Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-01-23
Take Care Of the Babies.

A valuable circular concerning the
management OF infants during the
summer months. was prepared by .
committee of leading medical men of
Philadelphia and il officially recon.
mended to the thoughtful attention of
mothers. They embody their sugges.
tions in q set OF rules, among which
are directions to battle the child daily
in tepid water; q feeble babe should be
bathed with tepid water and vinegar.
Make the clothing light and cool and
quite loose. At night sponge it and
put on its night slip. Never let a
child wear the nightdress during the
day. Nor allow the day dress to be-
kept on at night. 1t is uncleanly and
unwholcsome. Use clean napkins and
change them often; do not dry nap
kin aud use it, but wash it ere using
again. ,.r,I .... o.,
! A baby can and should be trained to
going to bed at q regular hour, and
should sleep in little cot or cradle by
the side of the bed. Never administer
spirits, cordials, soothing syrups or
sleeping drops, unless under the advice
of a physician. Thousands of chill
dren die annually from the use of these
poisons. If child frets and does not
sleep, it is either hungry or ill. A
babe needs plenty of fresh air. In the
cool of the morning and evening, send
or take it out to walk. Go on excur-
sions on water with it. Let it drink
often of cool, pure water. Do not let
it be in the room where washing or
cooking is going on. Excessive heat
will kill young infants. i.g .4l
Keep your houses sweet, clean and
we'll aired, by keeping windows open
day and night. Whitewash your walls
every spring. Let no slops collect
about the premises. Do yonr cooking
in the yard if no better place presents
anywhere, rather than confne the
hot odors to the house, which should
be kept cool as possible during the hot
months.
Breast milk is the only proper food
for babes and no other food should be
given. Never nurse child when ia
tigued or overheated. If the mother
has not milk enough for the child or if
it must he brought up by hand, give
it COW milk or goats milk in addition,
prepared thus: Each bottleful of
milk should be sweetened by small
lump of loaf sugar or half a teaspoon.
FIJI OF crushed sugar. When the heat
is great, the milk may DO given quite
cold. Be sure that tho milk is M
skinned: have i: as fresh as possible,
and brought very early in the morning.
Before using the pans into which it is
to be poured, always scald them with
boiling suds. In very hot weather,
boil the milk as soon as it comes, and
at once put away the vessels holding it
in the coolest part of the house or
down . we'll. If this milk disagrees
with the child. add tablespoonful of
lime water to each bottle.
At all seasons of the year, but es-
pecially in summer, there is no safe
substitute for milk if the infant has
not cut its front teeth. Sage, arrow
root, corn-hour, crackers, bread every
patented food, and every article of diet
containing starch, cannot and must not
be depended on as food for very young
infants. Creeping and walking chill
dren must not be allowed to pick up
unwholesome food. If milk in any
shape cannot be digested, try, for few
days, pure cream diluted with three
fourths of water, returning to the milk
as soon as possible.
The nursing bottle must be kept per-
fectly clean, otherwise the milk will
turn sour and the child will be i'll.
After each meal it should be emptied,
rinsed out. taken apart and the tube,
cork, nipple and bottle placed in clean
water, or in water to which . little
soda has been added. It is good plan
to have two nursing bottles and to use
them by turns. F.e
Do not wean the child just before or
during the hot weather, nor, as rule,
until after its second summer. II
sucking disagrees with the mother. she
must not wean the child but feed it in
part out OF o nursing bottle ON such
food as has been directed. However
small the supply Of breast milk, pro-
vided it agrees with the child. the
mother should carefully keep it up
against sickness; it alone will often save
the life of child when everything
else fails. When the child is over six
months old. the mother may save her
strength by giving it one or two meals
day of stale bread and milk, which
should be pressed through q sieve and
put into nursing bottle. When from
eight months to one year old it may
have also ono meal day OF the yolk Of
fresh and rore-boiled egg, or one of
beef or mutton broth into which stale
bread has been crumbled mp. When
older than this, it can have little
nest fiuely minced; but, even then,
milk should be its principal food and
not such food as grown people eat.
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