Our Babies.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 19 February 1915, Page 4

Our Babies.

(By Hygeia).

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put up * fence at the top of a precipice thar. to maintain an Ambulance at the bottom." Humaiiiaed Milk From Unsweetened Condensed Milk —Further Simplification.

Some w«eks ago I gave a recipe and instructions for preparing Humanised Milk from unsweetened Condensed Milk, and showed how very easily this could be carried out. An ordinary tin of good unsweetened Condensed Milk was taken as the basis —Oil and Sugar of Milk being added in the proportions requisite to bring the main constituents into line with Nature's standard —viz.; Mother's Milk.

Since writing, my attention has been drawn to the fact that unsweet' ened condensed milk can be procured throughout, the Dominion in tins less than half the ordinary size. This is a very great advantage, because it en able 3 the mother to prepare without the slightest trouble juat about the quantity the average buby (say, from the third to the fifth mon.h) needs for the 24 hours. Consulting the feeding table on page 34 of the Society's book, "Feeding and Care of Baby," it will be Been that the progressive standard allowance covering this period averages from 270z to 330z. I find that the smaller-sized tin of the Ideal Brand contains just enough Condensed Milk to form, along with l-2oz of Oil and 1 1-2 oz Sugar of Milk, a pint and a half (that is 30oz) of Humanised Milk, having practically the sante strength and composition as Human Milk. As explained in the previous articles, it is preferable to give the milk somewhat weaker in the summer time, and as the average need of the baby in warm weather may be assumed to be about 10 per cent less than its need in winter, we recommend making the small tin serve for the preparation of 330z instead of 30oz of Humunised Milk. A baby fed with this mixture, and given the quantities shown on the feeding table month by month, would just get about the right quantity for use throughout the summer. In winter time he could be given about 1-2 oz more per feeding, or, if preferred, the milk could be made up to the full strength and the standard allowances in the table could be adhered to.

Special Warning. One point' which must always be borne in mind is the supreme importance of breast-feeding for the first nine months of life, and failintr this, the superiority of Standard Humanised Milk made with fresh Cow's Milk to anything that can be prepared from tinned milk in any shape or form. Having made the position quite clear, I shall now repeat the former recipe, merely substituing the figures needed when using the smaller tin of Condensed Milk. Recipe. I. Take a special small sized tin of Unsweetened Condensed Milk. The small tin of the Ideal Brand contains just sfoz ty weight, and this is the quantity to use in this recipe. 11. Put the unopened tin into a saucepan of' quickly boiling water, deep enough to cover it completely. Keep it there for four minutes: the milk will then be thin enough to flow freely, but will not be hot enough to spurt dangerously when the tin is punctured. If the tin were kept in the boiling water for longer than four minutes a jet of boiling milk might spurt up into the face on making a puncture. 111. Remove the tin from the saucepan and make two small holes in the top by stabbing with a clean scalded spike or the sharp end of a file.

The position of the punctures is an important practical point. They should be as close to the rim as ponsible, and should be made on exactly opposite sides of the top of the tin. If this is done the hole held downwards serves for the outflow of the milk, while the top hole serves for the ingoing air. If the holes are made near one another, the milk may scarcely flow at all, and what does corns tends to spurt out in jerks. The best sized holes are such that a slate pencil would

just enter. IV. Into a clean, scalded, thoroughly hot pint jugputlioz by weight of sugar of milk. Instead of weighing the sugar of milk, it ia simpler and easier to use a proper "sugar measure." The standard measure lecommendad by the Society holda just half a weighed ounce of sugar 0 f milk when filled loosely (not pressed down in any way), and scraped off level with the back of a knife. On no account should ordinary tablespoons be used for measuring the sugar: a medicine measure for fluids would be equally at fault for this purpose. If a sugar measure is not available, procure a chip-box (used for ointments) from a chemist, and pare it off till it just holds a weighed l-2oz of sugar of milk, when loosely filled and scraped off level as described. Three measurefuls would, of course, give the required 1 l-2oz V. Take a clean, scalded fork and atir into the sugar a measured l-2oz of oil.

The oil should have been heated beforehand by standing the oil-bottle in hot water: hot oil blends more readily with the dry sugar and helpß emulsion—that is, subdivision of the oil into tiny droplets. Good cod-liyer oil, olive oil, or linseed oil may be ÜBed, according to circumstances. I shall deal with this in a later article.

To form a well-blended, creamy paste pour in an ounce on two of the hot condensed milk, and beat thoroughly. Then pour in the rest of the contents of the tin, and beat up the emulsion vigorously for five minutes. Now stir in a measure 1 lljoz of boiling water, and stand the jug, loosely covered, for»five minutes in a warm place (say on a moderately warm part of the range or on the hob). Th ; s will scotch or kill any germs that may have gained tntry. At the end of the five minutes, to ensure thorough blending, pour the milk briskly backwards and forwards half a dozen times, using another clean, scalded jug, which has been standing cool and covered ready for the purpose.

How to Keep and Treat the Prepared

Milk. We have now nearly 17oz (say 16£oz when cooled) of Concentrated Humanised Milk—enough to form uouble the quantity (330z —or over one and a half pints) of Standard Humanised Milk, as used for feeding the baby. All that needs to be done to keep the milk safe is to cool down the contents at rapidly a 8 possible, and keep cool. This is effected by standing the jug, loosely covered with a saucer , turned upside down, in cold water —preferably running water for half an hour. Then transfer the jug to a cool, airy safe.

Thus treated, the mixture will keep quite well for 24 hours in hot weather. N.B. —If not stirred and blended from time to time, some of the oil tends to rise up and float on the top. To prevent this, ktep an extra pint jug always rt-ady, and pour the milk briskly backwards and forwards from the one to the other half a dizen times ut each feeding period, just before pouring out the allowance for the baby's meal.

Both jugs must be kept covered with inverted saucers in a cool, air/ safe; but there is no necessity to wash and scald either jug more often than every 12 hours. Hard to Explain—Easy *o do. To carry out the whole of the instructions for preparing the milk from start to finish should not take longer than a quarter of an hour. It is difficult to describe and explain shortly in detail, but the recipe may be summarised thus:—Summarised Recipe for Preparing over One and a-half Pints of Humanised Milk from a Special Small Tin of Unsweetened Condensed Milk.. lioz of Sugar of Milk. Joz of heated Oil. 1 heated tinful of Ideal Milk. llioz of boiling water. Blend thoroughly, cool rapidly in running water, and then stand the jug, loosely covered, in a cool, outdoor safe.

To form Humanised Milk from the above, mix, before using, with an equal volume of boiling water. Warning! Never start using the above, or any other form of artificial food, of the standard strength—the baby's stomach should be habituated more or less gradually to the use of any unaccustomed preparation. It may be desirable to delay reaching full strength Humanised Milk for one, two, or three weeks, or even longer, according to the age, health, and digestive power of the particular infant. The mother will have little difficulty in judging how to proceed if she carefully reads page 30 of the Society's vook, "Feeding and Care of Baby," and makes uue of the table given in the column last month. Further, the mother should consult the preceding articles of this series regarding the use of egg, fruit juice, etc.