THE EYES, EARS, AND NOSE

At birth the eyes are particularly cared for. First, the mucus is gently swabbed off the closed lids from the nose side outward, and then follows the application of one drop of twenty per cent argyrol or two per cent silver nitrate, either of which thoroughly disinfects the eye and prevents the growth or development of any bacteria that may have gotten into the child's eye during the descent of the head through the birth ca.n.a.l. The neglect of this procedure may sometimes result in lifelong blindness.

Under no circ.u.mstances should "a mere cold in the eyes" be neglected; it may result in blindness. Call your physician at once, and if he is not at hand, wash out the eye thoroughly every hour with warmed ten per cent boracic acid solution, by means of a medicine dropper, using a separate piece of cotton for each eye, for if the slightest bit of discharge be carried from one eye to the other an inflammation will quickly appear.

From birth, especially during the first week, baby's eyes are very sensitive to light; hence they must be carefully protected. Babies should be so placed during their outings, sleep, or naps, that they do not directly gaze at either the sunlight or sky. The lining of the hood of the carriage should be green, instead of white, as much eye strain is thus prevented.

The daily care of the normal, well eye has been already described, and while it need not be reiterated, we may say, in pa.s.sing, that if the eyelid be at all inclined to be sticky or adherent, never use force, but instead, gently swab with boracic acid. As a preventive of this condition, a little vaseline from the tube may be rubbed on the edges of the lids at night.

In the toilet of the ears, never attempt to introduce anything beyond the external ear, which may be carefully cleansed with a soft cloth.

It is often found necessary to apply oil to the creases behind the ears before the daily bath. There should be no irritation, redness, or roughness present, all such conditions being readily prevented by the use of oil or vaseline before the bath.

With the sharp point removed, make a cotton applicator out of a toothpick, and gently (with no force, whatever) introduce vaseline or oil into the nose. This should be a part of baby's daily toilet. Any stoppage of mucus or snuffiness in the nose should be reported at once to baby's physician. Young babies often have adenoids.

CARE OF THE MOUTH

Leave the well mouth alone until the teeth appear, and then keep the teeth very clean (allowing no particles of milk to acc.u.mulate at their bases) with a soft bit of cotton and gentle rubbing. When a child attains the age of two, he should have his own toothbrush; previous to this time all food particles should be removed from between the teeth with waxed silk floss. All decay should be promptly attended to by a competent dentist.

Thrush and ulcers are often caused, not prevented, by the frequent wiping out of baby's tender mouth. The treatment of thrush and other mouth infections will be considered in a later chapter, "The Common Disorders of Infancy."

THE CARE OF THE GENITAL ORGANS

Before the bath, the baby girl's genitals are carefully swabbed between all the folds with boracic acid solution. The foreskin of the boy baby should be pushed well back and washed gently with water. If the foreskin of the male child be long, tight, or adherent, circ.u.mcision is advised. See our chapter, "Teaching Truth."

The genitals of both the boy and girl should be kept scrupulously clean every day, with as little handling as possible, and, upon the appearance of the least swelling, discharge, or even redness, the physician's attention should be at once called to it. In a later chapter, the subject of irregularities of s.e.x habits will be taken up.

CARE OF THE b.u.t.tOCKS

Often, because of irritating bowel movements, the b.u.t.tocks become reddened, chafed, and sometimes raw in places. Some poor little babies are sometimes roughly rubbed--scoured on the b.u.t.tocks--much like the kitchen sink, many times a day, and it is not surprising that they become reddened, chafed, and very much inflamed.

The b.u.t.tocks require a gentle swabbing and thoroughgoing "patting dry"

after each soiling or wetting of the diaper, but no soap is required in this region but once a day, and even then it should be used sparingly.

When the b.u.t.tocks are inflamed, after a good cleansing with water and a thorough drying, vaseline or zinc ointment should be applied on a piece of sterile cotton, and this application should be repeated after each changing of the diaper. Wet diapers should be removed at once, for the acidity of the urine causes more chafing. A dusting powder composed of starch two parts, and boracic acid one part, may be dusted on after a cleansing with oil.

Great care should be exercised in the thorough daily rinsing of the diapers as well as in the tri-weekly boil in the laundry. White soap only should be used in their cleansings; no washing sodas or other powders should be used.

OTHER SPECIAL CARE

Under the arms and in the creases of the neck the skin sometimes becomes irritated because of neglect. To prevent such chafing the following program should be carefully carried out:

1. Not too much soap--and no strong soap.

2. Careful rinsing of the skin area.

3. Avoid harsh rubbing, but thoroughly dry.

4. The use of talc.u.m powder in all folds of the skin.

With a fine camel's hair brush the hair should receive its brushing after the cleansing of the scalp. Combs are for just one purpose and that is to part the hair. The brush should be used to do all the smoothing.

While the frequent tr.i.m.m.i.n.g of the hair has no marked effect upon its growth, yet the comfort the little girls enjoy, especially during the warm-weather months, should not be denied them.

And certainly the boy should become a boy when he puts on trousers and not be made the laughing stock of his mirthful companions just because his "beautiful long curls are much admired by the mother and his aunts."

The finger nails should be trimmed round with the scissors, while all hangnails are properly cared for every day. Toe nails should be cut straight across and the corners never rounded off. Many ingrowing nails may be thus avoided.

CHAPTER XXI

BABY'S CLOTHING

The Eden story suggests that in the beginning of our racial experience artificial clothing was unnecessary; but after a time, in that selfsame garden, proper clothing became an important problem and has remained so ever since. Everybody seems to agree, however, that baby's clothing in particular should at least be comfortable. It may give the child great discomfort because it may be too warm, or it may not be warm enough, or it may be too tight, and so, in the discussion of baby's clothing in this chapter, we are going to keep in mind these two things--comfort and heat.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

The choice of material demands some thought and attention. As a rule, baby's clothing materials should be light in weight, good moisture absorbers, and at the same time able to retain the body heat. Most layettes have the common fault of being prematurely outgrown; and so it is well to allow for ample growth in making baby's first clothes.

Since the princ.i.p.al object of clothing is to insure a uniform body temperature, it is important that the mother be constantly on her guard to keep the baby cool enough in the summer and warm enough in the winter.

The mothers of various races and nations have their own ideas concerning the clothing of their babies. One mother will wrap her baby in cotton, which is held in place by means of a roller bandage, and as you visit this home during the first week of baby's life, you will be handed a little mummy-shaped creature--straight as a little poker--all wrapped up in cotton and a roller bandage. The surprising feature is that the baby does not seem to complain.

In another district of the city we find the baby dressed in starched clothes, ribbon sashes, bright ribbon bows on its arms and around its neck. At first glance you wonder if the little child is not many years older and is about to make a visit to a county fair, but on inquiry we find that he has only been prepared for the event of circ.u.mcision on the eighth day.

And if you go into the forest of primeval days you will find another mother bandaging her baby to a board, head and all, and he seems to live and thrive in his little woven nest strapped on the back of his Indian mother.

Other babies in the warmer portions of the earth have almost less than nothing on, and are left to be swung by the breezes in little baskets tied to the boughs of trees; being taken up only when it is time to feed.

BABY'S LAYETTE

In preparing an outfit for the newcomer it is wise to provide for the necessities only, because of the fact that since the baby grows very fast the layette will soon have to be discarded; it is always possible to get more clothing after the baby is here and started on his little career. We offer the following list of essentials for the new born baby:

Slips 8 to 10 Skirts (flannel) 3 Shirts 3 Light-weight wool wrappers 2 Abdominal bands 3 to 5 Diapers (first size) 2 doz.

Diapers (third size) 2 doz.

Stockings, pairs 3 Booties, pairs 3 Nightgowns 7 Handling blankets 2 Silkaline puffs 2 Baby blankets, pair 1 Hair or cotton mattress 1 Basinet 1

BANDS AND SHIRTS

The binder should be made of an unhemmed strip of flannel six inches wide and twenty inches long, so that it goes around the abdomen once with a small overlap. This binder should be sewed on instead of being pinned, and serves the purpose of holding the dressings of the cord in place. It is usually worn from four to six weeks, when it is replaced by a silk and wool barrel-shaped band with shoulder straps and tabs at the bottom, both front and back, to which may be pinned the diaper.

This band is worn through the first three or four years to protect the abdomen from drafts and chilling, thus guarding against those intestinal disturbances which are caused by sudden weather changes.

There is great danger of having the bellyband too tight, and, in the early weeks, it is often the cause of great discomfort--often interfering with the normal expansion of the stomach at meal time.