“At 3 months, sometimes earlier, weak barley water may be used in the place of plain water; it is made with ½ level tablespoonful of barley flour to 16 ounces of water and cooked 20 minutes.
“At 6 months the barley flour may be increased to 1½ even tablespoonfuls, cooked in the 12 ounces of water.
“At 9 months, the barley flour may be increased to 3 level tablespoonfuls, cooked in the 10 ounces of water.
“A very large baby may require a little more milk than that allowed in these formulas. A small delicate baby will require less than the milk allowed in the formulas.”
These formulas may be tabulated as shown on p. [177].
Mixed Feeding. Under some conditions the breast-fed baby is given also a certain amount of modified milk, and this combination of natural and artificial feeding is termed mixed or supplementary feeding.
A deficiency in the breast milk, ascertained by weighing the baby before and after each nursing, may be supplied by following each nursing with a bottle feeding; or for some reason, one or two breast feedings, in the course of the day are sometimes replaced by entire bottle feedings. In any case the milk mixture to be used as supplementary feeding is prepared with exactly the same painstaking care as is the milk for entire artificial feeding.
If supplementary food is given because of an inadequate supply of breast milk, it is of great importance that the baby be put to the breast regularly, no matter how little food he obtains, for his suckling is the best possible means of stimulating the breasts to secrete more milk, and of equal importance is the fact that they will tend to dry up if the baby nurses less than about five times in twenty-four hours. Moreover, even a little breast milk is valuable to him and he should have the benefit of all there is to be had.
| Age | Milk | Water | Barley Water | Lime Water | Sugar | No. of feedings | Hours | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Night | |||||||||||||
| 3–7 | days | 3 | ozs. | 7 | ozs. | ½ | ozs. | 2 | teaspoons | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 2d | week | 5 | „ | 10 | „ | 1 | „ | 1½ | tablespoons | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 3d | „ | 6 | „ | 10½ | „ | 1 | „ | 1½ | „ | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 1 | month | 7 | „ | 11 | „ | 1 | „ | 2 | „ | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 2 | „ | 11 | „ | 13 | „ | 1½ | „ | 2½ | „ | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 3 | „ | 16 | „ | 16 | ozs. | 2 | „ | 3 | „ | 7 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10–2 | ||
| 4 | „ | 19 | „ | 15 | „ | 2 | „ | 3 | „ | 6 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10 | ||
| 5 | „ | 21½ | „ | 14 | „ | 2 | „ | 3 | „ | 6 | 6–9–12–3–6 | 10 | ||
| 6 | „ | 24 | „ | 12 | „ | 2 | „ | 3 | „ | 5 | 6–10–2–6 | 10 | ||
| 7 | „ | 26 | „ | 12 | „ | 2 | „ | 3 | „ | 5 | 6–10–2–6 | 10 | ||
| 8 | „ | 28 | „ | 11 | „ | 2 | „ | 2½ | „ | 5 | 6–10–2–6 | 10 | ||
| 9 | „ | 30 | „ | 10 | „ | 2 | „ | 2 | „ | 5 | 6–10–2–6 | 10 | ||
An entire bottle feeding is sometimes given to a baby who is nursing satisfactorily at the breast, in order to give his mother an opportunity to take longer outings than are possible between the regular nursings. And sometimes it is to the mother’s advantage, and therefore to the baby’s, to give him a bottle during the night and thus allow her to sleep undisturbed.