Chapter 22

WEANING.--The weaning of the child depends much upon the strength and condition of the mother. If it does not occur in hot weather, from nine to twelve months is as long as any child should be nursed.

FOOD IN WEANING.--Infants cry a great deal during weaning, but a few days of patient perseverance will overcome all difficulties. Give the child purely a milk diet, Graham bread, milk crackers and milk, or a little milk thickened with boiled rice, a little jelly, apple sauce, etc., may be safely used. Cracked wheat, oatmeal, wheat germ, or anything of that kind thoroughly cooked and served with a little cream and sugar, is an excellent food.

MILK DRAWN FROM THE BREASTS.--If the mother suffers considerably from the milk gathering in the breast after weaning the child, withdraw it by taking a bottle that holds about a pint or a quart, putting a piece of cloth wrung out in warm water around the bottle, then fill it with boiling water, pour the water out and apply the bottle to the breast, and the bottle cooling will form a vacuum and will withdraw the milk into the bottle. This is one of the best methods now in use.

RETURN OF THE MENSES.--If the menses return while the mother is nursing, the child should at once be weaned, for the mother's milk no longer contains sufficient nourishment. In case the mother should become pregnant while the child is nursing it should at once be weaned, or serious results will follow to the health of the child. A mother's milk is no longer sufficiently rich to nourish the child or keep it in good health.

CARE OF THE BOTTLE.--If the child is fed on the bottle, great care should be taken in keeping it absolutely clean. Never use white rubber nipples. A plain form of bottle with a black rubber nipple is preferable.

CHILDREN should not be permitted to come to the table until two years of age.

CHAFING.--One of the best remedies is powdered lycopodium; apply it every time the babe is cleaned; but first wash with pure castile soap; Pears' soap is also good. A preparation of oxide of zinc is also highly recommended. Chafing sometimes results from an acid condition of the stomach; in that case give a few doses of castoria.

COLIC.--If an infant is seriously troubled with colic, there is nothing better than camomile or catnip tea. Procure the leaves and make tea and give it as warm as the babe can bear.

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FEEDING INFANTS.

1. The best food for infants is mother's milk; next best is cow's milk. Cow's milk contains about three times as much curd and one-half as much sugar, and it should be reduced with two parts of water.

2. In feeding cow's milk there is too little cream and too little sugar, and there is no doubt no better preparation than Mellin's food to mix it with (according to directions).

3. Children being fed on food lacking fat generally have their teeth come late; their muscles will be flabby and bones soft. Children will be too fat when their food contains too much sugar. Sugar always makes their flesh soft and flabby.

4. During the first two months the baby should be fed every two hours during the day, and two or three times during the night, but no more. Ten or eleven feedings for twenty-four hours are all a child will bear and remain healthy. At three months the child may be fed every three hours instead of every two.

5. Children can be taught regular habits by being fed and put to sleep at the same time every day and evening. Nervous diseases are caused by irregular hours of sleep and diet, and the use of soothing medicines.

6. A child five or six months old should not be fed during the night--from nine in the evening until six or seven in the morning, as overfeeding causes most of the wakefulness and nervousness of children during the night.

7. If a child vomits soon after taking the bottle, and there is an appearance of undigested food in the stool, it is a sign of overfeeding. If a large part of the bottle has been vomited, avoid the next bottle at regular time and pass over one bottle. If the child is nursing the same principles apply.

8. If a child empties its bottle and sucks vigorously its fingers after the bottle is emptied, it is very evident that the child is not fed enough, and should have its food gradually increased.

9. Give the baby a little cold water several times a day.

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INFANTILE CONVULSIONS.

DEFINITION.--An infantile convulsion corresponds to a chill in an adult, and is the most common brain affection among children.

CAUSES.--Anything that irritates the nervous system may cause convulsions in the child, as teething, indigestible food, worms, dropsy of the brain, hereditary constitution, or they may be the accompanying symptom in nearly all the {309} acute diseases of children, or when the eruption is suppressed in eruptive diseases.

SYMPTOMS.--In case of convulsions of a child parents usually become frightened, and very rarely do the things that should be done in order to afford relief. The child, previous to the fit, is usually irritable, and the twitching of the muscles of the face may be noticed, or it may come on suddenly without warning. The child becomes insensible, clenches its hands tightly, lips turn blue, and the eyes become fixed, usually frothing from the mouth with head turned back. The convulsion generally lasts two or three minutes; sometimes, however, as long as ten or fifteen minutes, but rarely.

REMEDY.--Give the child a warm bath and rub gently. Clothes wrung out of cold water and applied to the lower and back part of the head and plenty of fresh air will usually relieve the convulsion. Be sure and loosen the clothing around the child's neck. After the convulsion is over, give the child a few doses of potassic bromide, and an injection of castor oil if the abdomen is swollen. Potassic bromide should be kept in the house, to use in case of necessity.

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Pains and Ills in Nursing.

1. SORE NIPPLES.--If a lady, during the latter few months of her pregnancy, were to adopt "means to harden the nipples," sore nipples during the period of suckling would not be so prevalent as they are.

2. CAUSE.--A sore nipple is frequently produced by the injudicious custom of allowing the child to have the nipple {311} almost constantly in his mouth. Another frequent cause of a sore nipple is from the babe having the canker. Another cause of a sore nipple is from the mother, after the babe has been sucking, putting up the nipple wet. She, therefore, ought always to dry the nipple, not by rubbing, but by dabbing it with a soft cambric or lawn handkerchief, or with a piece of soft linen rag--one or the other of which ought always to be at hand--every time directly after the child has done sucking, and just before applying any of the following powders or lotions to the nipple.

3. REMEDIES.--One of the best remedies for a sore nipple is the following powder:

Take of--Borax, one drachm; Powdered Starch, seven drachms.

Mix.--A pinch of the powder to be frequently applied to the nipple.

If the above does not cure, try Glycerine by applying it each time after nursing.

4. GATHERED BREAST.--A healthy-woman with a well-developed breast and a good nipple, scarcely, if ever, has a gathered bosom; it is the delicate, the ill-developed breasted and worse-developed nippled lady who usually suffers from this painful complaint. And why? The evil can generally be traced to girlhood. If she be brought up luxuriously, her health and her breasts are sure to be weakened, and thus to suffer, more especially if the development of the bosoms and nipples has been arrested and interfered with by tight stays and corsets. Why, the nipple is by them drawn in, and retained on the level with the breast--countersunk--as though it were of no consequence to her future well-being, as though it were a thing of nought.

5. TIGHT LACERS.--Tight lacers will have to pay the penalties of which they little dream. Oh, the monstrous folly of such proceedings! When will mothers awake from their lethargy? It is high time that they did so! From the mother having "no nipple," the effects of tight lacing, many a home has been made childless, the babe not being able to procure its proper nourishment, and dying in consequence! It is a frightful state of things! But fashion, unfortunately, blinds the eyes and deafens the ears of its votaries!

6. BAD BREAST.--A gathered bosom, or "bad breast," as it is sometimes called, is more likely to occur after a first confinement and during the first month. Great care, therefore, ought to be taken to avoid such a misfortune. A gathered breast is frequently owing to the carelessness of a {312} mother in not covering her bosoms during the time she is suckling. Too much attention cannot be paid to keeping the breasts comfortably warm. This, during the act of nursing, should be done by throwing either a shawl or a square of flannel over the neck, shoulders, and bosoms.

7. ANOTHER CAUSE.--Another cause of gathered breasts arises from a mother sitting up in bed to suckle her babe. He ought to be accustomed to take the bosom while she is lying down; if this habit is not at first instituted, it will be difficult to adopt it afterwards. Good habits may be taught a child from earliest babyhood.

8. FAINTNESS.--When a nursing mother feels faint, she ought immediately to lie down and take a little nourishment; a cup of tea with the yolk of an egg beaten up in it, or a cup of warm milk, or some beef-tea, any of which will answer the purpose extremely well. Brandy, or any other spirit we would not recommend, as it would only cause, as soon as the immediate effects of the stimulant had gone off, a greater depression to ensue; not only so, but the frequent taking of brandy might become a habit--a necessity--which would be a calamity deeply to be deplored!

9. STRONG PURGATIVES.--Strong purgatives during this period are highly improper, as they are apt to give pain to the infant, as well as to injure the mother. If it be absolutely necessary to give physic, the mildest, such as a dose of castor oil, should be chosen.

10. HABITUALLY COSTIVE.--When a lady who is nursing is habitually costive, she ought to eat brown instead of white bread. This will, in the majority of cases, enable her to do without an aperient. The brown bread may be made with flour finely ground all one way; or by mixing one part of bran and three parts of fine wheaten flour together, and then making it in the usual way into bread. Treacle instead of butter, on the brown bread increases its efficacy as an aperient; and raw should be substituted for lump sugar in her tea.

11. TO PREVENT CONSTIPATION.--Stewed prunes, or stewed French plums, or stewed Normandy pippins, are excellent remedies to prevent constipation. The patient ought to eat, every morning, a dozen or fifteen of them. The best way to stew either prunes or French plums, is the following:--Put a pound of either prunes or French plums, and two tablespoonfuls of raw sugar, into a brown jar; cover them with water; put them into a slow oven, and stew them for three or four hours. Both stewed rhubarb and stewed {313} pears often act as mild and gentle aperients. Muscatel raisins, eaten at dessert, will oftentimes without medicine relieve the bowels.

12. COLD WATER.--A tumblerful of cold water, taken early every morning, sometimes effectually relieves the bowels; indeed, few people know the value of cold water as an aperient--it is one of the best we possess, and, unlike drug aperients, can never by any possibility do any harm. An injection of warm water is one of the best ways to relieve the bowels.

13. WELL-COOKED VEGETABLES.--Although a nursing mother ought, more especially if she be costive, to take a variety of well-cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, French beans, spinach, stewed celery and turnips; she should avoid eating greens, cabbages, and pickles, as they would be likely to affect the babe, and might cause him to suffer from gripings, from pain, and "looseness" of the bowels.

14. SUPERSEDE THE NECESSITY OF TAKING PHYSIC.--Let me again--for it cannot be too urgently insisted upon--strongly advise a nursing mother to use every means in the way of diet, etc., to supersede the necessity of taking physic (opening medicine), as the repetition of aperients injures, and that severely, both herself and child. Moreover, the more opening medicine she swallows, the more she requires; so that if she once gets into the habit of regularly taking physic, the bowels will not act without them. What a miserable existence to be always swallowing physic!

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Home Lessons in Nursing Sick Children.

1. MISMANAGEMENT.--Every doctor knows that a large share of the ills to which infancy is subject are directly traceable to mismanagement. Troubles of the digestive system are, for the most part due to errors, either in the selection of the food or in the preparation of it.

2. RESPIRATORY DISEASES.--Respiratory diseases or the diseases of the throat and lungs have their origin, as a rule, in want of care and judgment in matters of clothing, bathing and exposure to cold and drafts. A child should always be dressed to suit the existing temperature of the weather. {315}

3. NERVOUS DISEASES.--Nervous diseases are often aggravated if not caused by over-stimulation of the brain, by irregular hours of sleep, or by the use of "soothing" medicines, or eating indigestible food.

4. SKIN AFFECTIONS.--Skin affections are generally due to want of proper care of the skin, to improper clothing or feeding, or to indiscriminate association with nurses and children, who are the carriers of contagious diseases.

5. PERMANENT INJURY.--Permanent injury is often caused by lifting the child by one hand, allowing it to fall, permitting it to play with sharp instruments, etc.

6. RULES AND PRINCIPLES.--Every mother should understand the rules and principles of home nursing. Children are very tender plants and the want of proper knowledge is often very disastrous if not fatal. Study carefully and follow the principles and rules which are laid down in the different parts of this work on nursing and cooking for the sick.

7. WHAT A MOTHER SHOULD KNOW:

I. INFANT FEEDING.--The care of milk, milk sterilization, care of bottles, preparation of commonly employed infant foods, the general principles of infant feeding, with rules as to quality and frequency.

II. BATHING.--The daily bath; the use of hot, cold and mustard baths.

III. HYGIENE OF THE SKIN. Care of the mouth, eyes and ears. Ventilation, temperature, cleanliness, care of napkins, etc.

IV. TRAINING OF CHILDREN in proper bodily habits. Simple means of treatment in sickness, etc.

8. THE CRY OF THE SICK CHILD.--The cry of the child is a language by which the character of its suffering to some extent may be ascertained. The manner in which the cry is uttered, or the pitch and tone is generally a symptom of a certain kind of disease.

9. STOMACHACHE.--The cry of the child in suffering with pain of the stomach is loud, excitable and spasmodic. The legs are drawn up and as the pain ceases, they are relaxed and the child sobs itself to sleep, and rests until awakened again by pain.

10. LUNG TROUBLE.--When a child is suffering with an affection of the lungs or throat, it never cries loudly or continuously. A distress in breathing causes a sort of subdued cry and low moaning. If there is a slight cough it is generally a sign that there is some complication with the lungs. {316}

11. DISEASE OF THE BRAIN.--In disease of the brain the cry is always sharp, short and piercing. Drowsiness generally follows each spasm of pain.

12. FEVERS.--Children rarely cry when suffering with fever unless they are disturbed. They should be handled very gently and spoken to in a very quiet and tender tone of voice.

13. THE CHAMBER OF THE SICK ROOM.--The room of the sick child should be kept scrupulously clean. No noise should disturb the quiet and rest of the child. If the weather is mild, plenty of fresh air should be admitted; the temperature should be kept at about 70 degrees. A thermometer should be kept in the room, and the air should be changed several times during the day. This may be done with safety to the child by covering it up with woolen blankets to protect it from draft, while the windows and doors are opened. Fresh air often does more to restore the sick child than the doctor's medicine. Take the best room in the house. If necessary take the parlor, always make the room pleasant for the sick.

14. VISITORS.--Carefully avoid the conversation of visitors or the loud and boisterous playing of children in the house. If there is much noise about the house that cannot be avoided, it is a good plan to put cotton in the ears of the patient.

15. LIGHT IN THE ROOM.--Light has a tendency to produce nervous irritability, consequently it is best to exclude as much daylight as possible and keep the room in a sort of twilight until the child begins to improve. Be careful to avoid any odor coming from a burning lamp in the night. When the child begins to recover, give it plenty of sunlight. After the child begins to get better let in all the sunlight the windows will admit. Take a south room for the sick bed.

16. SICKNESS IN SUMMER.--If the weather is very hot it is a good plan to dampen the floors with cold water, or set several dishes of water in the room, but be careful to keep the patient out of the draft, and avoid any sudden change of temperature.

17. BATHING.--Bathe every sick child in warm water once a day unless prohibited by the doctor. If the child has a spasm or any attack of a serious nervous character in absence of the doctor, place him in a hot bath at once. Hot water is one of the finest agencies for the cure of nervous diseases. {317}

18. SCARLET FEVER AND MEASLES.--Bathe the child in warm water to bring out the rash, and put in about a dessertspoonful of mustard into each bath.

19. DRINKS.--If a child is suffering with fevers, let it have all the water it wants. Toast-water will be found nourishing. When the stomach of the child is in an irritable condition, nourishments containing milk or any other fluid should be given very sparingly. Barley-water and rice-water are very soothing to an irritable stomach.

20. FOOD.--Mellin's Food and milk is very nourishing if the child will take it. Oatmeal gruel, white of eggs, etc. are excellent and nourishing articles. See "How to cook for the Sick."

21. EATING FRUIT.--Let children who are recovering from sickness eat moderately of good fresh fruit. Never let a child, whether well or sick, eat the skins of any kind of fruit. The outer covering of fruit was not made to eat, and often has poisonous matter very injurious to health upon its surface. Contagious and infectious diseases are often communicated in that way.

22. SUDDEN STARTINGS with the thumbs drawn into the palms, portend trouble with the brain, and often end in convulsions, which are far more serious in infants than in children. Convulsions in children often result from a suppression of urine. If you have occasion to believe that such is the case, get the patient to sweating as soon as possible. Give it a hot bath, after which cover it up in bed and put bags of hot salt over the lower part of the abdomen.

23. SYMPTOMS OF INDIGESTION.--If the baby shows symptoms of indigestion, do not begin giving it medicine. It is wiser to decrease the quantity and quality of the food and let the little one omit one meal entirely, that his stomach may rest. Avoid all starchy foods, as the organs of digestion are not sufficiently developed to receive them.

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A Practical Rule for Feeding a Baby on Cow's Milk.

Cow's milk is steadily growing in favor as an artificial food. Country milk should be used instead of milk purchased in town or city.

RULE--Take the upper half of milk that has stood an hour of two, dilute, not hardly as much as a third, with sweetened water, and if there is a tendency to sour stomach, put in a teaspoonful of lime water to every quart. The milk and water should both be boiled separately. If the baby is constipated, it is best to heat the milk over boiling water and not allow it to boil.

INFANT FOOD FOR 24 HOURS.

Age of Child. Milk. Water. Total.

2 to 10 days 1-1/4 gills 3-1/4 gills 4-1/2 gills 10 to 20 days 1-3/4 gills 4-1/4 gills 6 gills 20 to 30 days 2-1/2 gills 6 gills 8-1/2 gills 1 to 1-1/2 months 3 gills 6-3/4 gills 9-3/4 gills 1-1/2 to 2 months 3-1/2 gills 7 gills 10-1/2 gills 2 to 2-1/2 months 4 gills 7-1/2 gills 11-1/2 gills 2-1/2 to 3 months 4-1/2 gills 7-1/2 gills 12 gills 3 to 3-1/2 months 5 gills 7-1/2 gills 12-1/2 gills 3-1/2 to 4 months 5-1/2 gills 7-1/2 gills 13 gills 4 to 4-1/2 months 6 gills 7-1/2 gills 13-1/2 gills 4-1/2 to 5 months 6-1/2 gills 7-1/2 gills 14 gills 5 to 6 months 7 gills 7 gills 14 gills 6-1/2 to 7 months 7-1/2 gills 6-1/2 gills 14 gills 7 to 8 months 8 gills 6 gills 14 gills 8 to 9 months 8-1/4 gills 6 gills 14-1/4 gills 9 to 10 months 8-1/2 gills 6 gills 14-1/2 gills 10 to 11 months 8-3/4 gills 6 gills 14-3/4 gills 11 to 12 months 9 gills 5-1/2 gills 14-1/2 gills 12 to 15 months 9-1/4 gills 5-1/4 gills 14-1/2 gills 15 to 18 months 9-1/2 gills 5 gills 14-1/2 gills 18 and more months 10 gills 5 gills 15 gills

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HOW TO KEEP A BABY WELL.

1. The mother's milk is the natural food, and nothing can fully take its place.

2. The infant's stomach does not readily accommodate itself to changes in diet; therefore, regularity in quality, quantity and temperature is extremely necessary.

3. Not until a child is a year old should it be allowed any food except that of milk, and possibly a little cracker or bread, thoroughly soaked and softened.

4. Meat should never be given to very young children. The best artificial food is cream, reduced and sweetened with sugar and milk. No rule can be given for its reduction. Observation and experience must teach that, because every child's stomach is governed by a rule of its own.

5. A child can be safely weaned at one year of age, and sometimes less. It depends entirely upon the season, and upon the health of the child.

6. A child should never be weaned during the warm weather, in June, July or August.

7. When a child is weaned it may be given, in connection {320} with the milk diet, some such nourishment as broth, gruel, egg, or some prepared food.

8. A child should never be allowed to come to the table until two years of age.

9. A child should never eat much starchy food until four years old.

10. A child should have all the water it desires to drink, but it is decidedly the best to boil the water first, and allow it to cool. All the impurities and disease germs are thereby destroyed. This one thing alone will add greatly to the health and vigor of the child.

11. Where there is a tendency to bowel disorder, a little gum arabic, rice, or barley may be boiled with the drinking water.

12. If the child uses a bottle it should be kept absolutely clean. It is best to have two or three bottles, so that one will always be perfectly clean and fresh.