Intestinal disturbance in the breast-fed infant is most often caused by overfeeding, the infant often nursing too frequently, thereby emptying the breasts and securing a high fat ratio. Frequent nursing does not give the stomach time to empty and thus digestive disturbances are apt to occur. Therefore, as a means of relieving intestinal trouble in the infant, nursing at regular intervals and not too frequently, is of much importance. When digestive disturbance has occurred it is best to stop nursing for twenty-four hours, giving the infant weak barley gruel sweetened with saccharin. At the end of twenty-four hours let the infant nurse at the breast for from three to five minutes, this being preceded by a small drink of water. As the bowel condition improves, the time at the breast may be gradually lengthened. The mother should watch her diet to avoid too much rich food, and foods that seem difficult to digest, as certain articles of food in the mother’s diet often causes gastric disturbances in the infant. She should also carefully watch her thoughts, keeping them well poised and upon kindness, love, and peace. Worry or unkind thoughts will affect the mother’s milk and disturb the child’s digestion very quickly. Fits of temper in the child also disturb its digestion. * * * * * [Sidenote: Times of Feeding] Regular nursing habits should be insisted on, as indigestion, colic, and diarrhea often result from irregular nursing. Some authorities discourage night feeding as unnecessary with a normal baby, but most physicians agree that the child should be aroused during the day in order not to miss a feeding, as it will fall asleep again directly after nursing and will soon get into the habit of awakening at feeding time. The following table from Holt may be used as a guide in breast-feeding: ——————————————————+———————————+——————————————+—————————————— | Number in | Intervals |Night nursing Age |twenty-four|during the day|between 9 P.M. | hours | hours | and 7 A.M. ——————————————————+———————————+——————————————+—————————————— 1st day | 4 | 6 | 1 2d day | 6 | 4 | 1 3d to 28th day | 10 | 2 | 2 4th to 13th week | 8 | 2-1/2 | 1 3d to 5th month | 7 | 3 | 1 5th to 12th month | 6 | 3 | 0 ——————————————————+———————————+——————————————+—————————————— There may be some slight deviations from this if the child is ill and small for its age. It is a good general rule to feed the child according to the age with which its weight corresponds.