fit for Baby--Fresh Air for
Baby--Air Baths for Baby.

OVERFEEDING BABY.--Every nursing mother should have printed and hung up,
so she may read it every time she nurses her child, the following motto:
"DON'T OVERFEED BABY." Few, if any, babies die of willful starvation:
many die as a result of overfeeding. Mistaken kindness and lack of
judgment are responsible for one-half of all the troubles of infancy.
Babies require much less than is constantly given them. The stomach of a
baby at birth will not hold more than one ounce, which is two
tablespoonfuls; and at two months it will not hold more than three
tablespoonfuls; and at six months, six or seven tablespoonfuls. Read
these quantities once again carefully and try to realize the
significance of the smallness of them. A baby is just like a little pig;
it will go on feeding as long as it is allowed. The baby does not
reason; it has no judgment; it depends upon its mother's judgment. If
the mother is false to the trust the baby overloads its stomach. A
swollen, distended, overloaded stomach causes indigestion. A baby with
indigestion is a colicky, fretty, sick baby. Overfeeding, therefore, is
the beginning of lots of trouble to the mother, and needless pain and
suffering and sickness to the baby. A simple matter, but it is one of
the most difficult lessons nursing mothers have to learn.

Overfeeding is most apt to occur at night. Many mothers put the child to
the nipple for its regular feeding and fall asleep; the child keeps on
nursing at intervals until twice the proper quantity is taken; or she
gives it the nipple or the bottle if it cries, without regard to whether
it is the proper feeding time or not. The habit of overfeeding is very
common in infants who are suffering from indigestion. They cry
frequently, and are irritable most of the time; nothing seems to satisfy
them but the nipple. Taking the warm milk into the stomach seems to
allay the distress for the time being, so mothers get into the habit of
quieting them in this way. The cry of the drinking man, whom we try to
sober up, is: "Just one more drink and I'll quit." You give the drink
and in a little while the demand is repeated. If the mother understood
the seriousness of this practice of giving the child the nipple or
bottle at irregular times, she would not do it.

Overfeeding an infant may lay the foundation for a lifelong ailment. The
excess of food remains in the stomach or bowels undigested. I