Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-11-09

The last talk on Babyology set forth the import.
ance of mothers milk for the baby under one year OF
age, and the equal Importance Of the mother keeping
herself in good condition. A welLnourished mother
means a well-nourished baby.
Next in importance to the sort of milk supplied
the baby is the regularity of supplying it. How
strange it Is that We grown-ups who know the bad
effects of irregularity in eating think that a new
born child can be fed irreguiarly without bad effects!
One Of the first questions asked a mother at the
Better Babies Contest is:
How many times a day is your child fed?'
The variety OF replies is amazing.
Il don't know"
Whenever he cries"
when he wakes up"
"Oh, when l get through with my work"
Naturally. babies fed in this way are seldom prize
winners. In studying the score cards of prize winners
liz a dozen states, / find that ninety per cent are fed
at regular intervals, according to their age.
Babies are born hungry. For many weeks they
have nothing to do, but eat and sleep. A well known
writer on babies says that eating is the only form OF
recreation babies have. Adult intelligence must de.
eide how often this habit of hunger should be salts.
fed, bearing in mind that a baby will cry just as hard
on an overloaded stomach as on an empty one.
The time TO start a baby in regular habits of feed
ing is the day Of it's birth. The newborn baby should
be nursed every two hours from 600 a. IN. to 1000
p. NJ, and once during the night, at 200 a. m. Within
a week, if the baby is normal, the mother should begin
nursing it only once in three hours between 600 a.
m. and 800. p. a., with the extra nursing at 200 a.
IN. This means seven feelings in twenty-four hours.
At four months, if the baby shows a normal gain in
size and strength, according to the Better Babies
Standard Score card, he should not be nursed between
900 p. m. and 600 a. m, but should be- sleeping
soundly. Between 600 a. m. and 900 p. m. he will
now have six feelings and this schedule should be
maintained until he is a year old.
Many mothers ask contest physicians whether the
baby should be awakened to be fed. Physicians
seem to agree, that a baby should never be awakened
at night to nurse, and that the healthy baby vii:
awake of it's own accord to be fed once in three hours
during the day. There are rare exceptions to this
rule. For example, when a mother has fed the child
irrgularly from birth, it sometimes turns night into
day, sleeping by day and fretting for food by night.
If the child ishealthy,a normal in every way, then It
must be RETAINED to waken during the day for nurs-
ing and to sleep by night without nursing. This
very example shows the Importance of starting the
feeding habits Alright from birth, by not nursing moro
than once during the night.
Another question asked by many mothers who are
nursing their babies is May l mix the babys food,
giving him an occasional bottle?"
Doctors agree that the answer is governed by con
ditions. Sometimes the mothers milk is not suth-
GENTLY nourishing. In that case, under the direction
of the family doctor, bottle and breast milk may be
alternated. In this way, the baby is gently prepared
for weaving. Again, in certain families 1t may be
necessary or advisable for the mother to have &
certain amount of freedom from her duty of nursing
the baby. The mothers milk will still provide certain, ,
elements which babys system demands, and the
bottle may be alternated with breast-feeding, always
with a doctor advising as to the food in the bottle.
Many prize-winning babies have a record of mixed
feeding, breast milk exclusively for two or three