Holding the baby while feeding. The baby should be held by the mother or nurse in the same position as for breast feeding. The bottle should be held so that the neck is continually filled, in order that the baby may not suck in air. The feeding should be finished in twenty minutes. If the baby nurses too rapidly, withdraw the nipple for a moment several times during the feeding. If the baby falls asleep, the bottle should be removed, and no more milk should be given until the next feeding time; he should not be permitted to nurse a little and then sleep a little, and thus unduly prolong the feeding.
CORRECT WAY TO HOLD THE BABY WHILE FEEDING
Sterile water to drink. The water which is given the baby to drink should first be boiled and then put where it will cool. Before it is given it should be slightly warmed.
CHAPTER VII
CARE OF THE BABY’S BODY
Suggestions for demonstrations. 1. Demonstrate the preparation of a two per cent solution of boric acid. 2. Demonstrate giving the baby a tub bath. 3. Demonstrate giving the baby a bran bath. 4. Demonstrate protecting the baby from drafts.
Preparation for the bath. A tub bath may be given to the baby as early as the sixth or ninth day. The morning bath should be given three quarters of an hour before the nine o’clock feeding. The mother should wash her hands carefully before handling the baby. The temperature of the room in which the bath is given should not be below 72° F. If the room is too hot—so hot that the baby perspires—there is grave danger of his being chilled when the bath is over.
BATHING THE BABY
The tub should never be put on the floor, but always on a chair or low table. This makes it easier for the mother to give the bath and also helps protect the baby from dust and drafts. Screens should be used to secure complete protection from drafts. For the first four weeks the temperature of the water should be between 98° and 100° F. As the baby grows older the temperature should be gradually lowered. Suitable temperatures are