Thursday, September 4, 2008

Reality bites.

This is my "hell week", so naturally, I'm exhausted.

Jaysen said school was "Great!" today, but when I read his daily documentation sheet, it said he hit his para. Twice. In the face. Of course, there were no details about the incidents.

If anyone has any tips on administering eye drops to a toddler, please let me know. The vice grips and pea shooter are no longer working.

Ugh.

7 comments:

mama edge said...

Let me start by saying: I am not a doctor, and you should check with yours before adopting the following method of eye droppery.

My approach: Bribery! Tell your son to close his eyes. Tell him he's going to see a big surprise after you give his eyes some medicine. Then flood his lids and lashes and count, ONE, TWO, THREE - OPEN YOUR EYES! I guarantee that at least some of the drops will get in, even if he doesn't open his eyes willingly.

(TIP 1: The value of the bribe should be directly related to the amount of stinging the drops will cause. Big ow = big bribe)

(TIP 2: When you prematurely run out of drops and have to get a second bottle, tell the pharmacist that your dog ate the first one.)

If your doctor insists that you must get, say, exactly three drops in each eye, tell her to come over and do it herself!

Ashley's Mom said...

I used to have to employ the burrito method with Ashley to get eye drops in. Wrap her up in a blanket, then sit on top of her, wedge her head between one arm and my chest, and then hope for the best. The good news was she got used to it over time...

Jessica said...

Place the drops in the corners of his eyes and he'll naturally blink. In the drops go. Now I have a cruel method too if you want to go that route.
Lay child on floor facing away from you. Place his head between your knees and his arms underneath. Hook your ankles around his legs to keep from turning or flailing. Hold his eyes open and place the drops in. Problem with this method is by the time you're set up, the child is screaming and crying. Good luck!

mommy~dearest said...

Such awesome ideas!

Mara- I will definately keep your method in mind for Jaysen, and when the baby gets older, but considering he's not yet 2, he does not yet understand the benefits of bribery.

Thank you guys!

Heike Fabig said...

It takes a bit of talking and soothing, but we lie the kids down with their heads gently tilted back and put the magic drops on the nose, in the corner where the nose meets the eyebrows. This way the drops warm up as they run down, which we find helps. Our kids don't actualy mind the drops that much once they are warmer and knowing that they are coming (feeling them run down) seems to take the edge off too, makes it less frightening. Also, once the drops are in the corner of the eye, they do indeed blink involuntary.

Anonymous said...

Bribery works here.

I am so sorry to hear about the hitting. I sure wish they would tell you the details. I hate it when they don't.

kristi said...

I have done the burrito thing too. TC is getting too big for me to do anything but practically sit on him.

I would ask the para to give you details next time.