Isabel had to take antibiotics 4 times a day for 3 weeks after getting discharge from the hospital and this antibiotic tasted TERRIBLE, absolutely terrible. But, being compliant patients and understanding the miracles of modern medicine (and being good antibiotic stewards) Jake & I were going to make sure she took it even if it meant we had to physically hold her down and force her to take it on 84 different occasions.
But before it came to that…we were going to try a few things.
Failure number 1 - mixing it with milk.
Failure number 2 - trying to simply tell her she needed to take it or she’d have to go back to the hospital
Failure number 3 - bananas
Failure number 4 - 50-50 mixture with hershey chocolate syrup.
After consulting a few experts in the field (aka my friends who have had sick kids and needed frequent doses of medicine) we came up with a bribery solution. And coincidentally, Nana sent a box of Jelly Bellies (for Dad) in a care package. Quickly realizing that I liked not physically restraining a crying Isabel much more than I liked Jelly Bellies, I gave it a shot…and it worked!!
SUCCESS - 2 jelly bellies of her choosing from the box after each dose of medicine! (This had the added benefit of helping her learn her colors) Thanks Nana for the delicious Jelly Bellies!
It was such a success that when I’d ask if she wanted medicine, she would actually say ‘yes’ excitedly and then whisper (or sometimes yell) “Jelly Bellies. Pink all gone”
