(Milk sugar, if perfectly pure, is better than white or cane sugar.) If this mixture is too rich, the baby will vomit it in curds or lumps, or it will pass through the bowels in white flakes and shreds. If this hap pens, add more boiled water to the mixture until you find just what strength the baby's stomach will stand—what it can digest.
lArhen the Baby is About a Month Old, barley water should be used in stead of plain water. Put two table spoonfuls of pearl barley in four cupfuls of cold water; boil an hour or more--down to two cupfuls; strain through a close cloth; add a pinch of salt and sweeten to breast-milk taste. Add this to a cupful of " scalded" cow's milk treated as before de scribed and begin feeding this strength.
Gradually use more niilk and less barley water, until at about six months of age the child is getting two thirds milk and one third barley water.
Next to healthy breast milk, this will make as good food as the infant can get during teething and weaning. Then comes the pure milk—always " scalded "—bread and milk, baked potato and milk, oatmeal porridge- which can't be boiled too long, never less than two always eaten with milk, and the milk always " scalded," not boiled.
Don't Overfeed the Baby.—Once In two or three hours is often enough to suckle or feed a baby until it is four or five weeks old; after that do not feed so often.
When a baby is about six months old it will generally thrive best if fed only once during the night and four or five times regularly during the day. It is bad for a baby's stom ach and bowels to feed it too often or too much at a time, especially in hot weather.
A new-born baby's stomach will hold from two to three tablespoon fuls, and not more than this amount —rather less—should be given at a time during the first week or so of a bottle-fed baby's life.
As the baby grows, the quantity should be gradually increased, so that at the end of the first month it may be taking about four tablespoonfuls at a meal. Some children will re quire more and others will not stand so much; but there is more danger of giving too much at a time than too little.
Don't Stick the Nipple in the Baby's Mouth Every Time It Cries. —If the baby is properly fed at regular times it won't get hungry enough to make it cry, and it is fool ish to feed it whenever it cries in stead of trying to find out the trou ble. It may be only thirsty, and a
swallow or two of cold water—not a big drink—will stop it; or its clothes may be uncomfortable, or its napkin need changing.
Try to find out what makes it cry, and then use " mother wit." And don't be afraid of giving the baby a drink of water. It needs water as much as milk. It needs more water in proportion to its size and weight, and oftener, than its mother does. Thirst causes more needless suffer ing to babies than anything else. Give the baby a drink /—but be sure the water is pure, by having been either boiled or filtered.
Don't Feed the Baby with a Spoon.—Sucking is the natural way that a baby takes Its food. It needs the sucking action of the lips and mouth and tongue to mix its food with the fluids of the mouth and to keep it from getting Into the stomach too fast.
Spoon feeding doesn't do this.
Use a Plain, Common Bottle for Feeding, with a rubber nipple and no tube.
Fancy nursing bottles, with long rubber tubes and patent contriv ances, besides costing money, can't be cleaned easily, and babies don't do well with them in other ways. The more simple the bottle and the nip ple, the better for the baby. The rubber-tube bottle is a device of the Evil One for lazy mothers. It is bad enough when a mother can't suckle her own infant at her own breast; lei:. her at least take it in her arms and hold the bottle and " mother " it while it feeds.
Take the nipple off after each feed ing and at once boil both bottle and nipple for at least ten minutes. Be fore using again, rinse the bottle and nipple in water that has been boiled —about a quart of water with half a teaspoonful of soda in it--or keep them. in a pan of soda and water when not in use.
More babies get " sore mouth " and " wind colic " and " summer com Plaint " for want of care of the nurs ing bottle than from any other one cause. A little stale milk around the neck of the bottle or in the nipple will set up a ferment which is poison to the delicate lining of a baby's mouth and throat and stomach.