Product review- Dentinox Medicine Dispenser

Ok, so Lee and I have been having a bit of a game lately trying to get Dexter to take any form of medicine, wether it be for teething, colic or just generally for being a little under the weather. If you are a regular reader of my blog (thank you very much by the way!) you will know that just under 2 weeks ago, Dexter had his very first vaccinations which he really wasn't impressed about. Not one bit! The Health visitor had already told us to buy a bottle of infant calpol, just incase he showed any signs of post vaccination fever, as the calpol would soothe him and help bring his temperature down. Well, I did a little bit of internet shopping, as i often do, and bought him a bottle of calpol along with a few other baby related bits and bobs. Being a newbie at this whole mommy malarkey, I didn't realise that infant calpol actually comes with a medicine syringe so that you can give it to tiny people who don't know how to use a spoon yet! So because I was lacking this knowledge, I was there for a good 10 minutes looking for a contraption which would help me actually get this medicine into Dexters mouth without him ending up in a pink sticky mess! Finally, I came across this-

So as you can see, it's the Dentinox medicine dispenser, which acts pretty much in the same way as a dummy. Now, I have never had any desire to give Dexter a dummy. There are lots and lots of positives to dummies, the fact that they reduced the risk of SIDS (that's sudden infant death syndrome to you and me) and can help soothe your baby to name just a couple. Unfortunately, in the town which I have grown up in and currently live in, dummies are shoved in mouths to shut babies and toddlers up. I know this, because the child's mother is normally shouting 'shut your face' or something equally as maternal and encouraging whilst shoving said dummy into the child's mouth. Poor kids. However, I know that 99% of Mummies are lovely, selfless ladies who give their babies dummies for the positive reasons i already mentioned. It's just unfortunate that when you've grown up seeing them used in this way, it really puts you off giving them to your own children. Also, I have always been worried about a couple of different things when it comes to dummies, one point rational and the other totally odd and irrational. I'll begin with rational. 

I have always been worried that sucking on a dummy all the time can make your babies teeth grow out of their gums all odd and wonky, because of the level of pressure in their mouths all the time. Now I know that many manufacturers now make dummies with a new and improved teat shape to lessen the pressure on babies gums, therefore reducing the risk of excessive dental work in the future. Sadly, the less than loving mothers i already mentioned have still ruined them for me, so that still can't win me over. (Also, what about the moms whose babies drop their dummies on the floor when they're out and about and the mom just picks it up off the ground, sucks the dummy herself and then gives it back to the baby?! Why do we bother sterilising things? Whyyyyy! Aaaaaaaaarrrrgghhh! I just threw up in my mouth a little.)

This brings me on to my totally irrational point. Ever since I was a kid, I thought dummies stopped babies from talking. I'll give you two words. Maggie. Simpson. To this day no one has heard her speak! Told you it was irrational! 

So anyway, when my parcel from boots finally arrived and I saw that the calpol came with a syringe, I thought I'd wasted my money on this medicine dispenser and didn't bother using it. Persevering with the syringe for a couple of days was torture! Dexter was hating having calpol practically squirted down his throat like some sort of animal and kept spitting it all out in protest. This is when I remembered the medicine dispenser, so I got it out of the packet and gave it a go. Now, because of Dexters reaction to the medicine previously, I hadn't really got very high hopes for it. It seemed like a bit of a gimmick and, retailing at £6.99 , a pricy gimmick at that. 

The instructions printed on the back were really simple and easy to follow. Basically, the dispenser is comprised of a small chamber which you add the medicine to and obviously the teat which goes into your babies mouth. It also features a really handy plunger at the end of the medicine chamber, which allows you to give your baby a little helping hand by pushing the medicine through the teat if they're struggling. A really simple idea and design, but a really clever one too!

The first time i tried this with him, he looked at me as if to say 'this isn't milk' and kept spitting the dummy out without even trying to suck on it. It may be due to the fact that he doesn't normally have a dummy, or the fact that he wasn't keen on the calpol and could maybe smell it? Anyway, after persevering with it, he soon got the hang of it and now he loves it! It's much less stressful than using the medicine syringe as he used to scream the place down if he so much as saw it and I was beginning to think that he would always associate medicine with feeling upset, rather than actually understanding that we give it i him to make him feel better! 

The dispenser itself was very easy to clean afterwards. It isn't steriliser or dishwasher safe, but a nice thorough wash through with warm water got rid of all the sticky calpol ready for next time!  

Although Dexter isn't using this loads at the moment (only occasionally when his teething pain flares up) it's a great little item to have to hand whenever your little one is feeling under the weather! I think it gets a thumbs up from Dexter, or it would if he knew how to put his thumbs up! Here's a couple of pictures of the cheeky chappy himself just after trying the product for the first time. As you'll see, he looks pretty pleased with himself!