After being fed, the baby should be held upright against your shoulder for a moment or two, as in Fig. [49], and ever so gently patted on the back to help bring up any air which he may have swallowed. He should on no account be rocked nor played with after taking the bottle, but should be placed gently in his crib, warm and dry and left alone to sleep. Turning him or moving him about even to the extent of changing his diaper at this time may cause vomiting.
The evidences of satisfactory and unsatisfactory feeding in the bottle-fed baby are about the same as in the baby who is fed at the breast, except that the gain in weight on artificial food may be a little slower and less steady than on maternal nursing; the stools have a characteristic sour odor; are a little lighter in color and may contain white lumps of undigested fat; are usually dryer than in breast feeding and may be formed, in even a very young baby.
Many doctors feel that all babies, whether breast-fed or on the bottle, require a certain amount of cool boiled water to drink between feedings. A small amount is given at first and gradually increased according to the doctor’s instructions, and it may be given from a bottle, a medicine dropper or poured slowly from the tip of a teaspoon.
I feel sure that you have realized, long before this, that the entire question of planning the baby’s food is such an important and complicated matter that it cannot with safety to the baby be undertaken by any one but your doctor. Unexpected situations do arise, however, when the doctor is not within immediate reach and the mother has to plan the baby’s food, temporarily, to the best of her ability.
Should you find yourself in such an emergency, you will find help in the milk formulas contained in a pamphlet issued by the American Medical Association, remembering that they are intended for the average, normal baby and are not necessarily suitable for all babies. A large, vigorous baby may need more food and a small, frail baby have to take less than the amounts specified in the following directions:[[3]]
[3]. From “Save The Babies” by Dr. L. Emmet Holt and Dr. H. K. L. Shaw. Copied by courtesy of The American Medical Association.
“The simplest plan is to use whole milk (from a shaken bottle) which is to be diluted according to the child’s age and digestion.
“Beginning on the third day, the average baby should be given 3 ounces of milk daily, diluted with seven ounces of water. To this should be added one tablespoonful of lime water and 2 level teaspoonfuls of sugar. This should be given in 7 feedings.
“At one week, the average child requires 5 ounces of milk daily, which should be diluted with 10 ounces of water. To this should be added 1½ even tablespoonfuls of sugar and one ounce of lime water. This should be given in 7 feedings.
“The milk should be increased by ½ ounce about every 4 days.