OCR Text |
Show I ,A, ' ' 'By HELEN FALCO ' . K43JL - Jg I LAYETTES THAT ARE SCIENTIFIC AID COST LITTLE H Togs for Tiny Tots' Insure Perfect Health by Maintaining H Even Temperature for Entire Body IF mothers could only realize the vital importance of not dressing and handling young babies, and h would think about the shameful H harm they inflict upon these dear, hclp- H less little creatures by the foolish anity H of taping them' out in frills and em- H broidcif, they wtfuld sacrifice tliis pcr- H sonal pride at least until the infant is H sufficiently strong to live in spite of its H mother's foolish cruelties. H Young infants should wear absolutc- H ly no clothes. Think of the little dcli- H catc arms pulled in and out of at least H three pairs of sleeves from three to four H times each day and being rolled first on H its tender little stomach and over again H on its back, then tugging at the chubby H little legs to further encase them' in H stockings, then pins to hold the socks H in place, and after all this tug-of-war H what has been accomplished? The baby H is quite air-tight, not a breath of air H can penetrate to the delicate skin, and H at least three different degrees of tcm- H peraturc arc established for the sensi- H tive organism, with the result that in H changing, and the necessary exposure of B bathing, the baby easily contracts croup H or a cold and in comes the doctor with H all sorts of oxygen and syrups to save H wee life. H The mother is not in the least wor- H ricd, for, as she expresses it, "it's all a H part of the game; all children have to H go through coughs and fevers and the B sooner they have them the better." H No normal child is ever ill, and two- Hj thirds of the children born into the BBB world would become normal, were they BBB properly clothed and fed from earliest BBS infancy and would grow up quite im- BBH pervious to disease. Nature did not in- BBH tend us to go through life just escaping BBK death at every corner, and even babies BBBI with strong hereditary disadvantages BBfll pn be trained with very little .trouble BBH into perfect health, with strong, vigorous BBH minds and bodies, if one starts corrcct- BBH ly in the very beginning. BBH Babies Cheaper than Pots. BBfl The secret is simple and costs noth- BBH ing, reducing the expense of a baby to BBB the mere cost of keeping a pet dog, BBH which even the poorest of people indulge BBH in. In short, aside from feeing the BBHj stork, babies are no longer expensive BBBj and burdensome luxuries. They hac BBB become cunning, crowing little nccessi- BBK tics that no family can afford to be BBH! without. They require no more aire BBH than a kitten, if one adheres strictly to BBB common-sense principles. How much BBH more delight and what complete satis- BBfl faction one feels at the achievement! BBHj 5 Give the Baby Air. B Air, fresh, cold, pure air is the bc- BBHj ginning and end of this system, air BBH night and day, from the very hour the BBB baby arrives; not a few inches wafted BBBj into over-heated rooms around and bc- BBH hind the would-be sheltering panels of BBfl c screen, over the edge of a blanket wall BBB ond down underneath the hood of a BBB bassinet to the outside of a coverlet BBH carefully placed over the poor child's BBBj head. ' Convention decrees that if by BBBj any magic phenomenon a single overly BBH bold little breeze, God's best gift to his BBH children, should contrive to climb over BBHt nnd under, up and around all these sO- BBH called protecting obstacles, the dear baby BBB shall not be allowed to play with it or BBB , even form its acquaintance. No ' What- BBH ever else may befall the wee darling, it BBH must not have air, until it is heated and BBH polluted into literal poison for the little BBB system to imbibe. That is the old-fash- BBBj ioncd way of caring for a baby. H I How to Produce Sleep. BBBJ The modern formula for a strong, BBBj healthy baby consists of three rules, BBH founded upon one principle of "plenty of BBBj air." All .the air there isl -Let it BBH breathe it through the pores of the cn- BBBJ tire body, as well as through the nos- BBH trils, keeping the entire body one even BBH temperature, then feed the baby all it BBBJ will take and lay it in the open window BBBJ to sleep. Your baby will then sleep BBH most of the day and all the night until BBBJ eight or'tcn in the morning'. When it is BBBJI nine months old it will insist upon kick- BBBJ ing around for three or four hours a BBBJ day and gradually shorten its day naps but retain its all-night sleep. Thus you will be insured against a nervous, irritable ir-ritable child. Immediately the question arises, "How is one to attain an even temperature tempera-ture to start with, and especially if the baby wears, no clothes ?" A very simple contrivance has been tried and proved most practical and more than satisfactory in every way, having been adopted in several babies' hospitals and public nurseries of New York City. No Clothes for New Born Infants. All clothes arc dispensed with except a knitted band dress, white slip, flannel flan-nel petticoat, narrow coat shirt and stockings only the band and diapers being retained, even the latter being much abbreviated and less bulky than the ordinary square of many thicknesses thick-nesses that pull and bind.. Being thus stripped the baby is then put m a simple square flannel bag. fitted fit-ted in the shoulders and opening at the hem by means of snap fasteners, thus making one even covering that docs not bind nor pull ; ,hc bag is made suffi ciently long and wide to enable the little legs and arms to wave about at case, and having the snap fasteners at the lower edge makes changing of the diaper easy of accomplishment. The extra width is gathered into a short shoulder scam like the top of a sleeve, and as the child grows older, developing' de-veloping' a tendency to grab its toys, the side seam is ripped open for two o: three inches and faced so the arms may pass through up to the elbow. The neck is finished quite plainly, with a three-inch slit to allow the head to pass through. No collar is added, as Jt is apt to cause perspiration about the neck, a little shirr string run through a casing being the only finish. How to Construct a Bag. These bags are not only exceedingly practical from a hygienic point of view, but are most economical in cost from start to finish, ten yards of material being be-ing ample; and having only two scams .when the front and back arc Joined at the sides, they require very little time or talent for construction. Added to this, the fact that they need no ironing or even starching, no under petticoats or outside jackets. th.c great expenditure of money and time upon the layette is entirely obviated, and thd" child is healthy and happy in its perfect freedom of movement, unencumbered as it is with layers of clothes and wrappings, also the pores having a chance to breathe. Only One Covering. Another excellent idea and one that is commonly overlooked is the babv's bed coxcrings There should be but one. A hair mattress is best, because u is non-heating, easily renovated, and soft and flat to lie upon. This should be slipped into a white case made to fit it and -similar to a pillow slip, so that it can be readily rcmocd. The only other covering should be a down puff made twice the width of the bed and a smalta srjg sheet the same size pinned to the inside jfjj and folding well over the upper edge. fcS One half is then laid on the mat- Jrcjj tress, the baby laid on it and the jfi upper half folded over and tied to ? the lower half by means of two sets J of ribbons on each of the three edges. w The baby is now warm and snug as Sj a little rabbit and has absolutely no h weight to support from heavy 3 blankets and dresses. Being lied in. J& no amount of activity can possibly gS work the covers loose. 3 The sheet being folded down over the upper edge, as on a bed, prevents the child from perspiring about the neck. A little knitted cap of wool, made with a large open mesh and unlincd, is then put on the head, and of a very cold winter day a little square of the same material is stretched above the baby's face. After it is arranged in its basket or hammock, the infant is now ready to sleep out in the coldest winter weather, in all sorts of snow, wind or sunshine, but never if there is the least dampness in the air The little bonnet should have no trimming, trim-ming, as that destroys the even heat of the head. Being made of wool it is quite warm enough, and hamg the open mesh the air can get to the scalp, so the child does not lake cold when us iKMinct is remocd, as is so often the case when the warm thick-paddrd affair's af-fair's lined and interlined, arc used When indoors the room should be almost al-most cold and the little bed should be in an open window. Great care, how ever, should be taken not to have a draft created by a fire-place or other opening that will cause a current of air. It is a scientific fact that no amount of cold air will cause colds as long as there is no draft Before the baby's bath, it should be stripped for a few minutes and allowed to kick in warm sunlight, and, as it grows older, to creep about for fifteen or twenty minutes, retaining its band. Do not put shoes and stockings on a baby until it is old enough to run about out of doors, and then only sandals: so many mothers make a child sensitive to heat and cold by over-dressing the ankles and chest. The great point is to keep the little abdomen quite arm, and a vigorous child will retain an even temperature through the rest of the body The actual number of first clothes required re-quired is exceedingly small, as no button but-ton clothing is needed A healthy baby sleeps all day, so only the sleeping bags, J 1 1RZ U-lffU J diapers, bands, puff and bonnet arc absolutely ab-solutely necessary until the infant is six months old. Even then it is far better to keep on the bags, more or less elaborated with tucks and frills, if the mother feels she must have more ornamental orna-mental clothing for the precious treas-Until treas-Until a baby begins to creep and climb about it is not strong enough to be tumbled tum-bled in and out of regular clothes. The bags alow it perfect freedom for kicking kick-ing and trying its small strength and grcaty simplify the process of caring for a new baby, as it requires but one minute to slip over the head and lie about the neck. |