In lieu of the regular sterilizing apparatus, milk may be similarly prepared by placing the milk in an ordinary glass fruit-jar with a screw lid. This is placed in a colander over a pot of boiling water; the milk should be allowed to boil in the open jar for two minutes; the jar-lid is then screwed on, and it should steam for twenty minutes longer.
The capacity of the infant stomach at birth is about one ounce, which is the average quantity of food that should be taken at one meal. The average rate of increase in the amount of food is one and a half drams a week for the first six months; subsequently somewhat less. The intervals of feeding should be two hours at birth, and increased to three hours at the end of the third month. The food should be given at a temperature of 99∞ F. and fed directly from the sterilizing bottle.
Fresh Air.-- In warm weather the baby is taken out-of-doors in from three to four weeks after birth; in cold weather not before two to three months. In the latter case it is prepared for the change by being first dressed as for the street, with wrap and cap; the windows of the room are then opened, and the infant is carried about here. In the winter months when the baby is first taken out, it is better to carry it in the arms, as it will be kept warmer in this way, and if it does become chilled it will be more quickly noticed.
Characteristics of the Healthy Infant.-- The average weight of an infant at birth is about seven pounds, and its length is about twenty inches; the extremes are four pounds or a little less up to eleven pounds. The head and trunk of the child are developed out of proportion to the limbs.
The skin of the new-born infant varies from pinkish to red; about the fourth day the color becomes somewhat yellowish; this tinge should disappear about the end of the second week, and at the same time the skin begins to peel off.This process lasts about two weeks longer, when the baby's skin takes on its normal color.
The shape of the head varies greatly, much being due to the amount of pressure during labor; but this disappears in a few days. As a rule, the large bones of the head are felt to be separated by membranous ridges called sutures; there is one on the median line on the top of the head, and at either end of the suture is a large open space, called a fontanel. The largest one is at the front of the head, and is called the anterior fontanel; it is about large enough to be covered by the tips of two fingers, and is of a lozenge shape; this opening does not close till the child is about eighteen months old. In a healthy baby this fontanel should be on a level with the bones of the head; a slight pulsation may be noticed in it, due to the pulsations of the vessels of the brain. There is a much smaller three-cornered fontanel at the back of the suture, and one behind either ear; these soon close up with bone.