First to Fourth Month

HOW often should a child be fed? This is a question that will continue to be asked as long as children are born, and the answer will vary according to the prejudices, superstitions, and customs of the locality in which they are born. If babies are allowed to rest as they should, without handling and fondling, they may be fed about three times a day for one or two days. A child that is permitted to rest all it can, and has not been injured in childbirth, will probably not awake oftener than three times in twenty-four hours. It is a very silly, foolish thing to awaken a child to put it to the breast. I have found that for the first three or four days after birth the baby will sleep nearly all the time--probably twenty-three and one-half hours out of twenty-four.

At the beginning of the second week or the end of the fourth or fifth day, the child should be nursed every four hours during the day--at six and ten o'clock in the morning, and at two and six o'clock in the afternoon; absolutely no night feeding.

After it is a week or so old, it may be fed one-half to one teaspoonful of orange juice and water before the regular ten o'clock nursing time.

If, between meal times, the child is fretful, or does not seem to be resting well, the nurse should gently turn it from one side to the other, and then let it alone. It should not be taken up. It is not hungry, and it is not thirsty; so why be giving yourself any uneasiness about the child being sick or not being fed often enough?

How long should a child be nursed? That depends entirely upon how fast the milk comes from the mother's breast. Where the milk flows freely and easily, the child should get all that it needs in from three to five minutes. Where the milk comes hard, the child may have to nurse ten or fifteen minutes. This will have to be found out by watching the child. If it seems to be satisfied in about five minutes, put it away where it cannot be disturbed by having its bed jostled and hearing a lot of noise. The custom is to feed a young child every two hours. Those who are wedded to this belief should watch the stools. When there are any white flakes or minute curds showing in the movements from the bowels, it means that the child is being nursed too often or too long at a time. Cut the amount down. If it is nursing five minutes, cut it down to three minutes. If it is nursing ten minutes, cut it down to five minutes It is a very dangerous thing to continue to feed a child the same amount when evidences of indigestion, such as milk curds, begin to manifest themselves in the bowel movements. If this is attended to early, there will be no danger of constipation, and the indigestion that necessarily will soon follow. It is criminal carelessness to allow anything of this kind to run on until the child is sick. Indigestion has been running on for some time before such symptoms as a feverish condition, vomiting, or diarrhea will show up. When children get to the age where they do not sleep all the time, the hours of feeding should not be changed, if they are being fed every four hours through the day. Increase the length of time of nursing as the child appears to need more nourishment.

Concerning the feeding, common-sense should enable a mother to increase the amount of nursing as needed by the child as it grows older.