I remember my baby shower for my first daughter.  I got the cute “safety” kit.  It had a nail trimmers, a nasal aspirator and a medicine dropper.  I felt like I could conquer the world with that kit.  Then my child arrived.  I was afraid to trim her nails lest I hurt her.  That nasal aspirator thing was just gross and the medicine dropper…well…that didn’t even work.

Fifteen years have gone by.  None of my children have lost fingers due to nail trimmers.  Their nostrils are not permanently enlarged due to that nasal aspirator.  I’ve finally learned how to give medication to my children and you know, I don’t even use the medicine dropper.

Some of my children didn’t really mind taking medication.  That was wonderful.  Then I had my son, who HATES medicine.  If I squirt the medicine too far back in his mouth or if I give him too much at a time, he’s been known to throw up just from gagging.  What have I learned?  A whole bunch of things.

There are many different products out there actually designed to help medicate your child.  I’ve seen specially designed bottles and also pacifiers designed to cleverly sneak medicine into your child.  I’d suggest trying these things because they may work for your child.

I found that my son, even at a young age, wasn’t fooled when medicine came out of the pacifier.  He also wasn’t fooled by mixing the medicine with juice in his bottle.  The thing that I didn’t like about these methods: how long can you let the medicine out before it is just not good to ingest anymore?  For example, suppose it takes an hour for your child to drink the medicine/formula mix?  Suppose it takes longer? Suppose your baby goes on a formula strike and refuses to drink the mix? Then what?

I’ve found that it’s best to actually just get through the whole thing as quickly as possible.  I’ve also found that it helps to have someone assist you if you have a child or an infant who really doesn’t like taking medication.

The plastic medicine plungers available at the drug store work great!  Usually pharmacists will give you extras if you ask politely.  I like them better than a medicine dropper.

In order to give medicine to your baby or young child, it’s best to lie them on their back.  Have a spouse or friend gently hold their hands down and talk to the child or try to distract him or her. Gently hold your child’s head (it’s hard to give medicine to a child who is twisting their head back and forth) and put the plunger diagonal into your child’s mouth.

The plunger should be aimed towards the back of the child’s mouth towards their cheek.  Don’t aim too far back or your child will gag and possibly throw the medicine up.  If you aim to far front, it’s easy for the child to just spit out the medicine.  Don’t push all of the medicine into your child at one time.  Gradually squirt in the medicine a little at a time.  This way, if some of the medicine gets spit out, at least your child will have some sort of medicine in their stomach.  If your child gags easily, this will keep him from gagging too.

Another tip: I have found that my son actually takes medicine better now that I have begun to flavor his medicines.  It really does work!

With some practice,  the help of your spouse, and some flavored medicine, you should be able to give medicine to even the most “difficult” of children.  Good luck!

Transitioning your child from bottle or breast to a cup is a milestone. It can be a relatively painless transition, or it can be a long process, depending upon your child.

My older children transitioned effortlessly from breast to a sippy cup around 9 months of age. My son is still not doing well with the transition from bottle to sippy cup and he is 19 months old. I have to admit, it is kind of embarrassing taking him out in public with a bottle, only because he’s big for his age and looks like he’s about 2 ?. I know I shouldn’t care about the comments that people make or the looks I get, but it is irritating at times.

The reality is that there is that all children grow and progress at their own rate. I know this, but I have to remind myself of this fact every so often. My son is himself and he will eventually work his way past the bottle and to the cup. We just need to keep working on it!

Most doctors recommend introducing the sippy cup when you introduce juice to your baby. Instead of putting juice in the bottle, use the cup. I have found that not all cups are created equal. My son appears to strongly dislike the ‘no-spill’ cups. I have no idea why, but maybe the very thing that makes it difficult to spill also makes sipping from the cup funky for him. I haven’t tried to use the cup myself, so I don’t know!

After a lot of trial and error, I found a brand of cup that he actually likes! We are finally making progress on the transition from bottle to cup – although I’m not sure if it’s his age or the cup that has made the difference.

Perhaps your child is also struggling with the transition. My advice is to take it slowly and not stress. Try experimenting with a few different types of cups, and don’t worry about it. I can honestly attest to the fact that eventually, children ‘get it’. I’ve never sent any of my children off to school in diapers or using a bottle!