Beef Juice. One pound of thick round steak, slightly broiled, is cut into small pieces and the juice expressed with a meat press or a lemon squeezer, the amount varying from 2 to 3 ounces. It may be diluted with an equal amount of warm water, or slightly warmed by being placed in a cup standing in hot water, and salted to taste.
Broths. One pound of lean meat, all fat and gristle removed, is allowed to one pint of water. The meat is cut finely and put on in cold water, heated slowly and allowed to simmer for three or four hours, when water is added to replace what was lost in cooking. It is strained, the fat removed and slightly salted.
Oatmeal Water. Two level tablespoonfuls of oatmeal in a pint of boiling water is cooked in a double boiler for two hours, strained and enough boiling water to replace the amount lost in cooking.
BATHING AND DRESSING YOUR BABY
By the time you assume your baby’s care he will probably be having his daily bath in a tub. It may be given under a spray, however, or the doctor may prefer to have him sponged. The sponge bath may be given in your lap or on a table covered with a pad, either method being satisfactory if the baby is kept warm and comfortable. But one inclines to the idea of having the baby bathed in the lap for he seems happier there; more comfortable and less frightened and we cannot be sure that these factors are unimportant to even a tiny baby.
The best time for the daily bath, during the first three or four months, is about an hour before the second feeding in the morning. After this age the full bath is sometimes given before the six o’clock feeding, in the evening, for a bath at this hour is soothing and restful and often helps toward giving the baby a good night.
Preparation for the bath should be made with its possible effects, both good and bad, in mind, for the baby may be helped or harmed according to the skill with which he is bathed. He must not be chilled during his bath, and fatigue and irritation must be avoided by giving it quickly and with the least possible handling and turning. These ends may be served by conveniently arranging all of the articles which will be needed, on a low table at the right hand side of your chair, before the baby is undressed.
There should be a pitcher of hot and one of cold water; a bath thermometer; two soft washcloths; soft towels; bath blankets; Castile, or some other mild soap; boracic acid solution; sterile cotton pledgets; large and small safety-pins, or large ones and a needle and thread if the band is to be sewed on; unscented talcum powder; sterile albolene or olive oil; soft hair brush and a complete outfit of clothing. The little garments should be arranged in the order in which they will be put on, the petticoat slipped inside the dress, and in cold weather, all hung before the fire or heater, to warm.
The temperature of the room should be about 72° F. and if it is possible to bathe the baby before an open fire or a heater, so much the better. In any case he must be protected from drafts and a sheet hung over the backs of two straight chairs will serve very well as a screen if no other is available.
The tub or basin should be about three-quarters full of water at 100° F. for the new baby; about 95° F. after the third month and gradually lowered to 85° F. or 90° F. for the baby a year old. The temperature of the water should not be guessed at, but tested with a thermometer, though in an emergency you may safely use water that feels comfortably warm to your elbow.