How old must DS be to bottlefeed for 4 days while I take a medication that isn't compatible with...

[youngsoul]

Hi all -

I have giardia, UGH. The medication recommended to treat it is NOT compatible with breastfeeding, and would require that I stop breastfeeding for 4 days while I take it (1 dose on the first day, and then 3 days for it to leave my system.) DS is almost 7 weeks and he's a great eater, but I would rather suffer with the giardia before seriously disrupting the breastfeeding relationship...any idea when I could do this and have him go back to the breast without any problem after those 4 days on the bottle? 

Thanks in advance for any insight you might have on this! :-)

[MeepyCat]

I'd do it now. There is no guarantee that this will not disrupt your breastfeeding relationship, but that will be true until he stops nursing.

This is a case where you have to take care of yourself first in rder to protect your baby.  Giardia is transmissable person to person (which means that your baby could get it from you), and can cause severe dehydration which will very likely adversely affect your milk supply.  Additionally, dehydration is no joke in adults and can be even *more* serious in small babies.  Fever is also an issue with giardia, and I wouldn't want to deal with that in the fourth trimester - most pediatricians are pretty calm about fever in older babies, but the recommendation is that if your baby is under 12 weeks and has a fever aver 100.4, you should call the ped, and possibly come into the emergency room, immediately.

[jocelyndale]

You can also check on the med with Hale's book or the InfantRisk hotline.  It may be okay depending on the age of your child.

[PatioGardener]

I'd call infantrisk and talk to them.

Here are some other sources of info too:

http://www.motherisk.org/prof/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=328

http://www.infantrisk.com/forum/showthread.php?220-Flagyl&highlight=flagyl

[youngsoul]

thanks, everyone, for your responses! and PatioGardener - that's exactly what I was looking for. I had no clue about that infantrisk center - thanks so much for alerting me to it! 

[silvermist]

i am a pharmacist. most medications say they are incompatible w/ breastfeeding but really are just fine! Medications in Mothers Milk is the best resource and most LLL groups have a copy.

[khaoskat]

Not sure how you would feel about it, but during those 4 days, could you potentially use a finger feeder rather than a bottle to feed your baby?  They can be a bit tricky, but then baby wouldn't get a bottle and be less likely to disrupt that way...