FEEDING THE BABY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 19, 17 October 1907, Page 3

FEEDING THE BABY.

VALUABLE HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS Below wo print the second section of an important circular on the feeding and care of the liaby, which has been issued by the Christchurch and Duncdin brandies of tho Society for Promoting tho Health of Women and Children. Tho circular contains such a mass of valuable information that we propose to publish further instalments from time to timo. 11. ' ARTIFICIAL FEEDING. It is wiser to put up a fence at tho'toj of a precipice than to maintain an ambularici at the bottom. CLEANLINESS. ' All bottles or vessels for milk must bo kopl scrupulously clean. This can be effected bj washing immediately after use with colc: water, and then with hot water and soda scouring with a brush kept specially for the purpose. Hot water should never bo usee first, bccauso it coagulates the albumen ol milk and prevents proper cleansing.' Milli >ttles should bo turned upsido down ft drain, and may bo left thus or covcrcd tc prevent the accumulation of dust or particles lloating in tho air. llinse again with boiler (voter immediately boforo use, and oil no account follow this rinsing by wiping out with any form of cloth or towel, since, howevei clean this might be, it would probably contaminate the vessel with .microbes. INGREDIENTS, ETC. I. No effort should o spared to get the milk as soon after milking as possible. Any milk that has been standing for 12 hours without having been rapidl' ycoolcd down, covered to keep out falling particles, and kept below 60deg. Fahrenheit is unlit for feeding infants. Whore such is tho only milk obtainable it should be heated at once to 155deg. Fahrenheit and kept at that temperature for live or ten minutes to prevent further growth of fermentative organisms. It should then be covored, cooled rapidly by placing tho jug or jar in cold water for 20 minutes, and kept in a cool, cloan outdoor safe. Heating carried above 155deg. Fahrenheit seriously impairs the nutritive qualities of the milk. The milk of a herd of cows is more reliable as regards equality of composition than the milk of a single cow. In winter tho evening milk of a given herd is distinctly richer than tho morning milk; and in autumn milk is decidedly richer than in spring. _The. morning milk is easily cooled, because early in tho day water is generally available \vhich has not been subjected to sunshine or warm air. To cool rapidly, place the covered jar of milk in water, preferably running, for half an hour, and then remove to a proper cooling box or cool safo. On very warm days no mere safo is cool enough to prevent the risk of an injurious fermentative growth taking placo in the course of tho day. In these circumstances, if there bo no means at hand to onsuru proper cooling, the safest plan is to restrict tho standing of milk, for croam to six hours. On those occasions, when preparing humanised milk, a little extra croam may bo added to riiako up for insufficient rising of fat in the cream. il. Milk Sugar is tho natural sugar of milk, from which it is extracted in tho form of a white powder.. This substahco is easily digested, resists, fermentation; and tends to check putrefactive processes in the contents of the intestine. The reverso is the case with cane sugar, which readily ferments itself, tends to set up decomposition, and is a loading causo of indigestion and diarrhoea in infants; hence one evil of condensed milk. Malt sugar and other vegetable sugars and starches, are open to similar objections. This affords one of many reasons against the use of patent foods and condensed milk. Milk sugar is the principal solid constituent of human milk; and' is the only form of sugar admissible for tho feeding, of infants. Sugar Measuro,—A standard nioasuro is mado to hold ioz. of-milk sugar. It is dipped into the sugar and lifted out slightly heaped up, then the portion standing above the level of the rim is removed by passing, tho back of n.-knife across it. As the bulk of iv given woight of milk sugar will vary considerably with the degreo of pressure to which it has been subjected in packing, the accuracy of measuring should be checkcd from timo to timo by seeing whether a given weight of milk, sugar measures out properly. There should, of course, bo 32 nieasurcfuls in a pound of sugar. If at all lumpy tho sugar should be powdered bofore measuring. 111. Top-milk.— "Top-milk" or "thin cream" means a thin, milky cream only three times as rich in l'at a3 ordinary cow's milk. This can bo obtained by removing tho upper fourth from a jug—or tall, narrow- jar—of good rich cow's milk, which, has been loft standing in a cooling box or cool safo for nine hours. Thus a cjuart (400z.),0f good milk will yield lial fa pint (lOoz.) of tho right strength of thin croam. In spring time,' if morning milk is used, at least a full milkmail's quart (450z.) of milk would have to bo sot in order to obtain lOoz.' of sufficiently good cream, unless tho milk happened to bo that of Jersey or other cows yielding an unusual percentage of fat. Jersoy milk is about lialf as rich again in fat as ordinary milk, but is only a little richer in casein, so that when dealing , with such milk special l'ecipes must be used. HOW TO REMOVE TOP-MILK. This can be effected by combining skimming with a spoon and pouring, but this is much more trouble and gives a thinner cream than dipping with a conical dipper. The 2Joz. sizo Df dipper is the most convenient. Tho littlo lots on either, sido show when it is half-full. Method of Using Dippor. — Gently lower tho dipper until tho cream flows. oyer the edgo. Keep tho dipper fairly level and movo it deftly round towards tho sides of the jar so as to got tho :ream to como equally from all directions. To prevent- cream being carried down into tho skim milk it is advisable tq wet the outsido 5f the dipper by plunging it' into boiling water immediately before lowering it into tho jrcarn for tho first dipperful. A still moro affective measuro is to wet. tho dippor in tho sugar solution yrhicli has just been preSwraanised milk, IV. Appliances.—Tho only special appliincoc needed are a-half pint glass moasuro graduated in ounces, and a milk thermometer, ;ostmg a shilling or eighteonpenco. In adlition it is a groat advantage to havo a 2}oz. jonical dipper and a $oz. sugar moasuro. Iheso two simple conveniences can bo obiained for Is. from Messrs. A. and T. Burt. RECIPES. I. Sugar of Milk Solution.—This is mado by lissolving an ounce of sugar of milk in a pint of boiling water; cover, cool quickly, and tecp in a cool safe. Always boar in mind that no fluid of any rind (not oven boiled wator)' must bo given ;o a baby without having been heated to at least 155deg. Fahr. within 24 hours of tho timo of uso. Indeed, both water and sugar solution should bo actually brought to tho boil witliin a day of tho time of uso, because boiling does no harm to either water or sugar and affords additional safety. 11. Whey—To mako 1 pint of whey tako 1} pints (300z.) milk, add a teaspoonful of best rennet oxtract, sot tho jug containing tho milk in a saucepan of warm water, and heat until it has bocomo a thick mass. Now break up thoroughly with a perfectly clean spoon which you have dipped in boiling water. Place a thermometer (rinsed in cooled boiled water) in tho jug, and continuo heating until it registers IGfldeg. Fahr. wlion stirred, in tho middle of tho whey, not when resting on tho bottom. Next draw tho saucopan aside to a coolor part of tho stovo whero tho temperature will not fall below 160, and kcop it there for fivo minutes. Then pour off the whey from the curd, which should havo sunk in a lump to tho bottom of the jug. Noto that whey made from now milk contains usually about a third of tho fat of tho millc. whereas w.liey marie from skim milk contains little fat,-and if from "separated' milk, almost no fat. 111. —Humanised Milk.— "Top-milk" • (otlierwiso.. called thin cream) 10 oz. W hey 12 oz. I/imo water ... IJoz. Sugar of milk ... ... 1 oz. ISmied water ... G{oz. Tho whey should bo mado from the skim millc remaining after the top-milk has been removed from the quart originally set.

I'he sugar of milk should first bo dissolvoe in tho boiling ivator, and tho whole of tin ingredients should then bo poured into a jug .pcrlcctly cleansed as before described. Tlx jug should nov.' be put in a saucepan of warn water, and tho latter should be heated unti! a placed in tho jug register: looeleg. Kahr. This temperature should be maintained for at least five minutes. Th< jug should bo loosely covcred with a clean liii or cap to arrest falling particles, but not tc prevent access of air. Aftor tho jug has stood in cold water (preferably running water) for 20 minutes, it should be remove# to a cooling box or cool safe. In warn weather after 12 hours tho unused reniaindei should he again heated to 155e1eg., and b( quickly coolcd down and kept cool. If the milk used is rich tho quantity sel •for cream should bo 40oz. If the milk is onh fairly good set the full milkman's quarl (that is,' 450z.). If poor (as morning milk usually is in spring time), set 450z. for cream and also use now milk for making the whej instead of using skim milk as directed above, If in doubt, or in any case where the babj is not'thriving,_ tho mothor should send bj post to the Society or to a dairy factory foi analysis an ounco bottle of the humanised milk sho propares. Three or four drops ol formalin should be added to tho specimen to prevent it going bad on the journey. Nc charge is made by tho Society for analysis and tho mothor is thus afTorded a simple means of satisfying horsolf whether what she is giving her baby is all right or not. The proportion of fat should be between 3$- and 4 per cent. WARNING. At every stago it must bo borne in mind that milk must bo properly mixed, otherwise what is. prepared will be too rich or too pool in fat, and tho baby will sufFer. The same care is needed after the humanised milk is prepared. Mothers often make their babies ill by carelessly pouring off the unelisturbcel top layor into tho feeding-bottle, thus givinn a meal perhaps twice as rich in fat as it should be. IV.—Humanised Milk No.' ll.— "Top-milk" (otherwise called thin cream) 10 o z, Milk '... ... ... ... 3 oz. Jjimo water ... ljoz. Sugar of milk l$oz! iloiled water 15ioz. V.—Curdless Milk.— New milk whey ... 20 oz. Sugar of milk joz. Heat to loodeg. Falir., cover loosely, cool rapidly, and keep in a cool safe. —Oat Jelly.—For inothod of preparing "Oat Jelly" and other cereal jellies, instructions will bo given in a future articlo undei tlte heading "Recipes for Gruel." V'H.—Lime Water.—Thoroughly stir loz. of froshly-slaked limo into half a gallon ol boiled water; cover to keep out falling particles. After 12 hours the clear solution should bo carefully poured off and thrown away, as it contains any impurities present A thick cream of lime will remain at tho bottom of the vessel. Again add half a gallon ol boiled water, stir for three minutes, and allow it to stand, covered as before, for 12 hours, The clear fluid is lime water, and should be carefully poured off and bottled lor future use. It will keep if the bottles are filled ane well corked. Green glass-stoppered bottles are recommeneled, but thoroughly cleansed ordinary sijiall beer bottles servo equally well il tilled anu thoroughly corked with sound specially-clcansed corks, which liavo beer scalded immediately beforo uso. Limo watei deteriorates in tho presence of air; thorefore the bottles should not be larger than pints anel the one in use should always bo wol corked immediately after pouring out. The exact quantity of limo is not important, provided sufficient is used, because water wil only dissolve,a certain quantity. A lovel tablespoonful of slaked lime weigh; nearly an ounce.