Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife
John Stuart Mill · en
Weaning is rendered easier by selecting a nursing-bottle which has the
nipple in the shape of the breast. Care should be taken that the hole in
the nipple is not too large, supplying more milk than the stomach can
take care of as it comes, and so causing stomachic disorder. The nursing
bottle should at all times be kept thoroughly clean by rinsing in hot
water and washing in hot soapsuds. The milk for the child's bottle
should, wherever possible, be what is called "certified," that is, the
milk from a herd of cows which have been declared by the proper
authorities to be all in good health, and which have been milked under
sanitary conditions. This milk is delivered in clean, sealed bottles,
preventing the admission of any dirt or deleterious substance from the
time it leaves the dairy till opened. The milk for the baby should not
be purchased from the can.
Milk that has been sterilized, that is, bottled and put in boiling water
for an hour, is not so good for the baby as pasteurized milk; that is,
milk kept at something less than the boiling point for half an hour,
since the higher temperature causes the milk to lose some of the
qualities beneficial to the child.
Since cow's milk differs in its constituents from mother's, having more
fat and less sugar, there will be need at first to modify the cow's
milk, weakening and sweetening it somewhat. One good recipe for
modifying cows' milk is: One part milk, two parts cream, two parts
lime-water, three parts sugar water, the sugar water being made by
putting two even teaspoonfuls of sugar of milk in a pint of water.
Condensed milk, which is often used as a substitute for cows' milk,
is not nearly so good, since it has lost in the process of condensation
one of the most important elements, that which forms bone tissue.
Accordingly, babies fed upon condensed milk are apt to be "rickety,"
and they lack in general power to resist disease, which is primarily
the mark of a baby fed on mother's milk, and to a slightly lesser degree,
one fed upon cows' milk.
The stomach grows very rapidly during infancy, increasing from a
capacity of one ounce soon after birth to eight ounces at the end of
the year, and this should be taken into account by the increase of the
amount supplied it. After the first week, a baby should increase in
weight at the rate of one pound a month for the first six months.
If he falls behind this rate and remains healthy, more sugar and fat
may be introduced into his milk. If, however, he fails to gain weight
and is sickly, the milk should be diluted and modified so as to make
it easier of digestion.