Thumb Sucking. It is scarcely necessary nowadays to tell a mother that her baby must not be allowed to suck on an empty bottle or a pacifier nor be permitted to suck his thumb. These habits are very dirty and help to spread disease. The baby may swallow air while practicing them, with colic as a result, and he may so deform the shape of his upper jaw that later in life, the upper and lower teeth will not meet as they should for satisfactory mastication; his front teeth may protrude in a disfiguring manner; and by narrowing and elongating the roof of his mouth, the structure of the air passages may be altered, with respiratory troubles and adenoids as a probable consequence. Thumb sucking may be prevented by the simple procedure of putting stiff cuffs on the baby’s elbows, such as are shown in Fig. [59], and which make it impossible for him to reach his mouth with his thumb. These cuffs are easily made by covering pieces of cardboard with muslin and attaching tapes with which to tie them on the baby’s arms. Another method is to put the baby’s hands into celluloid or aluminum mitts made for this purpose, or little bags made of stiff, heavy material, which in turn are tied to his wrists; or his sleeves may be drawn down over his hands and sewed or pinned with safety-pins. It should be borne in mind that a baby sometimes sucks his thumb because he is hungry or thirsty and will give up the practice when his food is increased or when he is regularly given water to drink.
Ear pulling is not uncommon among young babies and, if allowed to continue, a long, misshapen ear may result. This may be prevented by using a thin close fitting cap which ties under the chin, or by using the same kind of elbow splints as for thumb sucking.
Crying. It is very easy to allow the baby to develop the crying habit but very difficult to break it up. The first step toward prevention is general good care, for a baby who is properly fed and exercised, kept dry and warm, but not too warm, and whose clothes are comfortable, will usually cry very little if wisely handled in other respects. But a baby may cry because he is hungry, thirsty, wet, cold, overheated, sick or in pain or simply because he wants to be taken up and entertained and has learned that the way to realize his wish is to cry. By examining the baby’s condition and observing his habits, it is usually possible to discover the cause of his crying. Very often a drink of fairly warm water will quiet him, particularly at night. But unless he seems to have colic and stops crying because of the relief due to the upright position in your arms, you should hesitate to take the crying baby up and carry him about and hold him when it is discovered that this attention stops his crying.
Persistent crying should be reported to your doctor as it may be of some significance.
KEEPING YOUR BABY WELL IN SUMMER
Notice that I say keeping him well. There was a time when we looked upon the scourge, variously known as “summer complaint,” “summer diarrhea” and “cholera infantum” as a seasonal visitation that was to be accepted with resignation. But happily those dark days are past, for though the condition itself is a complicated one, the one big factor in its causation was dirty milk—milk that was infected or spoiled or both—given to a baby whose forces were lowered by the heat.
It is perfectly clear, then, isn’t it, that a baby is no more likely to be ill during the summer than at any other time, if he is given proper care, the kind of care that we have been going over in detail? Each of these details is important but just bear in mind that during warm weather it is particularly urgent to:
1. Feed the baby properly. 2. Keep him clean. 3. Keep him cool. 4. Keep him quiet.
The end and aim of these precautions is to prevent disturbance of the baby’s digestion. As babies suffer from the heat more than adults do and are often excessively irritated and exhausted on warm days, these results of the heat are sometimes enough to upset his digestion unless he is safeguarded with greatest care.
It is much the same as with grown people, who often find that their digestions are upset solely by their being tired or excited.