ERRORS IN CLOTHING
A soiled garment should never be put back on the baby. Dirt draws flies, and flies are breeders of disease. Sour-smelling garments should be changed at once. They are likely to make the baby sick and interfere with his appetite if left on indefinitely. The care of the diaper has already been mentioned.
The main symptom of too much clothing is sweating, and when the baby sweats something must come off. If he has perspired so much that his clothes are moist, the clothing should be changed and the skin well dried with talcum powder. The feet and hands should be kept warm, but the little head should always be kept cool. When the baby is crying and getting his daily exercise, remove some of the covering, loosen his diaper, and let him kick and wave his arms in perfect freedom.
When the baby's feet and hands are cool he is not warm enough. Cotton underskirts cannot be used in the dead of winter on little babies. They do not hold the body heat as woolen garments do. The baby's feet should always be warm and this is particularly necessary in poorly nourished children. The outer wrapper of woolen material should be added to such baby's clothing. It is a safe rule to follow that if baby's hands are warm and he is not sweating, he is "just about right."