seen the Exorcist??

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 23/07/2005 09:34

Definitely try a differnet flavour. I think Boots version comes in orange.

Original poster
serah · 23/07/2005 09:36

lol Katymac.... may have to try that one, but I will also pay a visit to Superdrug firstmethinks!

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Bethron · 23/07/2005 09:44

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Original poster
serah · 23/07/2005 09:49

Yup, got the teeny tiny one. Bit depressing really - my baby outsmarts me!!

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Bethron · 23/07/2005 10:24

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morningpaper · 23/07/2005 10:32

We had to go for the same approach as KatieMac after trying EVERY product on the market.

DH would pin her down and tip her head up, I would pinch her nose and squirt the syringe at the back of her throat and then close her jaw so she had to swallow.

I would talk her through what we were doing - explain first that she had to have the medicine, which would be followed by a treat, and then ask if she would take it (NO) so explain we would have to pin her down. Then I'd count to three before shoving it in. This would be followed by a Dolly Mixture afterwards.

We had to do this until she was about 18 months - then she figured out it was an easy way of getting a Dolly Misture and co-operated. Now she is 2.5 she is happy to take it without a fuss.

Lonelymum · 23/07/2005 10:36

Funny isn't it? Because all of mine have loved Calpol and Amoxycillin (though not necessarily other medicines) and I have even been known to give a perfectly well child a little smear of Calpol to prevent them screaming becasue someone else was having it to make them better!

YeahBut · 23/07/2005 21:26

Have you tried mixing it in and "hiding" it in another foodstuffs he likes? Strawberry petit filou always worked a treat for us!

MarsLady · 23/07/2005 21:29

we come from the katymac school of thought in the Mars household.

Like the dipping finger thing, except that DT2 likes to chomp down rather hard with his 6 teeth.

Flossam · 23/07/2005 21:39

I found that if I just pretended it wasn't medecine, ie, did not get stressed about giving it, just pretend he is having a between meal snack he happily takes it! Syringes all that bumph created a stressed baby. By giving it to him on his usual 'food' stuff spoon he thinks his luck is in by getting sweet things!

Original poster
serah · 24/07/2005 10:52

Went out to the chemists yesterday - I ended up with some "strawberry flavoured" medised. Gaaaahhh! Yak!! Tried for the alternative flavours, but the only one they had was an orange ibuprofen mix, and as I am sensitive to ibuprofen, didn't think it was a good idea. I'll drag myself into town to have a look at superdrug next week.

I will try petit filous I think Yeahbut. I am currently in badmummy status and social services should be called - I added the medised to his "night night" bottle and it tasted really rather nice and he drank the lot

Unable to bribe him with much as he is 7 months and I have just started weaning him - whilst he likes sweet potato, I wouldn't say he views it as a massive treat!!!

You do realise Katymac, that you have now founded a school of medicine giving, and it will go with you to your grave!!!

OP posts:
alison222 · 24/07/2005 11:12

LOL KatieMac.
I found it used to come back out too, but used to give it to them lying down, als pinned down and squirt into side of mouth, If you put the syringe straight in it can hit the back of the throat and make them gag so that's why they spit it out.
Good luck.

Original poster
serah · 24/07/2005 11:13

By the way lonelymum... I used to love Benylin (in the good old days when it contained alcohol, and no doubt a smidge of crack cocaine). So much so, my darling brother offered me the whole bottle, spoon by spoon, through the bars of my cot, after climbing up to the high spot where my mum left it

OP posts:
ernest · 25/07/2005 09:12

we always give our infant paracetomol suppositories. Takes a second & don't have the trauma of choking them. when they're older we give calpol, then have the opposite problem cos they love it so much.
I think in UK you might only be able to get suppositories on prescription for babies unfer 1 year, but def miles easier.

Original poster
serah · 25/07/2005 11:02

Never even thought of looking into that one Ernest! I think the paracetomol works much quicker being absorped throught the bowel too, doesn't it?

OP posts:
starlover · 25/07/2005 11:07

serah we had the same problem giving ds antibiotics

i eventually found that it worked with the dummy dispenser thingy while he was asleep!