virus in the household!
the past couple of days have been pretty tough. i have a sick kid on my hands and he has been feeling so uncomfortable that sleep is a pain. he caught a virus from his cousins and has been whining/crying in his sleep, struggling with block nose. despite seeing the doc on sat, his nose is still dripping with mucus. every time i think he seems to be on the mend, the dripping starts all over again. there is also throat inflammation and cough and i am totally freaked out because i also have a month old baby in the house. its a really bad time since the husb is away on reservist and i am falling sick myself from fatigue and sleep deprivation. my throat hurts big time so its been madness on the home front.
here’s the sick kid. its really not easy caring for a sick bub. while i have been a little fortunate in the sense that he is still active and still runs about and not whiny all day long. he runs especially fast when i arm myself with a tissue and wants to wipe off his mucus! in the pic above, i had to chase him out of the house to the corridors before i manage to wipe him down. but, having him take any medication is a real nightmare.
i dont know why, but kids hate medication even though they are all sweet syrups!
how do i do it then?
method 1 – force it down.
it took 3 adults – my mom, the husb and me over the weekend to pin the kid down and force the medication into his mouth only to be spitted out. it used to work when jerry is much younger, now.. fat hope. the result is a highly distressed kid, 3 angry adults and a whole lot of mess and stickiness all over – hands, floor, clothes, sofa and everyone ended up with a bath due to the struggling and mess.
method 2 – mix it into his milk.
this doesnt quite work if you have a picky eater on hand or someone who is able to detect the difference in the milk. jerry is one of those and refuses his milk after that. its frustrating because the milk and medication is wasted (milk powder is so expensive!). on top of that, the kid would refuse future milk feeds because he knows there’s something in there.
method 3 – treat him as an adult and feed using a spoon.
i had some degree of success with this. he takes the first 2 mouthful and then rejects everything thereafter. i had to feed him 4 types of medication so this doesnt quite work.
method 4 – pretend play and feed.
this works, but its an equally messy affair. jerry takes a keen interest in the syringes and how they work so he eagerly want to squeeze them out onto the spoon and feed himself with the syrup. i like this method the best because it teaches himself to self feed, familiarize himself with the medication and is taking them willingly which helps to pave the right mentality when he has to take medication in the future. the downside? he doesnt squirt the medication accurately into the spoon and ends up all over his clothes and it also takes a much longer time to get the deed done. he also doesnt like squirting the medication directly into his mouth which could potentially save me a lot of mess.
if only i could nebulize him every single time he needs to take medication, life would be a lot easier. my jerry loves the mask and the gas but i guess there are also a lot of other kids that freaks out big time at the same thing.
so, parents out there.. how do you feed medication to your kids? do you do what i do too or do you have a better suggestion? do share and thanks in advance!
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Cherie
Hi there! Thanks for popping by. I'm Cherie, a ftwm (full-time working mum) to 3 lovely kids (2 boys & a princess) and my motto in life is to BE HAPPY. Sure, life isn't all that smooth but it's the mentality that counts, no? This blog documents my life. Or rather, snippets of my life that has passed me by. I love capturing life memories in the blog and being able to read back and laugh at myself (or anyone). I love to eat (A LOT), travel and paint my own nails so the blog is mostly about that. Is that considered lifestyle? Of cos, the family is also very much an integral part of me so there would be loads of memories about the husband and my kids - Jerry (9yo), Jerome (7yo) and Leia (2.5yo) and everyone else that's close to me. I like documenting the kids' milestones, their growing up years, their achievements (and sometimes, mine), and my struggles and battles with motherhood. It sure ain't easy. I love seeking out good food and travelling, is trigger-happy, love new gadgets, love exploring new places and strives to live life to the fullest. I aspire to travel the world as much as I can, to soak in the different sights across the various continents and visit all the Disneylands in the world (almost there!). Have fun reading and do drop me a comment to say hi! Love, Cherie Lim Find me on Instagram.
9 Comments
Anonymous
re: Feeding medication
When you used the syringe, you have to shoot it sideway down his throat instead of the center. The liquid will flow in nicely into his throat and avoid any choking. When using this method, of course you have to hold him down 45deg or 90. If not use reward system. Offer him a biscuit or a pinch of white sugar after the medication. If not let him feed you with your “made up”medication first and then your turn to feed him. Good luck either of it.
cherieladieblogs
Re: Feeding medication
The sideways syringe method doesnt work for jerry. he refuses to swallow and just holds it in his mouth. then when he gets to sit upright, he spits everything out. argh.
the sweet treat method doesnt work either. he rather do without the sweets/treats and go about his own business. my son is rather stubborn in that sense!
Anonymous
Re: Feeding medication
U could try pinching his nose when he was still being pinned down so when he can’t breath for that moment, he will swallow the medication..somehow it works. ;p Torturing I know, but whatever we do, its for the good of them.
Anonymous
Try to entice him with a candy. One mouth of medicine, one suck of candy. Keep the candy away in the fridge till the next round.
cherieladieblogs
hi there, i tried this before about 6 months back, worked for a while and then he decided he doesn’t want the sweet anymore! other sweet treats also don’t quite work.
olimomok
I used a syringe to force meds down Ryan’s throat too. He hates the taste and will make himself throw up so we try to do it very quickly – shoot it deep into his mouth and feed him water right away. It works somehow! Sigh so torturous to feed :\
cherieladieblogs
feeding water immediately after works for jerry too! but forcing the syringe into his throat and getting the medication swallowed is hard work these days. Jerry prob got smarter after being forced fed when he was younger.
Why cant they make all the medication like sweets to make it easier for us parents right?! heh! someone should go invent it. i’m sure all parents will opt for it. 🙂
yflyn
Hi, just popped by from some friends’ pages. I had big issues giving medicine too, had to pin my kid down and force feed him, which, as you know, is just no use.
It got to the point where the doctor agreed that the syrups could be mixed in with juice to mask the taste (since it all tastes sweet). I don’t give juice in general so to my kid the juice is a big deal and willingly takes it. For ‘creamy’ textured syrups like antibiotics, I realised that mixing them in juice makes them taste bitter, so I resorted to hiding it in a teaspoonful of chocolate ice-cream. Sigh! At least it gets in them, right?
cherieladieblogs
hi there! totally agree with the force feeding = no use. the kids come to an age where they know what you are doing and simply, rebel!
i give sweet treats too. Vit C gummies, cold drinks and yakult and whatever works to get that medication in the tummy. I also varies the tactics at each feeding so he wont be able to anticipate what’s happening. whatever works right?
p.s. your bao is sooo cute! i love her hair! 😛