Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-05-05
QUE BABIES.

QUE BABIES.
SVAa4a - Ola nurse HES - : Ahsue
Caring f0r Thsm.
Where d mother has nursed her baby
st her own breast the weaving is an inn
portAnt thing, says IAN old nurseai in the
Boston Globe. The baby should be
weaned about the end Of the ninth or
tenth month. Do not wean the child
all ut once, but very gradually. Day
by day increase the length Of the in
teryals between sucking it. and increase
little by littls the supplementary food.
These last two rules must not be
taken too literally. Babies vary greatly
in regard to their growth and rate Of
progress. The first teeth sometimes
appear on the seventh month, and some
times not until the end Of o year. I
know one case in which they did not
come until the baby was Is months old.
Where the baby is backward with its
teeth its weaving SHOULD also be delayed,
and the change OF its food (f it is a
bottle-fed baby should be also deferred
to suit its particular case.
Ii, however, the mothers milk gives
ont or runs thin before the regulation
time for the weaving arrives. it is bet.
ter for both mother and child that the
weaving should be proceeded with even
before the first teeth show any signs of
coming. Between two evils choose the
least always.
Give as little medicine to o baby as
possible. Avoid cordials, %paregoric and
every sort Of sleeping mixtures. Opium
Is the basis of four out of five Of them.
Don't poison your baby by the use Of
any Of these things.
Wind il . very common trouble with
infants during their first year. Some
times relief is given by laying the child
on its stomach across your lap and
gently chatting it's back. A teaspoonful
Of peppermint and water (half and halo
will generally stop the trouble. Three
or four drops of sal volatile in q tea
spoonful Of water is also a good remedy.
Be very careful as to dressing the
baby. Let comfort be the object, not a
SNOWY appearance. Be sure and have
a good bellyband Of flannel, cut bias,
applied properly around the baby's
back and abdomen. Let 1t firmly sup
port the baby's abdomen, but on no &c
count let it be too tight. or you may
produce the very evils which this band
is meant to prevent, such as rupture,
etc. Use as few pins as possible, and
let those pins be safety pins. Never
pin q baby's clothes with common pin.
It is quite possible to make a baby's en-
tire wardrobe so rs not to require q sim
gle pin to be used in dressing it.
Strings of tape do Just as we'll and are
safer. Never use o diaper twice with
out washing, however slightly it may
he soiled. Let every diaper be very
dry and nicely warmed before applying
it to q baby.
There is nothing more important than
the daily bath in lringiny the baby
along succe ssfully. Many a little ailmcnt
the warm bath promptly cures. For the
first month or two give the baby q warm
bath daily, with the water at a temper
ature of 90 degrees at first and later
at 96 degrees or 9idegrees. The even.
ing, just before putting to he1. is the
beet time to give it. After bathing the
child shoull be carefully and gently
rubbed with soft napkins, b. ing held
in O new, clean, and dry faancl receive +.
Complete immersion up TO the neck is
the best way to give the bath. Rub the
entire surface OF the skin. while in the
bath, with a soft sponge. BE particu-
lar as to the temperature of the bah.
Test the water vi h a thu rmomcter, and
be sure it is not lower than the figures
above given.
As to walking, be very careful not to
force the baby to walk before it is we'll
allie to do SO. Bow-legged children are
usually the result of this forcing busi-
ness. About the fifth or sixth month a
Vigorous baby will begin to kick at its
long clothes and show many signs of q
desire to nse its limbs. Shorten its
dress at that stage of its growth, and
put it on the carpetin q sitting position.
1t will then begin to spread its arms and
learn the motions Of crawling. Put a
few toys around it and leave it to it's
own pleasure. Don't be alarmed if it
should fall over once or twice on it's
side. Only in that way can it learn the
use Of its limbs.
As to teething, I prefer to advise
young and inexperienced mothers who
have trouble with their babies ut the
teething period to call in a good doctor
unless the trouble is very trihing.
Where the baby goes into commissions I
should say it is always q serious enough
case to call in a physician, unless you
have had q large experience in such
cases, with other infants, and feel sure
of your ground. A CONFUSION is very
startling thing to a mother with her
first baby, who has never seen anything
of the kind before. For the benefit Of
such let me say that a CONFUSION is
worsa to look at than it really is. Many
a child has had dozens of them and
grown up to be o strong man or oma
Whenever your first experience of q
~convulsed infant comes, remember
these directions: Loosen the child's
dress at all points to avoid choking. and
lay it down or o bed or lounge and give
its limbs freedom; hurry up a large
bowl or q small tub of hot water mot
too hot and put its feet in, and apply
cold water (iced is better to the head
with cloths. Then send for the doctor,
and he will find it necessary in most
cases to use his lance on the child's
gums.
/ might go on writing a great many
other things, but as / had doubts where
to begin, SO ! am in doubt where to
stop. To settle the doubt, I will put a
stop right here to these suggestions
about baby-management.
Woman Suffrage.