When do I give my child Tempra?

It’s the big day: my son is getting circumcised. My mother calls and says “don’t forget your tempra, the baby will need it.” After we get to the doctors office and I ask the doctor how much tempra should I give to the baby before the procedure starts. His answer was, surprisingly, none. Ok, how much do I give him after the procedure? This is when the doctor explains to my husband and I that since our son is only 7 days old he doesn’t have any feelings in that region right now, therefore we don’t need to give him pain medication any unless he show signs of discomfort. We watched the baby very closely for days and he never seemed to be having any pain.

When I went to my pediatrician for baby’s first shots I asked if I should give him some tempra before the needles. The doctor explained that he doesn’t believe in giving children any medication before their shots because we would not be able to tell if he was having a reaction to the shots. If I saw that he was having any reaction (pain or otherwise) I was to come back to the office immediately anyway so there was no point in giving him the tempra. As I sat there watching the nurse getting the needles ready I started second guessing my decision to give him tempra but he was already sleeping and I didn’t want to wake him up.

I watched the nurse give the baby his shots and he didn’t even wake up! He was sleeping so peacefully, oblivious that he had just received 2 needles (one in each leg).

Whether or not you give your child tempra or Advil, Tylenol is something that must always be left to the discretion of the mother and the doctor. One baby at our playgroup receives a dose of tempra before and after his needle; his mother is comfortable with that and he is none the worse for it. My own opinion on the matter is unless the child is sick don’t give them medication. Giving medication to children for every little thing may sometimes provide more comfort to the parents than to the child.