Mother's Remedies Part 158

At what meals should fruits be used? If the fruit juice is given upon an empty stomach early in the morning, it works more actively upon the bowels, than when given later.

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Is it wise to give cream or milk with sour fruits? No, it is not wise, it is best to give it at midday when no milk is taken as a dessert. The quant.i.ty should always be moderate.

Can I give anything besides water and milk to drink? Cocoa, if made very weak, almost all milk is often useful as a hot drink. Tea, coffee, wine, beer and cider are all prohibited under p.u.b.erty. Lemonade and soda water should not be given until the tenth year at least.

INDIGESTION IN OLDER CHILDREN.

Different ways in which indigestion shows itself in children? First as an acute attack which lasts for a few days only; second, as chronic disturbances which may last for weeks and months.

Which is the most serious? Chronic indigestion, for it often goes on for months and even years unchecked, because it is not recognized.

The symptoms of acute indigestion? Vomiting, pain, diarrhea of undigested food, often fever and prostration.

What are the common causes? Over eating or indulging in improper food or too hearty eating when very tired.

Is it sometimes the forerunner of some acute general sickness? Yes.

How shall I treat acute indigestion? Give castor oil to clean out all undigested food from the bowels. Vomiting usually frees the stomach of food; stop food for from twelve to thirty-six hours, only boiled water being allowed. Let the stomach rest.

Can I then begin with the former diet? No, give at first only broth gruel, very much diluted milk or whey. Increase the diet slowly as the appet.i.te and digestion improve, but this should consume a week or ten days in most cases before the full diet is resumed.

Give the symptoms of chronic indigestion (dyspepsia) in children?

Disturbed sleep, tired, grinding teeth, fretfulness, loss of weight and flesh, gas in the stomach and bowels, pain in the bowels, bloated bowels, constipation or loose bowels with mucus in the stools, foul breath, coated tongue, poor appet.i.te, capricious appet.i.te. Some may think worms are present.

Common causes of chronic constipation? Bad system of feeding, prolonged use of improper food or improper methods of feeding, such as coaxing the child to eat, rapid eating, eating between meals, child selects his own food and lives largely upon one article of diet; indulgence in sweets, desserts, pies, etc. Improperly cooked foods especially oatmeal, and vegetables and eating sour or stale fruits. Exclude articles of diet which are known to be hard for children to digest.

How shall chronic indigestion be treated? Remove all causes such as bad foods, habits, etc.

Is it curable? In most cases, but the rules for feeding must be carefully followed for a long period. Medicine will not cure such cases unless the proper food is given in a proper way. That is better than medicine.

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How long must this proper feeding continue? For months, and with many children for two or three years.

Is medicine of any use? It will relieve the symptoms, but the main thing is proper feeding.

SLEEP.

Should a baby sleep with anyone? No, young infants have been smothered by their mothers. It is also a frequent temptation to nursing at night, and this is injurious to both mother and child.

How long does baby usually sleep at first? About nine-tenths of the time.

How should his bed be prepared? The mattress should be firm and soft, the pillow, of hair and very thin; you should change his position so as not to sleep always in the same position.

How many hours should baby sleep at six months? About two-thirds of the time.

How long should the daily nap be continued? Until about four years old.

How shall I put baby to sleep? Darken the room and have quiet. The child's hunger should be satisfied and make him generally comfortable and lay him in the crib while still awake.

Can I rock him to sleep? No. It is a bad habit and, he will readily acquire it. It will be hard to break, and besides it is useless and some times an injurious one. The same may be said of sucking a rubber nipple or pacifier, and all other devices to put baby to sleep.

What princ.i.p.al things disturb baby's sleep? Quiet, peaceful sleep is a sign of perfect health, and disorders of sleep may be produced by almost anything that is wrong with the child. Food and feeding cause disturbed sleep. It may come from chronic indigestion due to improper food. In bottle-fed babies it is often due to over-feeding. In those who nurse it may be due to poor food and hunger. Feeding three or four times during the night makes a restless baby. It may also be due to nervous causes such as bad habits due to faulty training, as when the nursery is light and the baby is taken from its crib whenever it cries or wakes, or when contrivances for producing sleep have been used. Any excitement in a nursing mother or child before sleeping time will cause wakefulness.

Romping play just before bedtime and fears aroused by stories and pictures are causes, and children who inherit a nervous const.i.tution are special sufferers from this cause. Cold feet, insufficient or too much clothing, want of pure fresh air in the sleeping room. Tonsils or adenoids may interfere with breathing in older children. Rousing a sleeping child from a good sound sleep, is a frequent cause of poor sleep. If a pregnant woman keeps herself in as good condition as possible, not only physically, but also mentally, she will not be likely to have a nervous baby; and if a baby is not born nervous there is no reason, at all, why it should not sleep well, for sleep is then its most normal condition, nine-tenths of the time. It will then depend upon the food and training it is given. The training many babies receive is enough to make them poor sleepers.

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Unnecessary handling.--Babies are wakened from sleep to show to friends who wish to see them at almost any and all hours. They are handled, petted, and made restless. Sleep is their normal condition and they ought to be given the opportunity nature demands. They are only to be aroused from sleep for nurse, bathing and clothing, and immediately placed in their crib, covered comfortably and warmly with all light shut away from their eyes and quiet about them. They will soon wake of their own accord for meals.

Rocking baby.--Rocking and shaking cause an increased flow of blood to the brain, and this should be avoided, for it of itself will cause sleeplessness. The brain during sleep is comparatively empty of blood; warm feet and cool head tend to produce sleep. Rocking, etc., is unnatural, and baby is made to receive and enjoy the natural. If the baby is sick the mother may take it in her arms and sing to it and coddle it carefully, but it is then sick. If it is trained properly from the beginning, rocking to sleep will be unnecessary; walking with the baby is of the same nature. See that your baby has warm feet and legs and body and a cool head, with comfortable clothes and good careful feeding, and it will sleep. Singing lullabies are soothing, but they do no good at first as the baby is deaf. Such lullabies are good when baby is sick and nervous, and then the mother is allowed and expected to hold and quiet baby. Sleep perhaps as much or more than any other item of nursery regime, depends on habit and mild but decided purpose. A lack of firmness in the early months of the baby's life may not only render its early years a burden to itself, but an annoyance, if not a nuisance to the entire household. Baby's habits are quickly and easily formed, but hard to correct. Dr. Tooker says: "An infant is as plastic as moist clay, you can mold it to your will. But you must have a will and a purpose and a plan, and make your judgment and your duty law."

But suppose baby will not sleep, but continues cross and wakeful and peevish; can I not give medicines to produce sleep? Never. If baby is wakeful and refuses to sleep, there is something wrong with your training, his clothing, covering, or his food, or he may be sick, he may not get enough food, etc., or he may have worms. If everything is all right and you have trained your baby right from his birth, he will sleep. Find out the cause and remove it. All soothing syrups, cordials, and quieting medicines contain opium in some form, and all experienced physicians realize the danger of giving these mixtures to babies. Babies have been killed by medicines which were declared to contain neither opium nor anything else injurious. They are often used. Remember that opium, laudanum and paregoric are dangerous for babies and old people. Careful proper training, allowing plenty of sleeping time, no waking at wrong hours, warm feet, legs and body, cool head, proper modified food, and especially mother nursing, with mother careful with herself, will give a good baby in nine out of ten cases.

Will children ever sleep too much? Not if they are healthy; you must remember a newly-born baby sleeps nine-tenths of the time; excessive sleeping may indicate disease of the brain.

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EXERCISE.

Is exercise necessary for infants? Yes.

How can it be obtained? A young baby usually gets its exercise by screaming, waving its arms, kicking, etc. It is a good plan to let baby lie in the center of a large bed, and with his long skirts drawn up, allow him to kick his little legs about for twenty or twenty-five minutes twice each day or one-half hour once a day. His clothing ought to be loose for this exercise. If the room is all right you can remove all clothing except his s.h.i.+rt, stockings and napkin; change his position sometimes and let him lie on his stomach for awhile. Of course this exercise cannot be taken after a meal and before the fourth month. Take a large clothes basket, put a blanket and some large pillows in it and prop baby up in a half sitting position for a little while each day, beginning with fifteen minutes, then one-half hour, and you can also at this time (fourth month) play with baby for a short time every day, but never just before bedtime, and the best time is just after his morning nap. Do not toss him in the air to make him laugh or crow; he is too tender and delicate for that. When baby is older and in short clothes, place a thick quilt upon the floor and allow him to tumble as he will; a fence two feet high which surrounds a mattress, makes an excellent place, or a box for this young animal to exercise his arms and legs without danger of injury. Before you put baby to sleep at night give him a warm sponge bath with a fresh band and s.h.i.+rt and he will sleep.

When, if ever, is crying useful in a baby? The cry expands the lungs of a new-born baby, and he should use his lungs a few minutes daily in order to keep them well expanded.

How much crying daily is necessary? Twenty to thirty minutes is not too much.

What kind of a cry is it? Loud and strong and infants get red in the face with it. Some call it a scream. It is exercise for baby and necessary for its health.

When is the cry abnormal? When it is very long and too frequent. It is not strong, but rather of a moaning or worrying nature or only a whine.

What causes such crying? Habit, temper, pain, hunger, illness.

What is the indulgence or habit cry? This is the cry of infants who cry to be rocked, or carried about, for a bottle to suck, etc.

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Temper cry? This is loud and strong and is usually accompanied by kicking, stiffening of the body, bending backward and is usually quite violent.

Pain cry? This is generally strong, sharp and quick, but not usually continuous, the features contract, legs draw up and the baby plainly shows symptoms of distress,

Hunger cry? This is a continuous fretful, pitiful cry, not strong and l.u.s.ty,--baby looks hungry.