OUR BABIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13774, 10 December 1908, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

J (By HjK»'i:i.)

li is wiser to put up a fence at tho lop or a prccipii e illau ro luaiiitain an :iiiihiiiauce al the imlloil'. WEANi.m; AND MIXED FEKDIXO. .Many won.en who aiv good nurses lor ;i uiiii' miow a deiieien.-y in tlieir iijiik. eitlrr mi <|iiaiuuy or quality, by tin- ciglitli inom.ii or earlier, in sunt rases tin- mother should at once took to her own health, paying .special attention to regularity oi hands and • i ; <-ai>. and in.- .securing oi iiutritioiis :'oml. with strut avoidance oi strong u-a or anything indigestible. She should have plenty ui air passing through the house day and night, and should be out in the opeu air and sunlight as much as possible, taking a reasonable amount ol exereise. Besides this she should relieve the.breasts ■■l some of their work by giving the baby Inst one. and then, it necessary, two bottle feedings a day. It all tiiese steps are taken in time a normal How ot" milk may return, enabling full suckling to be resumed and continued until the end of the ninth month. Otherwise the mother should proceed with weaning. The rate of gain in weight and the health of the baby, taken in conjunction with the health of the mother, form the l>est gauge as to when " mixed feeding " —that is. the partial supplementing of the mother's milk by some other milk —should he begun; in any case the baby should be removed entirely from the breast not later than the" first year. Towards the end of the nursing period the milk is liable to become unsuitable in composition. This will be shown either by digestive disturbances, or failure to grow, or loss of weight on the part •f the linliv. Weaning should lie gradual, and as most babies will require the help of the bottle sooner or later it is well to begin giving first one. and then two. bottle feedings each day as soon as there are clear signs that the mother's milk is beginning to fail. In this way the baby tan be habituated to the new food and manner of feeding, and the change from breastfeeding to bottle-'feeding can be carried out so gradually and insensibly as to cause no inconvenience or disagreement. WOULD IT RE SAFE TO WEAN A BREAST-FED BABY AND PUT IT STRAIGHT ON TO ORDINARY FULL - STRENGTH HUMANISED MILK? Certainly not. The rule in bnbyfeeding is never to make . sudden changes of any kind. (An exception to this rule is the sudden and marked weakening of food, or if necessary the change to mere boiled water, on account of severe indigestion or diarrhoea.) When a marked change must lie made in the food or manner of feeding the new food should be as digestible as possible, and should be given decidedly weak at first. The strength should be increased gradually as the baby's digestive organs become accustomed to the new food and-the new way of feeding. The change from the breast to bottle or spoon feeding always puts a strain on the baby's powers. Mothers all know that weaning is a perilous time for infants, but it can be rendered safe by a little care and forethought. Early weaning is the most fatal; weaning after nine months should give no difficult** if properlv conducted. HOW TO SET ABOUT WEANING AN ENTIRELY BREAST-FED BABY. Begin by giving one bottle each day (preferably in the middle of the forenoon) of humanised milk of suitable strength. Start with a much weaker milk than you would give a baby of the same age who had been artificially fed for some time; thus, if your babyis four or five months old, you should give him one bottle each day of the strength ordinarily used for a baby under a mouth old. ' You do this for the simple reason that your baby lias Imhmi living on breast milk exclusively, » and wen- you to give him a humanised milk of full strength you would be put- | ting into his stomach a mixture too strong for him to begin on. Remember i that it is not only the change in the nature of the food that tends to make it disagree at first, but the change from feeding by the breast to feeding by the bottle. Hence you must start with a comparatively weak and very digestiblo food and work cautiously up to the full strength. Continue giving the one bottle-feeding every day at the same time for four days, and if It agrees you may then give two littles each day. say one in the morning and the other in the evening. Continue this lor another three days, being specially careful not to overfeed either with the breast-feedings or with the bottle-feed-ings. The quantity given per feeding by the bottle should lie that shown for the age in the table of feedings given in the pamphlet issued by the Society. Remember that mothers always tend to overfeed when they resort to mixed feeding, because they are apt to forget that the longer intervals eause more unlk to accumulate in the breasts. At the end ot a tew days liom the giving ot the first bottle a slight increase can be made in the strength ot the milk used. How to work tin- lood up to pure humanised milk will be shown in . detail next week tor bafiles of dilterent ages. .•sometimes weaning has to be carried out more quickly than I have just describ.-d. but it is always better, both lor the baby and the mother, to change slowly when feasible. However, sudden illness of the mother, sudden cessation of the How of milk, or injurious change in its composition may render rapid weaning necessary. In .such cases the main thing to remember is to commence with a weak, very digestible form of humanised milk, and to increase the strength cautiously day by day. If any symptom* ot indigestion arise make 'the food weaker tor a day or so. as the baby should never be given more than lie is able to digest. Mothers ask : " Will not a child lose weight when placed ll|Hin a weak diet'" Sometimes they lose a little for the first week or two, but they 10011 make up. and will then continue to grow well. On the other hand, the acute indigestion which irequeiitly results lrom using too strong a milk at the start will, in most cases, cause . a si-noils loss ut weight, and may turn the baby into a chrome dyspeptic and weakling as well. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. tQiiot.d lrom Proic.vsor Hok.i AT WHAT AGE SHOULD THE CHILD BE WEANED FROM THE BREAST;-" I'stiaUy weaning should '*• begun at nine mi ten months by substituting i.iie i.e.ling a day lor one nursing, l.it.r two iei-ihngs, ami thus gradual the child is to be tak.ll I'mill the t.H-ast altogether.•• -AT UH VI AGE SHOULD THE WEANING BE COMPLETED - ••Generally at one year. In kiiiii-lia-r it Ilia.', s..|i)etill|es be advisable t>' nn:-e an inlant a little longer r.i----th.-i than w.-.-iu in u.irm weather; but ev.-n then the dangers of wealllllg ale n.u< h 'i -.s than those ~» • out inning. !.. nurse, as :* >.., ~lt.ii done. a!t.-r the 11 dk luis lie. .i||;e My scanty and 1 ■ "> 'i'l.'i.t. ." WHEN "-HOULD A CHILI) WHO l-s WEANED FROM THE BREAM BE T\UGHT T<» DRINK FROM THE (UP, AM) WHEN TO TAKE THE JIOTTLE* - '

"If weaning is done as early as the eighth or ninth month it is better to give the bottle; if at the eleventh or twelfth month the infant should be taught to drink or be fed with a | spoon." (Memo. —Some mothers who suckle ] their babies into the ninth month pre- ; fer then to gradually habituate ttiem to spoon-feeding. This is quite a reasonable practice, and has the advantage of avoiding the special risks run in bottle-feeding where there is the slightest doubt about constant scrupulous cleanliness. Spoon - feeding should precede drinking from a cup, because otherwise the change is too sudden, and the milk tends to be taken too quickly.) •'When should an infant be weaned from the bottle." ••This should generally be begun as early as the twelfth or thirteenth month; after 15 months the bottle should not be given except at the 1U p.m. feeding." "Is there any objection to an infant taking the bottle until two or three years old." "There are no advantages and some serious objections. Older children often become so attached to the bottle that only with the greatest difficulty can they be made to give it up. Frequently they will refuse all solid tood, and will take nothing except from the bottle so long as it is given, and when finally, at three or four years, it is taken away they will not touch milk during the rest of their childhood. The difficulty is here that children form the " bottle habit." This habit is troublesome, unnecessary, and should by all means be prevented. An exclusive diet of milk for children of two or three years often results in anaemia and. malnutrition." Frequent inquiries are received as *o details of weaning, and the subject will be continued in next week's column.