Florentine Renaissance Wetnursing- more care than just milk

[ayeshadream]

In my studies I found reference to two different contemporary sources of information on what kind of care was expected at the hands of wetnurses in Florence, which extends far beyond just feeding and seems to cover all aspects of child care.

The first are two renaissance carnival songs about wetnurses:

Comments

[corbaegirl]

My grandmother and her friend had new babies at the same time, and both had to work, so they took turns babysitting each other's children, since they could both nurse both babies. Also, when my sister was born, our Italian next-door neighbor started to chew food to give to the baby, until my mother reminded her that there was baby food to feed her.

[ayeshadream]

I found it interesting in one of my other sources (an Italian Renaissance Health Manual) it instructs wet nurses that if they have bad breath or black teeth that they should pity the child and get someone else to chew their food. :)

Oh and some sources comment on breast size preference for wetnurses- some say it doesn't matter and large is okay, if they're not long, and another says you don't want a large breasted wetnurse or your baby will get a flat nose.