The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-07-08
Care Of
the Baby In
Summer
Weaving and supplementary Feeding
prepared by the children's bureau, United
States department Of laborl

Many q mother looks forward with
dread to the weaving period as one
fraught with trouble to herself and
more or less disturbance for the baby,
but this need not be so.
One Of the difficulties Of weaving Is
the babys objection to the rubber nip
pie. but if he has been given his drink
ing water by means Of nursing bot
tie throughout his life, he will already
have learned how to use it,
Another and the principal trouble
with weaving is to find food that suits
the baby, and on which he thriyes,
which may safely be offered to him in
the place of breast milk. Much Of this
trouble may be avoided II the wean-
ing is done so gradually that the baby
learns to take cows milk while he is
still getting breast milk to keep his
digestive processes in good order.
Some Of the rules for successful
weaving are these: First, never wean
young baby until every means for
keeping up the breast milk has been
tried; second, do not wean the baby
in the heat OF summer, and, third, do
not wean the baby because you think
your milk disagrees with him. The
trouble is almost certainly not with the
quality of your milk, but because you
do not have enough Of it.
The way to wean the baby comfortA-
bly, is to begin at the eighth or ninth
month to give him one bottle feeding a
day in place of one breast feeding. A.
little later another bottle is added, and
so on until at the END Of the year the
breast is taken away altogether. These
bottle feelings should consist of clean
fresh cows milk, diluted and sweeten-
ed. 1t is necessary, however, to re-
member that baby who has been
breast fed all his life cannot immedi-
ately digest cows milk, as bottle fed
infant has learned to do. Accordingly
a very weak mixture should be used to
begin with. For example, for baby
Of nine months Of age the milk should
be that intended for a bottle fed baby
of four or five months. The strength
of the food should be gradually in
creased, If the baby shows no signs of
disturbance, until the full strength
feeding Is reached.
When q baby is weaned at the end
Of the first year he may be taught to
drink directly from cup and to be fed
with spoon.
1t sometimes happens that the moth
er thinks her milk does not agree with
the baby because he cries good deal or
IS not gaining in weight. Under such
circumstances, often with the advice
and encouragement Of her neighbors.
the young mother weans her baby,
even though he may be only few
weeks old. This is almost always a
mistake. The trouble is not that the
mothers milk is poor in quality, but
because there is not enough of it. In
stead of weaving the baby the mother
should do all in her power to save it
and to increase it for the baby's sake
by eating more nourishing foods, such
as eggs, meat, milk, fresh vegetables
and good bread and butter, by taking
plenty Of fluid, water or milk, and by
taking more rest and plenty OF out of
door exercise. Above all, she should
stop worrying. Nothing more seriously
interferes with successful nursing than
worry and anxiety on the mothers
part, and as far as possible nursing
mother should be relieved of the causes
of mental disturbance, not only for
herself, but even more for the sake of
the baby.
At the same time, the baby will re-
quire some additional food. He should
be given one or two prepared feelings
in a nursing bottle each day until the
mothers milk has increased sufficient
~ for his needs. The same rules gov
ern supplementary" feeding, as it is
called, as those which apply to arti-
fetal feeding, except that a much
weaker milk mixture must be used for
baby who has had nothing but breast
milk from birth than for a bottle fed
baby Of the same age.
The mother should nurse the baby
at least four times a day in order to
keep the breast in good order and to
induce a greater milk supply.
If the mother can have the help and
advice of good doctor at this time
she should seek it, or take her baby to
an infant welfare station. The coun-
try mother who cannot readily go to a
doctor should have some good book to
help her. The children's bureau of the
United States department Of labor,
Washington, will send pamphlet call
ed Infant Care" containing simple
directions for the care Of the baby, to
any one who asks for it. This publ
cation also contains many references
to standard books on the subject.
Odds and Ends.