4 Month Check-Up

KLeighM23

Hi ladies! Baby has his 4 month appointment tomorrow. We had a really tough night after the 2 month shots! He screamed for about 3 hours straight, in pain, until I gave him some Little Fevers Pain Relief. 

What do you ladies do before the shots? I've read about creams that numb the area and I know some moms who always pre-medicate. I've also read having a bottle ready will take their mind off of it after?

Just looking for some helpful tips if anyone has any! Thanks in advance

danieliza1127

I always give baby tylenol about an hour before the appointment.  It really helps a lot.  Then I keep giving it about every 4 hours for 24 hours, except when he's sleeping at night. 

mcla22011

I checked with the nurse before hand if I should give some pain reliever, she said that the correct serving size about 45 minutes prior to the appointment should be fine. He still screamed when getting the shots, but only for a few minutes. Then I gave him more about 4 hours later and he was fine after that. 

EmsyK

I had the same experience after the 2 months shots, except the crying and fussing lasted all weekend.  At the 4 month shots, i gave him a dose of calpol about an hour before hand and then continued it for that rest of the day and we thankfully did not have a repeat performance.  I had planned to feed afterwards but there was a delay in the waiting room and i ended up giving him his bottle beforehand.  Good luck

arilevine

We had our 4 month check up on Tuesday of this week- appt was at 4 pm & DD did great... cried for a couple of minutes then she was fine until about 8 pm.  She was screaming in pain- we gave her Tylenol a bottle & put her to bed.  She fussed a little in the morning so I gave her more Tylenol & then was great the rest of the day!  Good luck!

mben1119

New research shows pain relievers should not be given before vaccines, as they can reduce their effectiveness. They should administered after, if Lo shows signs of fever or fussiness.

Kimberskirby

Ditto what mabenner1 said.  Also - shots are dangerous if a child has a fever, which is why they always take the child's temperature before their shots.  So, if you give tylenol before shots, you are temporarily helping it and if the child is actually sick, the shots could be dangerous.  I cannot believe that some of the nurses and drs are recommending to give it beforehand.  Mine told me absolutely not, that it could be dangerous.

ljhgrey

Kimberskirby:

Ditto what mabenner1 said.  Also - shots are dangerous if a child has a fever, which is why they always take the child's temperature before their shots.  So, if you give tylenol before shots, you are temporarily helping it and if the child is actually sick, the shots could be dangerous.  I cannot believe that some of the nurses and drs are recommending to give it beforehand.  Mine told me absolutely not, that it could be dangerous.

 

My pediatrician also said not to administer Tylenol before the appointment for these reasons. 

stgn01

I did Tylenol too, but my doctor said it could lessen the effectiveness of the vaccine.  She said if I did Tylenol, do it about 2 hours after the shot.  It also always helped DD if we gave her a warm bath that night to help with the shot site.  I think it was soothing.  Good luck, having an unhappy little one is never good!

greeneyedjess

My pedi advises against Tylenol before shots and also after, unless he spikes a high fever or is unusually fussy.  And if he spikes a high fever, they want to know about it. 

Hopeful2012x2

ljhgrey:

Kimberskirby:

Ditto what mabenner1 said.  Also - shots are dangerous if a child has a fever, which is why they always take the child's temperature before their shots.  So, if you give tylenol before shots, you are temporarily helping it and if the child is actually sick, the shots could be dangerous.  I cannot believe that some of the nurses and drs are recommending to give it beforehand.  Mine told me absolutely not, that it could be dangerous.

 

My pediatrician also said not to administer Tylenol before the appointment for these reasons. 

 Same here! 

pawstech09

I give tylenol after we get home from the appointment, and then every 4 hours for up to a day afterwards. I also massage the injection sites every diaper change so that a hard knot doesn't form and cause more pain. I've done this with all 3 kids and it works really well, it's sore at first, but they never cry and I only do it a little bit so they don't get too uncomfortable.

[Deleted User]

We don't do anything but try to distract during and bf after. We only give Tylenol if there is a fever or if lo is extremely fussy like she is in pain. I wouldn't advise dosing up lo before, why give them meds if he may not need them? Have lovies, paci whatever soothes him on hand, that can help.