OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3618, 17 July 1923, Page 58

OUR BABIES.

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Published under the auspices sf ths Royal New Zealand Society tor tha Health •t Women and Children. “It Is wiser to put up a fence at thi top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” PLUNKET NURSES, ETC., DUNEDIN BRANCH. NURSES’ SERVICES FREE. Nurses M‘Lean (telephone 9268), Mathie®°n (telephone 3020), Scott, and Elba. Society’s Rooms: Jamieson’s Buildings. 76 Lower Stuart street (telephone 116). and 315 Kong Edward street, South Dunedin (telephone 3020). Office hours, daily from 5 to 4 pm. (except Saturday and Sunday); also Lmdon Oddfellows’ Ila.ll, Koslyn, Monday and Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. ■Hu (stations: Baptist Church, Gordon road, Mosgiel, Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 4 P-m. ; Municipal Buildings, Pert Chalmers, Wednesday afternoons lrom _ to 4 p.m Secretary, Miss G. Hoddinott, Jamieson's Buildings, Stuart street (telephone 116). Karitane-IJ arris Baby Hospital, Anderson’s Bay (telephone 1985). Matron, Miss Bmsson. Demonstrations every Wednesday afternoon from 2.30 to 3.30. Training Institution for Plunket Nurses and Ivaritane Baby Nurses. Visiting hours, 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. WEANING. The following summary -is issued, as a leaflet: DIRECTIONS FOR WEANING. These notes are only supplementary to the remarks in “Feeding and Care of Baby,” pages 15-17, which, as well as other parts of the book referred to, should be studied. Ago for Weaning.— Always wean, if possible, between the ninth and twelfth months. The younger the baby the more risks attend the process. If the supply of breast-milk is insufficient in the early months, make up (he shortage, at each feed, with Humanised Milk, and do not substitute a bottle feed for a breast feed as when weaning. Weaning should be completed by the end of the twelfth month, unless this comes in very hot weather, in which case it is a safeguard to continue giving at least one breast fed daily until the weather is cooler. Time Required for Weaning.—The change from complete natural feeding to complete artificial feeding should never be made in less than two weeks, except for urgent reasons; preferably take five or six weeks. Avoid weaning in very hot weather, if possible. Method. —Omit first one breast-feeding, giving instead a complete feeding of pro-perly-prepared milk suited to the age of the child. Next omit two breast feeds, then three, and so on until all are discontinued. Allow from three days to a week, or more, for each change. If weaning is begun before the. ninth month give the milk mixture from a bottle ; if later, it is better to teach babv to take all food from spoon and cup, provided he lias cut some teeth. In any case, after nine months, some spoon anu cup feeding should be begun, and/the bottle gradually d scontinued as teeth appear. If baby is fully up to the normal standard, and thriving well, ho may discontinue the 10 p.m. feeding when finally weaned, and should sleep from 6 p.m. to 6 a.in. : that is, he will have only four meals a day, but must be given proportionately more milk at each feed. The guide to this, however, must always be the baby’s condition and general progress. Baby should have been given a bone to chow from six months onwards; and at nine months, whether weaned or not, some hard food, such as twice-baked bread, hard crusts, or crisp toast, should be gradually introduced into his diet. This should he jriven to him about 10 minutes before his feeding time, when ho is hungry not between meals. —The Following is a Practical Plan for Weaning After Nine Months.(The Plunket Nurse will give the recipes for the milk mixture.) Change 1. Give oat or barley jelly by spoon at 10 a.m. Begin with one tablespoonful of the jelly, and give two or three teaspoonfuls of cow’s milk on it. Follow this by the usual breast feed, and give breast feeds as usual for the remainder of the day. Change 2. Omit breast-feeding at 10 a.m. Give instead—first, the oat or barley icily, which may be gradually increased to three or four tablespoonfuls, and follow this by 6oz to Boz of Humanised Milk. Change 3. Give breast at 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 10 p.m. At 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. give oaf or barley jelly, foilowed by Humanised Milk, as in Change 2. Change 4. Give breast at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. At 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 10 p.m. give Humanised Milk mixture. Give barley or nat jelly at 10 a.m. before bottle, and at 6 p.m. before breast. Change 5. Give breast at 6 a.m. only; Humanised Milk at all other feeds; barley or oat jelly before 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. feeds. Change 6. Discontinue giving breast-feeding at 6 a.m. and give Humanised Milk, Boz, instead. The baby is now entirely weaned. If the mother’s breasts become uncomfortable or painful during the process of weaning baby, consult the Plunket Nurse immediately—do not delay. Give your baby the best opportunity for health bv the formation of good food habits and tastes. For further directions consult the Plunket Nurse.

A party of Timaru sportsmen have just relumed from a trip to Central Otago, where they went quail shooting. They report having had excellent sport, 100 brace of quail falling to their guns.