Lay a folded towel in the bottom of the tub, before beginning, as babies are often frightened by coming in contact with the hard surface.
It is a good plan to wear a waterproof apron, covered with one of flannel over which is laid a soft towel, until the bath is finished. The towel is then slipped out, leaving the dry, flannel apron to wrap about the baby. Wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and soap, before beginning; sit squarely, with your knees together, on a chair without arms; take the baby in your lap and undress him under a blanket. In order that the bath may be given deftly and quickly it is well to bathe the different parts in the same order every day, for practice makes perfect.
It is usually a routine to weigh the baby every morning, during the first two or three weeks and once or twice a week afterwards, though premature babies and those who are frail are sometimes weighed at longer intervals because of the inadvisability of disturbing them so often. The baby is undressed for his bath, wrapped in a blanket, and laid in the scoop or basket of a beam scale and a note made of the entire weight, for if he is placed in the scales without protection he is likely to be chilled and frightened. The weight of the blanket is ascertained separately and deducted from the total thus giving the baby’s exact weight.
The eyes should be bathed first, with pledgets of sterile cotton dipped in warm boracic acid solution, each pledget being used but once. To prevent the solution from running from one eye into the other, the baby’s head is turned slightly to one side and the lower eye wiped gently from the nose outward. The lids may then be separated by placing one thumb below the brow and lifting it slightly, and the eye flushed with a gentle stream by squeezing a freshly soaked pledget just above it. The head is turned to the other side and the eye on that side bathed in like manner.
The mouth is swabbed out very gently with boric-soaked cotton wrapped about the tip of the little finger, care being taken not to injure the delicate mucous lining. The nostrils are cleaned with little spirals of cotton dipped in mineral oil or olive oil.
The face is then washed with warm water, no soap, and patted dry. The scalp, neck and ears are washed with soap and water and thoroughly dried by patting and by wiping gently in the creases. The body should then be soaped with your hand, only one part being uncovered at a time in order to avoid chilling.
To place the baby in the tub, slip your left hand under his head in such a way that it will rest upon your wrist as your fingers spread out to support his shoulders. Your thumb naturally curves over and holds the upper part of the baby’s arm without pulling or straining it. Grasp his ankles with the right hand and lower the little body into the water, feet first, as shown in Fig. [50]. This gradual lowering of the baby into the water is worth while, for he is likely to be frightened if he is plunged in suddenly. If the baby’s arm and shoulder are firmly held and supported by your left hand, it is an easy matter to steady his entire body and keep his head out of the water while giving the bath with your right hand, as in Fig. [51].
Fig. 50.—Method of holding baby and lowering him into his bath.
