Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-12
SHOULD SLEEP ALONE.
Some Good Advice in Care Of Young
Babies
BY MRS. MARY e. HOOD.

More than three-Quarters Of a young ba-
by's life is spent In sleep, and upon the
restfulness Of 1t depends much of the child's
future strength. This being the case. it Is
certainly important that the sleep should
be of the right kind. isn't it? One of the
errors Of young mothers is to believe that
If baby sleeps 1t is surely resting. This
Is far from being the case, for If the crib
is not comfortable, the clothing suitable
and the ventilation as 1t should be slumber
does not do for the child what it should.
One of the most important OF all things
is that baby should sleep alone. I know
this seems like a cold-blooded edict and to
many mothers a senseless one until they
understand the reason.
First and foremost, there is always dan
ger of baby's being smothered when in
the bed at night with another person. As
a matter of fact, the death rate among in
fants from suffocation in this way is by no
means small.
But L would take care of my baby even
If 1 were asleep some indignant young
mothers will protest. Very well, but guard
ing 1t from this danger you cannot prevent
the second, which Is that Of absorbing the
infants strength by being close to It. 1t is
a well-known fact that when two persons
sleep together the stronger absorbs the
vitality of the weaker, and that Is what
you cannot help doing to your baby. It
cannot be as strong and luSty a child as it
will be without this drain upon its cOnsti-
tuition.
Besides these two reasons for keeping
baby alone there is another which 0 the
excess of maternal love the parent must
not sniff at, and this Is that with baby in
bed with her the mother will not sleep as
soundly she should for fear of injuring
it, and therefore her own strength is con-
stantlY being taxed. When there is baby
to be nurSed mother must do all that she
can to keep herself strong.
1t seems to me that even the most skepti-
cal or emotional of mothers must be con-
to know the proper way of sleeping. There
must be a crib preferably. although you
know that many scientific" mothers Chat
is what 1 call those who carry rules and
science to eXcess) argue that rocking Is bad
1 think in measure it is. but only for the
reason that a child who is accustomed to
being rocked to- sleep must be put to rest
every night In that fashion, which is often
most inconvenient for the mother who is
her own nurse. That rocking, unless done
to excess, hurts the digestion, 1 do not be-
lieve.
Merely in order to avoid forming the
habit l say do not rock even the tiniest
baby to sleep. 1t will soon go to sleep of
its own accord II properly trained. but as
a cradle is a decorative piece of furniture
1 like one better than the tiny beds that
are to be had for infants. Whichever is
chosen 1t may be put alongside the bed,
where the mother can reach it without get
ting up.
The sleeping garments of the child should
not be many in number, but they should
be Of wooden material, and should allow
freedom Of movement A little wooden
vest kept specially for night wear. a flannel
night dress made to button along the bot
tom and SO form a bag. in case the covers
are kicked off, and a pair of wooden booti-
kins are all that are necessary beyond the
bands and diapers which are worn at night
by very young children.
When the baby is undressed the body
should be sponged with warm water and
thoroughly dried. using powdered starch
for the parts which liable to chafe.
Then the garments nicely warmed, are
put on, and, wrapped in a warm shawl.
baby should have the last meal. Thus.
warm and comfortable, the wee one Is
ready for sleep, and should be placed in the
little bed. The position should be that
which Is usually described as 'semi-prone."
that is, on the side with the back little
up. No bottle of milk. sugar rag or dummy
is necessary to a child who is put to bed in
this fashion. If a light is burning in the
room 1t should be SO shaded that the glare
does not fall on the child's eyes, and the
room should be kept as quiet as possible.