The Physical Training of Children

by Pye Henry Chavasse

Liebig, the great chemist, asserts that a small quantity of table salt to the food is essential to the health of children. The milk itself ought not to be heated over the fire, but should, as above directed, be warmed by the water; it must, morning and evening, be had fresh and fresh. It now and then happens that if the milk be not boiled, the motions of an infant are offensive; when such is the case let the milk be boiled, but not otherwise. The milk and water should be of the same temperature as the mother’s milk, that is to say, at about ninety to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. It ought to be given by means of a feeding-bottle, and care must be taken to scald the bottle out twice a day, for if attention be not paid to this point the delicate stomach of an infant is soon disordered. As he grows older the milk should be gradually increased, and the water decreased, until nearly all milk be given.

There will, in many cases, be quite sufficient nourishment in the above; I have known some robust infants brought up on it alone. But if it should not agree with the child, or if there should not be sufficient nourishment in it, then the food recommended in answer to No. 34 question ought to be given, with this only difference—a little new milk must from the beginning be added, and should be gradually increased, until nearly all milk be used.

The milk, as a general rule, ought to be unboiled; but if it purge violently, or if it cause offensive motions—which it sometimes does—then it must be boiled. The moment the milk boils up it should be taken off the fire.

Food ought, for the first month, to be given about every two hours; for the second month, about every three hours; lengthening the space of time as the baby advances in age. A mother must be careful not to over-feed a child, as over-feeding is a prolific source of disease.

Let it be thoroughly understood, and let there be no mistake about it, that a babe, during the first nine months of his life, MUST have—it is absolutely necessary for his very existence—milk of some kind, as the staple and principal article of his diet, either mother’s, or wet-nurse’s, or asses’, or goat’s, or cow’s own milk.

37. How would you choose a wet-nurse?

I would inquire particularly into the state of her health; whether she be of a healthy family, or a consumptive habit, or if she or any of her family have labored under “king’s evil;” ascertaining if there be any seams or swellings about her neck; any eruptions or blotches upon her skin; if she has a plentiful breast of milk, and if it be of good quality (which may readily be ascertained by milking a little into a glass. “It should be thin, and of a bluish-white color, sweet to the taste, and when allowed to stand should throw up a considerable quantity of cream.”—Maunsell and Evertson on the Diseases of Children.) If she has good nipples, sufficiently long for the baby to hold; that they be not sore; and if her own child be of the same or nearly of the same age as the one you wish her to nurse. Ascertain whether she menstruates during suckling; if she does, the milk is not so good and nourishing, and you had better decline taking her. Sir Charles Locock considers that a woman who menstruates during lactation is objectionable as a wet-nurse, and “that as a mother with her first child is more liable to that objection, that a second or a third child’s mother is more eligible than a first.”—Letter to the Author. Assure yourself that her own babe is strong and healthy, and that he is free from a sore mouth and from a “breaking-out” of the skin. Indeed, if it be possible to procure such a wet-nurse, she ought to be from the country, of ruddy complexion, of clear skin, and of between twenty and five-and-twenty years of age, as the milk will then be fresh, pure, and nourishing.

I consider it to be of great importance that the infant of the wet-nurse should be, as nearly as possible, of the same age as your own, as the milk varies in quality according to the age of the child. For instance, during the commencement of suckling, the milk is thick and creamy, similar to the biestings of a cow, which, if given to a babe of a few months old, would cause derangement of the stomach and bowels. After the first few days, the appearance of the milk changes; it becomes of a bluish-white color, and contains less nourishment. The milk gradually becomes more and more nourishing as the infant becomes older and requires more support.

In selecting a wet-nurse for a very small and feeble babe, you must carefully ascertain that the nipples of the wet-nurse are good and soft, and yet not very large: if they be very large, the child’s mouth being very small, he may not be able to hold them. You must note, too, whether the milk flows readily from the nipple into the child’s mouth; if it does not, he may not have strength to draw it, and he would soon die of starvation. The only way of ascertaining whether the infant actually draws the milk from the nipple, can be done by examining the mouth of the child immediately after his taking the breast, and seeing for yourself whether there be actually milk in his mouth.

Very feeble new-born babes sometimes cannot take the bosom, be the nipples and the breasts ever so good. In such a case, cow’s milk and water, sugar and salt, as recommended at page [45], must be given in small quantities at a time—from two to four teaspoonfuls—but frequently; if the child be awake, every hour or every half hour, both night and day, until he be able to take the breast. If, then, a puny, feeble babe is only able to take but little at a time, and that little by teaspoonfuls, he must have little and often, in order that “many a little might make a mickle.”