Our baby; a concise and practical guide for the use of mothers in the care and feeding of infants and young children

Front matter

■H OAKLEY CLOeir^M.D.

GopyrightN?.

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm

Preface

In preparing this little volume, the aim of the author has been to help the young mother to a thorough and intelligent understanding of the requirements of the baby's life. With the exception of simple home treatment for the more common disorders of infancy, suggestions relating to medical treatment have been purposely avoided: the needs of the well baby and not the sick one have been considered; for the well baby is usually left in the care of the mother, or the mother's helper, for whose guidance this book is intended. The average mother leads a busy life and, in preparing this book, the aim has been to arrange the subject matter chronologically so that the mother may, without studying the entire book, readily find the information on the subject in question. The numerous repetitions which occur in the text have been deemed advisable, both for em-

vii viii PREFACE

phasis and because of the arrangement of the subject matter.

The acute infectious diseases (diphtheria, scarlet fever, chicken pox, measles, etc.) have not been mentioned because they are, without exception, conditions which should be treated by a physician. In case of sickness, no mother or nurse should depend upon any book in caring for a baby, but upon the advice of a physician, who should be one well trained and experienced in diseases peculiar to children. If a baby is sick, the physician ought to be summoned at once; and in no case should a mother attempt to prescribe for her child — disregard of this rule has caused thousands of lives to be lost. This book is not intended to supplant or to be a substitute for the physician ; therefore prescriptions have not been given.

The care of premature infants has been intentionally omitted, because such infants should be constantly under the care and direct supervision of a skillful physician who has made a special study of such cases. Also no mention has been made of the hygiene of the mother

PREFACE ix

*^ before the baby comes," since that is a separate subject; and, when injected into a book dealing with babies, it merely serves to swell the size of the volume. Weight charts have been omitted, because they are the cause of much worry on the part of the mother who is anxious to have her baby's chart make a good showing for her friends to admire ; and, if her baby is below the standard weight line, her worriment may cause the breast milk to fail.

Illustrations have been inserted wherever it seemed advisable to emphasize the description in the text. Chapter XI on General Care is intended for a ready reference in caring for the baby at various ages.

Ealph Oakley Clock.

New York,

January, 1912.

Chapter I Hygiene

Face — Eyes — Mouth — Teeth — Scalp — Hair — Buttocks — Genitals — Finger nails — Toe nails — Skin — Kissing — Pacifiers 1-6

Chapter II

Preparatory arrangements — Treatment preliminary to first bath — The first bath : How to give the first bath — Tub bath : How to give a tub bath, When not to give the bath — Local bathing — Bathing in hot weather — Kinds of baths : Cool, tepid, warm, hot, sponge bath, shower bath, cold pack, hot pack, vapor bath, bran bath, soda bath, starch bath, salt bath, mustard bath .... 7-20

Chapter III

The necessary requirements — Danger of neglecting essentials — Materials to be used — Individual articles of clothing: Abdominal bands, diapers, socks, the body clothing, shirt, petticoat, dress, the "Gertrude Suit" — Night clothes — Outdoor clothing — How to dress the baby — Short clothes — Clothing of early childhood : Night clothes,

shoes 21-41

xi xii CONTENTS

Chapter IV Nursery

Location — Heating — Temperature: Effect of too high temperature — Lighting — Ventilation — Furnishing — Bed : Bed coverings — Cleaning — Screens 42-49

Chapter V Sleep

Amount — Regularity and training — Disturbed sleep — Night terrors — Sleeping with mouth open — Sleeping with the mother — Sleeping outdoors 50-54

Chapter VI Food

Breast Feeding. — Breast milk: When not to use breast milk — Hygiene of nursing mother, including diet, exercise, fresh air, worry, care of the breasts and nipples — Regularity in nursing — Water — When to nurse — How to nurse — Signs of successful nursing — Signs of unsuccessful nursing — When to wean — How to wean Care of breasts during weaning 55-68

Bottle Feeding. — Kind of food — Regularity in feeding — Quantity of food — When to feed — Preparation of food — How to give a bottle feeding — Water — Signs of successful feeding — Signs of unsuccessful feeding — Care of nursing bottles — Care of rubber nipples — Sterilization of milk — Pasteurization — Condensed milk — Proprietary foods — Milk for traveling .... 68-83

Diet after the First Year. — Diet list for healthy babies twelve to eighteen months old and

CONTENTS xiii eighteen to twenty-four months old — Diet list for healthy children two to three years old and

three to six years old 83-90

Food Formulas. — ^Albumin water — Beef juice — Barley water — Broth — Gruels — Oatmeal water . 90-92

Food and sleep — Pacifiers — Bowel function — Playthings — Talking — Truthfulness — Moral training — Obedience — Selfishness — Noise — Fear — Society — School life — Books — Gynmasiura . . 102-112 xiv CONTENTS

Chapter XI General Care, Growth And Development

First Day of Life. — Immediate care of newborn baby — Nursing — Water — Bowels — Sleep — Pacifiers — General care 113-116

First Week. — The eiy — Care of eyes — The navel — Bath — Weight — Bowels — Urine — Nursing — Bottle feedings — Care of nursing bottles — Care of rubber nipples — Sleep — Waking for food — Ventilation of nursery — First outing — How to lift the baby — General care — Indications that the baby is thriving — Indications of poor nutrition—Clothing 116-125

Disorders of the Early Weeks. — Indigestion — Colic : How to give a rectal irrigation — Vomiting — Regurgitation — Diarrhea — Constipation — — Rapid nursing — Feeble nursing — Difficult nursing — Conditions affecting nutrition — Thrush — Skin eruptions — Tight foreskin — Enlarged breasts — Milk-crust 125-138

One Month. — Bath — Clothing — Training — Hearing 138-139

Six Weeks. — Bowels — Smiling — Sight — Change in eyes 139-140

Two Months. — Effect of menstruation on mother's milk — Weight — Perspiration 140-141

Three Months. — Nursing — Scurvy — Character of the cry — Tears — Drooling — Hearing — Clothing — Exercise 141-145

Four Months. — Head held erect 145

Five Months. — Bath — Feeding — Weight — Recognition of faces — Toys 145-146

SixMoNTHS. — Food — Playing — Sleep — Drooling — First teeth — Delayed teething — Special care while teething — Illness due to teething — Weight —Speech 146-149

CONTENTS XV

Seven Months. — Food — Attempts at sitting — Attempts at creeping- — Standing — Sight and Hearing 149-150

Eight Months. — Sitting alone — Hair — Speech — Food — Weaning 150-151

Nine Months. — Teeth — Creeping — Clothing — ^Attempts at standing — Talking — Drinking . . . 151-153

Ten Months. — Weaning from the bottle — First Attempt to Walk— Falls 153-154

Eleven Months. — Standing — walking .... 154

One Year. — Food — ^'Second Summer" — Weight — Teeth — Talking* — Walking — Shoes — Clothing — Sleep— Growth . . _ . 154-157

Fifteen Months. — Walking: Delayed walking — Food 157-158

Eighteen Months. — Teeth — Fontanelle — Food — Bath— Sleep— Clothing 158-159

Two Years. — Teeth: Care of teeth — Talking: Delay in talking^ — Hair — Bath — Clothing — Exercise—Weight—Growth—Food 160-162

Three to Six Years. — Bath — Clothing — Sleep — Training and habits — Exercise and amusements —Growth— Food 162-164

Chapter XII Signs Of Illness

Appetite— Breathing — Color of skin — Cough — Cry — Digestion — Eruptions — Face — Gestures — Mouth — Nose — Sleep — Stools — Swallowing — Teeth— Urine— Walking— Weight .... 165-168

Chapter XIII

Immediate care of sick baby — Bruises — Burns — Chills — Colic — Constipation — Convulsions — Conxvi CONTENTS tagious diseases — Croup — Cuts — Diarrhea — Earache — Fever — Foreign body in ear — Foreign body in eye — Foreign body in nose and throat — Fractures — Nose bleeding — Sprains — Stings — Vomiting' — How to take the temperature . . 169-178