Little Ailments.—Nursing Babies Affected by Condition of Mother.—Sleep and Health.—The Baby’s Food.—Why Babies are Restless when Nursed from the Right Breast.—Children’s Symptoms often More Grave than the Ailment.—Illustrations.—Fevers and Teething.—Vomiting.—The Cause of Rash.—Pallid Children.—Chafing.—Babies do not Cry without Cause.—Need of Water and Fresh Air.—Sleeping in open Air.—Relief in Constipation.—Important Suggestions.

I speak of ailments of children not diseases, since this is in no sense a “Doctor Book.” In the common ailments every mother should be so well informed that she may not distress herself at a trifling indisposition, neither show no concern when marked symptoms of disease are present. There are many ailments to which the most healthy child is susceptible, and for which no alarm need be felt, as they are trifling and usually last but a few hours.

In nursing babies, the child is very apt to[230] be affected by the condition of the mother. If the mother is quiet, well balanced, free from worry, not subject to fits of anger, does not overdo, does not eat stimulating food, keeps early hours; in short is quiet, self-contained and healthful, the probability is that her children will be well, easily managed children. On the other hand, if she be easily disturbed, unbalanced, constantly going beyond her strength, eating forbidden things, keeping late hours, and thus using or rather wasting her energies, she has not the vital force to give to her children, and they suffer proportionately. Here again is exemplified the truth that what the mother is that will her child be.

Sitting down when tired and overheated or excited to nurse your little one, do not wonder if you have a cross, fretful, and many times, feverish child as the result. When under a fit of anger, the mother’s milk has many times produced in the child very alarming symptoms, and sometimes even caused death. This, in an exaggerated way, shows us what the effect is upon the delicate nervous temperament of the child, if the mother is not in healthful tone herself.

A healthy, well-trained baby, should in the first weeks, sleep twenty out of the twenty-four[231] hours. The sleep should be quiet and natural, and the baby will in the remaining four hours eat and stretch itself and grow.

Regularity of feeding in the first few weeks will not be as possible as later, for the little one will sleep over its feeding times. Do not imagine from this that when it does eat it should have a double quantity, for the stomach has not expanded in its sleep, and will hold no more than when fed each two hours. It is estimated that a newborn baby’s stomach will hold but three or four tablespoonfuls, and this should regulate the quantity of food at each feeding, if the baby is bottle fed. If a nursing baby, nature regulates the quantity, if regularity of habit is observed, as no more is secreted than is needed, as a rule.

In tiny babyhood the child’s liver is very large in proportion to its size, and the size of the other organs, hence it will sometimes make trouble when the child is nursed on the right side; as the weight of the liver pressing on the full stomach causes distress. When you observe that the child fusses after nursing the right breast, hold it as when nursing the left breast with the feet under the right arm, and when laying it down lay it on the right side, and you will relieve the difficulty.
 
Every mother should know that “in early childhood there is no relation between the intensity of the symptoms, and the material lesion, or derangement. The most intense fever with restlessness, cries and spasmodic movements, may disappear in twenty-four hours without leaving any traces. The intense nervous excitability in a robust child will often communicate a false appearance of gravity, to a trivial ailment.”

I quote from Eustace Smith, M.D., this comforting thought: “With regard to the temperature of children, it may be noted that we must not allow ourselves to be deceived by sudden and rapid rise of temperature into the belief that the patient must necessarily be suffering from serious disease. Very slight causes will in infants produce a remarkable increase of heat; and during natural dentition, j............