Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-01
INFANT AND NURSERY.
Rules and Regulations Under Which
the Small Specimens of HUI

Tn nursery should be the brightest. sun
niest room in the house. 1t should be large
enough to permit a window to be lowered
from the top without exposing the baby
to a draught. for next to sunlight the baby
needs fresh air. For a healthy infant. the
temperature should never .,- allowed TO go
above 20 degrees during the day. al night
50 to 10 degrees. Children breathing over
heated air grow pale and puny, with
fiabby. weak muscles. and are susceptible
to lung and throat troubles. Ia the win
ter. or when the infant is too Ill to be
taken from tn. nursery, the room opening
into II may he thoroughly aired and then
the dividing door opened.
Even in warm weather II IS best To hay"
a little fir. in the nursery when bathing "a
baby. Tn" water for this hhth must never
be under ~ degrees or over iv' d'6'"'s,
and testing the temperature should never
be left TO the hand alone.
After the dressing. the nurse > attention
should turn 10 the eyes aud nose and
mouth. With a bit OF soft linen or absorbent
cotton. wash each eye with u little clean,
warm water. being careful not 10 use the
same piece FOR both eyes. Then. placing a bit
In water. swab the mouth, going all around
the roof and gums. Now clean the nose
and be sure IL Is perfectly clean. \ baby
should not he bathr.I until at least an hour
after taking its food. 1t Is best To bitAe
just before fecding-then comes its nap,
and then It's airing. There should be only
che daily bath.
An infant should be- fed with absolute
regularity, waking IL when the time comes.
From one month to six weeks II needs rood
every two hours. then every two and Il
half hours. ana at three months every
three hours. AS the time is heightened the
quantity should be increased. Before 1t
has three hours feeding, it will require
two feelings at night, usually at 10 and 3
o'clock After three months 1t should have
Its last feeding at 10 and sleep until g or 7
a. m. If bottled the quantity of food for
the twenty-four hours should be made in
the morning, placed in bottles and co"ied
with cotton, there being as many bottles
as feelings. Then p~asteuriZe and put ii in
q cool place for use. DO not heat the bottle
by pouring out its contents. but by putting
into a vessel of hot water. not removing
the cotton plug until the nipple is ready to
A child should sleep by itself: under TO
circumstances with ali older person or an
other child. The mattress Should he firm
but soft. For young infants a heavy army
blanket folded and laid on a spring bed is
quite enough. and is much better thar: Il
mattress, as it can be thoroughly aired.
diSinfected. washed, etc. y healthy child
up to / year should sleep about two-thirds
OF the time, and until a child is 4 years old
a daily nap should be insisted on. If a
child is generally wakeful during the light,
shorten its sleeping hours during the day.
Rocking and walking to induce sleep is
an extremely bad habit to form. Com
mence from the first day. Place the baby
in bed. see that the hands and feet are
warm. that there are no wrinkles in cloth
ing or bedding: darken the room and
leave the child alone; 1t rarely takes more
than one or two nights to train an infant
into good habits of sleep.
Playing with children and excitement of
any kind should be avoided. especially just
before bedtime. Shaking rattles or any
thing else continually before a child. con-
slant amusement of any kind is all very in
furious. the mind being kept in a state OF
fncesSant activity with no rest. and paves
the way to nervous prostration of the
adult.
A certain amount of crying is indispen-
sable to a healthy child-not a fretfuI
worrying whine, but a good hearty cry. A
baby who has not a strong cry is in a Sc
rious condition, and must be made to cry
otherwise the lungs collapse and death re-
! suits.