Better babies and their care

by Anna Steese Richardson

You will notice that I have not spoken of washing out the baby’s mouth. Many of the best baby specialists claim that Nature has supplied a cleansing element in the saliva and that washing the mouth is unnecessary; that it may cause thrush or other affections of the mucous membrane. Other equally good authorities hold that the mouth may be cleaned with a swab made by wrapping absorbent cotton around a wooden toothpick; this is dipped in cool water that has been boiled, and the folds between the gums, lips and cheeks are gently cleaned out at the time of the morning bath and also before the baby is put to bed for the night. Both medical factions agree that the old custom of wrapping a bit of soft linen around the mother’s forefinger and using that to cleanse the baby’s mouth is dangerous, as it is too large and apt to injure the delicate mucous membrane. If the mouth is washed at all it must be done with great care.

In case of thrush or sprue, which consists of tiny white threads or flakes on the inner side of the lips and cheeks, and even on the tongue, the mouth must be washed carefully, after every feeding or nursing, with a solution of borax—one even teaspoonful to three ounces of water. Thrush or sprue may come from other causes than washing the mouth, and it is wise to call a physician if it appears and spreads.

The system of bathing and cleansing so far described is suited for the normal baby only. Some children should not have a daily tub bath. This includes anemic or very delicate infants, and babies suffering from acute illness, when the exposure and fatigue of a bath might drain the already depleted system too heavily. In case of eczema and certain other skin affections, bathing with soap would increase the trouble. Your family physician will prescribe a method of cleansing the baby’s body in case it suffers from eczema or any other serious eruption. The very feeble child may be rubbed with sweet-oil when too weak to stand a tub bath, and common cooking salt or sea salt has been found useful in giving a bath to a delicate child. The water is prepared by adding a cupful of cooking salt or sea salt, which can be purchased at any druggist’s, to each two gallons of water.

When a child is suffering seriously from prickly heat, soap should not be used. Instead tie a cupful of bran-meal in a bag of muslin or cheese-cloth and squeeze this in the water until the latter takes on a milky color; this bath is particularly soothing to infants with very delicate skins.

When a child chafes easily, particularly at the buttocks, a soda or a starch bath is soothing. One tablespoonful of bicarbonate of soda should be added to the water in the usual infant’s tub, or half a cupful of laundry starch, powdered very fine, to the same quantity of water.

When a child is suffering from fever, due to teething or indigestion, and in very hot weather, in addition to the regular morning bath it may have a sponge bath just before bedtime. This may be of plain, tepid water, or of water and alcohol—a quart of warm water to eight ounces of alcohol.

Many mothers think that the daily bath is sufficient to provide for cleanliness in a child. This is a mistake. From the very start a child should learn that to be clean is to be comfortable. Particularly if the mother is careless about changing the diapers and the bedding, the baby will actually become accustomed to the discomfort which follows and will not resent it. If the diapers are changed immediately they are wet, the baby will cry bitterly when he is neglected and allowed to lie in a wet diaper or other clothing.

At four months the healthy, normal baby should be trained to sit upon a small infant’s chamber at certain times in the day for the bowels to move. These chambers come in very small sizes and, as the baby is too small to sit alone, the mother holds the chamber in her lap and supports the baby with her arm or against her breast. When he is strong enough to sit up alone, the chamber is covered with a low, comfortable chair, which allows the feet to rest on the floor. The seat of the chair is protected by a rubber ring, which can be bought from any store where sanitary supplies for children are sold; this can be taken off and cleansed, and is a great improvement on the ordinary wooden seat. The use of a chamber of adult size is most undesirable for two reasons: it is so uncomfortable that the child cries and the movement is retarded rather than encouraged; and in the strained position certain organs may be displaced. It is best to use the little chamber and low chair twice a day, directly after the feeding in the morning and before going to sleep at night. When the child is older he will become accustomed to one movement of the bowels each morning.

At eight months the mother should begin to train the child not to wet the diapers. To this end he is placed on the chamber or chair every hour, and in a surprisingly short time he learns, by training and instinct, that he can control the urine. The baby thus trained will never lie contentedly in wet or soiled clothing, and will develop into a child of cleanly habits.

A word of warning here about the care of the diapers. They should never be used twice without washing. When soiled by a movement of the bowels, they should be washed off immediately and then dropped into a pail of water until the mother or nurse has time to wash them thoroughly. Each wet diaper is added to the same pail. It is a great mistake to wash these diapers in a solution of sal soda, washing-powders, or strong soap. If a good white soap is used the mother will be repaid in the freedom of her child from chafing or eruptions. The diapers, like all of baby’s clothing, should be rinsed until absolutely free from soap. Nightdresses, skirts, and slips should not be starched. Diapers may be taken from the line when dry, smoothed, folded, and placed under a weight—never ironed.