CHAPTER XVI
THE BOTTLE-FED BABY
In taking up the subject of the bottle-fed baby, we must repeat that the only perfect baby food on earth is the milk that comes from the breast of a healthy mother.
But sudden illness, accident, chronic maladies, or possibly the death of the mother, often throw the helpless babes out into a world of many sorts and kinds of artificial foods—foods that are prepared by modifying cow's, ass', or goat's milk; foods arranged by the addition to the milk of various specially prepared cereals, albumens or malted preparations, otherwise known as "proprietary foods." We shall endeavor, then, in this chapter and in that on "the feeding problem," to lay down certain general suggestions to both the nurse and the mother, which may assist them in their effort to select the food which will more nearly simulate nature's wondrous mother-food, and which will, at the same time, be best suited to some one particular baby.
THE HOURLY SCHEDULE
The normal baby, from birth to six months, should receive properly prepared nourishment every three hours, beginning the day usually at six a. m., the last feeding being at nine p. m. During the early weeks an additional bottle is given at midnight, but this is usually discarded at four months, at which time the last feeding should be given at about ten instead of at nine at night.
Should the baby continue to awaken during the night before six in the morning, unless he is under weight, a bottle of warm, boiled, unsweetened water should be given.
QUANTITY OF FOOD
The quantity of food to be given is always determined by the size of the baby's stomach, which, of course, depends somewhat upon the age of the child; for instance, the stomach of the average baby one week old holds about one ounce, while at the age of three months the stomach holds five ounces; so it would not only be folly to give two ounces at one week and seven ounces at three months, but it would also be very detrimental to the babe, causing severe symptoms due to the overloading of the stomach.
Careful study of the size of the stomach at different ages in infancy, together with the quantity of milk drawn from the breast by a nursing baby, has led to the following conclusions regarding the capacity of the baby's stomach: