St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-01-28
CARE OF INFANTS.
How to Keep Baby Warm. Conf
and in Good Health TT,

Warmth is one of the most ird IT,
tan5 agents of health, it. inaNl 1t
may not be called the chief agebrfllI
One Of the most successful ,MVk
OF an English boys school waeu . Il
how he managed matters so 80 Is
pupils conduct was UNIVERSAL, d.
spected for good breeding and ~ h.
able action, he replied: Il rs
keep them warm. Every b IA
moral coward when he is cold ~ i "
| grown person knows the truth =, VS.
pregnant remark Nothing is IL lie
miserahly depressing in every II se
than chilliness arising from WI Of
| proper circulation. ta'
Babies suffer more from this N,Yse
than almost any other. Sleeplcsat~ S,
| collie, fretfulness, are all so onFeNy
warnings of want of proper c1gmh.
ton and deficient warmth. Gil
Mothers often have very c6dl lis
ideas on this subject; they covtg-s
infant over in its cradle with lit w
blankets and comfortabIes, and(s lei
| that all is right if when they lift itVS hut
after sleep it is moist with perspiraticb n.
They look upon this artifcially pho
duced heat as hcalthful, and it Delights
them. In truth. it is not desirable. at
all. Niney-eight 10 one hundred de
grecs is the normal temperature on %
healthy child, and any excess of this
is harmful. 10
Even careful nurses and experienckd
mothers misunderstood this question
of temperature altogether. They loakd
the infants body with clothes, amid
never reflect that unless its hands AMID
feet are equally warm they are actually
making it suffer with every added gdne
ment. What is wanted is equalizhgl
circulation throughout the body. Hbss
is this best attained? BY means of twsA
very simple agents: the bath and thdr
dress. i
First. the bath. Every baby, oil
course, needs to be washed all overt
in warm water once a day; but thisy
diurnal bath is positively hurtful un->
less it is accompanied by a good hon Il
est rubbing. Now rubbing is a thing !,
very few persons understand, al
though it is such an Indispensable
part of the daily toilet. To rub an inf
FAINT properly requires great tender|
ness and care. = All such rubbing
should be with circular movement
of the palm of the hand, and should
be rapid, but with very little pressure.
Above all. the soles of the feet should
be thoroughly rubbed in this way,
gently and quickly, for at least two
minutes. This promotes circulation.
and sends the blood flowing through
the tiny heart. In like manner tbs
little hands should not be chafed up
and down or squeezed but the palms
should be treated in the same circular
way.
Mothers, as rule. pay great deal
more attention to an infants feet than
to its hands. They would not think of
leaving it without socks, even with its
feet fastened up in q blanket; but with
the thermometer below zero they will
let it flourish two little red fists in the
cold morning air. Yet how wretched
it is to have cold hands every one
knows! Little children, in cold
weather, should not only have their
hands rubbed frequently but they
ought to sleep in knitted mittens as
soon as it becomes difficult to keep
their hands under the coverlid, and
that is as soon as they are restless.
Dress for infants has been written
about until it would seem that there
is nothing to add; and yet the most
important point in regard to 1t is rarely
alluded to. Its whole object should be
comfort, secured by equalization of
temperature, and no pressure any
where. The fewer clothes a
child wears the better. 30
they are sensible ones. Baby's
outfit should be limited to close-fit-
ting, soft knitted under-shirt, made
high in the neck, with long sleeves
and coming down we'll over the
stomach lover the usual flannel band):
a wrapper made of the finest Saxony
flannel with yoke, fastening in front
and tapping well over; and a dress OF
cambria with long sleeves, and also
made with yoke. ..-
There should be no strings to tie at
all! All the clothes, even the frock,
should be fastened in front with tiny
buttons, for the reason that to an in
FAINT even the pressure of buttons is of
moment, and the baby lying on its
back is often distressed by strings or
buttons between it and the pillow. No
infant should wear napkins without
flannel outside, because, however
careful the mother may be. they can
not be always dry, and the flannel pre-
vents dampness from affecting the
dress.
In dressing an infant to go out it
often seems as if the little body must
be cru shed under the wraps which are
thought necessary. The use OF numer-
Gus or heavy wraps is a mistake. 1t
is only needful to have a close, soft,
warm knitted sack to come below the
feet, with long sleeves and then over
that light cashmere cloak not Waa-
ded, but simply lined.