Vomiting.—­ Vomiting means often only that the stomach has been overfilled, and may be relieved by withholding all food for a few hours.

Urination.—­ The frequency of urination in a newborn baby will vary greatly with the weather and other conditions; in cool weather it is not unusual for the napkin to need changing almost every hour.  Healthy urine should not stain the napkin.  The new-born infant secretes very little urine until it begins to take nourishment freely.  The bladder is usually emptied during birth, and very often the bowels also, so that if the child seems well and there is no malformation of the parts, the family may be assured that the apparent retention of urine is only temporary.

The use of hot fomentations over the kidneys and bladder will often hasten the evacuation of urine if it has been unduly delayed.  If the secretion seems highly concentrated, a drop of sweet spirits of niter in a teaspoonful of water may be given every two hours.

Teething.—­ The first tooth generally appears about the end of the fourth month; in delicate children they come later.  As a rule, the lower front teeth come first, coming in pairs, one tooth coming on each side of the mouth; followed in about a month by the corresponding teeth in the upper jaw.  Preceding their appearance the gums become swollen, hot, and painful, and the saliva forms in excess and runs from the mouth.  The child is irritable, flushed and restless; and there usually occurs some disturbance of the bowels, commonly diarrhea.  This all indicates a nervous derangement, and calls for a judicious diet and general careful oversight.  The symptoms subside when the teeth are through.  During teething the child manifests a desire to bite on something, and a soft rubber ring will give it great comfort.

The first set of teeth are twenty in number, and are usually cut in groups, starting about the fourth month and continuing until between the twentieth and thirtieth month, when the first dentition should be complete.  As a rule there is an interval of rest between the eruption of the various groups.  During dentition children are generally more peevish and fretful than usual, but there should be no general constitutional disturbance.  During dentition it is of especial importance to keep the bowels well opened; it is better to have them too loose than costive; constipation at this time greatly increases the tendency to convulsions.

Bottle-fed babies are apt to cut their teeth later than those nursed

at the breast.  The lack of appearance of any teeth before the end of the first year indicates that the nutrition of the child is below par, or, in other words, that the child has rickets.  The permanent teeth begin to appear about the sixth or seventh year.
                          _________________

Part IV.—­ The menopause.
_________________

CHAPTER XIV.