By about the sixth month he will usually begin to make an effort to creep, if turned over on his stomach and helped a little, and he may be propped up in the sitting position, in his crib, for a few moments every day. As he gives evidence of having enough energy to creep farther than the limits of his crib permit, he may be put into a creeping pen, or upon the floor under certain conditions. It must be remembered that the floor is likely to be cold, drafty and dusty. You should assure yourself, therefore, that the floor is warm and that all drafts are cut off, and then spread a clean sheet or quilt on the floor before the baby is put down to creep. When the sheet is taken up, be sure that it is folded with the upper surface inside in order that when it is again put down the baby will play on that side and not on the side that has been next the floor.
A creeping pen or cariole or some such provision is often more satisfactory than the floor, consisting as it does of a railed-in platform raised about six or eight inches from the floor.
The suggestions for exercise, like those for the baby’s airing, must be very general since it should always be adjusted to the powers of the individual baby and directed by the doctor.
TRAINING YOUR BABY
Bowels. It is possible to train even a very young baby to have regular, daily bowel movements; and this training should be started when the baby is about a month old. At the same hour each day he may be laid on a padded table, or taken in your lap, a small basin being placed against or under the buttocks and a soap stick introduced an inch or two into the rectum and moved gently in and out. This slight irritation will usually result in the baby’s emptying his bowels almost immediately. Another method is to hold the baby in a comfortable, reclining position, on a small chamber in your lap, as in Fig. [58] or with his back supported against your chest, and the desire to empty his bowels stimulated by using the soap stick as described. (A soap stick is simply a piece of soap about three inches long whittled down to about the size and shape of a lead pencil with a blunt point.)
Fig. 58.—A comfortable position for the baby who is being trained to use a chamber.
It is of considerable importance that the position and method which are adopted, be employed at exactly the same time each day in order to establish a habit. If this is done and the baby is being properly fed, it will usually be found that before he is many months old, his bowels will move freely and regularly without the stimulation of the soap stick and only when he is resting on the small chamber or basin that he is accustomed to using. This establishment of a regular bowel movement not only simplifies the laundry work and the care of the baby but is of great moment to his health.
Fig. 59.—Stiff cuffs on the baby’s elbows keep him from sucking his thumbs.