uruRsma. 295 



quantity of water, and sweetened. Bread and oatmeal gruel are not fit food 

 for newly-born infants. They irritate the stomach and bowels and caiiee griping 

 and flatulence. In short, during the first month of life no other food than the 

 mother's milk or diluted cow's milk should be given, except imder medical 

 advice. 



When the mother has not enough milk to satisfy the child, nursing may be 

 combined with hand-feeding, which is generally preferable to hand-feeding 

 alone. The additional food should consist of good milk, boiled, diluted with 

 an equal quantity of water and sweetened. After the first month the quantity 

 of added water requires to be gradually lessened. 



In case the mother cannot nurse her child, the next best way of feeding it 

 is to obtain a good, healthy wet-nurse, whose child is not much older than the 

 one she is to nurse. The medical attendant should always be consulted in 

 regard to the health and suitability of a wet-nurse, before she is engaged. 



It may be that a wet-nurse cannot be obtained, and then hand-feeding 

 becomes necessary. For this purpose good milk (from one cow if possible), 

 boiled, diluted, and sweetened, as already directed, is for the first few months 

 all the food" that is required. Arrowroot, cornstarch, and bread are all unsuit- 

 able at this tender age, and afford far less nourishment than milk. 



Now and then a child is found with whom fresh milk does not agree, the 

 curdy character of the stools showing that it is only partially digested. Should 

 a change of dairy not suffice to set matters right, it will be desirable to try the 

 concentrated Swiss milk, which, though greatly inferior to fresh milk, is the 

 best of all artificial substances. Failing success with this, a malted prepara- 

 tion, known as Mellin's Food for Infants, may be tried, at any rate until the 

 digestive powers become sufficiently improved to return to milk. 



The custom of using feeding-bottles with India-rubber tubes has become 

 exceedingly prevalent. These tubes are difficult to keep clean, and a mere drop 

 or two of milk left adhering to the bottle or tube will often be sufficient to turn 

 the next supply sour. Hence have arisen flatulence and indigestion, and much 

 sickness and suffering. Another objection to the use of tubes is, that nursea 

 are tempted to place children in the cot with the bottle of milk by their side 

 and the tube in their mouth, a practice which is highly objectionable on several 

 grounds. It does away with all regularity in feeding, and is very liable to 

 cause the milk to be turned sour owing to the heat given off from the child's 

 body. Feeding-bottles without tubes, and fitted with teats only, have the 

 advantage of requiring to be held in the nurse's hand, and are on every account 

 to be preferred. There should always be two, for alternate use, one being kept 

 under water while the other is in actual use. Immediatetly after the child has 

 had a meal, the bottle must be thoroughly washed in warm water. 



It is an unnecessary and injurious practice to administer castor-oil to the 

 newly- born. The first milk (or colostrum) from the mother's breast generally 

 relaxes the bowels sufficiently, and if not, no aperient should be administered 

 except under the advice of the medical attendant. 



Children should not sleep in the same bed with an aduli, but should, fron? 

 ttie first, be placed in their own separate cot. Attention to this rule would 



