OUR BABIES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13741, 24 May 1910, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

(Bt By_bu_) ("Weekly Press and Referee.") TOP^IILK. Last week wo promised to point out vhv it is better to use the term "Topmilk" and not "thin cream" when epeaking of th.? upper fourth of milk ■which has been set for the preparation of Humanised Milk. Mothers sometimes -worry because -what they expect to be cream appears too thin and more like milk.- It is c/uitetrue that the lower stratum of the lOoz to he removed from the quart of milk usually set (to make 30oz of Humanised Milk) is not only not tream, but-is, indeed, not even milk. The lowest layer of the lOoz is merely •"skim-milk," but the layer on the very ; surf ace is thick, cream, twice as strong j as we want, and tho layers between the I top and bottom are of intermediate | strength, which diminishes steadily as ! we descend from 20 per cent, to 2 per | cent. Imagine the '•Top-milk* to bo composed of ten layers of an ounce each--the top layers very rich in fat ant! the botton layers very poor (mere skim-milk, in fact) —then the blending of all.these layers will give a '"Topmilk" about three times as rich in fat as the milk from which it is derived. It may be asked. "Why not use the term '12 per crnt. Cream' instead of 'Top-milk'?" as being more definite and precise. 'The objection is that the percentage of fat in the cream will ccmmonlv vary between 9 and 12 percent., according to the quality of tho rHlk. and to other factors, such as the time expiring between milking ."nd setting for cream, the rapidity and degree of coolim. which can be brought about, etc. The richer the milk the sooner it. is set after milking, and the greater the chilling that can be effected (short of freezing) the' richer will be the "Tcp-milk." Any "Top-milk' which contains between 9 and 12 per cent, fat w-11 vie.d a Humanised Milk .with between *3 and 4 per cent, of fat m it, which is as close as we need go lor an ordinary practical standard _he range of.variation of "fat-content in human milk is as much as or more than this. r-. When pren-ring Humanised Mil It, some mothers take what appears to be ail the cream from the household milk bee:.use they .-wish to tic the best possible for their babies. They do not pause to consider that, by denarting from the instructions in this way, they are giving their babies too large a proportion of fat. and so tendin- to upset them, besides altering tho proper relative proportions of MR"; fat, and proteirl which are essential for the best nutrition ot their infants As cases like the above havo been brought to our notice on several occasionsT tho term "thin cream" has been cut out of the recipes in the new book v. c are issuing. The term ''1 ou-n.ilk only is now used. HUMANISED MILK. It may not'be out of place hero to ttate that tho recipes advocated for the Preparation of Humanised Mdk have been arrived at after most careful study and calculation, and have been .frequently tested by analysis. Ihey have now been used practically unaltered for ftvo years, and personally 1 have never had to do with a baby which failed to thrive when Humanised Milk was used and the other essentials for healthy living were practised. NATURAL FEEDING. Readers must not imagine for a moment that the Society advocates tho use of Humanised Milk or any other artificial food. What it does advocate and wishes to see practised in every case, -.•here possible, is natural feeding by a healthy mother who attends to the maintenance of her own. health, ana who -nves her baby all the other essentials for health in addition to the inestimable gift of its proper food. WaHNING. Let mc here warn mothers who aro feeding their babies naturally that breast-feeding alone is not sufficient to ensure good health. Fresh air, exercise, regularity of all habit's, including times for nursing baby**, are as important for your infants as tor those which are bottle-fed. Always feed baby at the proper time, -whether asleep or awake. If necessary, wrjko him. Some bnbies take their 10 p.m. feeding while practically asleep. It is only when for any reason a baby cannot have its birthright that wo say, with all the intensity ot which we are capable, that he ought to have the nearest approach to his natural food which it is possible for us to prepare. Even if the preparation were difficult it is surely the least we can do to make up, as far as may be, for our failure to provide proper nourishment. However the preparing of Humanised Milk is 'really quite easy. It take 3 les*. time to prepare a 24 hours' supply than it takes, to make the cake or pudding for the household which nowadays &eem_ to bo so necessary an article of daily diet. THE LETTER FROM HAWERA. We <*eem to have wandered somewhat from Ethel's letter. We- shall now turn to it again. . QUESTION 11. "Is th.eio any objection to the uso of an ordinary medicine bottle with a teat, for a feeder? The Allenbury bottle and other similar styles have one great disadvantage—the plug has an annoying little way of popping out at unexpected moments, especially when one has a good frock on. I havo seen infants fed from ordinary bottles, such as I describe, and they do not appear to havo suffered any ill effects." REPLY. . As you will sco from the extract I shall give lower down from the Siociety's new book.(about to be issued), wo do not recommend tho use of the boat-shaped feeder. The objection you raise is not mentioned, although it is a real inconvenience. I can remember my own first experience of it when I found that a baby had apparently finished its feeding with inconceivable rapidity, whereas the milk had really drained awoy through the plug "popping-'' out. The simpler the bottle tho better, -but the medicine bottle is not simple, and is one of the most difficult forms to cleanse owing to the angles at the bottom and the shoulder. The "square" shoulder is nicst- objectionable. In this respect the old soda-water bottle, wh:ch mothers sometimes used as a feeder, was much better. However, there is no trouble now - in getting bottles cf a much better form than rither the medicine or the soda-water bottle. The best type is a cylindrical bottle, rounded at the bottom, but slightly flattened on bride so that it will stand up, and gently curved -it the shoulder into n, broadish neck, readily admitting the passage of a brush. By the way, the brush cold for cleaning baby's bottles is generally too soft and ir.fagre —a ?t*mt?r, more serviceable bottle-brush is bitter adapted for rapid Ecouring. Whatever kind of brush is ui-rd, it should be kept scrupulously clean, and should lie used for no other purpose. It should be thoroughly •-carded at least twice daily, and should be hung up in a clean, airy place when not being used, instead of being left lying on its side. If the mother can do without a lii.-'h. co much the better. There is nr. difficulty in keeping a feeding-bottle clean if the i.-:ot_*er washes it first with cold water and then with warm water and voda immediately after use— which should be the invariable rule. A simple evidence of imperfect cleansing is the giving off of an offensive burnthair smell, and slight browning di_cclonration on strongly heating the bottle in the oven. If the bottle does _ot become peifectly clear on simple washing, a few fragments of clean raw ■potato, Taw turnip, or any such substance ca_ bo shaken.' up with the

water in the bottle: This -will remove _ny cloudiness which is not firmly and _toiighly attached, and which is not "ledged in a crovice or corner such as one would havo in a medicine bottle The extract from the Society's new book on Feeding-bottles will have to staid oyer till next week.