FEEDING THE BABY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 20, 18 October 1907, Page 3

FEEDING THE BABY.

VALUABLE HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. Bolow wo print tho second section of an important circular o.i tho feeding and care of tho baby, which has beon issued by the Christchurch and Dunodin branchos of tho Society, for Promoting the Health of Women and Children. Tho circular contains such a mass of valuable information that we propose to publish further instalments from time to time. . 111. FEEDING DETAILS, ETC. FIRST MONTH. The first month is tho most critical for tho infant's nutrition. Tho organism is then adapting itsolf to performing the ontirely now and complex task of digesting and assimilating food, and the chances of survival aro thon lowest. It is wiser always to accomplish first the proper digestion of food, even if-there is no gain in weight, and then, when once tho infant is digesting well, to increaso the strength. Within, 12 hours of birth the baby should be put to tho breast, to stimulate the secretion of milk. At this time, and in most cases during the first 24 to 3G hours, the baby obtains very little food. If during this period the infant is restless and evidently hungry, from one to two teaspoonfuls of the sugar of .milk solution may bo given at intervals of two or three hours. If tho niother s milk is delayed still longer, something additional must be given. Throughout the first week continue feeding with the sugar solution, but gradually add humanised milk in increasing proportions, so that when four days old tho baby may rcceivo equal quantities of sugar solution and humanised milk. By the end of the sccond week two parts of humanised milk may be given to ono of sugar mixture, and by the,end of the third week three parts of humanised milk to ono of sugar solution. If premature use weaker.* SECOND MONTH AND ONWARDS. At the end of tho first month the baby may be givon threo parts of humanised milk to one of "new-milk-whey." Continuo this mixture for one or two weeks; then the humanised milk may be given pure, and this can bo continued throughout the first lime, mouths of life; or towards the end of tho fourth month, if the infant is strong and is digesting its food well, humanised milk No. II may bo blended with tho standard humanised milk in gradually increasing proportions, until at four months and a-half the child gets No. II puro. : It should be noted tjiat tho change to milk No II is suggested merely as a saving of trouble, bccausc it takes loss time to make' than the first recipe. Both milks are of tbo same strength, but as the No. 1 is more easily digested, it should be continued longer and may bo used throughout if No. II fails to agreo. , ' DON'T ADD WATER. Do not dilute humanised milk as you would ordinary cow's milk, because tho less digestible material has been removed. Humanised milk has the same' strength as human, nulk, and should therefore not bo diluted or altered in any way, unless for some special reason. f As already pointed out, some "Sugar ol Milk Solution" should be added throughout the first month of lii'o,- or longer, and the same principle applies when any baby is to .bo fed with humanised milk for the first time. DILUTE AT STARTING. If tho baby is over a month (.Id and/quite, strong, it may start with equal 1 parts of humanised milk and sugar of ,milk solution. Gradually increaso tho proportion of humanised milk and correspondingly ; rcduce tho sugar of milk solution. At tho ond of a week or moro the humanised niillc may bo given pure But if the baby is younger, or if it is in any way delicato, commence with equal parts of humanised milk, curdless milk, and sugar solution. Gradually reduce the sugar solu-. tion, say by loz. to 2oz per-diem, and when it is eliminated reduce tho curdless milk, but a month or more may elapse before the digestive organs can bo strengthened and built up to completely digest puro humanised milk. If instructed tiie dairy company will supply tho milk ready graded day by day without extra charge. INDIGESTION. If tho motions at any timo appear green when passed or contain undigested food indicates as a rule' that less humanised milk and moro sugar solution should bo given. Indeed, it is safer to,give sugar solution alono for one, or moro feedings. If tho green motions' aro accompanied by obvious indigestion and diarrhoea an instant change should invariably be made to pure water for several meals, or, at most, the baby should be restricted to sugar - solution; then curdles* milk may be used, but tho niother should bo very cautious about resuming tho uso o. humanised inilk for a day or so, lest sho should bring on a relapse. It is safer to pave tho-.way to using humanised milk again by giving the baby for a few-,days first halt an ounce and then an ounce of new mill;, boiled for 10 minutes and skimmed, to each five ouncos of curdlcss milk used. Profossor Holt says:—"While the increase of the food should always be slow and gradual, its reduction, when any marked symptoms of indigestion arise, should, be immediate and considerable." DSN'T ADD SOLIDS. 'The useof pure humanised milk should bo continued .throughout the first nine months of life, the quantity being increased gradually as shown in the table. This regimen suffices for the proper nutrition and growth of the infant without adding solids. Until Nature has provided somo serviceable teeth she does not intend that biscuits, rusks, bread, etc., should be used. Don't W tempted to resort to patent foods or additions'of any kind unless specially ordered by a doctor. Humanised milk contains an ample supply of the natural food constituents, and nothing should bo added. The tendency of tho mother's own milk is actually to dccreaso rather than to increase in strength after tho first month'. Wools % week, as'tho child grows, Naturo gradually supplies a larger\ouantity of milk, but sho does not increase th*e strength of the fluid. " i, With tho exception of milk' sugar, none of the solids of cow's mill,- are quite identical with those of human milk; therefore wo cannot exactly follow the lines of Naturo in artificial feeding, because at first tho baby's digestive organs cannot assimilate the <■ proportion of solids as found in human milk. However, at the age of a month or six'weeksl by following the above scheme tho organs may readily bo trained to accomplish the full work required of them—in other words the baby should then be capable of digesting standard humanised milk made as nearly as possible identical with human milk. DON'T MAKE SUDDEN CHANGES. There should be.no sudden transitions to new forms of f>)od. Tho growing digestive organs is a delicately-adjusted process of gradually habituated to perform each nkw function. The natural development of the organs is a delicately-adjusted process of orderly growth. QUANTITIES AND INTERVALS. Tho following table shows tho quantities needed at each feeding by tho average baby.-' Somo thrive better with rather loss food; whilo others/ naturally big, quick-growing babies,'can digest more. A woman should soon recognise tho natural cry of mere hunger, but sho should always bear in niind that tho tendency of mothers and nurses is to give babies too much rather than too littlo. A baby may bo fractious and cry for tho bottle merely because it is suffering from■ tho discomfort of indigestion caused by overfeeding, or it may bo merely thirsty. For thirst the best, thing is a drink of puro boiled water. The putting up of a littlo fluid after feeding is generally due to giving too much food, or to giving it too strong or too frequently. Feed tho baby perfectly regularly, with the proper intervals between. Nothing is moro irritating to the stomach in tho long run than the habit of giving tho baby the bottlo at any odd time simply to stop crying. Another bad habit is the uso of a so-called "comforter."

TABLE FOR FEEDING. The day feeding aro supposed to begin at 6 a.m. and to end at 10 p.m. ! g CI <M « frl * 1 1 2 ■ o 3 o u 3 O o O o Q 1-1 1-1 M ~ . W , " 2 o o o P 1 £(0 O O W 05 I o CJ h A 01 ei ei q § m m 2 H CI 01 CI 5-< w D _ r. r-< M £ Ol CI 2 COOOC5 0 ' PJ H H H c: tO a cj e o u » o o a y. --- ~ s Interval in C 1 M C 1 « « « « Q Hours. g w 0 w a, w c> ci •g H N N pj W . QJ Total Number go °o o o 3 o o .01 MHSSS?"" issaasss LL m Approximate " "P 01 c? c? o o tpj Number of 'Ssoooooo CS Ounccs to bo § +» +> ■" ** ft Given at each U H h w "1 -i >o o ' rf Feeding. a UU H co o Total Nuuibor © © © o o fTt Of FecdiugS ill r-< r-l r-« -m w 2-1 Hours. v cs tQQ .Number of ± a 0 jjjj Night^eediugs. Number of is o Day Feedings. cs a a o o o <x> I * ' l-d** '• * § -i § 5 5 s_ 4: a 7 s 3 ® . y] H n 10 n *Somo mothers prefer to give two feedings! I at night—that is, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.—throughout tho first month of lifo, and to continue one night-feeding up to four or five months of ago. There is no harm in this, but it involves more night work, and is not necessary unless for some special reason. In any caso, tho average total quantity of food needed for the 24 hours, as. indicated in the table, ■ would remain unchanged, and either 0110 day meal would be. omitted, or else quantity per feeding would bo diminished. The above table /shows how tho intervals of feeding and tho amount of food to bo given should correspond to the normal capacity of tho stomach at different periods of tho first year. Professor Botch says"lt is so important to avoid stretching so easily distensible an organ as the stomach that it is wiser to give too little rather than too much in the early days of life, and then gradually to increase tho 'amount if tho infant cries from hunger." "I havo found that I can easily convince most mothers of tho mistaken zeal of nurses who advocate giving the young infant largo amounts of food; by showing them the size of the infant's stomach at birth and comparing this with Boz. nursing-bottle." Delicate premature babies must not bo fed at ifirst according to tho above table, etc. Thoy may need at the start only a teaspoonful of very dilute special food given every hour. FEEDING AFTER NINE MONTHS. Whole milk and'oat-jelly (use barloy-jelly instead if digestion is feeble) should now bo mixed with the humanised milk in gradually increasing proportions. Tho average requirements are as follows:— 1 Human- tSwT Number Month. . iscd Alilk, SS? of No. 2. Feedings. OZS." 1 OZR. 075. Tenth ... ... 35 5 3 • G Ivloventh ... ■ 30 10 5 5 Twelfth ... 20 35 -7 5 Thirteenth ... 15 15 10 5 Fifteenth ... 10 20 10 5 Eighteenth ... 0 30 10 5 To prepare the supply for 24 hours mix tho abovo ingrediepts in a clean', scalded jug;, heat to 155deg, and keep .at that temperature for live'or ton minutes; cool rapidly i\ water, and then transfer tho jug to a cool, outdoor safo. In cold weathor this suffices, but if the weather is at all warm it is safer to re-heat and re-cool tho residue at tho end of 12 hours. In addition, . if ,tho weather is sultry, bring tho last feeding in in the evening and the first feeding in' tho morning to 160dcg. Fahr. in tho feedingbottle immediately before use.. Lot tho food cool to lOOdeg. Fahr. beforo giving it to tho baby. Instead of mixing the wholo of tho clay's allowance of oat-jolly with tho milk, it is a good plan to 'spoon-feed with two ouncos given plain just before two of tho feedings, at which no bread is given. Some babies much prefer this little variation. In tho twelfth month gradually introduce a little bread one day old, giving "bread and milk" (made with the prepared fopd) at o»o or two meals, and the simplo prepared food for tho other meals. Good rusks or thin, crisp toast, are easier to digest; and may b.q. used instead of, or along with bread. The toast should be made by cutting the bread very thin, then placing it in an oven with tho door open and quickly drying until crisp,' but not browned; or tho thin broad may bo partly dried in the oven and then lightly toasted until crisp. Either form is preferable to biscuit. At this stage tho mother or nurse should road the further remarks on feeding givon under various headings on tho last pago. i OUTLINE OF ORDINARY COURSE OF ARTIFICIAL FEEDING FROM BIRTH TO TWELVE MONTHS, DESCRIBED . IN DETAIL ABOVE. v ' 1. For 24 hoursSugar of. Milk Solution. 2. For one monthSugar of Milk Solution. \ ; Humanised Milk. 3. For second to fourth month— Humanised 'Milk. 4. For a few weeks— Humanised Milk. Humanised Milk No. 11. 5. Fourth or fifth to ninth month— Htimanisod Milk No. 11. 6. Tenth month to twelfth month— Humanised Milk No. 11. Cows' Milk. Oat jolly, rujks, toast or bread. ' FRUIT JUICE. In all cases of artificial feeding give a liftlo fresh, fruit juice daily to infants from six months old onwards, to compensate for the

something that may be wanting in any prepared i'ood. Orange juico is the best, but the juice of lemons, apples, or grapes may bo used. The nurse must make sure that no part of the fruit is decomposed, and the juice must bo freshly prepared immediately before use, and carefully strained so that none of the solid constituents niay be included. The juice' is best given about midway between meals, and should bo diluted with twice its volume of water which has been boiled and allowed to cool. If very sour, as in the caso of lemon juice, a little ordinary sugar may bo added . The use of fruit juico can bo commenced at six months of ago, with half a teaspoonful given once or twico a day. Each month an additional teaspoonful a' day may bo given. At a year old the child could •could have a small tablospobnful or more twice a day. It would not bo wise to uso the juice of vor.v sour fruits, such as lemon, in large quantities or continuously. The daily use of fruit juico is important also in checking any tendency to constipation! Where the daily use of lruit juice is not convenient it may bo given once or twice a week with advantage.