This, of course, must depend both upon the strength of the child and upon the health of the parent; on an average, nine months is the proper time. If the mother be delicate it may be found necessary to wean the infant at six months; or if he be weak, or laboring under any disease, it may be well to continue suckling him for twelve months; but after that time the breast will do him more harm than good, and will, moreover, injure the mother's health, and may, if she be so pre-disposed, excite consumption.
41. How would you recommend a mother to act when she weans her child?
She ought, as the word signifies, do it gradually—that is to say, she should, by degrees, give him less and less of the breast, and more and more of artificial food; at length she must only suckle him at night; and lastly, it would be well for the mother either to send him away, or to leave him at home, and, for a few days, to go away herself.
A good plan is, for the nurse-maid to have a half-pint bottle of new milk—which has been previously boiled—in the bed, so as to give a little to him in lieu of the breast. The previous boiling of the milk will prevent the warmth of the bed turning the milk sour, which it would otherwise do. The warmth of the body will keep the milk of a proper temperature, and will supersede the use of lamps, of candle-frames, and other troublesome contrivances.
42. While a mother is weaning her infant, and after she has weaned him, what ought to be his diet?
Any one of the foods recommended in answer to question 34, page 36.
43. If a child be suffering severely from "wind," is there any objection to the addition of a small quantity either of gin or of peppermint to his food to disperse it?
It is a murderous practice to add either gin or peppermint of the shops (which is oil of peppermint dissolved in
