Many thriving babies are, after taking the breast, frequently sick;
still we cannot look upon sickness otherwise than as an index of
either a disordered or of an overloaded stomach. If the child be sick,
and yet be thriving, it is a proof that he overloads his stomach. A
mother, then, must not allow him to suck so much, at a time. She
should, until he retain all he takes, lessen the quantity of milk. If
he be sick and does _not_ thrive, the mother should notice if the milk
he throws up has a sour smell; if it have, she must first of all look
to her own health; she ought to ascertain if her own stomach be out of
order; for if such be the case, it is impossible for her to make good
milk. She should observe whether in the morning her own tongue be
furred and dry; whether she have a disagreeable taste in her mouth, or
pains at her stomach, or heart-burn, or flatulence. If she have all,
or any of these symptoms, the mystery is explained why he is sick and
does not thrive. She ought then to seek advice, and a medical man will
soon put her stomach into good order; and, by so doing, will, at the
same time, benefit her child.

But if the mother be in the enjoyment of good health, she must then
look to the babe himself, and ascertain if he be cutting his teeth; if
the gums require lancing; if the secretions from the bowels be proper
both in quantity and in quality; and, if he have had _artificial_
food--it being absolutely necessary to give such food--whether it
agree with him.

_What to do_.--In the first place, if the gums be red, hot, and
swollen, let them be lanced; in the second, if the secretion from the
bowels be either unhealthy or scanty, give him a dose of aperient
medicine, such as caster oil, or the following:--Take two or three
grains of powdered Turkey rhubarb, three grains of pure carbonate of