Boiled Milk

Put the desired amount of milk, or modified milk, into a clean saucepan, stir over a hot fire and boil from 2 to 5 minutes. Then cool by setting the pitcher into a pan of cold water; stir until cold and set on ice. This is excellent for infants as well as for the sick who suffer with diarrhoea. The milk may be modified with arrow-root, barley water or rice flour gruel, which has been boiled with salt and water and a stick of cinnamon. Milk-sugar should be boiled with the gruels, two level tablespoonsful to a pint of boiling water.

Eskay's Food

Prepare as directed on label or use like the foregoing in place of arrow-root.

Dr. Biedert's Milk And Cream Mixtures

1st month - 4 ounces of cream, no milk, 12 ounces of water, 3 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

2nd month - 4 ounces of cream, 2 ounces of milk, 12 ounces of water, 3 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

3rd month - 4 ounces of cream, 4 ounces of milk, 12 ounces of water, 3 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

4th month - 4 ounces of cream, 8 ounces of milk, 12 ounces of water, 3 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

5th month - 4 ounces of cream, 12 ounces of milk, 12 ounces of water, 3 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

6th month - no cream, 16 ounces of milk, 8 ounces of water, 2 tablespoonsful of milk-sugar.

Direction For Preparation

Put the desired amount into a saucepan and scald, as directed under "Scalding Milk," or put into bottles and pasteurize or sterilize.

If the bowels of an infant are too loose, lessen the amount of cream, and add more milk in place of it. If the child is constipated, add more cream and use less milk. If it disagrees, add oatmeal, rice, rye, barley or legume water. For preparation, see "Teas," in Chapter on Fluids. Use one-half the amount of water, as directed above, add the other half in the form of tea. Prepare the tea separately, and add the desired amount to each bottle when heating. Camomile tea is often beneficial for a few days. It can be added in the same manner as other teas, or given without sugar or cream, when colic appears. The latter way is preferable to too much hot water, when the infant is suffering with colic.

Original Recipe For Delicate Infants

Mixture of Cream, Milk, Water, Milk-Sugar, Rice Flour and Pearl Barley - (Condensed Milk, if Required).

Dissolve two tablespoonsful of rice flour in a little cold water, stir into twelve ounces of boiling water, add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, and boil for 20 minutes. Pour into a pitcher and keep on ice for 24 hours. Use.

Soak one-fourth of a cup of pearl barley for several hours, or over night. Boil with a quart of water and a little salt for one and one-half hours. This will make about ten ounces of barley water when strained. Keep the barley water and rice flour gruel in separate pitchers. If an additional amount of condensed milk is found more agreeable, add one tablespoonful of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk to the barley water in place of milk-sugar, before straining it.

Prepare the milk as follows: Dissolve two tablespoonsful of milk-sugar in ten ounces of boiling water, add four ounces of cream and four of milk, stir the milk and water in a saucepan over a quick fire until it foams, and pour into eight clean warm bottles which have been set in a kettle of hot water. Put cotton stoppers in the bottles, and pour enough water into the kettle so that it is even with the milk in the bottles. Let it stand on a hot stove and keep the water at the temperature of 1700 to 2000 F. for half an hour. Then set the kettle on the floor and when the water is cold, remove the bottles and put them on ice. At each feeding, add one ounce of the prepared barley water, and a tablespoonful of rice flour gruel to the bottle; shake well, and heat by setting the bottle in warm water. This will make about 28 ounces of food for 24 hours, or 3 1/2 ounces per bottle for eight feedings during 24 hours. This quantity is required for the average child during the second month. Ten feedings are generally required during the first month.

During the first week of the infant's life use 5 ounces of cream, 5 ounces of water, 8 ounces of rice and barley water, and no milk. This makes 18 ounces of food for 24 hours, or about 2 1/2 ounces per bottle for ten feedings during 24 hours. If a larger quantity is desired during the first month, add 2 1/2 ounces of water and 2 ounces of milk to the cream mixture, then gradually change to the proportion given in above formulas. As the child grows older, increase the amount of milk to 12 or 15 ounces until the age of ten months. After that age 42 ounces of food is required during 24 hours, and the child is generally able to begin with semi-liquid or solid food. The rice flour alone, or any other cereal gruel or water may be used in place of barley and rice, but the latter is found especially beneficial for delicate infants with whom plain modified milk disagrees.

It is often desirable to change the cereal occasionally. Use oats, rye and barley during the winter and the lighter cereals during the summer. Other suitable foods for the infant are bran or rye tea with or without milk or cream, and broths from veal or mutton with the yolk of an egg ( 10 ounces of broth to one yolk). Strained steel cut oats and bran are excellent for a while where milk or cream are found to disagree.

During the period from the tenth to the fifteenth month the healthy infant requires an addition of solid food. The appearance of the teeth indicate when it should begin. The change must be made gradually from liquid to semi-liquid and finally to solid food. The middle of the day is the best time to begin with the change of food. Lean meat is not a necessary food for children, therefore it is mentioned only occasionally for those who think their children must have it. On the other hand, legumes are a very important food for young children, and their use should begin during the second year. They are easily digested if prepared in the form of soups and purees, and combined as directed in the different menus. They should not be given at night.

SECOND PERIOD: FROM THE TENTH TO THE FIFTEENTH MONTH.

During this period the infant should sleep three times during the day: From 8 to 10 a. m., from 1 to 3 p. m., and from 6 to 8 p. m. If the child should not awaken for the last feeding and sleep until 4 or 5 a. m., give the feeding at 4 a. m. instead of between 8 and 10 p. m. If it should be in the habit of awakening during the middle of the night, change the habit by awakening it at 10 p. m. Reduce the quantity of milk given at this time gradually to 3 or 4 ounces, and finally replace it by water.

If the child should sleep from 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. without awakening, it does not require the extra feeding; four meals are sufficient.

Some children require five meals until they are two years old. With intelligent study and simple regularity the mother can make her work very easy. She can transform delicate children into strong, vigorous ones, avoid disease and many unnecessary doctor bills.

Do not begin the habit of stuffing the child with bread and crackers every time it cries. If it desires something to bite upon give it a teething-ring. Give the child as many meals as it requires, but avoid feeding between meals. Give it cold or slightly warmed water between meals. Do not force the child to drink water. If fed correctly it will call for the necessary amount of water. If a child is too heavy in weight for its age, reduce the amount of milk. Give it strained oatmeal, bran and barley gruels, with butter or cream. Some children require three pints of milk during 24 hours, between the tenth and fifteenth months, while others are satisfied with one and one-half pints of milk and four to six ounces of cream. If broths or other nutritious liquids are substituted for milk, the amount of milk required for the day would be less than that mentioned above. Never force the child to eat food; when it awakens in the morning it generally requires food immediately. When it awakens for its dinner, let it play for a while until it calls for food. If it refuses food, leave out a meal once in a while, or reduce the number of meals to suit the appetite.