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The *Qianjin Fang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) discusses: Infants are suitable for wearing clothes made from the father's old cotton wadding, and daughters should use the mother's old cotton wadding. Do not use new cotton or overly thick clothing, as this may cause intense heat, sores, and even epilepsy. It may also lead to laxity and weakness of muscles and bones. It is best for infants to be exposed to wind and sunlight regularly.

"Ru" (Breast milk/Nursing) refers to milk; "Bu" (Complementary feeding/Solid food) refers to food. After nursing, one must not immediately give food; after giving food, one must not immediately nurse. Infants have weak spleen and stomach; if milk and food enter the body simultaneously, they are difficult to digest. After reaching one year of age, "Ru Pi" (Milk accumulation/patency due to milk stasis) and "Shi Pi" (Food accumulation/patency due to food stasis) will inevitably form, causing fever and pain, and "Gan disease" (Pediatric malnutrition syndrome) begins from here. Zhu Danxi said: Infants' intestines and stomachs are thin and narrow. All sour, salty, sweet, spicy foods, meat, fish, fruits, wet flour, fried, and roasted items are substances that easily generate heat and are hard to digest; all should be strictly prohibited. Only provide cooked vegetables and white rice porridge. This not only prevents illness but also prevents indulgence in taste, thereby cultivating virtue. Women who lack knowledge often indulge in excessive leniency. Fearing the infant's crying, they give everything. Over time, this accumulates into chronic diseases, and regret comes too late. The lactating mother especially should exercise caution and moderation in diet. Once food is swallowed, breast milk flows freely. When sexual desire arises, the breast meridians respond. If the infant receives such milk, disease arrives immediately. It results either in vomiting or diarrhea, either in sores or fever. Diseases such as convulsions, night crying, oral thrush, and abdominal pain originate from this. At the onset of illness, urine output is necessarily low; one must inquire carefully and treat the mother according to symptoms, eliminating the隐患 (hidden danger) before it manifests. Lactating mothers should not be chosen from those suffering from bromhidrosis (fox odor), goiter (Ying Liu), asthma/cough, scabies/tinea capitis, scalp sores, deafness/muteness, rhinorrhea (Bi Yuan), or epilepsy.

The *Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang* (Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies) states: On the third day after birth, one should assist the "Gu Shen" (Grain Spirit, referring to Spleen/Stomach function). Grind rice into a drink resembling milk, give the infant an amount the size of a soybean to swallow. Repeat frequently with amounts the size of three beans. By twenty-one days (3x7), solid feeding can begin.

The *Qianjin Fang* states: Early introduction of complementary feeding overwhelms the infant's ability to handle "Gu Qi" (Grain Qi/Food energy), causing sores on the head, face, and body. These sores heal but recur, leading to emaciation and difficulty in nurturing. After one month, although feeding is permitted, do not overfeed. If the infant does not desire food, do not force it. The *Tong Ren Shu Xue Zhen Jiu Tu Jing* (Illustrated Manual of Acupoints) states: At fifty days, feed an amount the size of a date pit. At one hundred days, the size of a small ball. Feed twice daily, morning and evening. Do not undress and bathe in the wind, nor nurse while crying, nor feed when cold. Also, avoid locations near deities, Buddhas, donkeys, horses, or different rooms/households, as these can cause illness in the infant.

Qian Yi stated: Excessive doting leads to infants aged two or three still not eating, resulting in weak spleen and stomach and lifelong illness. After six months, boil old rice into thin porridge and offer it frequently. After ten months, gradually introduce thick porridge to support Middle Qi (Spleen/Stomach energy); naturally, the child becomes easier to raise and falls ill less.

Cui Shi, recorded in the *Wai Tai Mi Yao* (Important Essential Formulas Preserved by the Imperial Library): When first introducing complementary feeding, choose auspicious days: Chou, Yin, Chen, Si, and You days are favorable. Boys should avoid Wu and Ji days; girls should avoid Bing and Ding days.

When infants are four or five years old and refuse to wean, (use Huamei Gao/Plum Drawing Ointment to assist weaning). After weaning, meat should be introduced in very small amounts gradually, avoiding the risk of Gan and Pi syndromes.

Tian Shi said: Generally, infants overheated by excessive clothing develop internal heat; extreme heat generates Wind. Excessive carrying causes carbuncles; improper feeding causes food stagnation. After bathing in midsummer, do not nurse immediately. Do not nurse when the infant cries, as this may cause "Wei Du" (Stomach Toxicity) or dysentery in autumn. Wait until long after bathing when the body is dry, and after crying subsides and breathing stabilizes, then nurse. Nursing during intense crying often causes Qi rebellion and hiccups.

The *Qianjin Fang* discusses: Do not overfeed the infant; overfeeding causes overflow and vomiting. If milk flow is too vigorous, extract some first before nursing, or pinch out retained old milk before nursing. If the lactating mother feels sleepy, she should prop the infant's head with her arm to align with the breast. If the mother falls into deep sleep, remove the nipple. Otherwise, the infant may not realize satiety, leading to vomiting. During parental intercourse, if the infant is sleeping nearby or wakes up startled, do not nurse. The Qi is chaotic and unsettled, which can harm the infant.

The *Lun Xin Jing* (Classic of the Cranial Fontanelle) states: In summer, nursing without removing hot milk causes vomiting. In winter, nursing without removing cold milk causes diarrhea and dysentery. For early morning nursing, one must always pinch out retained old milk. Do not drip milk on the ground. If insects and ants consume it, the lactating mother will cease producing milk. It is appropriate to splash it on the eastern wall.

Zhang Huan stated: The lactating mother must massage the Fengchi acupoint behind the infant's neck three times daily. If there is intense heat, moxibustion/warming should be applied to induce slight sweating for recovery. (Fengchi is located at the sides of the tendons in the head and neck junction.) One must absolutely not perform random acupuncture or moxibustion, nor arbitrarily use emetics or purgatives. Acupuncture and moxibustion damage the meridians, while emetics and purgatives disturb the Zang-Fu organs.

At half a year of age, the sacral bone is formed; the lactating mother should teach the infant to sit. After two hundred days, the palmar bones are formed; teach crawling on the ground. At three hundred days, the patellar bones are formed; teach standing independently. At one year, the knee bones are formed; teach walking. These are fixed principles. People who dote on their children hold them too long, leading to soft and atrophied muscles and bones, causing significant harm.