Dosin' the Doodlebug

I've seen ads for dye-free Children's Motrin. "How silly and trendy," I thought. Even the drug companies are trying to go the "all natural" route and not put additives in their drugs. I couldn't imagine anything more ridiculous than a synthetic drug not wanting to add artificial color. (And I'm slightly abashed now that I see their site and learn that some kids are allergic to the dyes). But now, now I understand why you'd want a drug to be dye free. Because after one week of trying to force a teaspoon of amoxicillin down Doodles throat, I know the harmful effects of the non-dye-free drugs. Harmful effects to Doodles's clothes, my clothes, our sofa, the carpet... Giving drugs to an infant is like, well, I don't know what it's like, but it's damn hard! Doodles is smarter than he lets on. At first, I had an infant spoon and I fed it to him. About 50% went down and then he wised up and wouldn't let the spoon in. Then, I got a nipple that holds medicine and about 25% got down before he wised up and refused to take the pacifier. I asked the doctor what to do and she said, "You've got to hold his nose and then when he opens his mouth, squirt the medicine into the side of his mouth and then hold his mouth closed. Basically, you have to give him medicine like he's a puppy." That method got zilch down. In fact, Doodles very nicely, with mouth held shut, managed to still squeeze the medicine out of his mouth. It was fascinating to watch as the pink liquid oozed out his mouth, down his shirt, and onto the floor. Finally, I got a tip from his day care teacher and mixed the medicine with some milk and fed it to him in his bottle. We've been calling it his Valentine's Day milk because it's such a lovely shade of pink. And it worked. He's taken his medicine with no problems since then. And from now on, when there's an option for dye-free medicine, I'm the first in line for it.