FRESH AIR FOR BABY
Baby's first journey out of doors depends upon so many contingencies that no specific age can be given when it would be perfectly safe to take it.
First, the weather and season of the year should be considered. The baby should not be taken out at all when it is wet, or foggy, or very humid; nor when it is extremely cold.
Second, the vigor or vitality of the individual child must be considered. Some children can safely be taken out if the weather is propitious when two weeks old, others cannot be taken out without risk until they are two months old, regardless of the weather conditions. If a child is robust at birth, and nurses well, and increases in weight from the beginning, he can be taken out when he is two weeks old while the sun shines during the middle of the day. If a child is small and puny when born, and begins to have nursing troubles from the beginning, does not increase in weight, is fretting, and crying, and sleeps spasmodically, it would be unsafe to take it out before the sixth week unless it is at a season of the year which would justify exposure to the sunshine.
The question of suitable clothing will be important, and will decide the advisability as to when the baby should go out. Every baby should be dressed in wool weather is not too distinctly bad. Remember always to [Transcriber's note: words missing in text] from neck to ankles. Its head should be warmly clad. Dressed thus and well wrapped in blankets, a healthy child is ready for an out-door trip at any time, if the [Transcriber's note: words missing in text] have plenty of blankets below the child as well as above it, if it is in a baby carriage. In very cold weather the child should be buried in blankets, and a hot water bottle can be wrapped in near his feet. Great care must be taken that the water in the bottle is not too hot, and that it does not actually touch the skin. No matter how many or how few blankets are used, the face should be exposed directly to the fresh air. When the air is very gusty, or high, a light veil can be laid over the face, but never at any other time.
Air Baths for Babies.—Babies necessarily require plenty of exercise and plenty of fresh air, as has been pointed out. It is a splendid custom to allow the baby to lie naked after his bath for half an hour. If the room is comfortably warm, select a spot that is free from draughts, and lay the baby on a pillow or two and let him kick and coo. In the sun by the window, his head and especially the eyes shaded from the direct rays of the sun, is an excellent place in the summer time. The influence of the direct sun rays on the little naked body is conducive to good sturdy health, good nerves, and sound sleep.