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Show LITTLE TALKS (MYOLOGY: By Anna Steese Richardson Babies' Bureau, Woman's Home Companion. CLEANLINESS FOR THE BABY. Cleanliness Is one of the foundation stones on which Is reared the beautl-j ful structure of baby's good health . aud cood temper. Wheu It is ne glected. all sorts of weaknesses, dls comforts and Irritations creep In I'ncleanllness Invites disease and furnishes a lodging place for germs. Mireoer the baby that starts off life by lenlg comfortable through cleanliness clean-liness forms cleanU habits which It never loses. Whenever a mother tells me that she can t keep her three or four ear old baby clean, that It simply simp-ly "attracts dirt wherever it gor-s. whatever it does, I wonder how she started It off at birth. And 1 have noticed at Better Babies Contests that many minor defects inall ailments can be traced b the examining physicians phy-sicians directly to carelessness on the part of the mother. Preparations for keeping the baby clean start before he Is born. In a drawer or basket covered from dust, shoutd be placed a number of old, soft, clean towels. a thoroughly washed and dried piece of soft wool en hlaet or outing flannel, a roll of sterilized gauze at least half a pound in quantity and the tame of Bterill7.ed absorbent cotton, a bottle bot-tle of olive or cotton-seed or sweet-oil, sweet-oil, a small package of boric acid, some pure w hite soap or the best ca-1 tie. and a box of talcum powder. A trained nurse of long experience 1 In maternitv cases tells me that the j modern doctor looks first to the newborn new-born baby s eyes Science has proven prov-en that a large proportion of men and women who are blind owe the affliction af-fliction to lack of care at birth. The 1 eyes are easily Infected at that time, and blindness Is the Inevitable result. re-sult. This nnr6e starts baby s career by wn'-blng out bis eyes very gently with a piece of gauze, dipped In a weak solution of boric acid, dlrecth ! she has applied the sterilized dress-1 lug to the cord Then she nibs baby from bead to foot with the oil mentioned men-tioned above rolls It up In the soft, warm blanket, lays it on. It right side and turns her attention to the mother, feeling sure that baby's eyes j are safe from infection. Later she gives the baby its first sponge bath of warm water and pure Koap, taking Infinite care not. to disturb" dis-turb" the dressing of the cord. After Af-ter the bath Bhe washes out baby's mouth with gauze and a weak solution solu-tion of boric acid, and thrown this piece of gauze away. With a second piece of gauze and more of the acid solution, she then gives baby's eyes a second washing, dresses him, feeds ' him and tucks him away for his first sleep In perfect cleanliness and perfect per-fect comfort. At first he uses ster- I illzed gauze for all wash purposes, with old. soft linen or toweling for drying. The gauze Is then burned. I each towel washed and dried before It is used again Iater baby, when ' a year old, has a soft wash rag and I towela of hl6 own. which no one else is permitted to use, and these are washed and dried as scrupulously as his clothing. For a week, only the sponge bath given, baby lying ou a bath blanket blan-ket on the nurse s lap After that If he Is well and strong, he may be bathed In a tub. In households where there Is the regulation bathroom bath-room this Is a simple matter lu other homes, a special tub must be provided for the baby. The enameled enamel-ed tub is the best, and it must not 1 be- uMd for any purpose except the babv's baths If the family tub is used. It muit be cleaned scrupulously scrupulous-ly before baby la put Into the water The skin of the new-born baby 1b very tender and infection is always at hand At the Better Babies Contests I heard more than one physician trace an eruption on a baby's skin to careless bathing or care of the tub Doctors say that bad cases of bolls can be traced to an Infected tub. In fact, there are women who love their babies, yet so thoughtless aa to leavo diapers snaking In the bath tub, where, after a superficial rinsing off with warm water, baby is bathed. Diapers, Di-apers, all of baby's clothing, In fact, should be soaked and washed In separate sep-arate utensils, never In the bath tub The bathing of the baby each morning morn-ing should be a systematic process, never done hastily or carelessly. There should be a thermometer for the room and one for the hath Itself. The room thermometer should register reg-ister from T." deg. to 8n dog. F For the first eight weeks of the baby s life, the bath thermometer should show that the water Is 100 dg F. From two months to six. the temper ature should be 98 deg F. From six months to twenty-four. It should register reg-ister from 88 dec to 80 deg F The mother who desires to Insure her baby good health should not "guess" at too temperature of the water, wa-ter, nor neglect the bath on "busy" days Baby needs this thorough cleansing an much at one year as at one month, and from that time on he Is forming habits and feelings which demand cleanliness. There s such a thing as educating a child to endure dirt, from sheer carelessness A bahy should not be laid Into the tub and hastily sponged off The operation op-eration starts with baby laid comfortably com-fortably on a warm blanket, spread ou mothers knee First the face and head are washed with clean gauze and dried. If there e a tendency to scruff or scale? on the head, rub the head every night with sweet-oil, vaseline or cold cream, wash off gen tly In the morning and after drying, apph witch hazel or alcohol and water wa-ter In equal parts Never use a fine tooth comb to remove these scales. When there Is a tendency to persistent persist-ent growth of scales or milk cru6t, It may be necessary to stop washing wash-ing the head and cleanse it only with oil or cold cream Next, the eyes. n06e. ears, and genitals gen-itals are washed with a piece of absorbent ab-sorbent cotton, wet with a solution of boracic acid and water, a tea spoonful of the acid to a pint of warm water. This absorbent cotton is then burned or thrown away, never used again "T Baby is thoroughly soaped, and laid in the tub. Its head firmly supported so that the water does not run info the eves or ears A fresh piece of absorbent cotton is used to rinse off the soap, the baby Is lifted from the watr dried quickly with an old soft towel and powdered The drying should be done hv patting not by hard rubbing, and the creases be dried before the talcum powder Is' applied You will notice that I have not spoken of washing out the baby's mouth. Doctors seem to agree that the practice Is apt to cause thrush and other affections of the mucus membrane. It Is extremely easy to tear the delicate lining of the mouth and Nature has provided a cleansing element in the saliva which gathers In the baby's mouth The h'ealfhy baby will soon learn to enjoy a bath properly given and show-eagerness show-eagerness for it The delicate baby should be bathed under direction of a physician He ma order a sponge bath only, or an oil rub Children suffering with any form of skin disease dis-ease should not be bathed unless the doctor orders it. Eczema and ringworm ring-worm are both aggravated by soap and water bathing. But the healthv baby should have-this have-this morning bath between his f, o clock feeding. It sends him off drowsy to his morning nap hen the baby Is a year old, the hour for bathing may lie changed to 5 30 In preparation for the night's sleep In this way the child's entire being demands de-mands a bath, the sensation of cleanliness, clean-liness, and when he Is able to bath himself he will do It as mechanically and regularlv as he removes his clothing to retire Many mothers ask whether a baby should have a cold sponge after the warm bath The word "baby' is elastic elas-tic A child under two years Is not! strong enough for the application of: cold water. After two years, a I sturdy child can be gradually ncous j tomed t. a told shower or douche, b reducing th temperature of the HnM water a trifle each night, until it Ifl the temperature at which It runs from the tap But always the warm ba(b should be given first for cleans Ins the pores The cold w aler serves merely to stimulate circulation and ward off colds The most Important habits of clean-, llness are Inculcated in a child by the mother's own care of the baby s diapers If the bahy Js kept dry and clean from birth, he w-ill fret when he I3 wel anil soiled. And from fret-' ting over discomfort from unclean-' liuess he will grow Into habits of cleanliness. He will learn regularity and self-control. The carelees, untidy mother has no right to expect Nature to provide her with a fine, healthy child. He may be well proportioned and healthy when he comet Into the world, but he will soon lose strength and health If he is not kept clean. Badlv rinsed clothing cauees eruptions, for the remains re-mains of soap, sal soda and lye Irritate Irri-tate the baby's tender skin. Carelessly Care-lessly washed diapers cause chafing and nervous affections. Eczema germs will find a lodgment in Inflamed creases that ought to be dimpled, pink fold6 of healthy skin. A dirty or scaly scalp Itches, and Itching keeps the baby awake, making him nervous and fretful. T know mothers who spend hours sewing on lace and embroidering tiny frockB, yet who hun-y through the process of bathing. This is a grave Injustice to the child Copyright. 1913, by the Woman's Homo Companion. |