Tylonal for Baby, a Few Questions

When my daughter was 3wks old she had a fever of over 103. I gave her tylenol at that very moment. No questions asked. A fever that goes too high, for too long can be very damaging to their brains.

A low grade fever (anything under 100) is fine. You don't need to give Tylenol for that. It just means her body is doing what it's supposed to do.

As for the not giving a child under the age of one Tylenol, your friend is wrong. Even the doctor proved that by saying that if she needs it, give it to her.

Your fiance shouldn't be holding the baby or anything until his fever is reduced and he's symptom free.

I'm sorry that you fiance is sick - do keep her away from him. It's always a bad time for a baby to get sick, but you certainly don't want her getting sick right after a vaccination.

Look, let me give you some advice. Don't post this stuff on your FB. Unless you are willing to defriend this person, she will hound you over stuff that she has opinions over. Really and truly, you don't need her arguing.

What you do is talk to the doctor about stuff like this. You ignore your friend. She isn't a doctor.

Now, your doctor gave you the Tylenol and you know how much to give. He DID say that if she was in pain you could give it. Yes, usually we give Tylenol for fever. But yes, you can give it if baby is fussing a great deal after a vaccination.

My son stuck his leg out screaming after his 3 month DPT shot. The Tylenol (that the doctor told me to give him) was a godsend. He needed the relief from it for the pain. He was fine after he got the Tylenol.

Yes, some of us gave Tylenol before a shot, and I did that for my kids when they were a little older. Again, it's something you ask the doctor about. One thing that you can do is write down your baby's reaction to the shot so that you have an idea of how she will react to the next one. If she has a hard time, tell the doctor how it went and if you want to, ask him about giving some Tylenol before leaving for the doctor's office. The doctor will tell you. It does sound like your baby is fine from the shot, so perhaps you will decide that she doesn't need it before the shot anyway.

Again, I urge you not to give people like this friend the chance to bust your chops about this stuff.

Dawn

There is a difference between Children's Tylenol (2y - 11y) and Infants Tylenol (with the Dropper Lid). The two formulas are different. If your doctor gave you permission and the correct dosing amount, you should follow his instructions.

As for her having a fever. Yes I consider anything 100.5+ to be a fever, but I don't necessary give medicine until 101+.

For a temp of 99.1, I would NOT give her any medicine.

You doctor is the only one you should be listening to.
Medication should only be given if TRULY needed, and yes anything under 102 is considered low grade fever. Doctors don't want babies to be medicated with every little fever because it weakens their immune system over time. Eventually the tylenol becomes ineffective and you end up needing to give your baby higher doses of other, stronger medication.
Medication, even tylenol, should be used very sparingly. If you're still unsure or confused call the doc's office, or the nurse line for clarification!

your friend is ignorant and/or confused... tylenol is absolutely designed for babies, it is used on VERY small babies to manage pain/fevers. ibuprofen may be what she was thinking of, but 6 months is the "magic age" for that, not one year. i always gave a dose immediately after the shots were given, i brought it with me to the doctor. the reason i didn't give it before was i didn't want to mask an "illness fever", b/c if a baby is sick, they do not give immunizations. additionally, tylenol isn't going to cover up a reaction - so there's no worries there. do what you feel is right for your baby, a few doses of the proper amount of tylenol isn't going to hurt your baby, on the flip side, if she seems fine, why give it? this is the first of MANY times you're gonna get unsolicited advice from a "friend"... just nod and agree, or argue if you see fit, and then do what is right for YOUR baby :)

I agree with Dawn.
I also feel it is important to mention that if you know your child is going to be receiving a vaccination, that it is really important that your doctor's office can get an accurate temperature reading prior to administering the vaccine(s). If they have a fever, they will not want to administer. If you give your child something that might obscure an accurate reading, you could be creating a situation that is not healthy for your child.
So ask your doctor about this in advance for future vaccinations.

I totally understand the "give them something to help alleviate the pain" thought process--my son has been getting orthodontic treatment for the past few months, and it was suggested to let him have advil before his appointment--so it would already be in his system when they installed his appliances, etc. That is not the same kind of thing as getting a vaccination, though.
So talk to your doctor about it before administering something ahead of time.

My own kids never really needed anything after their vaccinations. Some kids do. But you won't know until it happens, because all kids are different.

If you are uncomfortable with the explanation you were given about the "fever" being 102, then ask follow up questions. My husband gets annoyed with me b/c I will say "they have an elevated temp but no fever" (when it is say, 99.8). It is semantics. Really, until you get into the 102 range, it shouldn't require any medication. And, I don't medicate until they hit 102 usually. Because they don't really act abnormal until it gets around that temp. But, that is what "I" am comfortable with doing. Ask questions of your doctor until understand what they are saying to you, and until you figure out what YOU are comfortable with doing.

Correct, under 102 doesn't really constitute the need for fever reducing meds. The fever is the body's way of fighting infection.
I agree with Victoria's statement of not giving tylenol, etc prior to the appointment because it can mask other valid temperature issues the physicians are looking for prior to vaccination.
Also agree with Dawn.
Personally, my kiddos never really needed the meds for pain. they bee-bopped through their day like nothing ever happened.
Good luck. and how lucky to be beginning the journey of motherhood! 2 months is so tiny and wonderful:)

call your doctors office and ask to speak to a nurse. They expect this and encourage it. Don't try to figure this out alone.

Talk to the pediatrician. I think I couldn't give DD tylenol under x weight, but it's been a while so I don't remember. If you are nursing, nursing can be a comfort. Remember, too, that while fevers are worrying, they don't worry as much about the temp as they do the behavior. The fever is the body's way of dealing with a virus. Make sure if you give her tylenol that you use the INFANT formula and don't give her too much. It's concentrated.

As someone else said - just make sure you are using the correct Tylenol for babies. It should say its for INFANTS. The other kind will say its for CHILDREN. I have both in my house and I have the bottles and boxes labeled in big black sharpie letters to make sure no one confuses which is which. Given childrens tylenol to an infant can be very dangerous. I'm sure since your pediatrician gave it to you its the right one but just wanted to point that out.

Also, a baby or child does not NEED the tylenol for a low grade fever but when I can tell my kids just dont feel well, I give them some anyway just to help make them feel better and so they can get some better sleep. I would not do this for more than a day or so though.

if my daughter got shots i normally gave her half a dose of tylonel afterwards unless she was getting a lot, then a half a dose before

My really awesome pediatrician says not to give meds for fever unless the kiddo is miserable. Fever in and of itself is ok. She says that the temperature itself isn't really an issue as long as the child is acting normally, and that a fever of 103 in a happy kid is far less of a concern than a lower fever in a child who is lethargic or something else out of the ordinary. I don't get too worked up over the number.

Also, there is some research that indicates that kids can get a better immune response from their vaccines if we don't give them fever-reducing meds. A fever is a sign that the immune system is working, so a fever after shots is a good thing, it means they are doing what we want them to do. I never give tylenol/advil before shots, and only give meds after if my son is in pain. In general I don't medicate fevers unless they are accompanied by other symptoms or are making my kid reaaly uncomfortable.

If your daughter is behaving normally, I wouldn't worry about it.

Well of course I gave DD infant's Tylenol if she had a high fever. For what you're describing I would not give the Tylenol just because. I don't consider that a fever, really.

Oh, and stop posting things like on FB, if you don't want unsolicited advice from people that have no clue.