Another pregnancy demands a drying up of the breast at once, as the tax is too great on the mother.
THE STOOLS
The stools of the breast-fed baby do not require as much attention as those of the bottle-fed child. In cases of constipation, after four months, from one teaspoon up to one-half cup of unsweetened prune juice may be given one hour before the afternoon feed.
In instances of colic with signs of fermentation in the stool, the mother may take several doses (under her physician's orders) of common baking soda; or, if she is constipated, calcined magnesia will usually right the condition. Nature's mother milk is so beautifully adapted to the baby's needs that it is the rule for baby to have perfectly normal stools.
SYMPTOMS OF SUCCESSFUL NURSING
A happy baby is a satisfied baby. He lies quietly in a sleepy, relaxed condition if he has enough to eat, provided he is otherwise comfortable and dry. He awakens at the end of two hours and perhaps cries; but plain, unsweetened, warm, boiled water quenches his thirst, and he lies content for another hour, when he is regularly nursed. He gains on an average of about one ounce a day.
EARMARKS OF UNSUCCESSFUL NURSING
Constant discomfort, vomiting, fretful crying, passing and belching of gas, colicky pain, disturbed sleep, greenish stools with mucus, are among the more prominent earmarks of unsuccessful nursing. These symptoms appearing in a pale, flabby, listless, indifferent or cross baby, with steady loss of weight continued over a period of three or four weeks, point to "nursing trouble;" which, if not corrected, will lead to that much dreaded infantile condition—malnutrition.
Bolting of food or overeating results in vomiting and gas, and thus interferes with normal nursing, as also may tongue-tie. A condition in the mouth, medically known as "stomatitis," and commonly known as "thrush," often gives rise to a fretful cry when nursing is attempted. In the first place, the baby cannot "hold on" to the nipple; while, in the second place, it hurts his inflamed mouth when he makes an effort to nurse.
Long continued nursing covering three-fourths of an hour or more, seizing of the nipple for a moment and then discarding it, apparently in utter disgust, are the earmarks of very scanty milk supply and should receive immediate attention.