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Administering liquid medications to a baby can sometimes be a challenging task if you’re working with an oral syringe.
Lina Tuiasosopo, a mom of five and registered nurse in Texas, figured out that medicine time can go a little easier if you have a spare bottle nipple, which she demonstrated in a viral TikTok video.
"It’s always a fight to administer medications to my baby with a syringe because she spits it out every time," Tuiasosopo told Fox News Digital. "She loves her bottle [though, so,] I thought I could try to use an empty bottle nipple to give her meds, and it worked like a charm."
Lina Tuiasosopo, a mom of five and registered nurse in Texas, figured out that medicine time can go a little easier if you use a spare bottle nipple in place of an oral syringe. (Lina Tuiasosopo)
Tuiasosopo measures the dosage her baby needs and pours the medicine into a clean and empty bottle nipple.
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She then feeds her baby with a bottle and secretly swaps out the bottle for the medicine-filled bottle nipple until her baby has finished taking in the dose.
Tuiasosopo said the medicine hack works for her daughter both when she’s being bottle-fed while sleeping or awake.
"I have been a mom for 10 years and I just finally figured this hack out with my fifth baby, so I had to share this hack with other parents online who might also struggle with giving meds to their babies," Tuiasosopo said.
She continued, "After many moms commented that this hack was helpful, I would say the video was a success."
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Tuiasosopo’s 29-second video has been viewed more than 6.3 million times and has garnered more than 445,800 likes.
Some commenters expressed concern over Tuiasosopo’s use of a nursing pillow in the video, which momentarily held up the bottle while Tuiasosopo recorded the transition between her baby drinking the milk bottle and medicine.
Oral syringes, medicinal cups and spoons are common tools that are used to administer medicine to babies and children. (iStock)
Health experts generally disapprove of extended bottle propping because it can raise the raise a baby’s risk of choking, tooth decay and ear infections, according to WebMD.
Tuiasosopo told Fox News Digital that she’s consulted her daughter’s pediatrician and hasn’t received pushback on momentary bottle propping since her baby sleeps "flat" and "upright" in an empty crib.
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Even though Tuiasosopo hasn’t heard objections from her daughter’s doctor, she said that parents should consult a health professional before they attempt any hack.
Lina Tuiasosopo measures the dosage her baby needs and pours the medicine into a clean and empty bottle nipple. (Lina Tuiasosopo)
"Some [viewers] were concerned that new moms might watch my video and believe it is safe for a baby to sleep that way, so I want to emphasize that all parents should learn about safe sleep and eating with their baby’s provider rather than on social media," Tuiasosopo continued.
Tuiasosopo went on to say that she understands the concern other moms expressed under her video, but she doesn’t agree with the unkind commenters who accused her of being "lazy" or claimed that she "shouldn’t be a mom at all," based on the singular clip.
"I believe moms should be supporting one another in this journey of motherhood, not mom-shaming on the internet," Tuiasosopo said. "However, I know negativity comes with having a video go viral, so I didn’t take it personally."
Lina Tuiasosopo uses a medicine-filled bottle nipple to administer her daughter's prescribed medication. (Lina Tuiasosopo)
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All babies between the ages of 1 and 2 should be supervised during feeding, according to KidsHealth.org.
"As long as a caregiver is measuring out the proper amount of medicine with a syringe, administering it via a bottle nipple is fine," said Dr. Anastasia Gentles, medical director and pediatrician at Pediatrix Urgent Care of Houston, in an email with Fox News Digital. "Prescribed medications are typically given with food. I would advise caregivers to follow the directions from their pharmacist."
If a parent doesn’t want to use a bottle nipple to administer medicine, baby care manufacturers sell specialized liquid medicine dispensers that are designed to handle the task, which includes nipple-equipped syringes, tiny bottles and pacifiers.
