HOW TO CARE FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS HEALTH CARE

The best food for an infant is mother's milk, provided the mother is in good health. The mother should do all in her power to keep well. Also, She should get sufficient rest, drink plenty of water, exercise in the open air daily and eat a balanced, nourishing diet

   HOW TO CARE FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS IN HEALTH CARE?

                 Feeding the Baby 

  The best food for an infant is mother's milk, provided the mother is in good health. The mother should do all in her power to keep well. Also, She should get sufficient rest, drink plenty of water, an exercise in the open air daily and eat a balanced,
nourishing diet, containing milk, fresh fruits and vegetables and unrefined cereals. Green leafy vegetables should be used, along with dhal preparations, so that the mother will get complete proteins of good quality.
     A diet which consists primarily of
polished cereals can be very deficient; therefore in areas where rice is the chief article of food, it is good to follow the practice of using once daily some other whole grain cereal such as a wheat preparation. It is the custom in some places to limit the mother's diet after delivery, the result being that she gets very little protein the first two or three months. This very bad practice contributes to a high infant mortality rate.

    No nursing mother should use betel-nut, tobacco or alcoholic beverages. Harmful substances from these are transmitted through the mother's milk to the nursing child.
According to a nutritionist, Nicotine, which is found in tobacco, weakens the baby's heart and brain and stunts its growth. Alcohol is destructive to the central nervous system. Even tea and coffee contain substances which are harmful to the mother and child.

    The newly born baby of average weight should be nursed every four hours. A nursing period of twenty minutes at each nursing is a good habit to follow. By alternating breasts, each side will have a good rest period. It is essential that the breast is emptied at each nursing, for that is the best-known stimulus to a continued flow of milk. If the breast is not emptied by
the baby, the mother should empty it with the fingers. This is done by using the hand on the opposite side of the breast.

 Put four fingers under the breast, press down with the thumb, and draw out toward the nipple. The very premature baby may have to be fed every two hours by dropper, and other small and weak infants do best on a three-hour schedule. It is usually necessary for three months to put the baby to the breast at 2 A. M. when the baby is on a schedule such as six, ten, two, six, ten, two 0'clock. But just as soon as possible this
night feeding should be discontinued so that both baby and mother will have undisturbed rest. The baby on a three-hour schedule is shifted to a four-hour arrangement as soon as it is of normal size and weight and doing well.

 Between eight months and a year old the 10 P. M. Feeding is dropped, and then the baby is carried on four feedings until nearing the end of its second year. It is well for the mother to form the habit of putting the infant upright against her shoulder for a few minutes after each feeding so it will burp the air which has been swallowed.

    Between feedings, the infant should be given boiled drinking water which has been slightly warmed. This is best given from a bottle with a nipple but can be given from a dropper or spoon to tiny infants.
 
 It is well by the second week to start giving the infant some brand of cod liver oil concentrate prepared commercially for, infant use. Four to six drops are placed directly into the mouth once daily, according to directions. About the same time the juice of sweet oranges, at first diluted with boiled water, may be offered to the infant once or twice a day
between feedings. Dilute with half water and begin with one teaspoonful. Double the amount daily till the baby gets all it wishes to have. Use the sweetest oranges that it is possible to get and do not add sugar. The infant should not become habituated to having its food sweetened. Extreme cleanliness of the hands, oranges, and utensils is, of course, necessary to
avoid giving the infant dysentery.

   There is a practice among some people of not giving anything but milk for the first year. This is not best, for the child must have more food than this. Some children cry much of the time. The reason may simply be that they are hungry.

 The infant should be given all the milk it desires, and if it has an unusual appetite a fine cereal can be added. This should be a cereal like soojee or semolina (wheat which has been ground moderately fine with bran sifted out). Bananas are very well tolerated and can be taken any time after the first month. If the baby is having trouble with constipation, it can be given applesauce or strained prune or orange juice.

 Other strained fruits, cooked or raw, may also be used. Cooked and strained vegetables will be tolerated after three months and eggs at six months. Serve eggs hard boiled and give only a slight taste the first day and gradually give the whole yolk three times a week. The white part of the egg may then be given in the same cautious manner, and then finally both parts of the egg can be given together. The reason for going slowly In the matter of eggs is to avoid allergic responses.

    Babies do better on a schedule. Feed them every three hours at first; then move them up to four hours. Leave off the 2 A. M. Feeding as soon as possible. After the infant is taking a fair amount of fruit and vegetables, feed it three times a day with an extra bottle of milk or juice early in the morning and in mid afternoon and at bedtime, as it seems to need.

 Of course, we do not expect the baby to take any food that requires much chewing until he gets his teeth. It is well,
however, to let the child chew on a carrot when the teeth are coming in. Even a piece of toast well dried in the oven is something good for the infant to chew on at that time.

    In recent time, caring for infant have a variety of methods, in taking care of their infant, but all effort should be made per individual in giving your child basic balance diet, and to ensure proper growth of an individual only. Do not recommend bad habit to others.
However, taking care of the baby and infant depends on the mother own method of taking care of  , in his own normal way.  What may work for baby a may not work for baby b, but all effort should be made by mother's, to follow the normal way to take care of your baby.

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