How long shall I continue the modified milk? Usually for about six months;
but if the infant is doing well you can continue it for ten or eleven
months. If the infant has trouble in digesting cows' milk other foods can
be added at three or four months or even at the beginning.
What food can I first use? Barley, oatmeal, arrowroot, and farina.
Is it better to make them from the flour? Yes, they are more simple to
prepare from the flour.
How shall I cook them? Cook them separately, and when used they take the
place of some of the boiled water.
(For another way, see former pages.)
How shall I prepare barley gruel water? Take one teaspoonful of the flour
and rub it up with a little cold water, and then stir this into a pint of
boiling water; add a pinch of salt and boil it fifteen minutes; strain if
it is lumpy. Oatmeal gruel is made the same way, only using two
teaspoonfuls instead of one.
Barley Jelly.--One rounded tablespoonful of the flour, mixed with a little
cold water, is added to one pint of boiling water containing a pinch of
salt; cook twenty minutes in a double boiler and strain. A thinner gruel
(barley water) is made by using half of the quantity of flour.
How much of the gruel can I use? If prepared by the last method one-sixth
to one-half the total quantity of food; if the barley water is used it
can be used in greater quantity if desired, as it is weaker by half.
Which one shall I use? Barley and oatmeal are generally used; oatmeal is
more laxative.
What is their value as infant foods? Their chief value is to prevent the
curd from coagulating in the stomach in hard masses, thus rendering it
more digestible.
Would you advise this addition for all infants? No, for it does not agree
with them all, and so it cannot be recommended for all infants.
Can I give anything more during the first year? Beef juice, white of an
egg, and orange juice.
How and when may I use the beef juice? It may be begun at ten or eleven
months in infants who are strong and thriving well. Two teaspoonfuls may
be given daily, diluted with same amount of water, fifteen minutes before
the midday feeding; in two weeks it may be doubled; and six teaspoonfuls
can be given, in four weeks. Two or three tablespoonfuls is all that can
be given a child of one year.
[ALL ABOUT BABY 587]
Is beef juice of value in delicate pale infants? Yes, of much value, and
it is more important for them, and it may sometimes be given them at five
or six months in one-half the quantity mentioned.
When shall I give the white of egg (albumen) or albumin water? When the
conditions are similar to those requiring beef juice especially in infants
who digest the proteids (curd) with difficulty. You can give the one-half
of the white of one egg at six months, and soon the entire white of one
egg can be given.
What is the best way of preparing this? By coddling the egg.
Describe the way of preparation? Place a fresh egg with the shell on in
boiling water and immediately remove all from the fire. The egg cooks
slowly in the water for seven or eight minutes as the water gradually
cools, and the white part becomes like jelly. Give the white with only a
pinch of salt--it can be easily separated from the yolk.
When can I give orange juice? Usually about the eleventh or twelfth month,
and it should be given about one hour before the feeding. You can begin
with two teaspoonfuls at first, then one tablespoonful at a time, and
later three or four tablespoonfuls. Orange juice is very good when
constipation exists--strain it always, and it must be always fresh and
sweet.