Mother's Remedies eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,684 pages of information about Mother's Remedies.

Mother's Remedies eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,684 pages of information about Mother's Remedies.

When should the weaning be completed?  Generally at one year, It may be advisable to wait longer in warm, damp weather.

Is there any danger in nursing longer?  Yes, as the milk is scanty; the child may get rickets or anemia.

Is gradual weaning the best method?  Yes.

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Should a wet nurse be preferred to bottle feeding?  Yes, if you are sure you can get a good and perfectly healthy wet nurse.  Her habits, etc., must be unobjectionable—­she should be chosen by a physician.

When should a “weaned” child use the bottle, and when the cup?  If the weaning is done at the eighth or ninth month the bottle should be used; if weaning is done from the tenth to the eleventh month, the baby should be taught to drink or be fed with a spoon.

How can you overcome some of the difficulties of weaning?  As before recommended, by feeding every nursing infant once a day or by giving water regularly from out a feeding bottle, as this accustoms the baby to the bottle.  This is very good, for the mother is sometimes away at nursing time, for a few hours and the baby can be fed, and when weaning comes, it is much easier.

How soon should a child stop nursing from a bottle?  If the child is well this should be begun at the end of the first year, and after it is fourteen months old, it should not have the bottle except at the night feeding.

What is the objection to longer bottle nursing?  They become attached to the bottle and refuse solid food when it is proper to give it.  They get the bottle habit; also, it is troublesome and unnecessary.  Then they will not take milk in the future, when the bottle is finally taken from them; an exclusive milk diet for children of two to three years old often results in poor nutrition and anemia.

Give the process of training a child to give up the bottle?  There is little trouble if it is begun at the right time; pour the milk in a small cup or glass and the child will drink little by little.  Give only a small portion of the food in this way, at first, and the balance from the bottle.  The child will in a few weeks time learn to drink out of the cup without difficulty.  If the child is two or three years old, take the bottle away entirely and let the child get hungry, and give it only milk in the cup and nothing else.  Some children may go for a day without food, but hunger will master them finally.  As soon as he has learned to drink milk from his cup, cereals and other solid foods are gradually added to his dietary and the child has not only been taught to give up his bottle, but he has also a training which is often necessary.

Can you give a baby just weaned as strong cows’ milk as one of the same age who has been fed upon cows’ milk from birth?  Not generally; it would be almost certain to cause indigestion.  You must remember that the change in food is a great one, and the feeding should be begun with a weak milk and increased gradually in strength as the baby becomes accustomed to the cows’ milk.

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Mother's Remedies from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.