Gripe water is known for its soothing properties and many parents use their own home made gripe water or buy readymade gripe water during the first months of the baby’s life. The gripe water comes in a glass bottle with a syringe that can be formed in different ways. Depending on how much you need to give your baby it can be more or less tricky to get it into his mouth. Some babies are fast to detect the gripe water as something unwanted and they spit it out as fast as you get it in there.
Here are some good advices on how to give gripe water to your baby. Try them out and hopefully you will be able to get that helpful potion into your baby’s system for a happy and calm tummy.
How to Give Gripe Water with a Bottle
If you bottle feed your baby you should be able to administer the gripe water fairly easy. You can either add it to the actual feeding or prepare it with some hot water in between feedings. Some say that you don’t need to give water if you are breastfeeding but if you are not doing so instead of the feeding there is really no harm in it. On a very hot summer day you can boil water and then let it cool before you mix in the gripe water. This should give your baby a nice soothing drink.
With or Without Alcohol
You might be using gripe water with alcohol and some babies simply don’t like it. To get rid of the alcoholic taste you can again mix the gripe water with some hot water. Be careful not to add the drops at boiling temperature but rather as the water cools down a bit. You can also try getting gripe water without alcohol gripe water without alcohol to be on the safe side when it comes to taste and reaction.
How to Give Gripe Water when Breastfeeding
If you are breastfeeding exclusively you might have tried to squirt the gripe water in with the syringe only to see it come out again in a gush. Try inserting the syringe at the corner of your baby’s mouth as he is feeding. Don’t worry if it gets a bit messy at first. Once you try it a few times you should be able to get the hang of the technique. You can also simply try to give the gripe water straight into the baby’s mouth but at a slower pace so that he won’t spit it all out at once.