rmally and it may be necessary to
wean it.

If the mother becomes pregnant it will be necessary to wean, because
pregnancy invariably affects the quality of the milk. It is a very good
habit to accustom the child to take its daily supply of water from a bottle
from a very early age. This procedure will make it easier to wean at any
time.

Menstruation is not an indication for weaning as has been explained. If,
however, the return of menstruation affects the milk so that it disagrees
with, or fails to satisfactorily nourish the child, it may be necessary to
wean, but not unless.

The best reason for weaning a child at the twelfth month is that a mother's
milk after that time is not adequate in quality for a child of that age. A
child at one year of age has grown beyond the capability of its mother[125]
to nurse it: nature demands a stronger and a more substantial food than any
mother can supply. A mother who nurses her child beyond that period is not
only injuring herself, but she is cheating her child. The exception to this
rule is, as has been explained, the second summer.

The child will evidence its dissatisfaction with the breast supply if it is
not enough; it will not gain in weight, it will be irritable and fretful,
it will tug long and tenaciously at the nipple, it will be unwilling to
cease nursing after it should have finished, and it will drop the nipple
frequently with a dissatisfied cry. These are all signs of insufficient
nourishment, and to the observant mother they will at once indicate that
the child must be weaned and fed upon a mixed diet.

CARE OF BREASTS WHILE WEANING CHILD.--The process of weaning should cause
little or no discomfort. If the weaning is gradual it is necessary to press
out enough milk to relieve the tension from time to time. It usually takes
three or four days.

If it is necessary to wean abruptly, as it is occasionally, there may be
considerable distress. In these cases it is necessary to massage the
breasts completely,--until all the milk is out, or as much as it is
possible to get out,--then rub the breasts with warm camphorated oil, and
bind them firmly. When the breasts are massaged for any reason, the rubbing
should be toward the nipple and it should be done gently. If there are any
hard lumps, or caked milk, in the breasts, they must be massaged until
soft, and the binding renewed. It may be necessary to repeat this process
for a number of days. In binding the breasts u