Get the instructions in writing

Not "a bit twice a day". The number of millilitres, how many times a day, for how many days, and whether it is before or after a feed. Written down, in the room, while the person who prescribed it is still in front of you.

Baby doses are calculated from weight, and a baby's weight moves quickly. A dose that was right two months ago may not be right now. So the other question is who recalculates it, and when.

The dropper or syringe that comes in the box is calibrated for that medicine at that concentration. A kitchen spoon isn't a measure, and another bottle's syringe may be marked differently.

If you lose it, ask the pharmacy for the right one rather than improvising. We asked for a spare one and were simply given one, which was easier than we expected.

How we gave it

What worked: upright and supported, never flat on her back. Small amounts at a time rather than the whole dose in one go. Aimed at the inside of her cheek, not the back of her throat, which triggers a gag and sends the lot back out.

What did not work was trying while she was crying hard. That was often when she seemed to need it most, but it was also when she was most likely to cough and least likely to swallow. Waiting for a calmer moment, when the medicine allowed it, got more of the dose in.

Putting it in a bottle looks like the elegant solution (if the medicine permitted it) and it creates a specific problem: if she drinks 90ml of a 120ml bottle, how much of the dose did she have?

For some medicines mixing is fine and for others it isn't — a few interact with milk, and for others it is simply the accounting that fails. So the question to ask is whether this one can go in milk, and if so, into how much.

Stop two people dosing

The genuine risk in a house with help, or two parents on shifts, is a double dose rather than a missed one.

A note next to where the medicines live, with the date and a tick, solved it. Written down beats remembered, especially at four in the morning when nobody is sure who did what.

When changing shifts, we gave the next person a quick rundown and checked the medicine notebook. It took a minute and prevented missed or repeated doses.

Call your doctor immediately if

Blue or grey, or a struggle to breathe — call your local emergency number now.

  • She may have had significantly more than her dose — ring immediately with the bottle in your hand
  • Swelling of the lips, face or tongue, hives, or any difficulty breathing after a dose
  • She coughs, chokes or goes blue during a dose
  • Repeated vomiting after doses, or she can't keep anything down