FEEDING THE BABY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 25, 24 October 1907, Page 3

FEEDING THE BABY.

VALUABLE HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. Bolow wo print the seventh r.cotion :■ of nn important, circular on trio feeding and care of tho baby, which has ' boon issued by the Ohristchurch and ; : ( Dimedin branches of tho Socioty for Promoting tho Health of Women and Children. The circular contains such ' • ; ■ a', mass of valuable, information that Wo propose to publish further instal- ■•' ments from time to time '■ ' . INFANT FEEDING. : i .'. ' SECOND YEAR. Death exacts a heavy toll among infants during tho second year of lifo, the main causo being.ignorant and careless feeding. Indeed, carelessness readies its climax the second year. ■■; For the earlier part of the first 12 months most mothers can show at least sonic pretence of method and system, though tho system is almost invariably wrong. Thus, when feeding artificially, women measure out so many spoonfuls or eggcupfuls, etc., of milk, eano sugar, and water in accordance with some recipo' in common use, and if tho baby is strong and resistive it may come through the orileal apparently unscathed. During tho second year, on tho other hand, the mother commonly abandons all pretence of care and. system, delivers her offspring over to the special torture known as

y "TAKING WHAT'S GOING." Most babies do come throiigh this ordeal alive, but not one escapes unscathed , . The .immature internal organs liavo not reached a stiigo enabling •them to cqpo■ effectively with many articles of food which aro quite suitablo'for adults; much less can tho baby bo oxpected to withstand the injurious offects of. the indigestible dishes commonly,, favoured'by adults for tho 'stimulation of their own jaded appctitics." To' anyone who realises the harm done by "giving tho; baby what's going" there' is something peculiarly aggravating in .witnessing the positive pride with which parents regard the fact that tho baby has reached' a stage at which it can stow away almost anything that they take them•r'ejvcs. Our babies arc fed on potatoes and sfavy', promiscuous scraps, arid sweets at an ago whpTV the babies. ,of Japan are still at their mothers'.breasts. ■ Between, two ex-, fcremes what is the reasonable course to pursiieP : .'. .:. ..',. -~ ..... ■■■ : .

Essentials during 'second. \ear. ■•;• -1; The -essential; food is still 'milk. Allow the baby at least a' pint and a-half of cows milk per diem throughout the second year. .. 2. Starch and other-constituents of barley, wheat, oafs, rice, otc, can now bo digested readily if given in moderation and in supple oasiiy'-digested. forms—e.g., , barley or -<oa<, icily, gfiiels mado with groats, barley, oatmeal, etc.—rusks, plain unsweetened biscuits, thoir slicra of stale broad dried in the oven and toasted until crisp- throughout, stale bread with or without a little butter, bread arid milk, porridge subjected to prolonged boiling and strained if necessary. • _■ ' ' •'■ 3. fruit and vegetables may be given wit.i advantage, but the/utmost, care should be biorcisod in selection and preparation. At first give only the juico of sound ripe fruii, such as: oranges, but later the baby.may have baked apple pulp, grapo pulp, etc. Potato, and gravy or broth may form part of tho midday meal, but only a part, and special care should be taken to: select a pieco of floiiry'old potato, and. torcmovo any excess of fat;'from gravy. ; ~ 4. Meat is not a necessity during tho second year of life, but after 18 months a little may bo given" with advantago in the form of cliickeh or mutton boiie/for the baby to gnaw.. This helps to develop teeth and jaws and the nns'jles which serve them. A little scraped chicken or underdone beef or mutton may'bo , occasionally. If they, agree, two or tbreo egg3may be given in , the coursy of the woek when the baby, is 18 months old. The list we have given , embraces all that tho baby needs during tho second year of life, and all thnt it should have. The motlra ■has to use her -intelligence hi. feolmg her way step by step. When a baby reaches the stage of taking plain, unprepared, new milk it is best, given along with some gruel— a fourth, or a fifth part of barley or oat gniel being added at each feeding.. This renders tho milk-much moro'easily digested. it there'i is any tendency to indigestion, milk. 311-Var should still be used instead of cano i supar. ■ Cthorwiso gruel can be made,appetising by , adding a pinch of salt and,a little nhno sugar,,to sweeten it. ■ /■ During the earlier half of the second year ,(ivo meals at about four-hour intervals should be given, t Tho bottle. should bo,dispensed, with,-and the food should bo; taken from,- a i'cup or spoon'.. If tho bottlo is not taken from a child early, it may be extremely diffi ; cult to: break 'it of. tho, bottle habit. . ■■, Pour meals a day will generally 3umce after 18 months,.but many children of that age. thrivo'perfectly well with/only three meals, "a day 'A safe average standard. is to give • four meals a.day from 18 months to 2 years ,of age,, and then to reduco to three mealsif ■'thojight desirable -,--• '. ■ •.•' , ' , The following remarks by a prominent pro"fossor.qf,.children's diseases m an American Aihiversity are worth quoting:— 1 "During tho second • year of life as much caro is required as during the nrs u . ■ The' fear of the second summer .would • largely bo ovorcomo if the.child were, '■ • ; not allowed to eat food unsuited to its digestion., Most of tho illnesses 'and : ■ many of the deaths throughout child- -■'/ hood are traceable,to improper diet. 'The following lists sum up what actual riracticai experience, extending over a wide ■range of cases in various parts of the world, has shown to 1 , givo the best results. lhe information is based-on conclusions arrived at bv tho leading authorities in America and the' Old World, adapted .to the available fooils and prevailing conditions of New Zealand. ■r, ' . , ■ . ' ' ;, YEAR TO FIFTEEN MONTHS. ■ \ '.'(ißofer.back 'to feeding table in^previous ;,;./. :. :- section.) " ,-' First Meal (6 to 7 a.m.)

Give, on waking, about Boz. of prepared milk, composed of equal parts of new/ milk ■and Humanised Milk No. 2. A pint and ahalf or'more of this mixturo may be made up ovbrv day to'last tho 24 hours,-and should bo heated, to 155deg.Fahr., thon cooled rapidly and kept, cool. Noto that it is percferablo to give 2oz. of gruel (described later) with this meal, and to correspondingly reduce the milk, but this is sometimes regarded as inconvenient in summer, because exposed gruel does not keep well in warm weathor, and the mother profors : to mako. after breakfast what she needs.for tho day. However, gruel will keep quite safely through a summer's night if,tho remainder of what has been made in the morning is brought to tho boil in the evening, then ' covered, cooled rapidly in water and kopt in a cool safe as directed for milk • ltecipes for preparing various gruels aro given below. Those mado from barley are the most roadily digested, and aro thereforo to be preferred where there is a distinct tdiidency to digestive disturbances. On the other 'hand, oat gruels are rather moro nutritious, and aro preferable where; there is atlv tendency to constipation. A htt o dry nisk 'toast or stalo broad may bo allowed with this meal, as soon as tho baby has learned to nibble and chew. : , Second Meal (10 to 11 a.m.) '■Prepared milk, 6oz. to loz.; barley or oat jolly gruel, 20r,.

'■■i : Third Meal (1.30 to 2.30 p.m.) 'Four to six ounoos of broth (made from chicken, mutton, or beef), skimmed of fat; 'anil 4oz. or soz. of the mixed propared milk, with or without gruel. As development advances the baby should be encouraged to t'ako adry rusk, crisp toast, or stale bread in' gradually-increasing quantity, A beginning in this direction can usually be 'effected soon after a.year.old-is reached, but occasionally no progress in eating dry solids can bo made until tho baby has reached two years,'or oven qlder. Much depends on careful teaching, and it is a matter of great importance to train a baby to masticate properly and oat slowly as soon N as possible in the second year. The advantages of chew-

ing somo more or less dry food are twofold — viz.: (1) The salivary glands aro stimulated to grow and secrete actively. (2) Normal formation, growth, and development of teeth, jaws, and the muscles concerned in mastication are promoted. Fourth Meal (5 to 6 p.m.) Same as second meal. Fifth Meal (9 to .10 p.m.) Same as second meal. One or two tablcspoonfuls of strained fresh orango juice should bo given an hour before ' tho .'second meal. This promotes nutrition, and tends to rcgulato the bowels. It should be omitted if at any time there is a tendency to undue looseness. Professor Holt puts tho question, "Cannot most children take plain milk before they are 15' months old?" and he gives his opinion as follows: "Many can, but many cannot, or at least they do much better wben tho milk is modified.'" In the writer's opinion, it is often wiser to continue tho use of some Humanised Milk No. 2upto 18 months. ' To sum up, the averagp feeding requirement- for the period of life between a year and 15 months will be: Humanised Milk No.'2 ...■ f pint. Now Milk '} P»nt. Jelly gruel i P»>t. Givo less than a breakfast cupful of this mixture for the first, second, fourth, anu fifth meals, and about a quarter of a pint at tho third meal. Tho tendency of mothers is to overfeed. So long as the baby is growing well, so long as it is increasing in weight about half a pound a month at this time, there need bo no anxiety. Oatmeal jelly should lie regarded as the fundamental standard gruel for ordinary babies, but in all cases variety is bencucial, and on two or three days during the week it would he well to make tho gruel with barley meal or wheat meal. The midday meal lends itself specially weil to the introduction of the variations prevously described. Orange juice or baked apple should bo given before tho second monl unless there is some special reason to the contrary. , :NO SCRAPS BETWEEN MEALS. If tho baby is thirsty between meals it can be given a drink of plain boiled water. On no account allow it to have- food of any kind, whether fluid or solid, between meals, and specially forbid tho giving of cake, biscuits, or of any sort of sweo.ts. Professor-Botch, of Harvard, says: ''The infant should never bo given cako or candy even to taste. ' RECIPKS FOR ORUEL, ETC. TO MAKE 12 OUNCES OF "MEAL JELLY" , OR RICH GRUEL.

Stir into a pint and a-half of boiling water, to whicii a pinch of salt has been added, lour tablcspoonstul (stroked off level with the back of a knifo) of oatmeal, barleymcal, or whoatmeal. Bring to tho boil, stir, : and keep gently boiling for half an hour.- Then strain, while hot, through a very lino, perfectly clean, boiled, wire-gauze gravy-strainer into a scalded jug; cover, cool rapidly in water, and keep in a cool safe. The gruel should set to a thick jolly on cooling. Robinson's patent barley may bo used instead of the above, but presents lio special advantage over any good ordinary meal. Arrowroot or cornflour gruels may also be used, but are less complete foods, and the above three alford ample variety. After 15 months of age, if the baby has a good digestion, it is better to use a somewhat coarcer Strainer tor making the oaj-jelly. Uγ' far the irost convenient sieve for this is tho patent'cylindrical'flour dredger in common use. 'If the 'boiled oatmeal is placed in this while boiling hot, a few turns of the hnndlo cause all that is fine enough to go through, and tho result is a kind of 'strained, jellylike porridge. The dredger can be readily cleansed, and should always be boiled just before use.' Thin'ordinary gruels can be made by using about half' tho proportion of meal given in the above recipe. A considerable saving of troublo is effected if tho total quantity or prepared milk , needed for the 24 Hours is stirred into tho gruel immediately it is strained. Tho'.inixturo can theu bo brought to 155dcg. Fahr.,-should bo. kept- covered, and should' bo cooled-. rapidly in water and kept in a cool safe. Evon u ijhe Humanised Milk No. " fias to I,c mn "° m the homo, tho preparing and mixing, of it and the gruel, etc., for tho day's supply should not take much moro than hair an hour. Of course, other kitchen work can bo gono on with at tho same time.

.FIFTEEN TO EIGHTEEN MONTHS. , Similar to previous period, cxcbpt that rather more rusks, toast, bread, plain biscuit, etc., may bo given. Tlir second meal may consist of one or two tabicspoonsful of porridge made,from oatmeal (or other cereals). The porridge should bo made with a pinch of salt and may bo cooked for threo or four hours. It should bo strained and .given along with from six to eight ounces of milk, and about a tablespoontul of thin cream or a dessortspoonful of thick-eream. It is better not to add any sugar. . During this period of babyhood some variation of food ovory day. or so becomes more distinctly appreciated ■■ and beneficial. At the third meal the baby may now receive sometimes some boiled rice (cooked for three hours), or a teaspoonful or more of meat iuice; or scraped chicken, or scraped underdone beef or mutton, or half a soft-boiled egg with stale breadcrumbs, or a lovel teaspoonful of boiled, floury potato wrth gravy. In tho way of fruit, ' a level tablcspoonful of baked applo or a teaspoonful or so of tho pulp of well-boiled prunes, from which all skin has heon-excluded, may bo allowed. If e<72 is used it should not be really boiled, but put into'a saucepan, of boiling water, which should then be drawn aside, so that the egg may .cook, for six minutes at a temperature just below boiling point. It. then becomes soft and creamy throughout. Eggs, agβo^« l tlα 0 H T WM O NTk C S Ched After 18 months four meals a day should suffice. Whatever tho frequency, perfect regularity of meal-times should be strictly adhered to. Nothing acts more prejudicially on digestion, nutrition, and growth than irregularity of intervals and the giving of food between meals. It is hard to persuade the mother that onco the milk-and-gnipl stage wnassed a considerable ti.no (from three,. to Hve'hours) is needed for gnstnc _ digestion, md tCt i any additional food is introduced before tho proper time has e apsed tivo processes become disturbed If a child threoir four meals from 18 months onwards.