Evening star., 1946-11-27

O1f10g the early WcckS U ule,
baby sleeps almost all the time
waking only for food. At first he
viii not necessarily be hungry at
regular intervals, but after q few
weeks he win probably have worked
out schedule for himself. Many
babies finally settle down to being
fed ut 4-hour intervals, but some
babies will get hungry as often as
every three hours.
OCCASIONALLY, as q baby gets little
older and is awake more Of the
time, . mother will find that at one
Of the feeding times the baby Is
usually too sleepy to eat. BY shift
ing the hours Of feeding to time a
little earlier or a little later, she can
adjust the schedule 80 as not to
interfere with his hours Of sleep.
There are no fixed hours at which
every baby should be fed. After you
find the time that suits him best
however, try to keep to the same
plan each day. Babies thrive on
doing the same thing at the same
time, day after day..
His mothers comfort and con-
vcnience are very important to q
baby's welfare. A "self-selection'
Of hours for sleeping and eating
which interferes with her sleep ano
other household duties viii not real
ly enhance his happiness. If a baby
does not fall into q fairly rhythmic
pattern by the time he is q month
old, his mother may need the helr
Of her physician.
Beginning about the second o.
third month most babies VIII have
waking period In the late after
noon. This will develop into a play
time as the baby gets older. 1t il
wise to let the baby spend short in
tervals by himself so that he may
get used to being alone.
During the fifth and sixth months
the baby usually has longer and
longer periods when he is awake
especially In the afternoon. II he is
wakeful at night it may be well to
waken him little earlier from his
afternoon nap.
The baby should spend part OF
the time he is awake alone with a
toy or two, In place where he can
play safely-in his crib or play pen
or on q pad on the floor-but part
should be playtime with the moth
er or father or other children.
When the baby is about 7 or 9
months old consult the doctor about
weaving him. The baby can nov
begin to learn to take some of hi,
milk from a cup. Most babies al
this age will begin to shorten eithel
the morning or the afternoon nap
About the 10th month some babie
are ready for schedule OF thre'
meals a day. Many babies are no
ready for this until 2 or 8 month
later. The three-meal-a-day plal
that will best suit your baby an
yourself will depend partly on tn
habits he has already formed. sucl
as the time when he takes his nal
and partly on what fits into you
day.
II the baby takes long nap 4
the morning undress him for his ma
at a regular time usually abou
l0:3o or II ann and gives him
cup of milk. Give him his Dime
at I or 1:30.
Many babies continue to take tw
maps at this age. The time Of til
noon meal for such babies will de
pend upon whether the long nap
taken In the morning or in the aft
ernoon.
Notes on Care Of the Baby
young baby's back Is not strong. ant
needs to be supported all the time
When you pick him up put on
hand under his back and the othe
under his head. When you put hin
over your shoulder tip his bod.
forward so that there Is no DANCE
of his heads bobbing backward.
Until the baby Is about 3 month
old he will need support for his heat
all the time, either from the sur
face on which he is lying or from
your hand or arm. His back vii
need support even after he Is abl'
to hold his head up. Put your hans
under his back whenever you lif
him, and do not put him down IL
such a way that he can slump over