Help with baby spitting up medicine

[Birdy2]

What do you do if a baby spits up within minutes of getting medication? I have a baby on phenobarb and every single time he's given his dose he spits up after and I'm afraid he's losing it all. His level was low last check. Also, the only way to get it down is to lay him flat and slowly squirt a little at a time on the back of his tongue while squeezing his cheeks so he swallows. Otherwise the medicine is running out of his mouth or he's spitting it out. In a bottle there's the risk of him not finishing even a small amount and spitting up is still an issue.

[prmenrs, RN]

Phenobarb elixir is famous for vomiting issues. Talk to your pharmacist--s/he may be able to make it up by crushing the tablet in something, and labeling it to tell you how much to give.

My son was on it for a while; he'd keep the rest of the feeding and just throw up the phenobarb!

[Birdy2]

This is seriously worrying me. I mentioned it to his doctor and she kind of blew me off and acted like I should have no problem giving it. I feel like if it were her child she may be more concerned. It's not a drug to mess around with and isn't something you can just stop taking, plus I'm scared to death my 3 week old is going to have more seizures. I'm not even sure how to know if he is. I've read, been taught, and watched videos on it, but infant seizures just look like normal baby movements to me.

[vanilla bean]

I just did a quick google search and found that phenobarb is available in the form of a suppository. Not sure if there is a suppository dosing option for kiddos or just adults, but may be worth looking into.

[Julius Seizure]

The baby is three weeks? Okay, have you tried just taking the nipple of the bottle and squirting the medicine in there and letting the baby suck it through as a "med pacifier"?

You can also try squirting the medicine into the back of the babys cheek and then quickly giving them their pacifier to suck on.

Won't help with the spitting up, but might make getting it down easier.

[Birdy2]

Good idea with the nipple alone instead of in a bottle but still he loses a lot while sucking on one so not sure if that would work. That's why I squirt it on the back of his tongue and squeeze his cheeks, so he can't spit any out or it can't fall out.

[Birdy2]

I will definitely call his doctor Monday and the pharmacist in the morning

[Julius Seizure]

Good idea with the nipple alone instead of in a bottle but still he loses a lot while sucking on one so not sure if that would work.

Does he also lose a lot of milk when sucking on a bottle? Messy eater?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

This is seriously worrying me. I mentioned it to his doctor and she kind of blew me off and acted like I should have no problem giving it. I feel like if it were her child she may be more concerned. It's not a drug to mess around with and isn't something you can just stop taking, plus I'm scared to death my 3 week old is going to have more seizures. I'm not even sure how to know if he is. I've read, been taught, and watched videos on it, but infant seizures just look like normal baby movements to me.

I hate it when doctors blow people off. Get rid of her, get someone you're comfortable with.

When my pediatrician blew us off, my child wound up with peritonitis. I should have sued her.

[babyNP., APRN]

This is your child? It looks like you're an experienced member here on allnurses. I realize that you are anxious over your child's medication, but this is not an appropriate forum for you to ask for advice. I would suggest asking the clinic's nurse for advice. best of luck to you.

[Birdy2]

No clinics are open on Sunday and urgent care clinic had no advice to offer other than what I have already concluded myself. Yes it's my child and yes I'm a general Med-surg nurse...not a nicu nurse or pediatric. My son was discharged Wednesday from nicu and I wasn't given much advice on what to look for with seizures. His neurologist said seizures were hard to identify in infants. In fact he himself didn't think my son was seizing, but an eeg revealed he was. Every move he makes makes me anxious. I did ask them how they gave him the medicine and they acted like he hadn't had a problem with it in a bottle with a small amount of milk, but when I tried that he lost a lot out of the corner of his mouth...plus what if he doesn't finish it? Then his pediatrician said give it in the side of his cheek, so I did and he swallowed it, but with much difficulty and then spit up within a few minutes. I just don't know what to do. It seems like I can't get any good advice from anyone, so that's why I thought I'd try asking some nurses who deal with this all the time. Like I said, tomorrow I'll get the pediatrician to see about switching it to a different form if possible, but other than that I don't know what else I can do.

[Birdy2]

Yes he does. I think it has something to do with him having a rough start so less tone, plus the pediatrician we saw said he had a third degree tongue tie. Unsure if she's right about that causing issuwa because he nurses well, but he does seem to have a hard time latching on a paci and also I have to use a nipple shield for him to be able to latch. He did latch a few times at first but then after getting a bottle from nicu nurses who had to feed him when I wasn't there he stopped trying to even latch and got frustrated quickly.