Evening star., 1942-01-14
Babies
Should Not
BeSpoiled
Change in Routine
Will Encourage
The Bad Habit
By Leffice Lee Street,

What to do II your baby has
formed the maddening habit Of cry
ing at night? Lately I have had
q deluge Of letters from mothers
about to weep with WEAKNESS them
selves because their small imps have
selected the dark hours in which
to perform their vocal and physical
daily dozen.
First of all. we know that q young
baby should cry; he needs this
activity for exercise, and once that
1t is ascertained that he is COM
Portable and well, he should not be
spoiled by having his mother or
nurse pick him up and rock him
during his performance. However,
crying in the night. If q child is
nervously upset or his crying is
in any way abnormal, calls for the
tender attention of his mother.
A very skillful obstetrical nurse.
who has been handling wobbly little
tadpoles for more than 20 years,
told me that she believes there are
some plain ornery" tiny ones who
seem to have to cry to excess and
about which little can be done. But
most infants have their mothers or
nurses to blame If they do not
snooze peacefully during the night.
One dog tired young mother wrote
me, MY 10-month- old baby wakes
up five or six times a night. 60
to her at once, give her milk, pat
her and play with her, but when
she falls asleep it is only for q short
time. I am so exhausted that my
health is suffering"
Poor girl! This is an exaggerated
case, but to her, and to all mothers
Of babies whose eyes are bright
when they should be fringed with
sleepy lashes. have made a list of
a few practical suggestions as to
how to train a baby toward healthy
sleeping habits.
l. Unless a doctor orders it, never
offer q baby milk in the middle of
the night after he is old enough to
be OF of the 2 am. feeding. OF
course he will wake up if he knows
he will be fed every time he does 50.
Further, a baby should not be fed
lying In his crib, because as he
grows older he may associate going
to bed with being fed and cry for
food instead of going to sleep as he
should.
The practice Of departing to such
an extreme from q baby's flexibly
rigid four-hour feeding schedule is
very bad for his health. It Is wise
to make sure the formula is strong
enough for the bottle-fed baby and
that the breast-fed infant Is receiv-
ing enough milk. so that the suaby
will not awaken due to hunger
pangs.
2. If = baby is in the habit OF
waking up and cooling to himself, or
even whimpering. do not rush to his
crib when he starts. He will prob
ably drop OF to sleep again Of his
own accord. But If he starts to
below in earnest, then, Of course,
you will attend to him, change hinr
and offer him little boiled, tepid
water, being as silent and business
like as you can while performing
these duties in dimly lighted room.
Do not play or talk to him but try
to keep him drowsy.
A baby will roar for attention II
his mother humors him by playing
with him and picking him up and
rocking him when he awakens In
the wee hours.
3. The baby's sleeping room should
be cool, we'll aired and dark: his
feet should be warm, and he should
be warmly but not heavily covered.
4. Plenty of outdoor air during the
day induces healthy sleep at night.
S. Older babies who tend to stay
awake at night are sometimes cor
rected If they are allowed to nap
after 3 or 4 in the afternoon.
6. There should be no rough hous-
ing and excitement before supper
and bedtime. Sometimes q gentle
rub will soothe q jittery little per-
son.
Z. Every effort should be made
to give q baby IS regular, happy.
serene and wholesome . life Is pos
sible.
One more most important fact:
If sleeplessness persists the doctor
should be informed. He will make
an examination to ascertain that no
disease is present. Never, never ad-
minister drugs or medicines Of any
kind without . doctors prescrip-
ton, and then follow his instruc-
tions to the letter.
d.: C.k Hs-k