Many thriving babies are, after taking the breast, frequently sick; still we cannot look upon sickness otherwise than as an index of either a disordered or of an overloaded stomach. If the child be sick, and yet be thriving, it is a proof that he overloads his stomach. A mother, then, must not allow him to suck so much, at a time. She should, until he retain all he takes, lessen the quantity of milk. If he be sick and does _not_ thrive, the mother should notice if the milk he throws up has a sour smell; if it have, she must first of all look to her own health; she ought to ascertain if her own stomach be out of order; for if such be the case, it is impossible for her to make good milk. She should observe whether in the morning her own tongue be furred and dry; whether she have a disagreeable taste in her mouth, or pains at her stomach, or heart-burn, or flatulence. If she have all, or any of these symptoms, the mystery is explained why he is sick and does not thrive. She ought then to seek advice, and a medical man will soon put her stomach into good order; and, by so doing, will, at the same time, benefit her child. But if the mother be in the enjoyment of good health, she must then look to the babe himself, and ascertain if he be cutting his teeth; if the gums require lancing; if the secretions from the bowels be proper both in quantity and in quality; and, if he have had _artificial_ food--it being absolutely necessary to give such food--whether it agree with him. _What to do_.--In the first place, if the gums be red, hot, and swollen, let them be lanced; in the second, if the secretion from the bowels be either unhealthy or scanty, give him a dose of aperient medicine, such as caster oil, or the following:--Take two or three grains of powdered Turkey rhubarb, three grains of pure carbonate of magnesia, and one grain of aromatic powder--Mix. The powder to be taken at bed-time, mixed in a tea-spoonful of sugar and water, and which should, if necessary, be repeated the following night. In the third place, if the food he be taking does not agree with him, change it (_vide_ answer to question 33). Give it in smaller quantities at a time, and not so frequently; or what will be better still, if it be possible, keep him, for a while, entirely to the breast. _What NOT to do_.--Do not let him overload his stomach either with breast milk, or with _artificial food_. Let the mother avoid, until his sickness be relieved, greens, cabbage, and all other green vegetables. 109. _What are the causes, the symptoms, the prevention, and the cure of Thrush_?