SCHEDULE FOR HEALTHY INFANTS FOR THE FIRST YEAR ------------------+--------+----------+----------+-----------+-------- | | | | | |Interval| Night | No. of | Quantity |Quantity Age |between | feedings,| feedings,| for one | for 24 |meals by| 6 p.m. | in 24 | feeding | hours | day | to | hours | | | | 6 a.m. | | | ------------------+--------+----------+----------+-----------+-------- | Hours | | | Ounces | Ounces 2d to 7th day | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1-2 | 1-14 2d and 3d weeks | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2-3½ | 14-24 4th to 6th week | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3-4 | 21-28 7th week to 3 mos.| 3 | 2 | 7 | 3½-5 | 25-35 3 to 5 months | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4½-6 | 27-36 5 to 7 months | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5½-6½ | 33-39 7 to 12 months | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7-8½ | 35-43 ------------------+--------+----------+----------+-----------+-------- During the period when seven feedings are given in 24 hours the following hours will be found convenient: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. The 2 a.m. feeding is the one omitted when the number of feedings is reduced from seven to six. Food should be given on exact schedule time; the baby if asleep should be waked for any meal except the one due at 2 a.m. WATER.--Pure boiled water should be given regularly even to a young baby. He is often satisfied with a little warm water if he is fretful between the hours of nursing. Water may be given from a cup, a spoon, or a bottle; it is desirable, however, for the baby to learn to drink from a cup before the period of weaning begins. WEANING.--Ordinarily, a baby should be fed from the breast until he is seven months old, either exclusively or with the exception after the second month of one bottle-feeding in twenty-four hours. This exception will do the baby no harm and may be a great relief to his mother. Partial breast-feeding should continue if possible through the ninth month, but every baby should be entirely weaned by the time he is one year old. It may be necessary, if either the baby or the mother is not thriving, to change the food before the ninth month; but it is desirable not to make the change in hot weather. Healthy babies, it should be remembered, increase in weight constantly, and steady gain in weight is the best indication that a baby's food is suitable. NURSING BOTTLES AND NIPPLES.--Nursing bottles should be of heavy glass, cylindrical in shape, without angles or corners to make cleaning difficult. The number of bottles provided should be two or three more than the number of feedings given in 24 hours.