OUR BABIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14381, 26 November 1908, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

3r Hygeia. It is wiser to put up a fence ai the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance tvt the bottom. ' WEANING AND MIXED FEEDING. Many woman who arc goal purees for a time show a deficiency in t.hoir milk, cither in quantity or quality, by the eighth month or earlier.' In such cases, the mother should at onco look to her own health, paying special attention to regularity of hahits and meals, and the securing o( nutritious food, with strict avoidance of strong tea or anything indigestible. She should also havo plenty of air passing through tho house day and night, and should bo out in tho open air and sunlight as much as possible, taking a reasonable amount of exercise. Besides this she should relievo the breasts of come of their work by giving tho baby fir3t one, and then, if necessary, two bottlo feedings a day. If all these steps are taken in time a'normal flow of milk may return, enabling full suckling to bo resumed and continued until the end of the ninth month. Otherwise the mother should proceed with weaning. , The rate of gain in weight and tho health of the •baby, taken in conjunction with tho health of the mother, form the best gauge as to when "mixed feeding"— thai: is, the partial supplementing of-the mother's milk by somo other milk—should bo begun; in any case the baby should bo removed entirely from tho breast not later than tho end of the first year. Towards ■the end of the nursing period the milk is liable to become unsuitable in composition. This will bo shown either by digestive disturbances, or failure to grow, or loss of weight on the part of tho baby. Weaning should be gradual, and as most babies will require tho help of the bottlo sooner or later it is well to begin giving first ono, and then two, bottle feedings each day as soon as there are oloar signs that tho mothcr'6 milk is beginning to fail. In this way the lraby can bo habituated to the new food and manner of feeding, and tho change from breast-feeding to bottle-feeding can lie carried out so gradually and insensibly as to- cause no inconvenience or disagreement: WOULD IT BE SAFE TO WE AN A MIEAST-FED BABY AND TUT IT STRAIGHT OS TO OKDINART FULL - STRENGTH HUMANISED MUK? , Certainly not. T.he first rulo in babyfeedin'g is never to make 6iidden changes of any kind. (An exception to this rule is tho 6udden and marked weakening' of food, or if necessary tho change to mere boiled water, on. account of severe indigestion or diarrhea.) When a- marked change must bo mado in tho food or manner of feeding' the new food should be as digestible as possible, and should be given decidedly weak at first. Tho strength should be increased gradually as the liaby's digestive organs become accustomed to tho new food and the new way of feeding. The change from the breast to bottle or spoon feeding always puts a strain on the baby's powers. Mothers all know that weaning is a perilous timo for infanta, but it: can be rendered' safe by. a littlo care and forethought. Early weaning is the most, fatal; weaning after nine months should give no difficulty if properly conducted. HOW, TO SET ABOUT WEANING' AN ENTIRELY BREAST-FED BABY. Begin by giving one. bottlo each day (preferably in. tho middle of the forenoon) of humanised milk of suitablo strength. Start .with a much weaker milk than you would give a baby of the 6ame ago who had been artificially fed for some time; thus, if your baby is four or five months old, youN should give him otio bottlo each day of; the strength - ordinarily used for a bahy under a month old. You do this for the 6imple reason "that your baby has been Jiving on breast milk exclusively, and were you to give him a humanised milk of full strength you would bo putting into his stomaoh a mixture too strong for him to begin on. Remember that it is not only t.he. change in the nature of the food that tends to make it disagree at first, but tho change from feeding by tho breast to feeding by the bottle. I-loneo you must start with a comparatively weak-and vory digestible food and work cautiously' up to the full strength. Continue giving the ono bottle-feeding every day at tho same time for four days, and ,if it agrees, you may then give two bottles each day, say one in tile morning and the other in the" evening. Continue thus for another three days, being specially careful not to overfeed either with the breast-feedings or with tho bottle-feedings. ' The quantity given per feeding by the bottle should be that shown for the. age in the table of foldings given in the pamphlet issued .by the Society. Remember that mothers always tend to overfeed when they resort to mixed feeding, because they are apt to forget that the longer intervals cause more milk to accumulate in the breasts. At the end of a few days from the giving of the first bottlo a slight increase can be made in the strength of the milk Used. ■ How to work the food up to;pure humanised milk will be .shown in detail next week for babies of different ages.. • ■ , Sometimes weaning lias 'to be carried out more quickly than I have just described, but it is always better,' both for. tho baby and tho mother, lo .change slowly when feasible. However, sudden illness of tho mother, 6udden cessation of the flow of milk, or injurious change in its composition may render rapid weaning necessary. In 6uch cases the main thing to remember k to commence With a weak, very digestible Wrm of humanised milk, and to in"crcaso the strength cautiously day by day. If any aymptoms of indigestion arise' mako the food weaker for a day or so, as tho l»by should never bo. given more .than ho is able>to digest. Mothers ask: "Will not a child lose weight when placed upon a weak diet?" Sometime* they lose a littlo for tho first weHc or two, hut they soon mako up, and will then Ncontinue to grow well. On the other hand.the afluto indigestion which frequently "rceulla from using too strong a milk- at tho sta-rfc will, in most cases, cause & serious loss of weight, and may turn the baby into a chronic dyspeptic and weakling as well. '" ' QUESTIONS 'AND ANSWERS: (Quoted,from Professor Holt.) "At What Age Should the CniLD be Weaned from the. Breast,? " " Usually weaning should bo begun at ■nin.o_.or ten months by' substituting ono feeding ,'a day for one nursing, later two feedings, and .thus, gradually the child is to be taken from the breast altogether." " At What Age Should the Weanixg be Complete})?" "Generally at ono year. In summer it may sometimes bo advisable to nurse an infant' a little longer rather than wean in warm weather; but even then the dangers of weaning are much less than those of continuing toVnurse, as.is so ;often done, after the milk has become votv' scanty and poor in quality." . "When Sho.ultj a Child Who is Weaned from the Breast be Taught to Drink frost, the Cut, and When to Take the Bottle?". "If weaning is done as early as the eighth or ninth month it'is better to give the bottle; if at the eleventh or : twelfth month the infant should be taught to drink or be fed with a spoon." (Memo.—Some mothers, who suckle their babies into the ninth month prefer, then to gradually habituato them to. spooji-feed-ing. Thisi-is ; quite a reasonable practice, and has tho advantage of avoiding tho special risks run in bottle-feeding whore there is the elightost doubt about constant, scrupulous cleanliness. Spoon - feeding should precede drinking from a cup, liecause otherwise the change is too sudden, oaid the milk tends to be taken too quickly.) "Wi'Es Should an Infant be Weaned fr'oji the Bottle?" " This should generally bo begun as early as the twelfth or thirteenth month; after 15 months the bottlo should not be given except at the 10 p.m. feeding." "Is There akv. Objection to an Infant Taking the Bottle Until Two ok Three Years Old?" . " There arc no advantages and some serious objections. Older-children often become so attached to. tho bottle that only with tho greatest difficulty can they be mado to give it up. Frequently they will refuse all solid food, and Will take nothing except from the bottle so long as it is given, and when finally, at. three or four years,' it is taken away they will not touch milk during the rest of their childhood. Tho difficulty is. here that children form the "bottlo habit." This habit is troublesome, unnecessary, and should by all means be prevented. An exclusive diet of milk for children of two or three years often results in una>mia and malnutrition." Frequent inquiries are received as to details of weaning, and the subject will bo continued in next west's column. Red Cross Ointment soothes as well as heals; never irritates; reduces inflammation.