Mother's Remedies, Thomas Jefferson Ritter [reading well .TXT] 📗

time at night; five to twelve months every three to three and one-half or four hours and not at night.

Is it necessary as a rule to give additional food the first few days? No; give plenty of water.

What important things should be attended to in nursing? First, a regular time night and day. Second, nipples should be kept clean.

What should a nursing mother eat? Her diet should be simple and plentiful, and lots of fluids; she should have three regular meals a day, and gruel, cocoa, or milk at bedtime and sometimes between meals. She can use cereals, most soups, most vegetables; avoid sour tart fruits, salads, pastry, and desserts. She may eat egg, meats once or twice daily, but in most cases but once. Tea and coffee if taken should be very weak, and ordinarily no wine or beer.

Are fruits eaten by the mother likely to injure baby? Sour fruits do in some cases, but sweet fruits and most fruits that are cooked do not, and are useful for the bowels.

Should the mother take special care of herself? Yes, she should lead a simple, natural, happy life, with outdoor exercise, as soon as possible after the confinement. She should make her bowels move daily by food and habit; she should not worry, should sleep plenty and should nap for an hour during the middle of the day.

Will the milk of the mother be affected by nervousness? Yes, more so than by her diet; worry, anxiety, fatigue, loss of sleep, household duties, society functions, have an injurious effect upon the child. Mother's grief, excitement, anger, passion, act upon the child through the milk.

How does the return of the menstruation affect the milk? The quantity is lessened, the infant is not satisfied. Sometimes the quality is affected and the child may suffer from restlessness, colic, and acute indigestion.

Should regular menstruation prohibit nursing? Not always; as a rule both functions do not go together. If the child thrives, it can keep on nursing, although it might be well to feed the infant, at least partly, during the period.

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How can you determine that the baby is well nourished? Good color, sleep for two hours after nursing, is quiet, good-natured and comfortable when awake; has normal bowel movements, three stools daily and gains gradually in weight.

How can you tell when a baby is poorly nourished? It neither gains nor loses weight; it is listless, tired, indifferent, cross, fretful, irritable and sleeps poorly. It looks pale, anemic, and it becomes soft and flabby. If the milk is scanty, it nurses long; at other times it tries the breast and turns away seemingly disgusted.

What should be done? This depends upon the conditions; should the child gain nothing for three or four weeks or lose weight, immediate weaning may be necessary; at least other food must be given in addition to the breast food. Feeding may be alternated with the breast nursing.

How do the symptoms show when the mother's milk disagrees? The child, is in constant discomfort; it sleeps little, is restless, cries much, gulps up gas, passes it by the bowels, or it accumulates in the bowels causing colic. There may be vomiting, but more often bowel trouble. The bowels may be constipated but usually there is diarrhea—frequent, loose, green, with mucus and gas.

What should you do in such a case? If the child does not gain or loses weight and there is little chance of improvement in the mother's milk, the child should be weaned immediately. If the child gains in weight, try a little longer to improve the mother's milk.

Why do some babies nurse so often? The milk does not satisfy.

When the baby has thrush, should the mother take special care of the breasts? Yes, they should be cleaned after every nursing.

How much does the baby's stomach hold at birth? Six to seven teaspoonfuls.

Is vomiting a healthy sign in infants? Frequent vomiting is not natural; see if his bands are too tight; find out if he has been danced or handled after nursing.

When is it harmful? When it is frequent. If it comes up directly after a meal looking just as it was when taken, the child may be over-fed.

What can be done? Reduce the quantity, or do not let it nurse so long or so often. If vomiting takes place a half hour after feeding, in sour swelling masses, it may be getting food too rich in cream, and then the time between nursings should be lengthened; or dilute the breast milk by giving one to two teaspoonfuls of plain boiled water, barley water, five or ten minutes before nursing; the mother should eat less hearty food, especially of meat.

If baby has frequent colic, what is the cause? The milk has too much proteids.

What should be done? Eat less meat, keep quiet, and happy, do not worry, etc.

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How many stools does a healthy baby have daily? About two.

What color? Yellow color and pasty consistence.

If a nursing baby has too many stools, what change should be made in the mother's diet? She should eat food that would cause costive bowels in her.

LOOSE STOOLS IN NURSING BABIES.

They are caused by the mother eating improper food. If the stools are very yellow, foul, greasy or ropy the mother is eating food that produces too much fat (cream) in her milk. If curds appear there is not enough fat, and too much of the proteids (skim milk). When the stools are very green with much mucus in them, the food should be reduced.

If a nursing baby is constipated, what can be done? More boiled water should be given between nursing. The mother should take exercise at least two hours each day out of doors; her bowels should move every day, even if she must take a laxative. She should take plenty of pure, rich milk, cocoa, oatmeal and cornmeal gruels, and some kind of tonic if she is weak. Tea and coffee should not be used. Ripe fruit (not tart), some green vegetables and a little meat can be eaten. Starchy foods should be avoided. Sometimes baby does not get enough nurse. Then she should be fed and given plenty of pure water between meals.

If a nursing baby has frequent colic attacks, what should be done? The food is probably too strong. The mother should eat food that will produce less fat (cream) in her milk. The baby can be nursed at longer periods for a time; or give an ounce of hot water just before nursing. The mother should take plenty of exercise, enough sleep and have a free movement of her bowels, so as to keep well and free from nervousness.

WEANING.

When and how should this be done? This may usually be begun at nine or ten months by substituting one feeding a day for one nursing. Later two feedings, etc., until weaning is gradually accomplished. Some advise one bottle feeding regularly each day much earlier, as before stated.

Give reasons for weaning earlier? Some serious illness of the mother, pregnancy, but the main reasons usually are that the child is not thriving.

When should the weaning be completed? Generally at one year, It may be advisable to wait longer in warm, damp weather.

Is there any danger in nursing longer? Yes, as the milk is scanty; the child may get rickets or anemia.

Is gradual weaning the best method? Yes.

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Should a wet nurse be preferred to bottle feeding? Yes, if you are sure you can get a good and perfectly healthy wet nurse. Her habits, etc., must be unobjectionable—she should be chosen by a physician.

When should a "weaned" child use the bottle, and when the cup? If the weaning is done at the eighth or ninth month the bottle should be used; if weaning is done from the tenth to the eleventh month, the baby should be taught to drink or be fed with a spoon.

How can you overcome some of the difficulties of weaning? As before recommended, by feeding every nursing infant once a day or by giving water regularly from out a feeding bottle, as this accustoms the baby to the bottle. This is very good, for the mother is sometimes away at nursing time, for a few hours and the baby can be fed, and when weaning comes, it is much easier.

How soon should a child stop nursing from a bottle? If the child is well this should be begun at the end of the first year, and after it is fourteen months old, it should not have the bottle except at the night feeding.

What is the objection to longer bottle nursing? They become attached to the bottle and refuse solid food when it is proper to give it. They get the bottle habit; also, it is troublesome and unnecessary. Then they will not take milk in the future, when the bottle is finally taken from them; an exclusive milk diet for children of two to three years old often results in poor nutrition and anemia.

Give the process of training a child to give up the bottle? There is little trouble if it is begun at the right time; pour the milk in a small cup or glass and the child will drink little by little. Give only a small portion of the food in this way, at first, and the balance from the bottle. The child will in a few weeks time learn to drink out of the cup without difficulty. If the child is two or three years old, take the bottle away entirely and let the child get hungry, and give it only milk in the cup and nothing else. Some children may go for a day without food, but hunger will master them finally. As soon as he has learned to drink milk from his cup, cereals and other solid foods are gradually added to his dietary and the child has not only been taught to give up his bottle, but he has also a training which is often necessary.

Can you give a baby just weaned as strong cows' milk as one of the same age who has been fed upon cows' milk from birth? Not generally; it would be almost certain to cause indigestion. You must remember that the change in food is a great one, and the feeding should be begun with a weak milk and increased gradually in strength as the baby becomes accustomed to the cows' milk.

What are the proper proportions for an infant weaned at four or five months? About the same as that given to a healthy bottle-fed baby of two months, except the quantity should be larger. The food can be gradually increased, in most cases, so that by the end of two or three weeks the usual strength can be given.

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What strength is given to a bottle-fed baby of two months? From the top of a quart bottle of pure milk, that has stood from three to six hours, skim carefully off the top six ounces and then pour off three ounces of milk and mix them with the top milk (first skimmed off) making nine ounces in all; add to this nine ounces twenty-four ounces of boiled water in which you should have dissolved four teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, or six or seven teaspoonfuls of milk sugar; add a pinch of salt and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda, or else two ounces of lime water.

Give the proper proportion for a baby who is weaned at nine or ten months? About the same as for a bottle-fed baby of four or five months. The increase to be as above given.

What is the formula for a bottle-fed baby of four months? For a healthy baby, six ounces of top milk skimmed from the top of a quart bottle of milk, six ounces of milk, then poured off, twenty-four ounces of barley or oatmeal gruel, six teaspoonfuls of milk sugar or three of granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda or if lime-water is used instead take one ounce of lime-water to each twenty of the milk or gruel. He should have four ounces of this mixture every three hours up to ten p. m., and then one meal at about two a. m.; none until six or seven a. m.

Will a child lose weight when placed upon this diet? It will often do so for a week or more, but he will soon gain gradually and regularly.