How to Give Your Cardiac Baby His Daily Aspirin a Step by Step Guide

For a full visual of this article please see the slideshow A Visual Instructional Guide that has been published seperately as it contains many more photos.

Your newborn has just come home from the hospital after having Heart Surgery and now it is up to you to take care of your baby. In the hospital, either you had help giving him his medications or the nurses did it for you. You have been given all the information you need to take care of your little one, but without the doctors and nurses watching over you, it can be very easy to second-guess yourself. The first day that you wake up and have to prepare all of your baby's medications and make sure he gets everything he needs can be a bit stressful. It does get easier and you will gain confidence in yourself. My baby is on ¼ of an 81mg dose of baby aspirin and that is what I am demonstrating here. You and your baby are different, so please make sure that you are giving the proper dose to your baby, and as always if you have any questions or concerns get in touch with your baby's cardiologist before making any decisions.

You will need a pill splitter, aspirin, spoons and a syringe without the needle.

1. Gather everything together.

2. Split the aspirin as directed by your baby's cardiologist. Here it is split into 1/4.

3. Put aspirin dose on a spoon.

4. Holding the top spoon by the handle and pressing down. You will also need to wiggle the spoon a bit to make sure that the aspirin gets crushed into a powder.

5. This is what is should look like when you are done...see picture to the left.

6. Place the syringe without the needle with the narrow end on the spoon. This will help to catch any aspirin if you spill it.

7. Dump the crushed aspirin into the top of the large end of the syringe.

8. This is what it will look like after you dump it in...see picture to the left.

9. Carefully add the plunger to the syringe. Do not press down all the way or you will push the aspirin out of the syringe. About a 1/4 of the way will be fine. While holding the syringe and keeping it pressed on the spoon, pick up the spoon and flip it over. After you flip it, the aspirin will fall into the syringe. You will need to pull back on the plunger just a bit to pull the aspirin that is in the tip into the syringe. Now slowly push the plunger into the syringe until you get about 3/4 of the way. You will need to leave a bit of space.

10. This is what it will look like...see picture to the left.

11. Add a few drops of water to one to the spoons. Quickly flip the syringe over into the spoon and place it in the water. Pull back until you get about 1/2 to 1 ml of water. One ml is also the same as one cc. You will want to leave about the same amount of air as water in the syringe. This will help two ways. First, after you get the water in the syringe, you will shake it up. This will help to dissolve some of the aspirin. There will be a few chunks left that will not dissolve, turn the syringe upside down and let the chunks settle to the bottom narrow tip. That way when you put it in your baby's mouth, the first thing that he will get is the chunks and the water will help to wash it down. The other reason that you want to leave a bit of air in the syringe is that when all the water is pushed out, you will have the air to push out any remaining chunks in the narrow tip.

12. This is what it will look like after you shake it...see picture to the left.

13. Place the syringe in your baby's mouth and slowly press down on the syringe. If you still have aspirin in the syringe after you have pressed down completely, just pull a bit more water in and give it to baby.

* Just a note about this picture, you may notice that his hand has a blue tint. He had a BT Shunt at 9 days old and now at three months, in this picture he is starting to outgrow it and we are preparing for his next procedure. If your baby has a BT Shunt and is starting to get bluish hands and feet it would be a good time to talk to his cardiology team to talk about future procedures.

14. No one ever showed me this at the hospital, they always prepared it for me, handed it to me and said I could give it to him. I never thought to ask how they did it, it seemed so easy. The first few times I did this I had to start over several times. After a few days you will get the hang of it.

15. Give your baby lots of love, with extra hugs and kisses.

16. As I mentioned before, if you have any questions or concerns about how your baby looks, acts, eats, breathes or anything else, call your baby's cardiologist right away! There is no such thing as being too worried.

I am not a doctor or nurse, I am the mom of a cardiac baby, and this is my advice to you.

Tips for taking care of your Cardiac Baby:

* Don't be afraid to ask for help.

* Make a simple chart or calendar and hang it on the inside of a kitchen cupboard. Store everything you need to give your baby his aspirin in that cupboard and when you give him his dose, mark off that day. This will help you remember if you have given him his meds.

* Make sure to wash your hands often and always before you pick him up.

* Do not feel bad about telling others, especially strangers not to touch your child. If they are offended, it is their problem and not yours. Your baby's safety always comes first.

* If you cardiac baby is displaying any of these symptoms call his cardiologist:

* If he turns blue,

* If he has trouble breathing,

* If he has a fever,

* If he starts to sweat a lot, especially during feeding,

* If he has trouble feeding,

* If he does not want to eat,

* If he is spitting up a lot,

* If he spits up right after you give him his meds,

* If his incision is bleeding, swollen or red,

* If he is acting oddly or not as he usually does