Extreme cases of chalk or dirt eating have been noted; such tendencies are decidedly abnormal, and require medical attention.
KEEP BABY WARM
Much colic and fretfulness may be avoided if baby is kept warm. The finger tips are a good thermometer, for if they are warm the feet usually are. "Bundling" is unnecessary, but careful attention should be paid to keeping the feet and hands warm without making the child sweat; that is an art, and all mothers should attain it. An extra flannel wrapper and a pair of heavy wool booties in the winter are good warmth producers. Cotton flannel petticoats should be replaced by warm woolen ones, and when the baby begins to get about on his hands and knees a pair of loosely fitting wool tights, made from discarded woolen underwear are of inestimable comfort and value. In the effort to avoid draughts and body chilling, ever bear in mind baby's need of fresh air and the dangers of sweating, for the sudden cooling of a sweating child is a forerunner of pneumonia, cold catching, diarrhoea, and other troubles.
BABY'S TEMPERATURE
During early infancy, baby's temperature sometimes varies greatly; for instance, a rectal temperature may register 97.5 or 100.5 F. while the child may be in perfectly good health.
The baby's temperature should be taken at the rectum—which should normally register 99.5 F. This temperature, as stated above, may register 100.5 F., with no other symptoms of illness. In taking rectal temperature the thermometer should remain in place two minutes.
The groin is the next best place to take the temperature; here the thermometer should remain five minutes, and the registry is usually a degree lower than that of the rectum.
The baby's temperature usually is a good guide to the severity of any illness. In case the temperature runs above 101 F. the physician should always be notified and his orders carefully followed. Slight causes often produce a high temperature of 103 to 105 F. for a short time; but such a temperature of long duration means serious trouble and demands expert advice and attention. Abnormal temperature will be more fully considered in that section of this work entitled "Common Disorders of Infancy."
BABY BOUNCING
The common custom of bouncing or trotting baby on the knee is a harmful one. The young and growing nervous system of the child is decidedly injured by this constant jolting and jiggling, to say nothing of the "spoiling" effects of this practice. There is a vast difference between the sensitive nervous system of the infant, with its liability to shock and disturbances, and that of the settled and developed nervous system of an adult. The strength of the mother or nurse is so great that the jarring not only often causes indigestion and vomiting in the infant, but sometimes also lays the foundation for "wrecked nerves" in later life.