TIGHT BELLY-BANDS MAY TORTURE BABIES—UNDERWEAR THAT DOES NOT IRRITATE—EXTENSION SKIRTS TO PROTECT THE FEET—DRESSING THE BABY IN HOT WEATHER—HOW TO HANDLE THE BABY
Baby’s comfort, and, incidentally, the peace and quiet of the entire household, may be increased by intelligent selection and care of clothing. Every adult has experienced more or less discomfort from ill-fitting or unsuitable underwear, tight bands and shoes, yet in many homes where babies are deeply and truly loved clothing for the tender little bodies is chosen thoughtlessly and adjusted carelessly. Even the mother who threatens her own eyesight, embroidering dainty bits of linen for the layette, may fairly torture her baby by supplying underwear that irritates the delicate skin.
Perhaps in no other way does the American mother so disturb the comfort of her baby as in the ill-advised use of the belly-band. She will criticize the Chinese mother for binding her baby-girl’s feet, and the Indian mother for strapping her baby to a board, and then she will calmly pin the belly-band so tightly around her own baby as to interfere with his breathing and digestion.
In common with the average woman, uneducated and untrained for motherhood, I recall that I overestimated the importance of the belly-band in clothing my own babies; but I never realized that it was still being transformed into an instrument of torture until I attended Better Babies Contests. There, watching mothers undress their babies for the physical examination, I was shocked at the ridges, the cruel red lines, left by the discarded strips of flannel. And I heard many a good doctor lecture these mothers severely for the tightness of the bands and the discomfort the baby had endured.
After this experience, I believe that many a baby accused of being irritable and wakeful or others dosed for colic are merely suffering from the stricture of the belly-band. Mothers who have had to endure the torture of an ill-fitting, tight corset for a day or more, please give this matter consideration.
Many mothers do not understand the dual mission of the belly-band. They have the erroneous idea that it must be fastened very tightly over the navel to prevent rupture both before and after the cord comes off. This is a grave mistake, and leads to unnecessary suffering for many children. The belly-band supports the abdomen while the baby is very young and tender, and it protects the bowels from abrupt changes in temperature. It is not a truss nor a surgical instrument, but a protection to the baby’s very delicate organs and system immediately after birth. This fact must be borne in mind by every young mother.
Another memory of my untrained motherhood is that of overdressing my babies. Next to my wedding trousseau the most elaborate task of sewing I have ever done was the layette for my first baby. What overtrimmed, useless things were included in this labor of love! And how inconsiderate that first baby was in outgrowing the pretty things I had prepared for his coming!
One of the most comforting features of my visits to Better Babies Contests has been the increasing evidence of sanity and consideration in dressing babies. Mothers are gradually being educated up to the point of supplying simple comforts for babies, and frills for where they belong—on pincushion covers! As a rule, prize-winning babies at these contests are simply, sensibly, comfortably dressed.
A woman who makes a specialty of supplying layettes offers the following list as amply sufficient for the baby born to a family in good circumstances:
4 unhemmed belly-bands.
4 shirts.
4 nightgowns or wrappers.
4 flannel skirts.
2 simple skirts of nainsook, longcloth, or lawn.
6 slips of nainsook, lawn, or batiste, simply made.
4 pairs of socks or stockings or bootees.
2 dozen diapers, 18 inches square.
2 dozen diapers, 22 inches square.
1 loose warm sacque, knitted or made of French flannel.
1 loose, soft cloak for outdoor wear.
1 soft cap, silk-lined.
1 pair mittens.