REGULARITY IN FEEDING
From earliest infancy the baby should be nursed by the "clock," and not by the "squawk." Until he reaches his sixth-month birthday, he is fed with unerring regularity every three hours during the day. Asleep or awake he is put to the breast, while during the night he is allowed to sleep as long over the three-hour period as he will. Babies are usually nursed at night: during the early weeks, at nine o'clock in the evening, at midnight, and at six o'clock in the morning. After four months all nursing after ten p. m. may be omitted.
The baby is ordinarily allowed to remain at the breast for about twenty minutes. He may often be satisfied with one breast if the milk is plentiful; if not, he is given both breasts; and may we add the following injunction? insist that nothing shall go into your baby's mouth but your own breast milk and warm or cool-boiled water; no sugar, whiskey, paregoric, or soothing syrup should be given, no matter how he cries. Never give a baby food merely to pacify him or to stop his crying; it will damage him in the end. More than likely he is thirsty, and milk to him is what bread and meat are to you, neither of which you want when you are thirsty.
POSITION OF MOTHER DURING THE NURSING
A perfectly comfortable position during nursing for both mother and babe is necessary for satisfactory results. During the lying-in period the mother should rest well over on her side with her arm up and her hand under her head, the other hand supports the breast and assists in keeping the nipple in the baby's mouth, as well as preventing the breast from in any way interfering with baby's breathing. A rolled pillow is placed at the mother's back for support.
After the mother leaves the bed, she will find a low chair most convenient when nursing the baby, and if an ordinary chair be used, she will find that a footstool adds greatly to her comfort. Once during the forenoon and once during the afternoon the nursing mother will find it a wonderful source of rest and relaxation if she removes all tight clothing, dons a comfortable wrapper, and lies down on the bed to nurse her babe; and as the babe naps after the feed, she likewise should doze and allow mother nature to restore, refresh, and fit her for restful and happy motherhood.
Worry, grief, fatigue, household cares, loss of sleep, social debauches, emotional sprawls—all debilitate the mother, and usually decrease the flow of milk.
NURSING WHEN ANGRY AND OVERHEATED
Overheating, irritability, and sudden anger, almost invariably tend to raise the blood-pressure, which means the entry into the blood stream of an increased amount of epinephrin, which disturbs the baby greatly, often throwing him into convulsions or other sudden, acute illness.
Menstruation often interferes with the nursing mother, the milk becoming weaker at this time; however, if the infant continues to gain and the mother feels comparatively well, no attention need be paid to this fact.