ic last date stamped below 
 
 2 

 
 THE HEALTHY BABY
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO 
 DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED 
 
 LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. 
 
 TORONTO
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 THE CARE AND FEEDING OF INFANTS 
 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH 
 
 BY 
 
 ROGER H. DENNETT, M.D. 
 
 INSTRUCTOR IN DISEASES OF CHILDREN IN THE NEW 
 
 YORK POST-GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL; ASSISTANT 
 
 ATTENDING PHYSICIAN TO THE BABIES* WARDS IN 
 
 THE NEW YORK POST-GRADUATE HOSPITAL J 
 
 CHIEF OF CLINIC IN THE POST-GRADUATE 
 
 DISPENSARY FOR CHILDREN ; FELLOW OF 
 
 THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE 
 
 fforfe 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 1920 
 
 [ 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1912, 
 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 191*. 
 
 Xortooob \Bitss 
 
 J. 8. Cashing Co. Berwick <fc Smith Co. 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 

 
 tl 
 
 Defctcatfon 
 
 TO ALL CHILDREN AND ESPECIALLY 
 TO MY OWN CHILDREN 
 
 ALICE, NANCY, AND SALLY 
 
 WHO HAVE BEEN THE CHIEF INSPIRATION 
 
 IN MY STUDY OF CHILD WELFARE 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE author's chief reason for writing this 
 book was to make clear to the mother just how 
 to do best the ordinary everyday things that 
 every mother has to do for her child. He 
 believes that there is a definite need for a book, 
 which will describe in the minutest detail the 
 daily care of the baby. The description or 
 treatment of any but the simplest ailments has 
 purposely been left out, because a book of this 
 sort which attempts in any way to describe dis- 
 eases, does more harm than it does good. A 
 well-trained physician or a specialist in chil- 
 dren's diseases finds it difficult enough at times 
 to diagnose the different affections, and it only 
 confuses the mother or nurse to describe the 
 different diseases to her. 
 
 The chapter on feeding has purposely been 
 cut down, and all complicated formulas omitted. 
 Probably more harm has been done than can 
 possibly be estimated, by giving to mothers 
 sets of complicated formulae which she tries to 
 vii
 
 VU1 PREFACE 
 
 use herself. She experiments first with one 
 and then with another until she ruins her 
 baby's digestion. I describe the simplest kinds 
 of milk, water, and sugar mixtures, and if these 
 do not agree with the baby, I would most em- 
 phatically recommend seeking the physician's 
 help. Feeding bottle babies is one of the most 
 difficult things we have to deal with. 
 
 121 EAST 38TH STREET, 
 NEW YORK.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 PART I 
 DEVELOPMENT AND THE BODILY FUNCTIONS 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND .... 3 
 SLEEP . . . , * . . . .12 
 
 CRYING 17 
 
 APPETITE 20 
 
 VOMITING 24 
 
 THE BOWELS 28 
 
 PART II 
 HYGIENE AND TRAINING 
 
 <r CLOTHING . 41 
 
 > THE BATH 49 
 
 FRESH AIR .53 
 
 f EXERCISE ... 58 
 
 TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE . . . . . 62 
 
 DAILY ROUTINE . 68 
 
 HABITS . . , 71 
 

 
 X CONTENTS 
 
 PA11T III 
 COMMON AILMENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE SICK ROOM 79 
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ...... .81 
 
 FEVER 90 
 
 COLDS AND COUGHS . . . . .92 
 
 CROUP . .95 
 
 CONVULSIONS 98 
 
 ACCIDENTS 101 
 
 BED- WETTING ........ 109 
 
 WORMS .113 
 
 THE NERVOUS CHILD-. 115 
 
 PART IV 
 
 CARE OF THE SPECIAL ORGANS 
 
 THE THROAT 121 
 
 THE TEETH 124 
 
 THE EYES 130 
 
 THE EARS .132 
 
 THE SKIN ....;.... 134 
 
 THE HAIR 137 
 
 THE GENITAL ORGANS 139 
 
 PART V 
 FEEDING AND DIET 
 
 BREAST FEEDING 147 
 
 WEANING 155
 
 CONTENTS XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE BOTTLE AND NIPPLES 162 
 
 MILK 165 
 
 MIXING AND CARE OF THE FOOD .... 169 
 
 THE COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF THE FOOD . 172 
 
 FOOD FOR TRAVELING 182 
 
 THE DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAS .... 183 
 
 DIET FOR SICK CHILDREN 197 
 
 WATER 201 
 
 PART VI 
 LISTS AND TABLES 
 
 LIST FOR EXPECTANT MOTHER ..... 207 
 
 FOR THE BABY'S BASKET 207 
 
 CLOTHES 208 
 
 TABLE OF HEIGHT 208 
 
 TABLE OF WEIGHT ....... 209 
 
 NUMBER OF PULSE BEATS PER MINUTE . . . 209 
 
 NUMBER OF RESPIRATIONS PER MINUTE . . . 209 
 
 TABLE OF POISONS AND ANTIDOTES .... 210 
 
 MEMORANDUM .... ... 213
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 THE average mother has a keen sense of The Duties 
 duty toward her children, and it is only her hood 1 "* 
 lack of knowledge, when this duty is first 
 thrust upon her, that prevents her from bring- 
 ing up the baby in model fashion. In these 
 days of artificial living, it requires constant 
 watchfulness and hard work and devotion to 
 carry the child through infancy and childhood 
 in such a manner that he may reach adult life Success in 
 sound in body and in mind. The more normal dependent 
 
 the individual the better chance he has to sue- up n a ? 
 
 mal Start. 
 
 ceed in later life. The vast majority of abnor- 
 malities start in the early years. The baby 
 whose digestion is ruined by wrong feeding 
 may grow up to be a dyspeptic adult, who can 
 neither do his share of work in the world nor 
 receive his share of pleasure out of it. The 
 child whose adenoids are neglected not only 
 may have colds and catarrh for the rest of his 
 life, but he is less alert mentally and conse- 
 quently backward in his studies. Lack of suc- 
 xiii
 
 XIV INTRODUCTORY 
 
 cess in life is due, in many cases, to physical 
 defects that might have been avoided by an 
 intelligent bringing up. 
 
 The bowels, the skin, the hair, the teeth, the 
 habits, and all the functions, therefore, should 
 be carefully studied. 
 
 We should send our children out in life 
 equipped with the right kind of body, as well 
 as the right kind of mind. I realize fully that 
 a mother has other duties than these toward 
 her children. However, the mother who takes 
 care of her own children will find it less work 
 to do so in the proper modern way than did the 
 mother of former generations, who carried the 
 baby about in her arms while at work or rocked 
 the cradle while she sewed. The mother who 
 employs a nurse should devote some of her time 
 to the baby and should supervise all its care. 
 To do this, she must know how. It is bad pol- 
 icy to have a poor nurse and a good cook ; if a 
 choice must be made between the two, the 
 nurse should have the superior intelligence. 
 
 There are constantly being brought to me 
 children of all ages who are thin and flabby, or 
 who perhaps cry a good deal, or have one or 
 more signs of ill health which the mother either 
 has not observed or, observing, has thought were
 
 INTRODUCTORY XV 
 
 either common to all babies, or peculiar to her Signs of 
 
 Health, 
 own. It would, therefore, be well first to list 
 
 the things that denote good health, and later 
 to consider each in detail. Every well child of 
 any age should : 
 
 (1) Show progressive development of body 
 and mind. 
 
 (2) Gain constantly in weight, and have 
 solid flesh and well-shaped bones. 
 
 (3) Have the proper amount of restful sleep. 
 
 (4) Cry but little. 
 
 (5) Have a good appetite. 
 
 (6) Have well-regulated bowels. 
 
 (7) Have no vomiting or gas. 
 
 (8) Have a clear skin and good color. 
 
 If the baby does not come up to this stand- 
 ard, we may know that something is wrong, and 
 we must set ourselves the task of finding out 
 what that thing is. It is much easier to pre- 
 vent an illness than it is to cure one. With 
 this fact in mind this book is written.
 
 PART I 
 
 DEVELOPMENT AND THE BODILY 
 FUNCTIONS
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 THE CARE AND FEEDING OF INFANTS 
 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND 
 
 THE gradual awakening of the various 
 senses and the progressive development of 
 the common acts and functions of life have 
 been the same, generation after generation, 
 since civilization began. Each baby is much 
 like his predecessor, although we usually 
 believe our baby to be a little bit superior to 
 the average. Averages are hard to strike, importance 
 but it is important to have a standard so that NormaT* * 
 we may be warned early of any deviation Standard - 
 from the normal. We can correct such devia- 
 tions far more easily in the beginning. At 
 the same time no "forcing" should be used 
 to make baby come up to our standard, and 
 the nervous mother should not be in a con- 
 stant state of worry for fear her baby is back- 
 ward or deficient. 
 
 The first three months of his life, baby 
 doesn't notice much of anything. Loud 
 3
 
 4 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 noises disturb him, so we know that he hears. 
 A strong light makes him blink, or close his 
 eyes, so we know that he has some sight; 
 in fact, often his eyes will follow a light the 
 Natural De- se.cond or third week. He is three or four 
 during the months old before he discovers his hands 
 and be g ins to P la Y witn them. About this 
 time he learns to smile when we chuck him 
 under the chin, or make clicking noises with 
 our lips in the familiar manner in which we 
 are apt to address him. He can say goo! 
 goo! and make delightful little noises with 
 his throat, which grandma declares are 
 intended for her name. He holds his head 
 erect at four months, and sits alone with a 
 pillow at his back at six months ; at this age 
 also he knows his mother and is apt to dislike 
 strangers. He holds things in his hands 
 and puts them to his mouth, and now, most 
 wonderful of all, the first tooth may appear. 
 At eight or nine months he sits upon the floor 
 alone and possibly learns to creep. Some 
 babies never creep, however. 
 
 Up to this time there is not much danger 
 of urging him too fast. Of course, it is not 
 well to play with him too much nor to allow
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND 5 
 
 him to become excited. Mother, and 
 Father, too, wants to enjoy him while 
 he is so irresistible. However, he should not 
 be made to show off and do tricks upon every The Danger 
 occasion, and he should not be trotted out to e Baby 1 " 8 
 be played with and handed about for the Off -" 
 admiration of loving friends. He should not 
 be taken to parties or calling, nor do unneces- 
 sary traveling. 
 
 When it comes to walking, he must bide 
 his own time. He will walk when his bones 
 and muscles are strong enough, and if he 
 has been properly fed, we need not fear 
 bowlegs or knock-knee when he starts to 
 walk of his own accord, whatever the age. 
 As a matter of fact, the age of walking The Age of 
 
 . ,, A j. Walking. 
 
 is a very variable one. At nine or ten 
 months baby first realizes that his feet are 
 meant to stand upon, and if at a year 
 he is able to walk with support, he is doing 
 well. At eighteen months if he does not walk 
 by himself, he may be considered backward 
 and the cause should be looked into. Walk- 
 ing is, of course, a mental as well as physical 
 process. Baby is bound to have some tum- 
 bles, but he learns to take them philosophi-
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Delayed 
 Talking. 
 
 cally. In order that his walking may be un- 
 hampered, his diapers should be discarded 
 for drawers soon after he is a year old, for 
 if he has been properly trained, he will not 
 need them. The carriage of the body should 
 be erect, and as the child grows older, faulty 
 postures while standing or sitting should be 
 guarded against. 
 
 The power of speech is baby's next ac- 
 quisition. At a year he can say Mama and 
 Papa. Gradually he adds a few more proper 
 nouns to his vocabulary, then the names of 
 familiar objects ; laboriously he joins these 
 with verbs, and finally, at two years, he has 
 learned to express thoughts in simple lan- 
 guage. Children who talk readily should 
 not be stimulated too much. 
 
 Some children are very late in talking, par- 
 ticularly if they are not encouraged. They 
 make signs or point to the object of their 
 desires, and find it easier than learning to 
 talk. This is pure indolence on their part 
 and incidentally on the part of the mother. 
 Adenoids are a frequent cause of delayed 
 talking. If a child does not talk at two or 
 two and a half years of age, deafness or men-
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND 7 
 
 tal deficiency should at least be considered 
 as a possible cause of his backwardness. 
 
 Lisping, stuttering, and defective speech of Defective 
 all sorts, such as using one consonant for the peec ' 
 other, should be nipped in the bud. Such 
 defects are overcome by constantly requiring 
 the child to pronounce his words correctly. 
 He is made to repeat the word each time he 
 makes his mistake, which, of course, takes a 
 lot of time and patience. I occasionally see 
 children of four or five years of age who talk 
 so badly that no one but the parents can 
 understand what they say. Some children 
 with defective speech need a special training, 
 as well as an examination of the various 
 organs of speech to make sure that these are 
 not defective. In most of the children in 
 whom I notice defective speech, I find that 
 laziness is the reason for it. 
 
 The mental development of the child goes 
 forward by leaps and bounds. Every day 
 he learns something new, and his thoughts 
 should be guided in the proper channels. 
 He should be allowed all the independence of 
 thought and action that is compatible with 
 good discipline, in order that he may ac-
 
 8 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 stimu- quire originality and initiative. It is most 
 ^child's difficult to find the mean between constant 
 Activit* 1 narassm S an d scolding and "don'ts, " and 
 spoiling the child by allowing him to have 
 his own way in all things. Lest he become 
 a laggard in the world, his time should al- 
 ways be occupied, particularly at four or five 
 years of age when the simple entertainments 
 of babyhood cease to interest him. For 
 this reason, I approve of kindergarten for 
 children of the proper age and robust health, 
 provided it does not make them nervous or 
 delicate. They should, however, be taught to 
 entertain themselves some hours of the day. 
 Develop- While the mind has been developing, the 
 the^Body. body should have kept pace with it. Not 
 only has the weight been steadily increasing, 
 but the body has been lengthening out. It 
 is of very little importance to keep track of 
 the height, but a table will be appended for 
 reference. The extremities should grow in 
 proportion to the trunk and be well shaped. 
 The head should be round and symmetrical. 
 Any one-sidedness of the head usually denotes 
 an inclination to soft bones. Especial care 
 should be taken to lay the infant first on
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND 9 
 
 one side then upon the other. The fonta- TheFon- 
 nel, or bony opening in the top of the head, 
 is worthy of the mother's observation. 
 Widely open at birth, it begins to grow smaller 
 during the end of the first year and is entirely 
 closed at eighteen months or two years. 
 
 The teeth should come along on schedule 
 time, be well formed, and not become carious. 
 (See " Teeth.") The chest should be broad 
 and symmetrical. The abdomen is naturally The Abdo- 
 protuberant in early childhood, especially 
 if the child is fat. It is firm and hard like 
 the other muscles of the body. When the 
 baby is sick, mothers often discover for the 
 first time that the abdomen becomes hard 
 while he is crying. It should be so, but the 
 observation is made for the first time be- 
 cause she is worried. If the navel protrudes 
 while the child is crying, it should be attended 
 to at or ;e. 
 
 Baby has come into this world a very small Babies 
 bit of humanity. Every week he must grow Fat. 
 if he wants to be a man. Not only does he 
 grow in length, but it is his nature to be round 
 and plump, so that he must work hard if he 
 expects to keep fat while he is growing tall.
 
 10 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 HOW much How many times baby's mother has said 
 >U Baby to me, "Baby is not fat, but he is like his 
 Weigh? father in that." And then I explain that all 
 well babies are fat. When baby is born, he 
 weighs about seven pounds. He loses a few 
 ounces the first few days and then he starts 
 upon his journey. Each week he gains six 
 ounces, sometimes more, sometimes less, 
 until he is six months old, when he has 
 doubled his birth weight ; after that, he gains 
 more slowly, say four ounces a week until, 
 when he is a year old, he has trebled his birth 
 weight. Then he slows down still more, 
 gaining about five pounds each year until he 
 is eight or nine years old. Of course, even 
 well babies can't keep to the schedule all the 
 time. If baby falls by the wayside and 
 makes no gain for a week or two occasionally, 
 but is otherwise well, do not worry about 
 it he is only imitating his pre> ecessors. 
 Fat Babies However, his flesh must be solid and his 
 D Heaithy! muscles firm. Some fat babies are flabby 
 because they have had food that has made 
 them fat but has not built up the muscles 
 and bones. These are never strong babies, 
 and a serious illness is apt to go hard with
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BODY AND MIND 11 
 
 them. Other babies have misshapen heads 
 or chests, or large wrist bones, and these, too, 
 are caused by wrong food. 
 
 Even a novice can readily see the reason Keeping 
 for keeping watch of the baby's weight. It J 
 is the chief indicator of his normal progress. 
 It is not well to weigh the healthy baby more 
 than once a week, lest we become worried 
 unnecessarily. A chart or other record of 
 weight may be kept, but we must avoid over- 
 feeding just to make a good showing on the 
 chart. The baby is stripped before his bath 
 and before a feeding and put upon the scales. 
 The best scales are the ordinary grocer's The Best 
 scales with the bar divided in ounces, along use. 68 
 which slides the hanging weights, and pro- 
 vided with additional weights up to twenty- 
 five .pounds. There should be a flat plat- 
 form at one end, upon which is placed the 
 scoop that comes with the scales, or a basket 
 made especially for weighing babies, and pur- 
 chasable at any department or hardware store. 
 The dial or spring scales, such as are ordinarily 
 sold for weighing babies, are useless. When 
 
 the baby kicks, the dial bobs about and makes 
 
 * 
 
 it difficult to get an accurate reading.
 
 12 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 After the first year and especially during 
 the second year, there should be a weighing 
 once in two or three months to enable us to 
 keep an eye on the nutrition. 
 
 SLEEP 
 
 The Early IT has been truly said that a baby's early 
 life is made up of sleeping and eating. As 
 soon as the excitement of his entrance into 
 this world subsides, he promptly goes to 
 sleep. When hunger awakens him, he takes 
 his food and as soon as he has eaten enough, 
 he goes to sleep again. This monotonous 
 existence is interrupted usually twice a day, 
 once when he has his bath and once when he 
 indulges in a little exercise, say of an hour 
 or so, which he takes in the form of crying, 
 and to which he is entitled. Thus he sleeps 
 twenty-two hours out of every twenty-four 
 during the first two or three months. And 
 
 "Shall we now comes the question, Shall we awaken 
 him for his food? The answer (with res- 
 ervations) is "No." I am aware that au- 
 thorities have long told us to awaken our 
 babies every two hours to feed them, and I 
 am also sure that this rule has caused many
 
 SLEEP 13 
 
 a pain and sleepless hour, and eventually 
 a ruined digestion. The healthy, well-fed 
 
 babe, when the food is right, awakens after 
 
 
 
 three hours sleep. Occasionally he awakens 
 in two and one half, or even two hours, when 
 he should be persuaded to wait another hour, 
 or half hour, as a matter of discipline in regu- 
 larity. If this occurs too often, we may as- 
 sume that his food is insufficient either in 
 quantity or strength, and the remedy is to 
 increase the quantity or strength. If this 
 is impossible, as it sometimes is with the 
 breast-fed child, the two-and-one-half or 
 two-hour intervals should be adopted, but 
 no healthy baby should be fed oftener than 
 once in two hours. However, occasionally 
 we see babies turn night into day by awaken- 
 ing at two- or three-hour intervals during 
 the night and sleeping from four to six hours 
 without eating in the daytime. These babies 
 may be awakened for their food in the day- 
 time at regular intervals, but more for the 
 comfort of the mothers or nurses than for 
 that of the baby. 
 
 After the third month, baby begins to take The Q 
 more interest in life, and stays awake look-
 
 14 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 ing at his hands or watching his neighbors 
 a little longer each day, until at six months 
 he sleeps twelve hours at night, from six to 
 six, and has a two-hour nap both in the morn- 
 ing and in the afternoon. If he sleeps too 
 late in the afternoon, he won't go to sleep 
 promptly at six, as he should, so make the 
 afternoon nap an early one, awaking him 
 at three. During the first half of the second 
 year we find he won't take two naps a day, 
 or if he does, he won't sleep well at night, so 
 we give up one or the other, preferably the 
 afternoon nap. One nap a day is continued 
 until the fourth or fifth year. The naps, 
 especially during the early months, may be 
 Seeping taken out of doors in the baby carriage or on 
 Doorf the pi azza r even on the fire escape when 
 this is the best we can afford. It seems un- 
 necessary to say that sleeping out of doors is 
 not harmful. 
 
 Amount of And now we must be firm with the rule of 
 necessary to bed at six, for many temptations come up 
 to prevent it. Twelve hours sleep is the 
 right of every child until seven years of age, 
 ten hours until ten or twelve years. Many 
 a pale, washed-out looking child of this age
 
 SLEEP 15 
 
 owes his ill health to lack of sleep. However, 
 
 the elder child usually regulates the amount 
 
 of sleep himself if he has half a chance. 
 
 Mothers who complain that their children 
 
 sleep late in the morning allow them to stay 
 
 up late at night. Oftentimes the child who 
 
 awakens early in the morning has had too 
 
 long a nap in the daytime. There is no 
 
 excuse for any child arousing the entire 
 
 household at four or five in the morni.ig, if 
 
 the hours are carefully regulated. Habit is 
 
 an important factor in sleep. Baby mustn't 
 
 be allowed to go to sleep with the nipple in 
 
 his mouth. He should finish his nursing 
 
 and then be put in his own bed, so that he 
 
 may acquire the habit of going to sleep of 
 
 his own accord. He should never be rocked 
 
 to sleep, or sleep in a lighted room, or have 
 
 any one remain with him while he is going 
 
 to sleep. The mother should not form the 
 
 habit of going into his room whenever he Babies who 
 
 cries. I have known mothers whose custom 
 
 it was to spend the whole evening listening 
 
 for a sound from the nursery. Baby cries 
 
 and mother runs to him and stays with him 
 
 until he goes to sleep again. This occurs
 
 16 THE HEALTHY BAB? 
 
 more and more frequently until the child has 
 become a restless sleeper and often gets so 
 he awakens every hour or two throughout 
 the night. The remedy is to stay out of 
 the baby's room after he is once made com- 
 fortable for the night, and after we are sure 
 that nothing is wrong. If he has already 
 formed such a habit, we must let him "cry 
 it out" for a few nights and he will soon 
 understand that he must sleep after he has 
 been put to bed. Another bad habit is 
 established when we tiptoe about the house 
 and speak in whispers lest we wake the baby. 
 It is far better for him to learn to sleep 
 through the ordinary noises that legitimately 
 exist in the household than it is to accustom 
 him to absolute quiet, for then even a slight 
 noise awakens him. At the same time the 
 adult members of the family rarely enjoy a 
 normal evening. Still another bad habit is 
 established when baby is pushed about in 
 the baby carriage in order to get him to sleep. 
 This is, of course, the same as rocking him 
 Every to sleep. Baby should sleep alone, in fact 
 should a child of any age ought to have a separate 
 Alone! bed where it is possible. It is best to have a
 
 CRYING 17 
 
 firm hair mattress and no pillow. In the 
 early months he should be laid first upon 
 one side then upon the other. 
 
 The windows should be wide open top Fresh Air at 
 and bottom, winter and summer, after the 
 first few weeks, although it is well to avoid 
 a direct draught. Warm night clothing, 
 such as I will describe when I speak of 
 "Clothing," is, of course, necessary. 
 
 At any age if the sleep is not restful and 
 continuous, something is wrong and the 
 physician should be consulted. 
 
 CRYING 
 
 CAN you tell what is the matter with baby 
 when he cries ? Usually a children's special- 
 ist can, but that is something I cannot im- 
 part to you. When you have heard him cry 
 many times, you will know. There is the 
 fretful cry of the baby who is discontented The Mean- 
 with his lot. He is wet, or he is hot, or un- 
 
 comfortably dressed, or hungry. There is Cry< 
 the angry cry, the outburst of disappoint- 
 ment when he finds this world is not the 
 pleasant place he thought it to be, and which 
 is solaced by attention. There is the cry
 
 18 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 of pain, the unceasing cry which no amount 
 of attention or distraction can alleviate. 
 There is the hoarse cry of the child who has 
 cried a great deal, or the throaty cry of the 
 child suffering with some throat affection. 
 There is the low moaning cry of the very sick 
 child, which breaks your heart to hear. 
 There is even the cry indicative of certain 
 diseases, such as the "cephalic cry" of 
 meningitis and other brain conditions, and 
 the wild night cry with which the child with 
 bone tuberculosis starts out of his sleep. 
 Normal | In the early months a certain amount of 
 
 A ciying f crvm S is gd f r a baby; it exercises his 
 lungs and muscles and helps the circulation. 
 As David Harum says; ^Some fleas is good 
 for a dog. It keeps him from broodin' on 
 bein' a dog." However, one or two hours 
 of crying a day is sufficient. When there is 
 much more than that, the cause should be 
 investigated. 
 
 Hunger or Perhaps the greatest difficulty is to dis- 
 tinguish between the cry caused by hunger 
 and that caused by colic, or indigestion. 
 The simplest indicators are the stools, the 
 amount of gas expelled, and the vomiting.
 
 CRYING 19 
 
 If the stools are a good yellow color, smooth 
 and well digested, containing no mucus nor 
 curds, and if there is no vomiting and no 
 gas expelled, we may suspect that the trouble 
 does not lie with the digestive tract. Hun- 
 ger is more apt to cause crying just before 
 the feeding is due, the length of time varying 
 with the degree of hunger. A babe very 
 much underfed may cry most of the time, be- 
 cause his hunger is never satisfied even im- 
 mediately after a feeding. 
 
 Baby should not be allowed to get in the The 
 habit of crying if he is well. Some mothers crying 
 have become so bound to routine that they 
 do not change it as baby grows older, and 
 he cries more and more as the system ap- 
 peals to him less and less. For instance, 
 one mother had adopted the routine of put- 
 ting her baby out of doors in the carriage 
 early in the morning and of leaving him by 
 himself, and going to him only when it was 
 time to feed or change him. This was a 
 very proper routine for the first months, but 
 when he was seven months of age, she came 
 to me to find out why he cried so much. It 
 was, of course, because he was getting too old
 
 20 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 to sleep all day and all night, too. She was 
 making a fussy baby of him through constant 
 discontent and crying. Older children also 
 form the habit of crying at the slightest provo- 
 cation. They need tactful treatment to get 
 them out of it. However, habitual crying 
 is far more frequently due to errors in diet 
 in a child of any age than to all the other 
 causes put together. Next in the order of 
 frequency comes the spoiled child, who needs 
 different parents more than anything else. 
 
 Earache and the open safety pin are causes 
 so much dwelt upon that even the father 
 can make that diagnosis. 
 
 APPETITE 
 
 Poor BABY is a hungry creature. If he is not, 
 in infants 6 something is wrong. Like a horse, he will 
 always eat. If he awakens before his feeding 
 time, his first thought is to eat. If he 
 awakens at night, he cries until he is fed. 
 When he is sick and fretful, he nurses still 
 oftener (if you let him). In his early weeks 
 it is the only form of recreation he has. It 
 is good for baby to be hungry, but, as with 
 the horse, our higher intelligence must, to a
 
 APPETITE 21 
 
 certain extent, regulate his feeding times and 
 the food itself so that his appetite will re- 
 main good. If a horse gets into the oat bin, 
 he eats until he is sick. If baby is allowed 
 to eat whenever he cries, he eats until he is 
 sick, finally loosing his appetite. When an 
 infant refuses his bottle or the breast, we 
 know (unless he has some definite illness) 
 that we have been feeding him too often or 
 too much, or that some element of the food 
 is too strong ; weaken the food or lengthen 
 the intervals until he is hungry. Nothing 
 will ruin baby's appetite or digestion more 
 quickly than nursing three or four times 
 during the night, and frequently breast-fed 
 children are allowed to lie at the breast all 
 night. 
 
 Infants who are taken acutely ill usually The Sick 
 stop eating at once of their own accord. Appetites. 
 They show greater wisdom than does the 
 mother who tries to force the child to eat 
 when his stomach is in no condition to 
 digest food. This voluntary starvation is 
 the very best thing at the beginning of any 
 illness, especially where there is fever. Sick 
 children are often thirsty, as well as restless,
 
 22 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 so they sometimes nurse or drink milk to 
 quench their thirst when their digestion will 
 not take care of any nourishment. 
 
 Of course, some infants are too hungry. 
 They cry as soon as the bottle or breast is 
 taken away, and often keep it up until the 
 next feeding. This is because the food is 
 insufficient, or at any rate because there is 
 something wrong with it. Many a mother 
 has mistaken hunger for colic. 
 LOSS of Older children also should be hungry when 
 m older it is time to eat. I think, perhaps, I 
 en ' have more difficulty with their appetites 
 than I do with the babies', for we have to 
 control both mother and child after infancy, 
 while the baby always has to do as the mother 
 wills. Sweets and eating between meals 
 are the most frequent causes of lack of appe- 
 tite in older children, and I am more and 
 more firmly convinced that the minimum 
 quantity of sweets is best for the child. 
 Children with very poor appetites should 
 be denied sweets altogether, for a time at 
 least. Eating between meals is absolutely 
 prohibited with the exception of certain 
 fruits. Like the baby, the older child may
 
 APPETITE 23 
 
 have a poor appetite because his diet is 
 wrong. 
 
 A hearty child has no right to be finical 
 about his eating. He should eat whatever 
 is put before him, and be glad to, provided 
 it is the proper food. A certain amount of 
 firmness on the part of the mother is all that 
 is necessary. If he refuses the food he should 
 eat, let him go hungry until the next meal. 
 Why should we neglect to educate our chil- 
 dren to eat the proper food and teach them 
 such accomplishments as German and music ? 
 
 Too much monotony in the food of course variety 
 spoils the relish; the greediness with which Q^ ntit 
 a child will devour a different kind of bread fFood - 
 is pathetic. 
 
 "Can a child eat too much sensible food ?" 
 is a question I sometimes hear. Occasionally 
 I have seen children who had to have the 
 amount of good food limited, but usually 
 a child who eats too much in bulk has some 
 element of the food in insufficient quantity. 
 
 Many mothers will be surprised to hear 
 that a child may drink too much milk. If 
 there is any one article of diet that is overesti- 
 mated, it is milk. Most mothers are imbued
 
 24 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 with the idea that if their children will 
 Value of drink milk,.they are well fed. Milk is a good 
 food, but, after the first year, must not be 
 given to the exclusion of other foods. Time 
 and time again I have children brought to 
 me who do not eat because they drink one 
 to two quarts of milk a day. It is often 
 necessary to take away the milk altogether, 
 especially during the second year, in order 
 to get the child hungry enough to eat other 
 things. 
 
 Diet both in infants and children is a sub- 
 ject which I will take up by itself. 
 
 VOMITING 
 
 Persistent MEDICALLY there is a distinction between 
 lilU Q { vomiting and regurgitation, but it is difficult 
 infants. ^ o (.gjj w h ere one begins and the other leaves 
 off. It is a fact, however, that a perfectly 
 well baby overflows just after he has nursed, 
 and this is supposed to be regurgitation. It 
 is simply because he has taken a little more 
 than his stomach can hold, and the surplus 
 comes up. Children vomit very easily. 
 This is a fortunate provision of nature, be- 
 cause they have not the discretion about
 
 VOMITING 25 
 
 eating that adults are supposed to have. 
 However, nursing babies should not vomit 
 much after the feeding, and it is particularly 
 significant of ill health if the milk makes its 
 appearance continuously or just before an- 
 other feeding is due. Perhaps baby is nurs- 
 ing too often or too many times at night, or 
 the milk comes too fast, or perhaps he is 
 jostled about too much after nursing. When 
 the stomach is full, baby should be kept 
 quiet, for if he is trotted about or turned up- 
 side down, up comes the food. Tight belly- 
 bands are also a frequent cause of vomiting ; 
 in fact, any detail of baby's daily existence 
 should be looked into when the vomiting is 
 persistent. These things are as true of the 
 bottle-fed baby as of the breast-fed. With 
 the former, however, the food is the chief 
 source of the trouble, when baby vomits 
 habitually. 
 
 Sudden or acute vomiting in the previously sudden or 
 healthy child means the beginning of almost vomiting 
 anything. All acute illnesses of childhood 
 - pneumonia, scarlet fever, or what not - 
 may begin with vomiting. If I wanted to 
 take a chance, however, I should say it was
 
 26 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 stomach upset the child had overloaded 
 his stomach or eaten some bad food, for 
 this is the cause in the vast majority of 
 children with acute vomiting. It is usu- 
 ally accompanied by fever, sometimes by 
 diarrhea. 
 
 "stomach When children have " stomach attacks" 
 decider a ^ intervals of a month or two, there will be 
 
 Children. f oun( j SO me error in their diet to account for 
 it and that error should be sought and rem- 
 edied. These attacks should not be con- 
 sidered unavoidable incidents in a child's 
 life. How often do I hear a mother say, 
 "John has been perfectly well all his life, 
 but, of course, he has one of his vomiting 
 spells every once in a while." 
 
 The treatment of acute vomiting is simple. 
 Immediately stop all food, even the breast 
 (and in older children, water also), where it 
 is persistently rejected. Calomel is at once 
 given in the method that I have described 
 
 Treatment under "Diarrhea." Castor oil is not as 
 
 Vomiting! gd m cases of vomiting as calomel, because 
 it is less apt to be retained and thus its effect 
 is spoiled. However, if castor oil is given 
 and retained, it acts more quickly. If it is
 
 VOMITING 27 
 
 vomited, the calomel should be started at 
 once. Citrate of magnesia, as ordinarily 
 put up by the druggist, is sweet and sirupy 
 and should not be used in these particular 
 cases. One level teaspoonful of good cooking 
 soda in one glassful of water, to be sipped at 
 intervals, is helpful in the vomiting of older 
 children. If the child continues to vomit 
 after twelve hours, he needs the physician's 
 aid. 
 
 Bile in the vomitus (a watery fluid stained 
 green or yellow) always inspires the mother 
 with fear. It simply means that the food has 
 all been cleared out of the stomach and that 
 the vomiting has continued until the stomach 
 has become irritable, the bile flowing back 
 into the stomach. Not until the vomiting 
 has ceased entirely for a number of hours 
 and water is retained, should food be given. 
 Bottle babies should first be started on a 
 very weak food. Older children may have 
 two or three tablespoonfuls of hot clear 
 broth, free of fat, or bouillon, to begin with. 
 Later, other foods are gradually added to 
 the diet. Milk especially should be avoided 
 for a few days.
 
 28 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 THE BOWELS 
 
 BABY'S bowels have to be watched from 
 the time he is a helpless infant until he is 
 old enough to have a care of them himself. 
 He must grow up with the knowledge that 
 his bowels perform one of the most important 
 functions of the body and it is a part of his 
 training to learn to take care of them. 
 Normal During the first three or four days the 
 mental movements are black and sticky, two to four 
 * fed B BSb in number. Then, as the food begins to be 
 taken and digested, they become yellow and 
 more solid and should be one to four in num- 
 ber daily. At this time they occasionally 
 remain scanty and even become green and 
 thin for a week or so. This is because the 
 milk is not sufficient to make good-sized 
 solid stools, although the stools may be fre- 
 quent. Usually the milk increases by the 
 end of the second week, so there is no occa- 
 sion to worry. And now the stools change 
 according to the food baby is taking. If he 
 is breast-fed, they should become light yellow, 
 about the consistency of mush, and two to 
 four a day. A few weeks later one a day will
 
 THE BOWELS 29 
 
 answer. I would caution mothers not to 
 be too much worried about the number of 
 the breast-fed baby's stools when he is sleep- 
 ing well and everything else seems right, es- 
 pecially if he gains in weight. 
 
 The bottle-fed baby should be under the The 
 care of the physician during the first weeks, BabVs e 
 as the great majority of sick babies owe their Stools - 
 ill health to the poor start they get in the 
 early weeks. However, if properly fed, the 
 bowels of the bottle-fed baby are not apt to 
 move as often as those of the breast-fed child. 
 One stool a day is sufficient, and even if there 
 is only one stool in forty-eight hours, it is 
 better to let them go that length of time 
 rather than to irritate the bowels daily with 
 cathartics and enemas and suppositories. 
 The food can be changed gradually so that 
 the bowels will move of their own accord 
 every day. . The bottle-fed baby also has a 
 larger and more bulky stool, lighter in color, 
 and about the consistency of a firm ointment 
 or cold cream, so that it holds its shape in the 
 diaper. It should be smooth and uniform. 
 Any curds (white lumps like cheese) or mucus 
 (glistening, slimy, like phlegm) show that
 
 30 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the food is not being well digested in the 
 bowels, where most of the infant's digestion 
 takes place. Usually this is a sign of diarrhea. 
 Training When baby reaches the age of four months, 
 Regu ^ ne is strong and well, we begin to train him 
 Habits. ^. Q nave stools at regular intervals. It is 
 surprising how soon the little things learn to 
 use the vessel. At stated times each day 
 (once or twice, according to his previous 
 habits) he is placed upon a small infant's 
 chamber, which is comfortable if it exactly 
 fits the buttocks. This may be held in the 
 lap in order to support his back. He soon 
 learns to grunt and strain whenever he is 
 placed upon it, and the habit is quickly es- 
 tablished. When he gets strong enough to 
 sit up by himself, he must have a low com- 
 fortable chair which allows the feet to rest 
 upon the floor. The chair should have a 
 rubber ring which can be taken off and 
 cleaned. This may be bought at any chil- 
 dren's store. It is a most pernicious habit to 
 allow the adult chamber to be used, because 
 its large size tends to let the organs become 
 displaced. 
 
 And finally, as he grows still older and has
 
 THE BOWELS 31 
 
 three meals a day, he must learn that he 
 must go to stool at the same time each day 
 (preferably right after breakfast) and stay 
 there until his bowels have moved. In this 
 way a habit is established which is carried 
 through life. 
 
 Constipation has many causes. In breast- Constipa- 
 fed children it is usually due to constipation Breast-fed 
 of the mother or to the mother's diet or to Infants - 
 irregular nursing. These things we will con- 
 sider under " Breast Feeding." If the con- 
 stipation continues after mother's diet is 
 corrected and her bowels regulated, it is far 
 wiser to consult a physician than to try sweet 
 oil and cream and various other expedients 
 which require skilled supervision. It often 
 happens, if oil is used, that it is just the wrong 
 thing if the fault lies in a milk already too 
 rich in fat. 
 
 The bottle-fed baby is constipated also Constipa- 
 because of his food. The most usual errors Bottle-fed 
 of diet are : - Infants - 
 
 1. Too high a fat (when top milk or cream 
 is used). 
 
 2. Food of insufficient quantity or strength 
 (scanty stools).
 
 32 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 3. Not enough sugar. 
 
 4. Boiling the milk. 
 
 5. Weak, sickly babies are often consti- 
 pated because they have not enough strength 
 and muscular tone to have an evacuation. 
 
 One can readily see how wrong it is to 
 give cathartics every day without remedying 
 the cause, when the child's nutrition and 
 growth may suffer from the error in diet 
 which has caused the constipation. Hav- 
 ing decided which of the above five causes 
 gives rise to the constipation, changes in the 
 food should be made accordingly. Tem- 
 porarily, however, milk of magnesia may 
 be used until the food is properly regulated, 
 one teaspoonful one to six times a day in the 
 bottle or just before the breast feeding. 
 After six months of age, the fruit juices and 
 raw scraped apple, such as I describe in the 
 diet list, are useful. 
 
 Causes of Older children are constipated because : 
 ^'tfonfa 1- They have not been taught to go regu- 
 ChiidreiT l ar ly * stool, and they are too busy at play 
 when they have the inclination to go. 
 
 2. The toilet arrangements are not com- 
 fortable. Often the feet hang dangling while
 
 THE BOWELS 33 
 
 they sit upon the adult water-closet, or the 
 seat is too large. 
 
 3. During the second and third years 
 particularly, too much milk is often given. 
 It is sometimes necessary to take milk out 
 of the diet entirely if the constipation stub- 
 bornly resists dietetic treatment. 
 
 4. The food may be too concentrated. 
 The child has not learned to like vegetables 
 or the coarser breads and cereals, which 
 should be given in large quantities to con- 
 stipated children. A diet list for consti- 
 pated children will be given later. 
 
 5. Fruits are not given in sufficient quan- 
 tities, for they are especially valuable addi- 
 tions to the diet. By this I do not mean a 
 little orange juice at breakfast. Give the 
 child all the fruit he will eat three times a 
 day, preferably between meals, until the con- 
 stipation is overcome. 
 
 6. There may rarely be some abnormal 
 condition about the rectum, such as a fissure, 
 hemorrhoids, polypus, or prolapse, which 
 needs medical attention. 
 
 Massage of the abdomen is a very valuable Massage 
 adjunct in the treatment of constipation ;
 
 34 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 it consists in very gently stroking the abdo- 
 men with the tips of the fingers, first upward 
 on the right side, then across from right to 
 left in the upper part of the abdomen, then 
 downward on the left side. This is followed 
 by a general light and careful kneading of 
 the whole abdomen. Do not use too much 
 strength. Never massage the abdomen im- 
 mediately after feeding. 
 
 Principal Diarrhea is more to be dreaded in in- 
 Dferrhea. f anc y than almost any other illness. In the 
 large cities, during the summer months, 
 more babies die of diarrhea than of scarlet 
 fever, diphtheria, typhoid fever, measles, 
 and whooping cough combined. Diarrhea, 
 therefore, should be treated in the beginning. 
 In infancy there are but two principal causes 
 of diarrhea unclean milk and the wrong 
 food. 
 
 Diarrhea Unclean milk may come from improperly 
 
 Unclean managed dairies or from contamination in 
 
 MQk - the home between the time it is delivered 
 
 and the time it is consumed by the baby. 
 
 Fortunately the best milk in the world may 
 
 be had in New York City and in all of the 
 
 large American cities where certified milk
 
 THE BOWELS 35 
 
 is available. It is delivered in a clean bottle 
 packed in ice, and if kept cold and clean un- 
 til the baby gets it, he will not be poisoned 
 by it. Cleanliness, rapid cooling, and keeping 
 it cool is the whole secret of good milk. This 
 can be accomplished on the farm when certi- 
 fied milk is not within our reach. Babies' 
 bottles and nipples and everything the milk 
 comes in contact with should be kept scru- 
 pulously clean. 
 
 Improper feeding even of clean milk often Diarrhea 
 results in diarrhea. Diarrhea and vomit- p r r oper 
 ing are conservative processes of nature which Feedmg - 
 the baby automatically performs, to get rid 
 of that which our minds have been deficient 
 in rejecting. Overfeeding is perhaps the most 
 frequent kind of improper feeding. It is as 
 fascinating as a game to watch the weight of 
 a baby go up each week. Therefore we must 
 have a care not to increase the strength of 
 the food too fast in our anxiety to increase the 
 weight. Too frequent feedings also cause 
 diarrhea. During the hot weather a baby 
 will not digest as much food as he will in the 
 winter months. He should be kept hungry 
 and perhaps it will be necessary to cut down
 
 36 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the strength of the food while the weather 
 is very hot. The baby will also be less in- 
 clined to have diarrhea if he is not too 
 warmly clothed and if he has plenty of fresh 
 air. 
 
 The The "second summer" is a most dreaded 
 "Second period in the minds of most mothers and 
 
 Summer." wn y ? j^ j s because baby has reached the 
 age when he wants to eat everything he sees, 
 and mother allows him to do so or doesn't 
 take pains to prevent him, that he gets up a 
 diarrhea. The second summer should be, 
 however, and is the healthiest part of the 
 child's life, provided his diet is right. To be 
 sure he may be cutting some teeth at this 
 time, but if he is kept cool and comfortable 
 and is properly fed, he is not very liable to a 
 diarrhea from teething. I must admit that 
 he requires more care when he is cutting his 
 teeth in the summer, and that there are 
 children who have a tendency toward loose 
 bowels when the teeth are coming through, 
 but careful supervision will tend to avoid 
 much difficulty. 
 Treatment All I have said has been in the way of pre- 
 
 Dian-hea. vention of diarrhea which is by far the most
 
 THE BOWELS 37 
 
 important side of the subject. What about 
 the child who has actually started with diar- 
 rhea? The moment the disorder begins is 
 the time to start treatment. Stop all milk 
 or food of any kind at once. Even the breast 
 should be discontinued for at least twelve 
 hours in nursing babies. Give a cathartic, 
 either castor oil o* calomel -^Q to I grain 
 every half hour until one to two grains 
 is given, according to the age. Calomel 
 is better when there is vomiting, and a 
 large dose of castor oil is better than a small 
 one. During the first few months a tea- 
 spoonful will be sufficient, but after that 
 a tablespoonful is required to do the work 
 well. If the castor oil is vomited, start the 
 calomel. 
 
 Do not give anything else by mouth but 
 water, and water should be limited or denied 
 if there is much vomiting; otherwise, it should 
 be given plentifully. If the child has much 
 fever or if the diarrhea has not stopped in 
 twelve to twenty-four hours, a physician's 
 services will be required. Many a long ill- 
 ness has been prevented by this energetic 
 treatment in the beginning.
 
 PART II 
 HYGIENE AND TRAINING
 

 
 CLOTHING 
 
 THERE is one invariable rule in dressing TheSen- 
 a baby always make him comfortable. SSsed 
 There is no more necessity of wrapping him Baby - 
 round and round with pinning blankets than 
 there is of binding his feet as the Japanese 
 do' We have been hampered long enough 
 in our dress by custom and tradition, but 
 fortunately we are now dressing our babies 
 in a sensible manner. When the baby is 
 entirely dressed, he has on a belly-band, a 
 shirt, a flannel skirt, a soft sheer underskirt, 
 a simple dress or slip, socks,. and diapers. 
 
 The belly-band serves 'Wo purposes - - The Beiiy- 
 it supports the abdomen in the very young band- 
 infant and it protects the bowels from changes 
 in temperature. Improperly used, it is a 
 source of discomfort and even positive harm. 
 As soon as the babe becomes very active, 
 the pinned belly-band works up under the 
 arms where it restricts 'the breathing rather 
 than protects the abdomen. The belly- 
 band should be made of an unhemmed strip 
 of soft white flannel, eight inches wide and 
 eighteen inches long, so that it goes around 
 41
 
 42 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the abdomen once. It may be pinned firmly, 
 but not too tightly, with five small safety 
 pins. It is not necessary to sew it on the 
 child as is the fad at the present time. It 
 should be discarded at eight weeks of age 
 (if the child is strong and well) and a loose 
 knitted band with shoulder straps substituted 
 for it. The knitted band should be pinned ^o 
 the diapers at the bottom. Three thicknesses 
 are commonly sold, the medium silk and wool 
 being the best. It should be worn throughout 
 tjie first year. 
 
 The shirt, coming next to the baby's deli- 
 cate skin, should be of soft texture. The 
 medium grade of silk and wool is preferable, 
 or a cotton shirt may be used. It should fit 
 the body closely enough to eliminate wrinkles, 
 which are a source of discomfort in any article 
 of baby's clothing. Heavy rough woolen 
 underclothes are unnecessary and positively 
 harmful at any age. 
 
 The The flannel skirt, which nowadays takes 
 kirt. the place of the uncomfortable pinning blan- 
 ket, is made with straps which pin over the 
 shoulders (one back and front for each shoul- 
 der). It should be made of soft white flannel
 
 CLOTHING 43 
 
 and be twenty-six inches long. The white 
 skirt which goes over this is not a necessity, 
 but a luxury for dressy occasions. It should, 
 of course, hang from the shoulders. 
 
 The dress, or slip, twenty-seven inches in The Dress, 
 length,.,should be simple, but no matter how 
 elaborate it is, it should have no lace about 
 the neck to cause irritation of the skin. I 
 have seen bad cases of eczema started in this 
 way. The neck should not be tight and it is 
 best tied with a tape in the back, rather than 
 fastened with pins or buttons for the baby to 
 lie upon. Sheer batiste or nainsook is the 
 best material both for the underskirt and 
 for the outer slip. The stockinette night- 
 gowns are very nice and may be worn night 
 and day in the early months, if we do not 
 care to be dressy. 
 
 A jacket, as mentioned below, may be 
 worn on cool days after the child is old enough 
 to sit up. Socks are worn in winter, but /- 
 never heavy woolen ones. They should be 
 pinned to the diapers and not tied on. 
 
 The diaper problem is an important one, The 
 especially in the city apartment where baby's Probfem. 
 laundry has to be done up every day in a
 
 44 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 small space. Cheesecloth diapers are the 
 nicest for the little baby. They are soft and 
 easily dried. They are cut a yard square 
 and hemmed. When folded cornerwise three 
 times, making eight thicknesses, they are 
 about the right size. The stork diaper may 
 be used in addition to these where two diapers 
 are necessary. These stork diapers are made 
 of material which is like thick Turkish towel- 
 ing, and they come in different-sizes which are 
 Rubber three-cornered in shape. They should not be 
 confused with the diapers made of a rubber 
 sheeting which bears the same name. The 
 latter should never be worn, since they cause 
 irritation about the buttocks, as well as being 
 a source of great discomfort. As the child 
 gets older, the cotton bird's-eye diaper may 
 be used together with the larger sized stork. 
 The diapers should be changed as soon as 
 the baby has wet them, always before a nurs- 
 ing, although it is not advisable to waken 
 him just to change them. Soiled or wet 
 diapers should be put immediately into a 
 covered enamel pail, kept exclusively for 
 that purpose, and washed out each morning. 
 Under no circumstances should a diaper be
 
 CLOTHING 45 
 
 used twice without washing. After the first 
 year, diapers should be discarded for drawers 
 and waists. Rompers should not be worn 
 until baby has learned to keep himself dry 
 in the daytime. 
 
 Blankets seem almost a part of the baby, Biankete. 
 they are so numerous where he abides. 
 While sleeping, the number of blankets 
 necessary should be judged by the tempera- 
 ture of the room. When we have baby in 
 our arms, one blanket is well in winter, but 
 after he is old enough to sit up, the jacket 
 should be substituted for it. Winding the 
 blanKet around him is unnecessary and un- 
 comfortable even when he is out in his car- 
 riage. In fact I have seen temporary par- 
 alysis of the arm from pressure of the tightly 
 wound blanket. 
 
 In putting on baby's clothes he should lie Changing 
 flat upon the nurse's lap, and the clothes ciothes. y ' 
 should be drawn over the feet and not over the 
 head. Baby's clothes should, of course, be 
 changed throughout once each day at the 
 time of his bath. During the first four 
 months it is not necessary to change to night 
 clothes at night, except for dressy babies
 
 46 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 who wear fancy gowns in the daytime. 
 Night and day are very much alike to him. 
 At four months short clothes may be worn. 
 The one thing above all others that I have 
 to talk to my patients the most about is 
 overdressing. Not only are mothers apt to 
 bundle up their babies too much, but their 
 older children, as well. During the hot 
 weather baby should be kept cool. On hot 
 The days the flannel skirt and socks and even the 
 Dressing shirt should come off, provided the baby is 
 s t ron g an d doing well. Any baby who per- 
 spires is dressed too warmly. This is the 
 thing that governs me in dressing my baoies. 
 It is perfectly easy to slip on a flannel skirt 
 when a cool day comes, for it does no harm 
 to change the thickness of the clothing from 
 day to day as the weather changes. Babies 
 who are too warmly dressed do not digest 
 their food as well and are apt to vomit or 
 have loose bowels when the hot days come. 
 Nor is it advisable to have too warm cloth- 
 ing in the house in the winter. Remember 
 that the average house or steam-heated apart- 
 ment is 70 or even 80 in temperature, which 
 would be considered a warm day in summer.
 
 CLOTHING 47 
 
 In older children especially is this error apt How to 
 to occur. The average mother has such a order 
 fear of her child's catching cold that she gets ? h co[j n 
 the warmest, thickest underclothes she can Weather, 
 buy. The child is overheated in the house 
 and then goes out with a skin which is moist 
 and "coddled," so that it does not react to 
 different temperatures, as it should and which 
 is one of its chief functions. Probably more 
 colds are acquired in this way than in any 
 other, all through the mother's anxiety to 
 prevent them. I never allow any thick 
 woolen underclothes at all, winter or summer 
 in this climate. "The girl has her flannel 
 skirt, cotton underdrawers, waist, shirt, and 
 stockings, and after she is too old to wear 
 leggings out of doors, she may have light- 
 weight underflannels coming to the ankles. 
 The boy, after he has come to trousers, may 
 wear balbriggan underdrawers and shirt, and 
 knitted waists or suspenders to support the 
 trousers. When they go out doors in cold 
 weather, children should wear leggings and 
 a warm coat. In fact they are far less apt 
 to catch cold if we save the warm woolen 
 things for out doors and dress them com-
 
 48 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 fortably in the house. Fur earlaps are per- 
 nicious things. They are worn on cold days 
 and when taken off occasionally on a warm 
 day, the ear, being unaccustomed to the 
 change, is apt to suffer. I have repeatedly 
 seen abscesses of the ear which I believe to 
 have been contracted in. this way. In win- 
 ter it is well to have a bonnet or some pro- 
 tector for the ears for children under two 
 years, but after that, a veil tied over the hat 
 on cold days is sufficient. Even the thick- 
 ness of the bonnet should not be changed 
 from day to day. 
 
 Socks. Socks for older children are well enough 
 in summer, but absolutely tabooed in winter. 
 Some mothers have the idea that it "har- 
 dens" their children to let them go about in 
 winter with no covering for the legs. It is 
 not only a foolish idea, but a harmful one. 
 Full-length stockings should, therefore, be 
 worn except in the summer months. 
 
 Shoes. The shoes should be broad in the toe and 
 always plenty long enough. Children's feet 
 grow so fast that it is often a temptation to 
 allow them to wear a perfectly good shoe even 
 though it is a trifle short. Let us hope that
 
 THE BATH 49 
 
 there is another baby in the family who will 
 come along soon to save them if one is eco- 
 nomically inclined. Soft, thin shoes are best 
 for the feet in the second year when baby is 
 learning to walk. The present style of thick, 
 hardy looking shoes should be reserved for 
 the older child. Rubbers or overshoes should 
 always be worn on damp or cold days, as 
 the thin shoes are so easily penetrated by 
 the cold or moisture. Wet feet may not do 
 any harm, but they never do any good. 
 
 At night, since the nursery windows are Night 
 to be wide open in the winter, the clothing i 
 should be warm. The infant has more 
 blankets, and the older child an undershirt 
 and outing flannel or woolen "Johnnie Bears " 
 - one-piece suits with feet in them, the num- 
 ber of blankets varying with the temperature. 
 
 THE BATH 
 
 BABY'S first full tub bath comes when he The Bath- 
 is about a week old (when the cord has come * 
 off) and from that time on he should have one 
 bath daily throughout childhood. The room 
 should be warm, but not overheated, 
 75 to 80 F., and there should be no
 
 50 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 draughts about. A metal or enameled bath- 
 tub is a necessity and it should be kept scru- 
 pulously clean. The folding rubber bath- 
 tubs are very hard to keep clean and I do 
 not approve of them entirely. If one is used, 
 it should be thoroughly cleaned, dried, and 
 aired each day. I have seen a nurse put 
 soiled diapers into the bathtub to soak, with 
 the result that might be expected infec- 
 tion of the baby's skin and a good crop of 
 boils. 
 
 HOW to The baby's head and face must first be 
 ^aby! washed and dried. The eyes, nose, ears, and 
 genitals are then cleaned with a fresh piece 
 of absorbent cotton dipped in a bowl of 
 boracic acid and water, a teaspoonful to the 
 pint. The mouth should be left alone, not 
 only at the time of the bath, but at all times. 
 One of the most pernicious practices of the 
 present time is the constant scrubbing of 
 the inside of the mouth. The mucous mem- 
 brane or lining of the mouth is often injured 
 in this way, and makes it far more liable to 
 thrush and other infections instead of prevent- 
 ing them. The baby's mouth will take care 
 of itself and be far better cleansed by its
 
 THE BATH 51 
 
 own saliva. The baby should be thoroughly 
 soaped in the lap and then laid in the bath- 
 tub to wash the soap off, with the head 
 supported. Under no circumstances is the 
 sponge or washcloth to be used for little 
 babies. A fresh clean piece of absorbent 
 cotton is much better. Every baby should 
 love the bath ; if there is any crying, it should 
 be only when he comes out of it. After the 
 bath, the baby is quickly dried with a clean, 
 soft (possibly old) towel, but with very little 
 rubbing, and the folds of the skin powdered. 
 
 The temperature of the bath is as follows : The Tem- 
 The first eight weeks, 100 F. ; until six t^Batfi 
 months, 98 F. ; after six months, 95 F. ; 
 during the second year, 85 to 80 F. After 
 the second year, at the end of the bath, a cold 
 douche poured over the child at the tempera- 
 ture of the cold water faucet is stimulating, 
 and keeps him from catching cold. A bath 
 thermometer is a necessity. It should not 
 be discarded after the first few months, as is 
 the custom in most of the families with whom 
 I come in contact. Any child who has been 
 accustomed to warm or hot baths should have 
 the temperature lowered a little each day
 
 52 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 until the proper temperature for his age is 
 reached. 
 
 The Time The time of the bath is not of vast impor- 
 tance. It should, however, come before eat- 
 ing. The infant is more apt to need it in 
 the morning, and it is my custom to give a 
 morning bath throughout the first year, and 
 an evening bath after that time. 
 
 In all of these talks, I have in mind the well 
 
 baby, but perhaps it would be best to say a 
 
 word about the sickly baby's bath. Small, 
 
 thin, emaciated babies often do not stand 
 
 Certain the bath well. They, of course, are under 
 
 Cases when ,, - , . . j i -n 
 
 the Bath the care of a physician, and he will rec- 
 ommen d a sweet oil rub, or whatever is 
 necessary to take the place of the bath. 
 Children with eczema or other skin affections 
 are often benefited by omitting the bath. 
 However, I do not believe the bath should 
 be omitted because the child has a cold or a 
 little fever or any other illness too slight to 
 require a physician's attendance. At such 
 times a bath is often restful and quieting, 
 and the child goes off to sleep for the night 
 when he would otherwise have been fretful 
 and restless.
 
 FRESH AIR 53 
 
 FRESH AIR 
 
 THE last generation feared fresh cold air Draughts 
 and a draught as the present generation fears ventiia- 
 bacteria and the germs of disease. In both tion - 
 generations we have gone too far, and as 
 usual the pendulum has swung way beyond 
 its intended turning point. Plenty of fresh 
 air tends to get us into such good condition 
 that we may resist or throw off colds and 
 other illnesses caused by germs ; at the same 
 time overexposure and draughts I am sure 
 will sometimes cause them. Some of our 
 leading authorities still claim that draughts 
 are not harmful, but I believe that when we 
 are in the house, it is best to avoid them, pro- 
 vided it is possible to get a good supply of 
 fresh air coming into the room all the time. 
 If I had to choose between bad air and 
 draughts, I would take the latter, but I do 
 not think the choice is often necessary. In 
 the summer a cool breeze does not seem to 
 cause colds. One hour of bad air will do 
 more harm than good air for the other twenty- 
 three will undo ; therefore, keep the room 
 well ventilated every moment of the day.
 
 54 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 HOW to It seems to me that it takes a great deal 
 e f thought to ventilate the individual house 
 House. or a p ar t m ent properly. If the rooms are 
 large and open into each other, one or two 
 windows in the proper place will furnish fresh 
 air for the whole house. If we are dealing 
 with a small apartment, we must select one 
 room where the windows may be opened top 
 and bottom and from which the fresh air 
 may circulate without causing too much 
 of a breeze, or draught. It is a well-known 
 fact that open fireplaces are wonderfully 
 good ventilators, but they are now considered 
 a luxury, I am sorry to say. At any cost, 
 keep the air good night and day. 
 Proper The temperature of living rooms should 
 ISTreTf be 65 to 70 F. A thermometer should 
 the Rooms 8 nan S m the rooms that are most frequented 
 by the children, and should be placed at the 
 height of their heads. Overheating is the 
 commonest error in the city. In the country 
 perhaps the most usual mistake is draughty 
 rooms, floors, and cold halls. On the other 
 hand air-tight rooms in which the same air is 
 breathed over and over again without once 
 changing is a common occurrence.
 
 FRESH AIR 55 
 
 The sleeping room should have one or more VentUa- 
 windows wide open top and bottom through- tlwTsieep- 
 out the year. The bed should be as far away in g Room - 
 from the windows as possible and in a corner 
 out of the direct draught. If this is not pos- 
 sible, a blanket may be pinned around the 
 crib, so that the winter winds will not blow 
 directly upon the baby. It is sometimes hard 
 to convince the mother that her child should 
 sleep in an unheated room, but when she has 
 once accustomed the baby to it, she soon sees 
 what a beneficial effect it has upon him. He 
 sleeps more quietly, learns to keep under the 
 bed clothing, and does not catch cold nearly 
 as easily. The room being cold, the night 
 clothing should be warm, varying with the 
 temperature (see " Clothing"). This does 
 not, of course, apply to weak, sickly infants 
 nor to those under six weeks of age. Of 
 course in very cold climates the temperature 
 of the sleeping room should be kept well above 
 the freezing point. 
 
 It is my observation that city children get Outdoor 
 more fresh air than country children during 
 the first and second years. As is proper, the 
 carefully brought up city child gets his airing
 
 56 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 at a stated time each morning and each after- 
 noon. It is his routine that saves him, while 
 the country child is not allowed to be out 
 when the snow is deep or the weather in- 
 clement, and often is taken out only when 
 convenient. Babies, beginning at six weeks, 
 should be taken out for their airing once a 
 day, and later two times. In mild weather or 
 in warm climates they may be taken out at the 
 9 age of two weeks, but usually not earlier than 
 
 this. In winter the best time is when the 
 sun is high ; in summer, when it is cool- 
 est. The length of time for the airing de- 
 pends upon the age of the child and the 
 time that can be devoted to it by the mother 
 or nurse. At six weeks, an hour a day is 
 sufficient ; at six months three or four hours 
 is a necessity : after that the more the better. 
 The only contra-indications to going out 
 are extremely cold weather (below zero), 
 rain or snow, and possibly sharp winds, un- 
 less a sheltered spot can be found. When 
 what to do this outdoor airing is absolutely impossible, 
 wather h is * ne baby should be dressed for the street and 
 inclement. p u ^ j n ^he carriage close by the widely open 
 windows and in the sun. The sun should
 
 FRESH AIR 57 
 
 not be allowed to shine directly into the un- 
 protected eyes, whether in or out of doors. 
 In the city it is as necessary to have a car- 
 riage for the baby as it is to have a bed. 
 Rainy days are hard on any child, but the 
 older one is sure to miss his outing. Put on 
 his hat and cloak and open all the windows 
 in the nursery, and see how much pleasure 
 it gives him, as well as rosy cheeks. 
 
 The delicate child often requires fresh air The 
 even more than the well child. The appetite child* * 
 is improved and the strength increased by 
 good pure air. Sleep also is often induced by 
 the airing. Many a sick child who will not 
 sleep well in the house immediately sinks into 
 a restful slumber as soon as he is put out in 
 his carriage. Of course, there is no objection 
 to sleeping out of doors in sickness or in 
 health, provided the baby is properly dressed 
 for it. Occasionally the mother of a sickly 
 child will tell me that she cannot take the 
 little one outdoors at all, because every time 
 she does so he catches cold. That is the very 
 reason he is sickly, and unless he is taken out 
 every day and accustomed to the fresh air 
 treatment he will always remain delicate. 
 
 I
 
 58 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 He should, therefore, be taken out in spite oi 
 his catching cold unless he has a fever. 
 School- School children should have especial care 
 paid to their supply of fresh air. It is al- 
 ways possible for the energetic parent to 
 impress upon the proper authorities the bene- 
 ficial effects of fresh air in the school. The 
 modern public school buildings have splen- 
 did systems of ventilation, but private schools 
 are often in dwelling houses that were not 
 meant to hold many people, so the air supply 
 must be carefully regulated by means of the 
 proper window ventilators. School children 
 should have their share of outdoor life, too, 
 since this is often the period when sedentary 
 habits are established. 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 JUST as children automatically get the 
 proper amount of sleep, if they are given half 
 a chance, so will they of their own accord take 
 the proper amount of exercise. It only remains 
 for us not to restrain them. Of course, there 
 are occasional exceptions to this rule. 
 
 The chief restraint that we are apt to place 
 upon them during the early months is that
 
 EXERCISE 59 
 
 of clothing. If this is loose enough to per- Freedom of 
 mit of free movements of the arms and legs, 
 baby will get exercise, especially when he 
 cries. At the same time he should have half Clothing. 
 an hour night and morning when his diapers 
 and socks are removed and he is laid upon First Year, 
 the bed in a room of the proper temperature, 
 free of draughts. There he kicks and plays 
 to his heart's content and develops his mus- 
 cles. When he has learned to creep and later Second 
 to walk, ^t w^nld seem as though he would 
 wear himself out, he keeps at it so constantly. 
 There is no danger of this, however, if he is 
 not overpersuaded and if he has the proper 
 number of naps and sleeping hours. 
 
 After the second year, the baby carriage The Baby 
 habit is a common restraint in the city. Baby Habit, 
 has been wheeled about all through infancy 
 and it is difficult to change to walking, but 
 we will not make this mistake if we realize 
 that he needs this exercise. On the other 
 hand, long walks on the street to the point 
 of fatigue are, of course, unnecessary and 
 harmful. In the country a shovel and a dirt After the 
 or sand pile will be sufficient incentive to ex- Year, 
 ercise. As a matter of fact country children
 
 60 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 usually get enough exercise from this age on, 
 if you turn them out in the open and let them 
 play from morning until night, except for the 
 naps. The city child often stores away 
 enough good health from his summer outing 
 to last him throughout the winter. 
 
 After five years of age, the matter of exer- 
 
 cise is occasionally a problem ; for there are 
 
 those children who have been kept too closely 
 
 to the mother or nurse, or who have been 
 
 brought up to fear dirt, or have a natural in- 
 
 clination to sedentary things, such as sew- 
 
 The CMd ing or reading. Every inducement in the 
 
 notWant wa Y f making outdoor life attractive should 
 
 to go Out. k e offers jf this method is not successful 
 in getting the child to like it, he should be 
 compelled to go out. I am aware that the 
 city mother may dread sending her children 
 into the streets and parks, and the country 
 mother may fear the contact with her neigh- 
 bor's children, but if she has brought her 
 children up to obey her and wish for her ap- 
 proval of their acts, she need not fear asso- 
 ciation with other children. At any rate, I 
 would vote for the outdoor exercise in spite 
 of risky associations.
 
 EXERCISE 61 
 
 As the children get old enough, especially 
 girls, it is well that they become interested 
 in competitive outdoor games, and in this 
 way pave the road to a lifelong fondness for 
 exercise. Gymnasium work in the winter and 
 the indoor sports are invaluable paths to 
 good health in the cities. 
 
 The delicate child should have his exercise Exercise 
 regulated for him. Most excellent work is Delicate 
 now being done in calisthenics for delicate Child ' 
 children by those trained in this work. A 
 child who tires easily usually has some par- 
 ticular cause for it. 
 
 Can the child get too much exercise? Can the 
 There certainly are active beys and girls t0 o much 
 who enter so enthusiastically into their play Exercise? 
 that they come into the house perhaps too 
 tired to eat or sleep. This is due to excite- 
 ment during play, especially when they are 
 playing with children older than themselves. 
 Here, as in almost every question of child- 
 welfare, moderation is advisable, and such 
 children should be restrained to a certain 
 extent.
 
 62 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 LACK of discipline is an American weakness. 
 You cannot imagine the humiliation with 
 which I have heard foreign-born mothers of 
 my charity patients say, "But he is like 
 the American child, he does not mind." 
 The Key- A child's training begins during his first 
 Discipline, week, and unless he has learned the meaning 
 of discipline at home, where it is kindly meant, 
 it goes hard with him by the time he gets out 
 into the world; for wherever he is, he must 
 stand the consequences of his acts. This is 
 the keynote of discipline. A child's naughti- 
 ness is punisLed because, if it is allowed to go 
 on, he will not be happy himself and he will 
 be the cause of unhappiness in others just 
 as in later life he will be rewarded at least 
 with a happy conscience if he does right, or 
 will be punished if he does wrong. 
 TOO much From the very first a baby who is picked 
 
 Handling . , , , , . 
 
 in Baby- up every time he cries recognizes the lack of 
 hood ' discipline. He cries to attract attention - 
 it is about the only thing he knows how to 
 do. He is held more and more each day un- 
 til he ruins his health by lack of sleep and
 
 TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE 63 
 
 too much handling, and spoils the pleasure 
 of his parents. I do not mean that he should 
 never be taken up and held, for I believe 
 parents should enjoy their babies, especially 
 after they are old enough to take notice of 
 their surroundings. But there is a happy 
 medium; if we play with the baby a little 
 before his feedings or during his afternoon 
 recreation hour, he will become accustomed 
 to being taken up and laid down as we wish, 
 and it will never occur to him to expect it at 
 any other time. 
 
 There are several particularly trying pe- Nine 
 riods in a child's training. One of them is Ag e n a 8 
 at eight or nine months when he is emphati- 
 cally insistent upon having his own way. 
 He has really just discovered that he is an 
 individual with a will. He wants something 
 on the table and grabs for it. Mother takes 
 it away from him and he picks up the next 
 thing as quick as a wink. Mother takes this 
 away and the same performance is repeated 
 until there is nothing left. Then he cries un- 
 til mother gives back the desired object in 
 order to keep him quiet. What mother 
 should have done is to put up her finger and
 
 64 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 say, "No." If after this he tries it again, 
 as he is liable to do, his chair should be turned 
 back to the table so that he may know his 
 misbehavior has been punished. It is won- 
 derful how soon he learns to "stop" when 
 told to do so, for we are apt to underestimate 
 his intelligence greatly. X 
 
 Anger and Disciplining should always be done in as 
 have no pleasant a manner as possible. Of course, 
 ever y one knows that the spirit of anger is 
 not part of discipline." Correction should 
 also be done with a positiveness that leaves 
 no doubt in the child's mind what his course 
 is to be. Sternness is seldom necessary. 
 Allow the child every liberty that comes 
 within the limits of propriety; use few 
 "don'ts," but when the word is once said, 
 enforce it. Make him happy and enter into 
 his pleasures as enthusiastically as you know 
 how. But, when you tell him to do a thing 
 let him mind without any hesitation. Do 
 not speak but once. If he does not obey the 
 first time, do something that will impress his 
 mind with the fact thaf you meant what you 
 said the first time you said it let him un- 
 derstand that your word is law. The mother
 
 TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE 65 
 
 who threatens her children with punishment 
 a dozen times to every once she administers 
 it, is never obeyed. Her children know that 
 she is apt to lie twelve times first, and, being 
 natural optimists, they think of the thirteenth 
 time when they will have to obey as in the 
 far distant future. 
 
 As a child grows older, we must recognize The child's 
 his individuality. Some children are far 
 more difficult to manage than others, but 
 secretly I always have my doubts about the 
 parents of a child who does not mind well. It 
 requires not only good judgment, but a fond- 
 ness for children, to attain good discipline 
 in one's family. The rod is not popular at 
 the present time, I know, but some children 
 still need it. 
 
 The same kind of punishment repeated 
 time and time again is often ineffectual in a 
 child who is hard to manage. A child who 
 is shut in the closet every time he is naughty 
 soon learns to amuse himself there, even to 
 the point of forgetting that he is being pun- 
 ished. If we can manage to show our scorn 
 of his misdeeds in some unexpected way, it is 
 far more apt to make an impression upon him.
 
 66 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 The Above all do not punish him too often. I 
 Too^re- have the greatest sympathy for the child who 
 punish- * s cons t-antly in trouble. Try to make his 
 ment. happiness your object, and obedience a natu- 
 ral consequence of your wishes. An entirely 
 different tack may be taken up when one 
 kind of treatment has been tried and found 
 wanting. I have known a child to improve 
 wonderfully in his behavior when the parents 
 have overlooked his misdeeds, and stopped 
 all punishment for a while. 
 
 Teasing. Teasing has ruined the disposition of many 
 a child. The parents, of course, will not be 
 guilty of such conduct, but older children in 
 the family, or an uncle or aunt, may make a 
 child's life utterly miserable by constant 
 teasing. I have seen a great strong brute of 
 a man keep a child struggling hours for some 
 object and almost allow him to get it over 
 and over again, only to thwart the little 
 fellow's purpose by sheer strength just as he 
 has reached his goal. 
 
 Truthful- Truthfulness and honesty are not born in 
 
 imagina- every child, but it may always be acquired 
 
 on ' if we take the trouble to teach it. In the 
 
 first place never tell an untruth to a child
 
 TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE 67 
 
 yourself. If you make a practice of it, he is 
 not to blame for acquiring the habit, too. 
 Then never allow an untruth to be told by 
 him without letting him see that you know it 
 is not the truth. Do not make too much of 
 it, but simply correct him in his statement, 
 unless lying has become a fixed habit. I do 
 not mean that you should doubt his word 
 constantly, for that leads him to think you 
 expect untruthfulness of him and he surely 
 will not disappoint you if you do. Remember 
 that there is a certain age when the child 
 is very imaginative, and this tendency should 
 be encouraged, for imagination is a very valu- 
 able trait if it is under proper control. In fact, 
 I believe in imaginative stories being told to 
 children, and imaginative events being de- 
 scribed to them, both to encourage the trait 
 and to enable them to distinguish between 
 imagination and lying. For instance, if you 
 tell him a tale about himself that is purely 
 imaginative, he will say, "Is it a true story or 
 a fooling one, mother?" 
 
 Asking questions is a much discussed sub- The 
 ject which I will just touch upon. Answer Habit. 01 
 a child's sensible questions so long as he is
 
 68 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 interested enough to listen to the answer 
 and remember it afterward. The annoying 
 habit of a child's asking one question after 
 another without waiting for an answer is 
 to be discouraged. Always answer truthfully 
 and do not try to make him feel that you are 
 infallible, for he will lose faith when he finds 
 you are not. 
 
 Above all teach a child to be happy. Instill 
 happiness into him by being happy in his 
 presence. We sometimes hear a mother say, 
 "The children are cross to-day," when it is 
 because she has been in a bit of an ill humor 
 herself. Things have not gone right and the 
 children have caught the spirit of it im- 
 mediately. Allow them every pleasure that 
 will do them no harm, so that the spirit of 
 joyousness will blossom within them and 
 they will learn to be happy even in adversity. 
 
 v 
 
 Beginning DID you ever go into a home where every- 
 
 Right. thing went off like clockwork, so that it 
 
 seemed as though the household moved 
 
 smoothly on of its own accord? Every 
 
 event in the day has its time and place. Well,
 
 DAILY ROUTINE 69 
 
 that is due to a good daily routine. Even 
 such a model household as this is terribly 
 upset when a new baby comes into it, 
 but the executive mother, as soon as she is 
 strong enough, will set the machinery going 
 right again. The first thing she does is to 
 plan out baby's daily routine. The feeding 
 times must first be adjusted, for these come 
 at definite intervals which divide the day 
 into sections. When we have decided upon 
 the length of time between feedings necessary 
 for this particular baby, two, two and one 
 half, or three hours, and it is usually three 
 hours (see "Feeding"),-- we start the first 
 feeding at a given time, say six o'clock in 
 the morning, thus beginning the day right. 
 This will give the nurse or mother time to 
 dress, have her breakfast, give the baby a 
 bath, and even make up the bottle-fed baby's 
 feedings before nine o'clock, when the next 
 feeding is due. 
 
 After the nine o'clock feeding, the baby is The Day's 
 
 .1 ..... , . Schedule. 
 
 taken out for his airing and morning nap. 
 If there is a yard or fire escape available for 
 this part of the day's program, the mother 
 has this interval free for other duties. At
 
 70 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 twelve comes another bottle, followed by the 
 mother's luncheon and baby's afternoon nap 
 and airing. At three there is another feeding, 
 followed by an interval, during which baby 
 has his recreation hour, lying on the bed or 
 sitting on the floor at play by himself. During 
 the hour before six he may be held in the lap 
 or entertained, if one has the inclination, or if 
 he gets restless and fussy by himself. After 
 the six o'clock bottle, he goes to bed for the 
 night and is not taken out of bed again until 
 morning, except for his feedings. The mother 
 or nurse then has her evenings free to do 
 many things she wants to do. I have heajrd 
 mothers say that they never realized thefe 
 was a baby in the house after they adopted 
 some routine of this sort. The routine has 
 to be changed with changed conditions, but 
 I have outlined this one which has proven 
 very useful to many of my patients. 
 Necessity As the child grows older, the daily program 
 ingThe has to be changed, the mother having mean- 
 white learned to develop the routine that 
 Grows serves her best. She should remember, how- 
 
 Older. 
 
 ever, that routine is meant to aid her in per- 
 forming her duties in the easiest way as well
 
 HABITS 71 
 
 as to bring up baby to be orderly and sys- 
 tematic. She must not become a slave to 
 routine, so that the day's work is a drudge, 
 for the best of rules are meant to break 
 when the occasion demands it. For in- 
 stance, when the child reaches the age when 
 four meals a day are necessary, the mother 
 very likely reads a diet list which prescribes 
 breakfast at six, a lunch at eleven, dinner at 
 two, and supper at six. Her own meals must 
 come in between these hours, so that there is 
 some meal being cooked in the household 
 nearly all day long. How much simpler it is 
 to have baby's breakfast and luncheon at 
 the family's regular meal hours, with a bottle 
 at 10 P.M., to make up the four feedings. In 
 this way the mother makes a routine which 
 is easiest for her and equally as good for the 
 baby. 
 
 HABITS 
 
 As I have said, a child is a creature of 
 habits, and so are we all. Let us begin with 
 him early and make the habits good ones. 
 Train him to do the right things from the 
 start. The habit of regularity, the habit of 
 cleanliness and the habit of happiness may
 
 72 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 be started, and are even best started, in 
 infancy. The habit of the bodily functions, 
 the habit of orderliness, the habit of obedience 
 are developed as he grows older. 
 
 Cleanliness Habits of cleanliness are cultivated by con- 
 Orderiiness. stant watchfulness. There is no need of a 
 child's covering himself with mud as soon as 
 he has been dressed, nor of smearing him- 
 self with food as he eats. The older child 
 develops habits of orderliness by being 
 taught to hang up his clothes as they are 
 taken off, and by putting his toys away 
 when he is through with his play. He is 
 taught to pick up after himself as he goes 
 along, instead of leaving one grand clutter 
 to be cleaned up after he has gone to bed. 
 Proper As to the bodily functions, if we keep his 
 ^the diapers dry and clean in infancy, he learns to 
 
 Function* warn us DV cr y m g when he is wet and un- 
 comfortable. If, as he grows older, we put 
 him upon the chair at regular intervals, he 
 learns to make the function of urination a 
 voluntary one and under the control of the 
 will. So, at eight months or thereabouts, 
 put him on the chair every hour while he is 
 awake and gradually lengthen these intervals
 
 HABITS 73 
 
 until at a year he will reward you for your 
 labor by keeping dry all day long. Take 
 him up at night when you go to bed (giving 
 him dry suppers) and he will form the habit 
 of not wetting the bed as soon as he is old 
 enough to have his ten o'clock nursing or 
 bottle discontinued. The habit of the bowel 
 functions I have spoken of under that head- 
 ing. 
 
 There are bad habits that baby acquires The "Baby 
 himself, and there are bad habits which we 
 deliberately bestow upon him. In infancy 
 the most common of these is sucking. The 
 use of the "Baby Comfort" or nipple is never 
 a habit he picks up himself. It is taught 
 him by his elders, who show little sense in 
 compelling him to acquire a habit which 
 is injurious. It is natural for the baby to 
 get his food by sucking, but the continual 
 sucking deforms the mouth and jaws and is 
 the chief cause of protruding teeth in adults. 
 That it also causes adenoids and enlarged 
 tonsils I am firmly convinced. Finger suck- Finger 
 ing and sucking of the sheet and clothing the 
 child learns himself, and it is still more in- 
 jurious and more apt to be continued through
 
 74 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the second and third years. Even sucking of 
 the lips sometimes becomes a habit. These 
 sucking habits require different treatment 
 according to the age of the child and the 
 form the habit has taken. Babies may be 
 broken of finger sucking by putting on 
 mittens or pinning the sleeves to the dress 
 or bed clothes. Older children may wear 
 celluloid gloves for a few nights. Sucking 
 of the sheet or pillow case may be remedied by 
 taking that article away from the child's bed 
 altogether. The best way to treat any bad 
 habit is to put a stop to it at its inception. 
 
 Some children cannot go to sleep without 
 pulling the ear or twisting a curl of hair 
 about the fingers. These habits are not as 
 harmful as some others, but it is well to check 
 them lest worse ones follow. 
 
 The im- Nail biting in itself does no harm except 
 
 ^fseif- to disfigure the nails, but the very notion 
 
 mastery. fa&t a c j^{\^ g e ^ s> that he has a habit which 
 
 he cannot stop, is harmful in itself. He 
 
 should be persuaded to give it up by rewards, 
 
 or otherwise, so that he may acquire a sense 
 
 of self-mastery. This knowledge that he has 
 
 himself in control is a wonderful trait to ac-
 
 HABITS 75 
 
 quire, and if more children were taught it, 
 fewer young men and women would fall 
 by the wayside when more serious tempta- 
 tions present themselves.
 
 PART III 
 COMMON AILMENTS
 
 THE SICK ROOM 
 WE are not all situated so that the ideal Arrange- 
 
 . , . MM-, L ment of the 
 
 sick room is a possibility. Apartment sick Room, 
 dwellers especially have to be content with as 
 close an approach to it as is practical under 
 the circumstances. It is, however, absolutely 
 necessary to give up one room exclusively to 
 the sick child at whatever sacrifice it requires 
 that is, if a prolonged sickness is antici- 
 pated. This should be the quietest, sunniest, 
 airiest room in the house, even though you have 
 to take a room which is not ordinarily used for 
 a sleeping room. The chief consideration is 
 the matter of airing. Under no circumstances 
 should we select a room which cannot be 
 aired while the patient lies in bed, and at the 
 same time be well heated. It is not necessary 
 to take down the pictures and hangings and 
 take up the rugs, but this may be done if one 
 wishes. It is best to have the bric-a-brac 
 and knickknacks removed, and the table and 
 bureau top swept clean of its usual comple- 
 ment of articles, so that the furniture may be 
 used for medicines and other paraphernalia of 
 sickness. The bed should be so placed that 
 79
 
 80 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the sun will not shine directly into the patient's 
 eyes, and it should also be out of the direct 
 line of a draught when the windows are open. 
 This being impossible, a screen may be used. 
 The Sick The sick room conduct is of the greatest 
 Conduc importance. All should be quiet and orderly 
 and systematic. No visitors are allowed until 
 permission has been granted by the physician. 
 Engaging in prolonged conversation even in 
 an undertone is very disturbing to the child. 
 Never more than two persons are allowed in 
 the room at the same time, and unless some 
 particular duty relative to the treatment 
 requires it, one is all that is necessary. If 
 there is a trained nurse in attendance, do not 
 hamper her with any interference. She can 
 gain the child's confidence more quickly if 
 she is given a few hours alone with him than 
 she can if you are there. Where there is 
 no nurse, one person should be responsible 
 for all that goes on in the sick room. She 
 should be relieved of her duties for her 
 sleep, as she is not competent to attend to 
 the patient properly when she is tired out for 
 want of rest. 
 
 In contagious diseases, the person in attend-
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 81 
 
 ance should not leave the room, but should in Case of 
 have her bed there, or, better still, in an Contagion - 
 adjoining room. Where two nurses are re- 
 quired, a second room is indispensable. All 
 dishes should be kept separate and washed in 
 the room if possible. All clothes, towels, and 
 the nurse's outer clothing should be soaked 
 in a solution of carbolic acid, one half ounce 
 to a gallon of water, before they leave the 
 room to be laundered. No visitors are 
 allowed even the family should not come 
 into the room for fear of carrying the con- 
 tagion about the house. 
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 
 
 IT is odd that with the present popularity 
 of medical lay articles, the writers have not 
 shown more interest in teaching the public 
 how to avoid the common contagious diseases. 
 Such information would certainly be more 
 helpful than the pages devoted to the prob- 
 lematical causes of infantile paralysis and 
 other subjects which have not yet been settled 
 among the members of the medical profes- 
 sion themselves. 
 
 In the first place, never expose the child
 
 82 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Exposure to any contagious disease in order that he 
 
 Contagious ma y have it once and done with it. Even the 
 
 Diseases so _ ca u ec i simple children's diseases, such as 
 
 to be 
 
 Avoided, measles and whooping cough, have a death 
 rate that is appalling. Nor should you allow 
 politeness to stand in the way when there 
 is any danger of your own child getting a 
 contagious disease. This may sound like 
 unnecessary advice, but I have known parents 
 to say they could not offend their friends 
 by refusing to see them when there was a 
 contagious disease in the family from which 
 the caller came. Never take your child into 
 a household where there is any sickness 
 whatever, for it may turn out to be a conta- 
 gious illness no matter how it begins. 
 
 Each contagious disease has a special mode 
 of invading your family and there is a special 
 way of preventing its invasion ; so I will take 
 up the important considerations of each 
 disease, one at a time. 
 
 Scarlet Scarlet fever is among the most dreaded 
 diseases of childhood, and rightly so. It is 
 also one of the most contagious, but fortu- 
 nately the danger of contagion is not so great 
 during the early stages. I have known a
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 83 
 
 child to sleep in the same bed with another 
 child coming down with scarlet fever and not 
 catch it. From this it is evident that we 
 should remove the already exposed child 
 away from the contagion as soon as we dis- 
 cover it, no matter how late that may be. In 
 scarlet fever there is a chance, at least, that 
 he has not contracted it from this one early 
 exposure. However, the disease is caught 
 early through the vomitus, and consequently 
 it is safer to avoid a vomiting child in the 
 streets, cars, and public places anywhere. 
 Unfortunately scarlet fever is contagious 
 for a long while after it has actually set in. 
 As long as there is any peeling or discharge 
 from the ears or nose, the danger of contagion 
 is still present. Everything with which the 
 scarlet fever patient has come in contact 
 during his illness may be regarded as a source 
 of contagion even months and years after 
 the illness. 
 
 Measles, on the contrary, is just as con- Measles. 
 tagious in its early stages, when the eyes and 
 nose are running and four days before any 
 eruption has appeared, as it is at the height 
 of the disease. This is why the whole family
 
 84 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 is liable to come down with it when one 
 member of the family brings it home. Unless 
 the physician is called during this stage, the 
 disease is not diagnosed until the eruption 
 appears, when it is too late to prevent the rest 
 of the family from getting it. This is also 
 another reason why we should keep our 
 children away from any one, especially another 
 child, who has a cold in the head. I have 
 had the misfortune to treat for measles ten 
 children in different families who had all 
 attended a birthday party at which was 
 present a child who was in the catarrhal 
 stage of measles, no eruption having made 
 its appearance in the child when he went to 
 the party. His mother thought he simply 
 had a bad cold and let him go. It is needless 
 to say that that mother was not popular in 
 that particular set for a long while afterward. 
 Diphtheria. Diphtheria, I am happy to say, is one of the 
 contagious diseases which the physician can 
 prevent absolutely after the child has been 
 exposed. An immunizing dose of diphtheria 
 antitoxin will always make it a certainty 
 that a child will not get this dreaded disease 
 in spite of definite exposure to it. There are
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 85 
 
 no dangers in giving antitoxin in its present- 
 day perfection, no matter how delicate 
 the child may be. Sometimes there is a 
 slight discomfort following its use, but this 
 may be disregarded when we consider what 
 a dreadful disease this was before the days 
 of antitoxin. A person may have diphtheria 
 many times, in fact some people have the 
 habit. I know a physician who has had it 
 fourteen tunes. 
 
 Whooping cough is not so contagious as whooping 
 some of the other infections, but it is fully as 
 dangerous once it is acquired. It cannot 
 be carried by the third person, and one ex- 
 posure may not be enough to cause it. The 
 person having it is a source of contagion as 
 long as he has a paroxysmal cough, this period 
 varying from six weeks to three months. The 
 death rate from this so-called benign disease 
 is as great in New York City as that from 
 scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles com- 
 bined. Therefore, keep your child away 
 from whooping cough, especially your baby, 
 for it is most fatal among children under a 
 year. It is well to keep children away from 
 anybody who has a cough. Once acquired,
 
 86 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 do not become pessimistic and think whoop- 
 ing cough must "run its course." Your 
 physician can do something to prevent the 
 severity of the disease, and he can often 
 shorten its duration. He can usually prevent 
 the complications which are the dangerous 
 phases of the disease. 
 
 Neither mumps, chicken pox, nor German 
 measles is a dangerous disease if the child 
 is well cared for during its run. 
 
 Smallpox. Smallpox may be absolutely prevented by 
 vaccination, provided the vaccination takes 
 properly and provided it is done often enough. 
 I have no sympathy with anti-vaccinationists. 
 They do not recognize the fact that before 
 vaccination was compulsory, epidemics of 
 smallpox swept over the country, leaving 
 one third of the population dead and many 
 others marked for life with the pits of this 
 most dreaded of diseases. It was with the 
 utmost satisfaction that the medical pro- 
 fession in recent years witnessed the deliberate 
 exposure to smallpox of a prominent anti- 
 vaccinationist of Boston. He had claimed 
 that there was no danger to the unvaccinated 
 from the disease. He acquired smallpox at
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 87 
 
 the prescribed time and barely escaped with 
 his life. Every healthy child should be 
 vaccinated before he is six months of age. 
 He should subsequently be vaccinated once 
 in five years and when he is exposed to the 
 disease. There are no dangers at the present 
 time from vaccination if it is done properly 
 and the wound kept clean until it has healed. 
 Any serious trouble always comes from the 
 lack of these precautions. 
 
 Colds and coughs, sore throats, and tonsil- Coughs 
 litis are certainly contagious. Keep your chil- 
 dren away from people who have any of these 
 ailments. However, the better your child's 
 hygiene and the better his general condition, 
 the less liable is he to become infected if 
 exposed to them. Kissing is an unfortunate 
 custom of civilization, for it spreads disease, 
 especially coughs and colds. It would hardly 
 seem necessary for parents to be constantly 
 on then- guard to prevent the kissing of their 
 children by friends and strangers, but such 
 is the case. Public drinking cups are the 
 cause of many illnesses and the common 
 cup at school should never be allowed. (See 
 "Colds.")
 
 SS THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 The MI.S- Mosquitoes are the sole cause of malaria. 
 
 q TheF!y d I Q malarial districts take the most rigid 
 precautions to prevent mosquito bites. The 
 much-abused house fly deserves his reputa- 
 tion. He is the carrier of typhoid fever, 
 bowel troubles, possibly infantile paralysis, 
 and other infections. 
 
 School Schools are the chief source of the prin- 
 cipal contagious children's diseases, as the 
 statistics show that these diseases are most 
 rife during the school months and in children 
 of the school age. In our large cities the 
 public schools are well inspected medically. 
 It is our duty to our children to demand proper 
 medical supervision in the private school, 
 also, before we place them in one. 
 
 Tubercu- Tuberculosis is a contagious disease. It 
 
 Consumi> na s so long been considered an inherited 
 tlon> disease that the general public find it hard 
 to get the old notion of transmission from 
 parent to offspring out of their minds. To 
 be sure the tendency may be inherited, that is, 
 a poor and weakened constitution, but this 
 may be overcome with comparative ease 
 under the proper conditions. Children from 
 a tuberculous family should have especial
 
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 89 
 
 care paid to fresh air and diet from the 
 moment they are born. They should be kept 
 in robust health by fresh air night and day, 
 and by having the diet a nourishing one. 
 The vigilance of the parents should never 
 be relaxed in either direction. On the other 
 hand, exposure to tuberculosis should be 
 avoided. By this I do not mean that children 
 will acquire tuberculosis upon one exposure, 
 but that they should not live with tuberculous 
 people nor come in contact with them daily. 
 For this reason it would be well if the general 
 public looked upon tuberculosis as a conta- 
 gious disease. Care should be taken that the 
 nurse has no cough and has not been in 
 contact with people suffering with tubercu- 
 losis. 
 
 I believe that many cases of tubercu- 
 losis in children come from living in houses 
 or apartments where consumptives have 
 formerly lived. When we realize how many 
 families move into a house whose former 
 occupants are not known to them, it is 
 only to be wondered at that this disease is 
 not spread even more than it is. I believe 
 milk to be a source of tuberculosis in spite
 
 90 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Milk as a of the fact that certain authorities have 
 
 Cause of 
 Tul)erculoBis. 
 
 denied this mode of transmission. In no 
 
 other way can we explain some of the cases 
 of tuberculosis in children. Therefore, all 
 milk used in making infants' foods, as well as 
 milk for older children, must be from tuber- 
 culin-tested cows. Since an infant so often 
 depends entirely upon milk for his suste- 
 nance, this is more important in infancy than 
 at any other age. 
 
 FEVER 
 
 HOW to Tell CHILDREN get fever very easily, so that this 
 symptom has not so much significance in a 
 child as in the adult. Fever often goes as 
 quickly as it comes. It is usually easy to 
 tell whether or not a child has fever by feeling 
 of the body underneath the clothing and by 
 his flushed face and glistening eyes. It does 
 not seem necessary for mothers to have 
 thermometers, for in my experience these have 
 been a cause of worry without being of any 
 particular benefit. The untrained observer 
 is not able to judge correctly the significance 
 of the different degrees of fever. A high 
 fever often serves to make the mother un-
 
 FEVER 91 
 
 necessarily nervous when there is no cause 
 for alarm, and a low temperature may occur 
 in a child who is dangerously ill. It is 
 enough, therefore, for her to know that there 
 is a fever, and this knowledge she may gain 
 by her sense of touch. 
 
 With the onset of fever it is usually safe to what to do 
 administer a cathartic, stop food, and give an F ev er! e C 
 alcohol friction bath in the following manner : 
 The clothing is entirely removed and a dry 
 sheet or blanket wrapped around the child. 
 One part is exposed, say an arm or the chest, 
 and wet with equal parts water and alcohol. 
 This is then rubbed briskly but lightly with 
 the hand until it has dried. It is moistened 
 again and the same process repeated, the 
 whole body being gone over back and front in 
 this way. A half hour is allowed for the 
 entire bath. Do not dry with a towel or 
 cloth. It is the cooling during evaporation, 
 together with the friction, which brings the 
 blood to the surface, that takes down the 
 fever. 
 
 Plenty of water to drink may be allowed 
 if there is not excessive vomiting. In fact 
 cold water helps to take down the fever and
 
 92 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 dilute any poisonous products within the 
 body. 
 
 If the mother has not controlled the fever 
 within twelve hours, or at least made sure 
 of the cause of it so that she knows she can 
 control it, she should not take the responsi- 
 bility of treating the child further herself. 
 
 COLDS AND COUGHS 
 
 HOW to THE best way to treat colds is to prevent 
 them. There is no necessity of a child's hav- 
 ing a cold most of the time, even though he 
 is exposed to the infection through adults 
 who have colds. His physical condition 
 should be so healthy that he resists the in- 
 fection when he is exposed to it (for colds 
 are contagious), and he should never acquire 
 The a cold of his own accord. This physical 
 condition involves the so-called process of 
 "hardening." It means fresh air every hour 
 of the day, winter and summer. It means 
 avoiding overexposure, direct draughts, and 
 wet unprotected feet. It means getting 
 the skin to react promptly and properly to 
 different changes of temperature by correct 
 clothing and by cold baths. It means the
 
 COLDS AND COUGHS 93 
 
 right diet and proper, sufficient nourishment. 
 It means plenty of sleep and an orderly rou- 
 tine of existence. It means that the child 
 must be free from adenoids and enlarged ton- 
 sils (abnormalities which I have discussed 
 under their respective headings). If it 
 is worth while to prevent our children 
 from having colds, then we must work, 
 and work intelligently, to do all these things 
 right. 
 
 There is no doubt about it that the warm other 
 steam-heated apartment, with the dry air 
 which steam heat gives, dries out the mucous tlon8 ' 
 membrane or lining of the nose and air pas- 
 sages so that they are susceptible to infec- 
 tion and colds. I would recommend placing 
 a jar of water on every radiator so that the 
 air may be moistened somewhat to prevent 
 this error in artificial heating. I would also 
 recommend, where steam heat is used, that 
 the twelve to fourteen hours of sleep should 
 take place in an unheated room, no matter 
 how cold the weather may be. Turn off the 
 radiator as soon as the child is in bed and 
 open the windows, the child being warmly 
 clad for the night. If you have done all
 
 94 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 these things and done them right, your child 
 will not have continual colds, as I have proved 
 to my satisfaction over and over again. 
 Colds due Where a child has been removed from one 
 iiTciimate P art f the country to another, he may not 
 be able to throw off the new variety of con- 
 tagious colds that are rampant in the new 
 climate, even though he is in good enough 
 physical condition to resist those infections 
 where he has come from. This is because he 
 has formed a resistance (or acquired immu- 
 nity) from the bacteria in his own country 
 but is overwhelmed by the new variety of 
 germs in the next place he goes to. He has 
 not become acclimated. 
 The Treat- A cold once acquired needs to be handled 
 
 ment of a i T 
 
 Cold, properly. I cannot give you any one treat- 
 ment for all kinds of colds, for there is none 
 such. I would, however, advise against 
 overdressing the child and the use of flannel 
 about his chest and throat. I would most 
 certainly not omit the bath. I would be 
 still more persistent about the child's having 
 his full supply of fresh air. In good weather 
 I would not keep him in the house for a cold, 
 unless he has a fever.
 
 CROUP 95 
 
 Sore throats are dangerous things to dally Sore 
 with, for it is very difficult for any one un- 
 skilled in throat examinations to tell the 
 difference between tonsillitis and diphtheria. 
 
 Coughs are often due to the same causes Coughs 
 as colds. There are, however, other causes causes and 
 which we must consider. Errors in diet are 
 particularly liable to cause coughs, as are 
 adenoids and enlarged tonsils. I have chil- 
 dren under my care that develop a wheezy 
 cough whenever they overeat or " stuff," or 
 when they eat certain articles of food which 
 have been prohibited. A chronic cough 
 should never be allowed to go on, and a child 
 who has many coughs throughout the winter 
 should have a thorough overhauling to find 
 the cause. Tuberculosis is always lying in 
 wait for the child with the chronic cough, 
 particularly after an acute illness, such as 
 pneumonia, measles, whooping cough, and 
 other children's diseases. 
 
 CROUP 
 
 CROUP is a spasmodic contraction of the 
 larynx or air passage which may occur dur- 
 ing the course of any ordinary cold. Some
 
 96 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Croup children, and even all the children in certain 
 
 Tnd families, are prone to have croup whenever 
 
 Symptoms. fa e y nave a C old, while others never have it. 
 The child perhaps has had a cold through 
 the day and goes to bed in a fairly comfort- 
 able condition. Suddenly he awakens and 
 sits up gasping for breath. The breathing is 
 slow, noisy, and labored, and he is in great 
 distress. There may or may not be a sharp, 
 distinctive, brassy, barking cough. The ex- 
 citement which the condition causes in those 
 about him only increases his symptoms. 
 Untreated, this condition continues three 
 or four hours, when his fatigue causes the 
 spasm to relax and he goes off to sleep. If 
 it lasts longer than this, our suspicions should 
 be aroused that we are not dealing with ordi- 
 nary croup, but with diphtheria, or some 
 more dangerous condition. This is also true 
 of " croup" developing in the daytime. A 
 child never dies of uncomplicated spasmodic 
 croup, so even in his distress we should be 
 consoled with the fact that he is in no danger, 
 provided the diagnosis is correct. The next 
 day the cold may be as it was the day before, 
 and again after he has gone to bed the brassy
 
 CROUP 97 
 
 cough develops and the same distressing scene 
 takes place. 
 
 The treatment during the attack consists HOW to 
 of the following measures : (1) Wring out croup, 
 dry in cold water (60 F.) a soft cloth folded 
 into at least six thicknesses. Place this 
 quickly about the nec]^ from ear to ear, under- 
 neath the chin. Cover with a piece of oiled 
 silk or thick waxed paper, which is held on 
 by a handkerchief tied about the neck. 
 Change this every half hour until the croup 
 has subsided, when it should be discontinued. 
 (2) Cover the bed or crib with a sheet 
 and set the croup kettle going with the spout 
 underneath the sheet. (A steaming tea- 
 kettle kept boiling by an alcohol lamp or gas 
 stove may be rigged where a croup kettle 
 is not at hand, care being taken not to set 
 fire to the bed clothing.) This may be con- 
 tinued for hours or until the noisy breath- 
 ing has subsided, even after the child has 
 gone to sleep. (3) If the breathing is ex- 
 treme, or if the above measures are not 
 effective, or if the croup is caused by in- 
 digestion, administer one to two teaspoon- 
 fuls of sirup of ipecac, which will produce
 
 98 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 vomiting and cause the child to relax at 
 once. 
 
 Suitable medicinal measures should be 
 instituted through the day to prevent a re- 
 currence of the attack the next night, and 
 proper treatment begun to prevent further 
 
 attacks. 
 
 CONVULSIONS 
 
 BABIES and young children have convul- 
 to Another! sions when anything is wrong just as the adult 
 has a chill or a severe headache. The old- 
 fashioned mother used to think that her baby 
 was entitled to so many convulsions anyway, 
 and she was therefore very little disturbed 
 when he had one. This was very wrong be- 
 cause even one convulsion, especially if it is 
 prolonged, may do permanent harm. Be- 
 sides that, one convulsion predisposes to an- 
 other, and the more of them a baby has the 
 more he is liable to have. Epilepsy is thus 
 started in this way. Some children are far 
 more liable to convulsions than others and 
 have them on the slightest provocation. 
 Unless the child has some definite disease 
 of the brain, convulsions can be controlled 
 by proper treatment so that he won't have
 
 CONVULSIONS 99 
 
 any more, provided the treatment is begun 
 before too many have occurred. 
 
 The vast majority of convulsions are caused Various 
 by something the child has taken into his 
 stomach, by indigestion, or by incorrect diet. 
 By simply changing the diet, I have many 
 times put a stop to convulsions in children 
 who have had them in increasing numbers for 
 over a year. Other causes are : the be- 
 ginning of an acute illness, irritation about 
 the genitals, intestinal pajasites (worms), 
 adenoids and enlarged tonsils, inflammation 
 within the ear, slight injuries to the head, 
 teething (exceptionally, and only when the 
 process is abnormal), rickets, and poor 
 nutrition of any sort. Slight attacks called 
 ''petit mal" are precursors of convulsions, "Petit 
 and children having them should be treated 
 before they develop into real ones. In these 
 attacks the child stops suddenly and stares 
 straight ahead without moving a muscle. 
 This lasts from a few seconds to a minute, 
 and then he comes to with a start and acts 
 as if nothing had happened. In the more 
 severe kind, the whole body becomes stiff 
 and rigid for a minute and then it is over.
 
 100 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 The Treat- When a child is suddenly seized with a 
 Convulsions, convulsion, all is confusion and we are un- 
 prepared to do anything for him. It is well, 
 therefore, to have some orderly method of 
 procedure which we may institute at once. 
 (1) Loosen the clothing, but do not take 
 it off except the shoes and stockings. (2) 
 Place the child upon a bed or table with his 
 legs hanging over the edge from the knees 
 down. (3) Put his feet and lower legs into 
 a pail of hot wa^er to which has been added 
 one tablespoonful of powdered mustard, if it 
 is at hand. If there is no mustard, use hot 
 water alone. Be very careful that it is 
 not hot enough to burn. (4) Put an ice 
 cap to the head ; lacking an ice cap, use 
 plenty of cracked ice done up in a towel. 
 (5) Give an enema of warm soapsuds. 
 Repeat, if it is not retained. (6) As soon 
 as the child is able to swallow, give a large 
 dose of castor oil. By this time the physi- 
 cian, who has probably been hastily sum- 
 moned, will arrive and he can give any medi- 
 cal treatment required to prevent a recur- 
 rence of the convulsion. 
 
 I do not approve of the full hot bath in
 
 ACCIDENTS 101 
 
 unskilled hands because it is apt to cause Possible 
 harm when hastily done. I have seen chil- ^Fuii ' 
 dren get bad burns from such baths, and I Hot Bath * 
 have seen them catch cold from being put 
 into the bath with their clothing on and al- 
 lowed to lie around in the wet clothing after- 
 ward. It is usually very difficult to take the 
 clothing off while the child is in the convul- 
 sion. 
 
 Older children have a towel or spoon 
 handle put between the teeth so that the 
 tongue will not be bitten. Allow the child 
 to go to sleep as soon as possible after the 
 attack. After a child has had more than 
 one convulsion, no matter how long the in- 
 terval between them, take him to a physi- 
 cian so that the cause may be discovered, 
 and treatment instituted to prevent further 
 
 attacks. 
 
 ACCIDENTS 
 
 MANY mothers are not within reach of the Emergency 
 doctor when accidents occur. Consequently 
 it is well, especially when starting out on a 
 summer vacation, to be prepared for a few 
 of the most common emergencies. The first 
 thing is to lay in store the following list of
 
 102 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 necessary supplies : A five-yard package of 
 sterile gauze; half a dozen sterile gauze 
 bandages, assorted widths; a pound of ab- 
 sorbent cotton; a bottle of corrosive sub- 
 limate tablets, 7 1 grains each ; a bottle of 
 creolin. 
 
 Cuts or In the case of cuts or open wounds of any 
 sor t, first stop the hemorrhage where it is 
 excessive ; second, prevent infection or blood 
 poisoning by keeping the wound clean. 
 Hemorrhages can usually be stopped by using 
 a piece of sterile gauze held firmly over the 
 bleeding spot or bound tightly over the cut 
 with a bandage. In bad bleeding of the 
 extremities, a tourniquet made of a rope or 
 strip of cloth is twisted tightly about the 
 extremity between the wound and the body 
 until the bleeding has stopped. Where there 
 is little bleeding, the most important thing 
 is to prevent infection. This is done by 
 soaking the wound for half an hour in a hot 
 antiseptic solution (one corrosive sublimate 
 tablet or one teaspoonful of creolin to a quart 
 of water). A piece of sterile gauze wet with 
 the antiseptic solution is then placed upon 
 the wound, and after bandaging, is left un-
 
 ACCIDENTS 103 
 
 disturbed until the wound has healed; or, 
 if gaping open, until the physician can give 
 it further care. 
 
 If the skin is unbroken, bruises require Bruises. 
 no special treatment except, perhaps, where 
 they are very extensive, in which event, 
 ice is immediately applied and the injured 
 part allowed to rest for a time. 
 
 Fractures or broken bones are worthy of Fractures 
 our notice here only to call attention to the Bones. e ' 
 fact that often in infancy and in childhood 
 they seem to cause comparatively little pain. 
 For this reason, after a child has had a fall, 
 he soon gets over the original hurt and makes 
 no fuss except perhaps when he is undressed, 
 taken up, or handled. If we watch him 
 closely, we will see that he doesn't move the 
 arm or the leg or whatever part is affected. 
 I have had children brought to me three or 
 four days after the accident and I have found 
 that they had a broken collar bone or a 
 broken arm which had gone unnoticed for 
 that length of time. 
 
 Nosebleeds, if habitual, are caused usually Nosebleeds. 
 either by adenoids or by ulcerations on the 
 inside of the nose. Both of these conditions
 
 104 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 should receive their appropriate treatment 
 in order to stop them permanently. The 
 treatment at the time of the nosebleed con- 
 sists in keeping the child quiet in the up- 
 right position, unless he is faint, putting a 
 piece of ice to the back of the neck, and hold- 
 ing the nose firmly between the thumb and 
 forefinger. The latter is done on the chance 
 that the bleeding is caused by an ulceration 
 on the septum of the nose. Blowing the nose 
 is prohibited until all chance of a return of 
 the hemorrhage has gone s 
 
 Foreign Foreign bodies, such as beans or pebbles, 
 the Ear or i n the ear or nose should not be too vigor- 
 Nose. ous iy s OU ght for by the untrained attendant, 
 as sometimes this serves only to poke them 
 farther in or to break them into bits so that 
 the physician has a good deal of difficulty in 
 removing them when it comes his turn to 
 try and get them out. We should also re- 
 member that there is no urgent hurry about 
 removing them as they may remain there a 
 number of hours without causing serious 
 harm. However, if there is no physician 
 available, a small steel hairpin may be 
 straightened out and a small hook made of it
 
 ACCIDENTS 105 
 
 by bending one end over sharply (| inch). 
 This is then passed up the nose flat against 
 the septum or inner wall and after the hook 
 has passed by the foreign body, it is turned 
 outward, so that it will catch upon the top 
 of the offending particle, and pulled gently 
 down. The same process may be used in the 
 ear, but it is more difficult, and I would not 
 advise it except in case of absolute necessity. 
 
 Foreign bodies in the throat, too, are often Foreign 
 not so urgent as they at first seem. As long th e Throat, 
 as the child is breathing all right and is not 
 blue in the face, do not do anything to make 
 matters worse. It is marvelous the size of 
 object a child can get into his throat without 
 a great deal of discomfort. I recall the case 
 of a child six months old who had swallowed 
 a silver dollar. His mother was sure he had 
 swallowed it because she had seen it go into 
 his mouth, and had poked at it with a pair 
 of scissors as it was going down. When I 
 got there, the child was in far better condition 
 than the mother, and breathing more regu- 
 larly. I put in my finger and pulled out a 
 plum, in the form of a silver dollar, that had 
 lodged behind the palate where she had
 
 106 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 poked it, I presume. In case the breathing 
 is hard and the child is choking, grab him by 
 the legs and hold him upside down while 
 some one pounds him on the back. If he 
 does not cough the object up and is still blue 
 in the face, put your finger as far back- in 
 the throat as you can reach and try to dis- 
 lodge it. 
 
 when Children often swallow such things as 
 Bwailow open safety pins, screws, and coins without 
 Things." j tg doing them any harm. In due time 
 these objects travel through the stomach 
 and bowels into the world again. * Do not 
 administer cathartics, but give the child 
 plenty of coarse food oatmeal, potatoes, 
 and bran biscuits. In these days of the X-ray 
 machine, it is best to take the child to your 
 doctor, who will locate the foreign body and 
 make sure it is not in a place where it will 
 do harm. 
 
 Foreign bodies in the eye, if they have not 
 penetrated any part of the eyeball, are best 
 removed by pulling the lid away from the eye- 
 ball with the finger so that the tears will 
 flow and wash the particle away. Never rub 
 the eye. When the eye ball is penetrated,
 
 ACCIDENTS 107 
 
 you cannot take the child to an oculist too 
 quickly. 
 
 There are three degrees of burns. The Burns, 
 first is simply a reddening or inflamed condi- 
 tion of the skin ; the second destroys the 
 first layer of the skin, causing blisters ; and 
 the third injures the flesh itself. For the 
 reddening or simple inflammation all that is 
 necessary is to relieve the pain, and this may 
 be done by covering the burned part with 
 sweet oil and lime water, equal parts of each. 
 If this is not at hand, sweet oil alone, or 
 even lard or vaseline may be used. A burn 
 of the second degree should be treated just 
 like an open wound, because when the blister 
 breaks, infection, or blood poisoning, may set 
 in if it is not kept perfectly clean. For this 
 reason, it should be entirely covered with a 
 piece of gauze soaked in a weak antiseptic 
 solution, such as I have described in "Open 
 Wounds." It should then be left alone un- 
 til seen by a physician. Burns of the third 
 degree, where the flesh is actually destroyed, 
 should be treated in the same way. These 
 are apt to be much more serious and will in 
 all probability leave a scar.
 
 108 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Poisons. Children more often take poisons of vari- 
 ous kinds than do adults. As prevention is 
 better than a cure, all poisonous substances 
 and medicines should be kept out of the reach 
 of the child, and not be left where he may 
 get them. Disregarding this rule has caused 
 many a mother regret to the end of her life. 
 Most medicines, if taken in excessive quanti- 
 ties, are poisonous. We should always bear 
 this in mind. 
 
 As soon as it is discovered that the child 
 has taken poison, send for the doctor at once, 
 telling him, if possible, what poison has been 
 taken so that he may come prepared for the 
 emergency. It is always well to remember 
 that an antidote for the poison is often printed 
 upon the bottle in which the poison came. 
 This saves time in looking up the treatment. 
 A general principle which it is safe to follow 
 is to make the child vomit at once. What- 
 ever the poison, the sooner it comes up the 
 less harm it will do. If the antidote is known, 
 it may be given before the emetic which is 
 to produce the vomiting, and in some in- 
 stances repeated after the vomiting. The 
 best emetics are those which are always at
 
 BED-WETTING 109 
 
 hand in every household. Mustard flour, 
 two teaspoonsful to a glass of water, usually 
 starts vomiting at once. As soon as it is 
 swallowed, the finger is stuck down the throat 
 to cause gagging, so that the child will not 
 retain the mustard long enough to burn the 
 stomach. Another good way to produce 
 vomiting is to give a glassful of strong soap- 
 suds. Sometimes just sticking the finger 
 into the throat after giving a glass of warm 
 water will produce the desired result. Sirup 
 or wine of ipecac, one to two teaspoonsful, 
 is the best emetic of all, but it is not always 
 at hand. A list of antidotes for the various 
 poisons is appended in the back of this 
 
 book. 
 
 BED-WETTING 
 
 THERE are many causes of bed-wetting, Causes of 
 and it is always well, first, to find the cause W gtting. 
 before trying to treat the child for this con- 
 dition. A small percentage of the children 
 who have this unfortunate failing have some 
 organic error back of it. The principal 
 disturbances of this sort are adenoids, en- 
 larged tonsils, and irritation about the geni- 
 tals, incorrect diet, constipation, and pin-
 
 110 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 worms. Although it is necessary to make 
 sure that the bed-wetting child has none of 
 these things, such cases are far in the minor- 
 ity. The vast majority are caused by lack 
 of training in early years. When the child 
 is eight or nine months of age, he should be 
 trained to use the vessel instead of remaining 
 wet. In this way he learns to make the act 
 a voluntary one under the control of his will. 
 It is a lot of work to put the child on the vessel 
 every hour throughout the day, but in the 
 end it saves a lot of trouble. It is surprising 
 how soon children with the help of this train- 
 ing will learn to use the chair. At the end 
 of the first year he will reward his mother by 
 remaining dry all the time. At eighteen 
 months of age, the ten o'clock nursing is 
 usually stopped. This gives the baby a 
 chance to remain dry during the night. If 
 he is taken up when the mother goes to bed, 
 and possibly once more during the night for 
 the first few weeks, he soon learns to keep 
 dry all night long. By two years of age, he 
 should stop wetting the bed altogether. 
 The Cure How about the older child who has already 
 wetting! established the habit of bed- wetting? We
 
 BED-WETTING 111 
 
 should first make sure that he has none of 
 the organic troubles of which I have spoken. 
 Probably it will be necessary to have him 
 examined by a physician in order to be as- 
 sured that everything is all right. This at- 
 tended to, we should proceed in the follow- 
 ing manner : (1) Begin with him just as 
 though he were a little baby and put him 
 on the chair once an hour throughout the 
 day in order to get the bladder functions un- 
 der the control of the will. This is kept up 
 for about two weeks, and then we may 
 lengthen the intervals to an hour and one 
 half for two weeks more. After that, the 
 intervals are increased gradually until he is 
 made to pass his urine once in three hours 
 throughout the day. This is a matter of 
 training and should be rigidly followed for 
 the effect that it has at night. Regardless 
 of the fact that the child may already have 
 good control in the daytime, it teaches him 
 to pass his urine at will. (2) At first he 
 should be taken up three times each night, 
 later twice, then once, and finally not at all 
 after ten o'clock. It is usually advisable to 
 take every child up at nine or ten o'clock at
 
 112 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 importance night, until five or six years of age. (3) No liq- 
 in Bed- uids should be allowed after 4 P.M. The sup- 
 
 wetting. p er should b e absolutely dry, since soups and 
 milk and such things are just as bad as water. 
 This is a great hardship, but it is absolutely 
 necessary. (4) The supper should be a light 
 one, consisting of bread, toast or crackers, 
 with apple sauce or cut fruit, or the little 
 child occasionally may have cereal with 
 butter, to break up the monotony of the diet. 
 The diet throughout the day should be, of 
 course, a sensible one. (5) No tea nor coffee 
 is allowed. They are stimulants that no 
 child should have, but are especially harmful 
 for bed-wetting children. (6) Finally, if 
 this treatment is not successful in breaking 
 up the habit, medicinal measures are 
 necessary, and the physician should be con- 
 sulted. 
 DO not A child should never be punished for bed- 
 
 Punish Bed- ... , _. i M i TTI ,1 11-, 
 
 wetting wetting. Most children dislike the habit as 
 ren- much as the parents do, and it is punishment 
 enough for them to wake up wet each morn- 
 ing. The younger the child, the more easy 
 it is to overcome this habit of bed-wetting, 
 and if such treatment is started soon after
 
 WORMS 113 
 
 the second year, the habit can usually be 
 controlled very easily in a few weeks. After 
 five years of age, it may take months to effect 
 a cure. Children who suddenly acquire the 
 habit of bed-wetting in later childhood al- 
 ways have some organic cause which should 
 be attended to at once. Usually this is 
 some disease of the urinary tract. 
 
 Wetting the clothes in the daytime is a 
 still more uncomfortable habit, and it, too, is 
 most often caused by lack of proper training. 
 The same treatment should be used for this 
 
 condition. 
 
 WORMS 
 
 THERE was a time when every mother Symptoms 
 thought that her child had worms whenever 
 he was not in his usual good health, and the 
 doctor laughed at the idea. Now we know 
 that many children do have worms, especially 
 country children and those who drink well 
 water in the summer. Of course, a great 
 many children who have all the symptoms of 
 worms (grit their teeth at night, have a 
 foul breath, and an irritation about the nose 
 which causes them to pick at it, or even have 
 convulsions), simply have indigestion. Any
 
 114 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 irritation about the rectum, if unexplained 
 otherwise, is especially significant of pin- 
 worms. The general health of children with 
 worms may or may not be poor. Often, how- 
 ever, they are pale and listless or nervous 
 and irritable. The appetite may be poor, and 
 it is rarely as ravenous as some parents ex- 
 pect it to be. It is not a bad practice to 
 How to Tell watch the stools of these children. The onlv 
 
 whether or J 
 
 not a way we can make sure whether or not the 
 cn ild has worms is to see them in the stools 
 or have the stools examined for the eggs. 
 There are three common varieties : pin- 
 worms, which look like short bits of white 
 thread; roundworms, which are two to six 
 inches long and look like earthworms; and 
 tapeworms, the latter come away in flat 
 segments like a piece of ordinary tape. 
 
 Once it is determined a child has worms of 
 any sort, it is useless to dally with a little worm 
 medicine; instead, a regular course of treat- 
 ment must be instituted, lasting over a num- 
 ber of days or even weeks. This involves 
 diet, as well as medicine, and is too compli- 
 cated for a work of this sort.
 
 THE NERVOUS CHILD 115 
 
 THE NERVOUS CHILD 
 
 THERE is no doubt that some children are 
 much more nervous than others. They 
 either come from nervous families and natu- 
 rally have a nervous disposition, or are made 
 nervous by their surroundings and treatment. 
 Such children must, of course, have different 
 treatment from the placid easy-going child 
 who is never upset by anything. And what Different 
 do we mean by a nervous child? In the showing 
 first place, one who is easily upset by a slight Nervous - 
 cause, or one who is easily frightened, or per- 
 haps a child who cries a great deal on slight 
 provocation. Some children show their nerv- 
 ousness by being afraid of things that ought 
 not to cause fear, and others show their 
 nervousness by having various pains and 
 imaginary ills, just as the hypochondriac 
 adult does. The twitching of a group of 
 
 muscles is another way that the child has of ' 
 
 showing his nervous make-up. These mo- 
 tions are called habit spasms or tics. They 
 are so common that they hardly need de- 
 scription. The child who continually blinks 
 his eyes or shrugs his shoulders or makes anj
 
 116 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 peculiar motion of the body does it more and 
 more often until it has become such a fixed 
 habit that he can only overcome it with great 
 difficulty. Some children even have a nerv- 
 ous cough or rasping of the throat which 
 becomes more and more a habit. It is very 
 important to overcome these things in their 
 beginning because if this is not done, the 
 child grows up to be a nervous adult and has 
 hysteria and various other neurotic tenden- 
 cies all his life. 
 
 The unfortunate part of the whole subject 
 is that the nervous child usually comes by his 
 affection honestly; that is, he inherits a nerv- 
 ous disposition from one or both of his parents, 
 and at the same time being constantly associ- 
 The ated with them, he is surrounded by nervous 
 ^Nervous influences. For that reason I have occa- 
 Surround- s j ona iiy found it necessary in some of the 
 worst cases, to separate the child from the 
 nervous mother. This may be done by send- 
 ing the child away to stay with some relative, 
 always being careful to select one who is not 
 nervous herself. In other cases, a nurse may 
 be found who is not of a nervous or excitable 
 disposition. This will answer the purpose
 
 THE NERVOUS CHILD 117 
 
 very well if she is allowed to have full con- 
 trol of the child. In still other cases, a 
 mother, once she understands the cause of 
 the child's condition, can be brought to look 
 upon it in a sensible manner, and overcome 
 it herself. 
 
 It is impossible to give any one plan of Treatment 
 treatment for all nervous children, because children! 18 
 each case is different, and each child must be 
 handled with the utmost common sense and 
 tact. There is one rule which applies to all, 
 and that is for those who surround the child 
 never to become excited themselves. Some 
 children can be broken of their nervousness 
 by severe and strict discipline, while others 
 must be humored to a certain extent. They 
 should never be allowed to listen to a recital 
 of their own nervous symptoms, and they 
 should not continually be told that they are 
 nervous. In fact, it is sometimes best to 
 overlook the nervous symptoms altogether. 
 They should be allowed to play with other 
 children of their own age, and not kept by 
 themselves, as is often done. Sometimes 
 in the younger children the nervous symptoms 
 disappear when the child starts to school.
 
 118 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 In the older children of the school age, the 
 nervousness may be aggravated by hard 
 study or indoor life. Occasionally, a com- 
 plete change of surroundings is beneficial. 
 This change of surroundings is far more 
 effective with children than with adults, 
 because children forget more easily. Their 
 curiosity stimulates them to new things more 
 quickly, and old ties are soon cut off. 
 
 Many nervous children do not get enough 
 sleep. Sometimes they sleep poorly because 
 of the nervousness and sometimes it is be- 
 cause their daily routine is not a proper one. 
 At the same time, the lack of sleep makes 
 them still more nervous. The diet, also, has 
 a great deal to do with causing such a con- 
 dition. The strictest diet must be estab- 
 lished and maintained. The child who has 
 more or less indigestion, or who does not 
 take plenty of good nourishing food, could 
 only be expected to be nervous.
 
 PART IV 
 CARE OF THE SPECIAL ORGANS
 
 THE THROAT 
 
 THE throat, unlike the eyes, ears, and teeth, The Value 
 is an organ that needs no special local treat- ExIiSn^ 
 ment in health. In fact, the use of sprays tion - 
 and applications in the healthy nose and 
 throat is to be deprecated. The healthy 
 throat depends upon the general condition 
 of the child and his mode of life. It is a good 
 practice, however, to accustom the child to 
 a throat examination after he is old enough 
 to understand that it will do him no harm. 
 When he is ill, he then submits to the examina- 
 tion without being upset by it, which some- 
 times makes a great deal of difference in the 
 outcome of the illness. It is also well for 
 the mother to become familiar with the ap- 
 pearance of the normal throat, so that she 
 may recognize early any acute affection there. 
 
 Adenoids and enlarged tonsils are the two Adenoids 
 chief chronic conditions of the throat that are fagged " 
 common in children. Adenoids consist of a Tonsils - 
 grapelike mass of tissue which grows back 
 of the palate in the passage that leads from the 
 throat to the nose through which the air 
 must pass when the mouth is shut. They 
 
 121
 
 122 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 may be large and completely fill the passage, 
 or they may be smaller so that some air may 
 pass by them. Tonsils are normally in the 
 throat. They are harmful when they are 
 much enlarged or ragged, or are the cause 
 of frequent illnesses. 
 
 Cause of We often hear the question asked, "Why do 
 
 Aden ^ so many children have adenoids and tonsils 
 Tonsils. nowa days? They used to be unheard of." 
 There are two answers to this question. The 
 first is that we live under different conditions 
 than we formerly did. Apartment-house life, 
 steam-heated houses, richer foods, more cod- 
 dling, and the constant use of nipples or baby 
 comforts, have brought about this condition. 
 The second reason is that children did have 
 them, but they were unrecognized at that 
 time. 
 Why Many an adult carries about with 
 
 aiKTEn- him to-day physical abnormalities which 
 Tonsils are the result of untreated adenoids and 
 
 should be tonsils. Deafness for life is one of them. A 
 
 removed. 
 
 deformed narrow jaw and prominent nose 
 with the characteristic open fish mouth is 
 another. How many people do we see in 
 the course of a year who have grown up with
 
 THE THROAT 123 
 
 this typical facial expression, when they 
 might have been beautiful to look upon if 
 their throats had been properly attended to 
 in childhood? Upon the question of tonsils 
 the writer feels very strongly, for through 
 his childhood he had three or four attacks 
 of tonsillitis a year which still leave a lasting 
 impression upon his mind and which would 
 have been eliminated had his throat received 
 proper treatment. The tonsils are also the 
 seat of entrance of many other infections 
 besides tonsillitis. 
 
 Breathing with the mouth open night cr Symp- 
 day, snoring at night, restless sleeping, poor Adenoids, 
 nutrition and debility, loss of appetite, 
 nervousness, bed-wetting, impaired hearing, 
 as shown by lack of attention, backwardness 
 in school, seeming stupidity, nosebleed, 
 defective speech, a nasal voice, and frequent 
 colds, all are symptoms of adenoids. 
 
 The only treatment that is of any avail is Removal 
 to remove them. It is sometimes wonderful Effective 
 the immediate improvement following this Treatment 
 procedure. As to the age at which this may 
 be done, I would most emphatically say 
 that there is no age limit. I have seen
 
 124 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 babies four months old who have never 
 done well because of the obstructed breath- 
 ing during nursing and sleep. The removal 
 of the adenoids caused them to show im- 
 provement at once, so that they took the 
 first good nursing of their lives a half hour 
 later, and got fat and strong without delay. 
 Do .Another question that is frequently asked 
 is, "Do adenoids return?" They some- 
 times do grow again, but that is no argu- 
 ment against their removal. A child is 
 developing every day of his life, and if the 
 operation gives him only a year, in which he 
 is free of this obstacle to his proper develop- 
 ment, just so much is gained. They may be 
 removed again if necessary, but fortunately 
 this is not a common occurrence. 
 
 THE TEETH 
 
 THE first tooth is awaited with the greatest 
 interest, and let us hope that this interest 
 in those useful and beautifying organs of 
 mastication will not abate as the novelty 
 
 When the ceases * De entertaining. 
 
 Teeth The two lower central teeth come first, 
 
 should 
 
 Appear, at six or eight months ; the four upper central
 
 THE TEETH 125 
 
 teeth two months later ; within the next two 
 months the two other lower teeth appear on 
 either side of their fellows. Taking count, 
 therefore, we have the eight central teeth 
 at a year or a little later. At fourteen to 
 sixteen months come the four double teeth, 
 and at a year and a half the eye and 
 stomach teeth come along to fill in the 
 space that intervenes. There are then six- 
 teen teeth, the full complement with which 
 the child may chew hard food. We may 
 not expect the four other double teeth until 
 two and one half years, when our baby has all 
 the temporary masticators, twenty in number % 
 
 We should not worry too much if the teeth Delay or 
 do not come along upon schedule time. it^hT* 
 The breast-fed child is far more apt to have Teethin - 
 his teeth early and easily, than is the bottle- 
 fed baby, and the children of certain families 
 are prone to early teething, while others get 
 theirs late. Any marked delay or great 
 irregularity of teething may be caused by 
 errors in diet or by nutritional abnormalities. 
 Extreme delay in teething should be looked 
 into, as rickets and other nutritional diseases 
 are particularly apt to cause it.
 
 126 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Teething a Teething during the summer is often 
 Process, dreaded by the mother, but if her child is 
 Dreaded 6 P r P er ly nourished and well cared for, she 
 need not fear any great amount of disturb- 
 ance. We are apt to lay everything to 
 teething because it is easier to explain an 
 illness in that way than it is to look into the 
 real cause. We must remember that teething 
 is a natural process, as normal as the develop- 
 ment of the bones or muscles or any other 
 part of the body ; it is so easy to say a child 
 has this or that "because he is teething." 
 I have had the privilege of observing a great 
 .many children during the teething period 
 and it is in the great minority of my cases 
 that I see much disturbance from this cause. 
 This is not invariably true, however. Per- 
 haps a few days' discomfort is experienced 
 and the tooth comes through. However, 
 when the gums are red and swollen and the 
 child is irritable or even sick from the dis- 
 comfort, we should help the eruption of the 
 tooth by rubbing the inflamed gums with a 
 rough towel. Such a procedure is usually 
 welcomed by the uncomfortable baby and 
 may bring a tooth through far sooner than
 
 THE TEETH 127 
 
 it would otherwise have come. Lancing 
 of the gums is occasionally necessary, but 
 when it is done too early, a scar is left which 
 is far harder for the tooth to penetrate 
 than it would have been if we had not 
 meddled. 
 
 The eruption of the second teeth gives very The 
 little discomfort, which is sufficient proof 
 
 in my opinion of the theory that the first J e Second 
 
 1 t*oto. 
 
 teeth should come through without much 
 trouble. The molars or back teeth are the 
 first to appear at five or six years of age, 
 before any of the first or temporary teeth 
 have come out. At seven years comes the 
 ugly stage when the front teeth drop out, 
 but the space is soon filled by the permanent 
 teeth. At nine to ten years the temporary 
 double teeth give place to the permanent 
 double teeth, the bicuspids. At twelve years 
 the canines, or pointed teeth, take the place 
 of the temporary ones, and at twelve to 
 fourteen years the next double teeth, or 
 second molars, appear behind those that 
 came at six years. Finally, when the child is 
 a child no longer, at eighteen to twenty- 
 five years of age, the wisdom teeth come
 
 128 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 along to make up the full set of thirty-two 
 teeth. 
 
 The Care The care of the teeth begins as soon as 
 Teeth 6 the first one comes through. The softest 
 toothbrush it is possible to get, baby size, 
 is purchased, and the teeth brushed night 
 and morning. Later the brushing is best 
 done after each meal. Tooth powder should 
 not be used, but a mild antiseptic like glyco- 
 thymoline is added to the water. The teeth 
 are brushed up and down, as well as from side 
 to side. Pay as much attention tu> brushing 
 the child's gums as you do the teeth, as it 
 keeps them in good condition. It is not 
 necessary to pass a thread between the teeth 
 if their contour is good, because nature 
 has made their shape so perfect as to allow no 
 food to collect there. But if they are 
 irregular or have once started to decay, it is 
 of the greatest necessity to use the thread 
 after each meal. 
 
 Causes of The causes of decayed teeth are three in 
 Teeth, number : errors in diet, lack of proper clean- 
 ing, and disuse, by which I mean the absence 
 of hard chewable food in the diet. The diet 
 should be nourishing and contain the proper
 
 THE TEETH 129 
 
 proportions of meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, 
 starches, and fats. There should be no eat- 
 ing between meals and a minimum amount 
 of sweets should be taken. Cereals and soft, 
 mushy food should not be given to the exclu- 
 sion of hard food. Bread toasted in the oven, 
 zwieback, hard crackers, are an important 
 part of the dietary, and they should be chewed 
 without moistening so the child can harden 
 his teeth by long chewing. Dogs naturally 
 have exceptionally hard teeth because long 
 use in chewing up bones has made them so. 
 Nature usually arises to the demands put 
 upon it, and I believe the present generation 
 has bad teeth as much from this lack of use as 
 from any other cause. This is not a theory, 
 but a fact that I have put into practice 
 with remarkable results. 
 
 When there is a decayed spot, it should be The 
 filled at once. The teeth should thereafter 
 be inspected once or twice a year by a 
 dentist. The temporary teeth should not 
 be extracted before their time unless it is 
 absolutely impossible to fill them. Remem- 
 ber that the six-year-old molars are perma- 
 nent teeth and take special care of them.
 
 130 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Brittle teeth are sometimes caused by ade- 
 noids. Protruding teeth are most often 
 caused by finger sucking. Irregularity of the 
 second teeth should be attended to by the 
 
 dentist. 
 
 THE EYES 
 
 Care of THE first care of the eyes rests with the 
 during the physician, who puts antiseptics into them to 
 First Year. p rev ent any infection that they may get 
 during the baby's introduction into the 
 world. After that, the nurse washes them 
 out each morning with a clean piece of cotton 
 soaked in a fresh solution of boracic acid, 
 one level teaspoonful to a cup of boiled water. 
 This is kept up during the first year. Any 
 discharge from the eyes should not be 
 tampered with by the mother or nurse. The 
 physician's attention should be called to the 
 condition at once. The vast majority of 
 blind people owe their misfortune to neglect 
 at this time. 
 
 Danger Baby, like the moth, seems to be fascinated 
 
 strong by a strong light, so he should not be laid 
 
 Llght- where he can stare at one when he is small, 
 
 nor should the sun be allowed to shine directly 
 
 into the unprotected eyes. I am not sure
 
 THE EYES 131 
 
 but that this is one factor in the causation 
 of weak eyesight in the children of the present 
 generation. 
 
 The next period at which the eyes are Eye 
 called to our attention is at the time the 
 child starts to school. I think it would be 
 
 at School 
 
 a splendid practice if every child had a A ge . 
 thorough eye examination by a competent 
 oculist before he began his school life. Any 
 defects of sight would then be discovered 
 and proper treatment instituted at once. 
 Many children appear stupid in school be- 
 cause they cannot see the blackboard, their 
 eyesight being deficient. Headaches are fre- 
 quently caused by defective vision. 
 
 I am sorry to say that not enough attention 
 is paid to the proper lighting of schoolrooms. 
 The light should come in through the windows 
 behind the children so that it shines over 
 their shoulders on to the desk instead of 
 striking them directly in the eyes. 
 
 The child who is cross-eyed or has any Defective 
 noticeable defect should consult the oculist yea 
 early, for during early childhood glasses 
 may remedy a defect which will require an 
 operation later on.
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 THE EARS 
 
 Washing THE ears should be washed daily with 
 boric acid and water. The best thing for 
 this purpose is a small piece of cotton wound 
 about a toothpick. One should never try 
 to wash far into the ear, or put any small 
 object like a hairpin into it to take out the 
 wax or for any other purpose. The ears 
 should not be bundled too much and the thick- 
 ness of the bonnet, if worn, should not change 
 from day to day. (See "Clothing. ") 
 TO Prevent Protruding ears, or ears which are doubled 
 ' " 8 over from lying upon them, should be attended 
 to in infancy if we care anything about the 
 child's appearance in later life. When the 
 child is too young to turn over of his own 
 accord, we should see that the ear is flat when 
 he is laid down. Later, when he becomes 
 more active, prominent ears should be kept 
 back tight to the head by a skeleton bonnet 
 made of tape which comes over the ears and 
 ties under the chin. These may be bought 
 at any children's furnishing store. 
 
 Defective hearing is first shown by the 
 child's becoming inattentive. I recall the
 
 THE EARS 133 
 
 case of a child three and one half years old Causes and 
 who had been irritable and unlike himself for effective 
 three weeks, although he had seemed other- Heanng - 
 wise in good health. His mother noticed 
 that he did not mind and sometimes did 
 not pay any attention to her when he was 
 spoken to. Upon being brought to me, I 
 found that he had an inflammation of both 
 eardrums and the hearing was very much 
 impaired by the process. The proper treat- 
 ment soon remedied the condition. Adenoids 
 are the most frequent cause of impaired 
 hearing in children. 
 
 An acute inflammation or abscess of the Earache 
 ear, if untreated, may leave a child with o? the Ear 8 * 
 poor hearing or even entirely deaf. Any 
 symptoms referable to the ear or any dis- 
 charge from the ear should be attended to 
 at once. Children are very prone to such 
 trouble with the ear. It usually begins 
 with earache, which in the infant is not always 
 easy to diagnose. It is often accompanied by 
 such severe pain that the child gets no sleep 
 at all. He cries night and day until the 
 abscess breaks or until it is lanced. When 
 this pain is not present and the child has
 
 134 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 fever, loss of appetite and restlessness, 
 nothing but an examination of the ear will 
 locate the trouble. Putting the hand to the 
 ear is not a sign of earache in very young 
 babies, as most mothers think it is. In fact, 
 a child under three years cannot locate pain 
 very accurately. 
 
 Best The best treatment for earache is a hot 
 
 for Earache, irrigation with two quarts of water from a 
 
 fountain syringe. This is followed by the 
 
 application of the hot-water bag until the 
 
 physician takes charge. 
 
 THE SKIN 
 
 Keeping IT is a wonder to me that the baby's skin 
 
 ii^Good does not suffer more often than it does when 
 
 Condition. we QQjjgj^gj. that ne j s we ^ a certain amount 
 
 of the time in spite of all the care we may 
 give him. The child's skin certainly is 
 delicate and needs a great deal of care to 
 keep it in good condition. Bathing and 
 the use of castile soap upon the healthy skin 
 keeps it in good condition. The soap should 
 be thoroughly washed off in the bath and a 
 generous application of toilet powder (es- 
 pecially in the folds of his fat little body)
 
 THE SKIN 135 
 
 made after the bath and every time we have 
 occasion to dry him. During the hot 
 weather this is more necessary than ever. 
 Strong brown soap used in the washing of 
 diapers and other clothing which comes in 
 contact with skin often causes trouble. 
 
 The girl's complexion should be carefully The Girl's 
 attended to, for what is more delightful than 
 the clear healthy skin of the young ! The 
 cold bleak winds of the northern climate 
 make chapping a frequent occurrence, which 
 leaves in its wake a rough coarse skin. 
 Daily applications of cold cream both morn- 
 ing and night will not only give the child 
 comfort, but insure a good complexion as 
 she grows older. Any pimples are usually 
 caused by overeating or some error in diet. 
 This should not be allowed to go on, as the 
 young girl may be marked for life by neglect 
 of pimples when they first appear. 
 
 There is one thing that I never offer an Eruption*, 
 opinion upon until I have seen it and studied 
 it myself and that is an eruption upon the 
 skin. The eruptive diseases may do so 
 much harm that it is not well to take a chance. 
 It is so easy for the mother to say she thinks
 
 13() THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 it is only a stomach rash or prickly heat. 
 She does not forgive herself easily when she 
 finds out later that it is scarlet fever. 
 Eruptions are often difficult for the well- 
 trained physician to diagnose, so the mother 
 should not expect to become proficient in 
 distinguishing the different varieties herself. 
 My one warning would be not to let any acute 
 eruption go undiagnosed. 
 
 Chronic Chronic eruptions, too, should not be al- 
 >ns ' lowed to go on. For instance, an eczema 
 which starts in a fold of the skin may spread 
 over the whole body and be a very difficult 
 thing to treat after it has become so exten- 
 sive, or even after it has become chronic over 
 a small area. A child with eczema should not 
 have a full bath, because soap and water are 
 very harmful to the inflamed skin, particu- 
 larly the soap. The diet is usually at the 
 bottom of the trouble in some way, even in 
 the breast-fed baby. 
 
 Prickly Prickly heat is due to too much clothing or 
 rough things coming next the skin, which, of 
 course, involves over heating. Dress the 
 baby as coolly as possible and put sodium 
 bicarbonate (cooking soda) into the bath,
 
 THE HAIR 137 
 
 a tablespoonful to the gallon of water. 
 Powder the body thoroughly many times a 
 day with talcum powder which has boracic 
 acid added to it, say a couple of teaspoonfuls 
 to the usual one-ounce box of powder. 
 
 THE HAIR 
 
 GIRLS especially are dependent upon the 
 hair for attractiveness in later life, and since 
 we wish to start our children off with all the 
 physical perfections possible, it is well to 
 devote a certain amount of attention to 
 this " crowning glory." 
 
 After the hair has come thick upon the The 
 head, it is not well to wet it every day at 
 the bath time. One shampoo a week is 
 sufficient, and if the hair is dry and brittle, 
 once in two weeks is often enough. Castile 
 soap is best for the shampoo, as some of 
 the stronger soaps, while they remove the 
 oil, tend to make the hair break off. 
 
 "Shall I cut my girl's hair?" is frequently Effect of 
 
 asked me. If the hair is very thin, it does * 
 sometimes make it thicker to cut it; but 
 frequent cutting does often spoil the natural 
 curl in later life. While I do not believe in
 
 138 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 sacrificing comfort and health for beauty, I 
 must admit I admire beauty; comfort can 
 be attained by cutting the back hair a few 
 inches so that the neck will not be too warm. 
 The discomfort from a heated head, moreover, 
 is not very great. 
 
 Frequent Frequent brushing of the hair tends to 
 
 iTsem^ m &ke it healthy and vigorous. Taking the 
 
 ficiai. snar is ou t w ith a comb is ruinous, for it 
 
 breaks off and pulls out so much that the 
 
 hair soon looks thin and scraggly. Long 
 
 hair never need interfere with the sleep as 
 
 we are sometimes told if it is properly braided 
 
 and tied out of the way at bedtime. 
 
 Milk During the first year, the scalp is often 
 
 Crust in . . . . , 
 
 the Scalp, covered with a coating which is called 
 milk crust. This is a great source of dis- 
 comfort to the child, and a worry to the 
 mother. It should receive energetic treat- 
 ment as soon as it is noticed. Stop washing 
 the scalp altogether, for I believe that it is 
 often caused by excessive cleanliness in this 
 direction. The crust should be softened by 
 rubbing in a generous supply of cold cream. 
 After it is all loosened in this way, a soft 
 piece of linen covered with cold cream is used
 
 THE GENITAL ORGANS 139 
 
 to remove the crust. Then a fresh applica- 
 tion of cold cream is applied and repeated 
 two or three times a day. Each morning 
 clean away any of the crust that has accumu- 
 lated. If there is much hair, it should be cut 
 close to the scalp. After the condition is 
 cured, be careful not to wash the head too 
 
 often. 
 
 THE GENITAL ORGANS 
 
 A GREAT deal of care is necessary in keeping Care of 
 the genital organs of the girl baby free from Genitals. 8 
 any irritation. Any inflammatory condition 
 which begins here, not only causes discom- 
 fort, but occasionally spreads upward to the 
 bladder and kidneys, thus resulting in a 
 more or less serious condition. The vagina 
 should be carefully washed, at the time 
 of the bath, with boracic acid and a clean 
 piece of cotton. For this purpose never use 
 the washcloth, or the soap and water which is 
 used for the bath. It is also necessary to wash 
 the vagina toward the rectum, so that it will 
 not become contaminated with the matter from 
 the stool. Care should also be taken that the 
 clothing, especially after the girl has become old 
 enough to wear drawers, is not too tight, so
 
 140 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 that these parts will be chafed. Occasionally 
 adhesions are found between the lips of the 
 orifice, where they are joined together above. 
 These are apt to cause the so-called "reflex 
 symptoms," such as restlessness, nervousness, 
 frequent passing of urine, and even con- 
 vulsions. Any symptoms of this sort call 
 for an examination by the physician, who will 
 separate the adhesions. If at any time the 
 parts look red and irritated, the cause should 
 be looked into, and the proper treatment in- 
 stituted at once. A frequent cause of such 
 irritation is pinworms, and when they 
 are present, there is apt to be an itching 
 about the rectum as well. If there is any 
 discharge at any time, it should be attended 
 to at once. 
 
 The genital organs of boys do not as a 
 rule need so much attention, although it 
 has been more or less of a fad in recent 
 years to regard circumcision as a routine 
 necessity. I believe that the matter has 
 been very much overdone. Every boy is 
 born with the prepuce adherent or glued 
 together, but this does not as a rule interfere 
 with the proper flow of the urine. I do
 
 THE GENITAL ORGANS 141 
 
 aot believe that nature could go so far astray 
 as to make this condition almost universal 
 if it were a harmful one, and I therefore 
 advise no interference unless symptoms arise 
 which require it. Such symptoms are fre- 
 quent urination, fretfulness, or any sign 
 of irritation about the orifice. Sometimes 
 the foreskin is so long that a drop of urine 
 remains in the canal after urination, and 
 this often means that a circumcision is 
 necessary. This, however, is not a common 
 occurrence. At the end of the first year 
 it is well to free the adhesions, so that 
 the foreskin can be drawn back easily. After 
 this has been done, it is necessary to 
 wash the parts thoroughly with a boracic 
 acid solution each day at the time of the 
 bath, and keep them clean the same as you 
 would any other part of the body. The 
 older boys particularly need this care, as 
 any lack of cleanliness permits the re- 
 tention of the secretions which are apt to 
 form behind the foreskin, and may cause 
 an inflammatory condition, bed- wetting, or 
 even masturbation. The latter is a subject 
 which I have not dealt with in this book
 
 142 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 because I think the physician should be 
 consulted frankly and unhesitatingly if the 
 occasion arises. 
 Un- The subject of undescended testicles is 
 
 'JSicies. one wn i c h snou ld be touched upon here. If 
 one or both of the testicles cannot be felt 
 in the scrotum, the probability is that they 
 are either in the canal which leads from the 
 abdomen, or they are in the abdomen itself. 
 If they do not cause any pain in such a posi- 
 tion, no treatment is necessary during the 
 first year, but after that the physician should 
 be consulted, and the condition remedied 
 by operative procedures if necessary. If 
 there is pain, the matter should receive im- 
 mediate attention. 
 
 Retention A condition which seems to give the mother 
 a great deal of worry is that of retention of 
 urine. The mother thinks the child does not 
 pass the urine often enough, or perhaps none 
 at all is passed for twelve or even twenty-four 
 hours. This is most apt to occur during 
 an illness of some sort, and it is most fre- 
 quently due to the small amount of liquids 
 that the child has taken. Naturally when 
 the child does not take the usual amount of
 
 THE GENITAL ORGANS 143 
 
 milk or water, there cannot be as much 
 urine eliminated by the kidneys, so that it 
 should not be a real cause of worry. Usually 
 it is not necessary to do anything, but after 
 twelve hours, if no urine has been passed, 
 hot cloths may be placed over the region 
 of the bladder. Probably in one out of a 
 hundred cases that I see where this condition 
 is complained of, there is something the matter 
 other than this, and then the physician should 
 be called.
 
 PART V 
 FEEDING AND DIET
 
 BREAST FEEDING 
 
 THE mother's milk is the only food that Every 
 was ever meant for a baby during his first should 
 
 year, and any other food is at best a poor 
 substitute. I look upon the breast milk as Possible. 
 a true elixir of life. If we knew how to make 
 it and were able to distribute it in its purity, 
 just as it flows from the mother's breast, 
 we could save thousands upon thousands of 
 babies' lives each year. Can you imagine 
 a mother so indifferent to her child's health 
 and life as deliberately to throw away this 
 precious fluid ? I am happy to say that I 
 have seen but few. Most of the mothers I 
 meet are glad and anxious to nurse their 
 babies. It is usually lack of knowledge 
 which leads them to loss of this milk. Dur- 
 ing the first two or three days there does not 
 seem to be much of anything in the breasts, 
 but if we observe carefully we will find that 
 there is a thin watery fluid there. This is all 
 the nourishment the baby requires at this time. 
 Do not give him water (either sweetened or 
 plain), or milk, or anything else. These things 
 give him colic, and when his stomach is full 
 he will not take hold of the nipples. Put him 
 
 147
 
 148 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 to the breast once in four hours whether 
 there seems to be anything there or not. 
 The Baby's The young mother should first of all guard 
 dependent ner own good health for the sake of the baby, 
 
 nu e if no * f r herself. She should keep good 
 
 Mother s. 
 
 hours and get plenty of sleep. She should 
 not change her habits too much (if they have 
 been good ones). If she has been accustomed 
 to much walking or other outdoor life, she 
 should not give it up. If she has been used 
 to playing golf or riding, or going about 
 socially, or doing housework, she should not 
 suddenly change her mode of life unless, as I 
 say, if it is for the better. A certain amount 
 of exercise helps the milk in quantity and qual- 
 ity. If the mother has not been accustomed 
 to exercise before the baby was born, she 
 should begin to take a little each day after- 
 ward, gradually increasing the amount of 
 exercise, perhaps by walking a little farther 
 each day, but always being careful to stop 
 just short of the point where she gets tired. 
 Fatigue should be avoided. A woman who 
 has led an active society life is apt to become 
 discontented if she gives it up entirely. She 
 should, therefore, not be persuaded to eschew
 
 BREAST FEEDING 149 
 
 it altogether. The sleep is apt to be broken 
 by the night nursings so that a nap in the 
 daytime is advisable. At any rate see that 
 the proper amount of sleep is taken. 
 
 Nervous, neurotic mothers are not good Nervous 
 nurses. The slightest distress upsets them, 
 spoils the milk for the time being, and makes Nurses 
 the baby sick. Nursing mothers who are so 
 constituted should try to overcome the tend- 
 ency and make every effort to lead a quiet, 
 placid life. Fortunately, the more or less 
 athletic mother of the present generation is 
 a far better nurse than was the Jane Austen 
 type of the past generation, and I believe 
 she is the salvation of her race. 
 
 The nursing mother's diet is the one thing The 
 that seems oftenest to go wrong. Every 
 one she meets tells her of some article of food Diet - 
 she should not eat, until, if she obeys all the 
 advice she receives, the poor mother has little 
 left in her dietary which she dares to eat. 
 Each part of the country, too, has different 
 notions about foods that are injurious to 
 mother and child. In one place it is fish, in 
 another fresh vegetables or sour things or 
 sweets. My advice to the nursing mother is
 
 150 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 to avoid all excesses in eating, and, that being 
 done, to eat the food to which she has been 
 accustomed before the baby was born, if it 
 gives her no indigestion. Fish occasionally, 
 and plenty of meat are good milk makers, 
 and fresh green vegetables are a necessity 
 where there is a tendency to constipation. 
 The bowels of the breast-fed baby depend 
 upon the condition of the mother's bowels, 
 as does his general nutrition. Every nurs- 
 ing mother should have at least one good 
 evacuation each day. Usually, unless she 
 is habitually constipated, plenty of fruits 
 and vegetables will remedy any deficiency in 
 this direction. Sour things are harmless 
 except when eaten in excessive quantities. 
 Certain mothers, like all of us, do have 
 idiosyncrasies of digestion, and when they 
 find that any particular article of food dis- 
 agrees repeatedly with them or with the 
 baby, it should be stopped. The diet should, 
 however, be a general one, avoiding monotony 
 and including the various kinds of food. It 
 should also be a generous one, since the 
 mother has two bodies to nourish instead of 
 one. Three meals a day may be sufficient,
 
 BREAST FEEDING 151 
 
 but many women feel the need of a little 
 hmch in the middle of the morning and in the 
 afternoon. If this does not take the appetite 
 away from the regular meals, it is a very 
 good thing. 
 
 Milk may be drunk between the meals or Milk and 
 with them, except where it is taken to the Liquids for 
 exclusion of, or spoils the appetite for other JJ. U " nng 
 
 Mothers. 
 
 food, or where it disagrees with the stomach 
 or causes constipation. When milk is well 
 borne, however, it is a great help in increasing 
 a deficient milk supply. Cornmeal and oat- 
 meal gruels are also valuable for this purpose 
 if taken in sufficient quantities, but not to 
 the exclusion of other foods. Plenty of liq- 
 uids should be taken, but these, too, should 
 not be overdone. I have known mothers 
 who have taken two quarts of tea a day be- 
 cause they were told to drink a lot of liquids. 
 The tea made them nervous and tied up the 
 bowels so that the milk supply was ruined. 
 Alcoholic beverages are usually not necessary 
 and occasionally do harm to the baby. If 
 the mother is accustomed to a moderate 
 amount of wine or malt liquors, it may also 
 agree with the baby, but she should watch for
 
 152 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 any signs of colic in her offspring and give 
 up the beverage altogether if it seems to be 
 disagreeing with him. Occasionally when 
 we are sure the breast milk is deficient, a 
 glass of ale or porter with the meals will in- 
 crease the milk supply. 
 
 The Breast- The question often comes up, "Is it ad- 
 nmy have visable to give the baby a bottle or two so 
 or Two. 1 " tnat tne motner may get a rest or possibly 
 a little recreation from her constant and 
 arduous duties as mother and wet nurse?" 
 I believe it is. In the first place, the mother, 
 if she so desires, has some rights to a few hours 
 of freedom from her baby each day. In the 
 second place, it is well to accustom the baby 
 to taking his food from the bottle in case an 
 occasion should arise where it is impossible 
 to feed the baby from the breast. This 
 should be done with the advice of a physician, 
 lest we give a food that is not good for the 
 baby. 
 
 Care of the The breasts and nipples themselves should 
 
 Nipple* be well cared for. The nipples should never 
 
 be touched or handled until the hands have 
 
 been scrubbed with soap and a nailbrush. 
 
 The penalty of disobedience of this rule may
 
 BREAST FEEDING 153 
 
 be an abscess of the breast. During the first 
 weeks especially the nipples are unaccus- 
 tomed to the constant moistening and pulling 
 which the baby gives them. The skin is 
 apt to become soft and tender, and when in 
 this condition the breasts are easily infected 
 by the nurse or mother who also handles the 
 stools of the baby. After each nursing, the 
 nipples are washed with a solution of boracic 
 acid and boiled water, one teaspoonful to the 
 pint. They are then thoroughly dried and 
 a large piece of sterile gauze laid over the 
 nipples so that they will not come in contact 
 with the clothing. Corsets should be worn 
 which are either high enough to support the 
 whole breast and taken off while nursing, or 
 low enough so that the breasts are not rubbed 
 and irritated by the upper edge. 
 
 When a nipple becomes so tender that Use of the 
 nursing is very painful or when there is a sSd. 
 crack or fissure in it, the child's mouth should 
 not be allowed to touch it at all. Instead 
 the nipple shield is used. The best kind is 
 made of glass with a rubber nipple on the 
 end of it. The sore nipple should not be 
 moistened with the boracic acid solution,
 
 154 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 but instead it should be kept continuously 
 covered with zinc oxide ointment ; with this 
 treatment (if begun at the start) the nipple 
 will be healed in a few days and the nipple 
 shield can be discarded. 
 
 How often The quality and quantity of the milk, as 
 8 Nursings well as the condition of the breast, depends 
 Come? a j go U p On foe manner and the frequency of 
 nursing. When the child's mouth is put to 
 the nipple, the breast is stimulated to activity 
 by this natural act. For this reason a breast 
 does not secrete as much milk when the breast 
 pump or nipple shield is used, and if either 
 is used for any length of time, it may spoil 
 the milk supply altogether. In the same way 
 a child that is put to the breast every time 
 he cries, not only upsets his own digestion 
 but spoils the milk. The intervals should 
 be regulated, therefore, as soon after birth 
 as it is possible to do so. The question of how 
 often the nursings should come depends upon 
 the size, strength, and age of the baby and 
 upon the quality and quantity of the milk. 
 This is often a question which the physician 
 must decide, but in general a small weak 
 baby should be nursed every two hours from
 
 WEANING 155 
 
 6 A.M. until 10 P.M., with one feeding at 
 2 A.M., making ten nursings in twenty-four 
 hours. A strong fat baby may from birth 
 be nursed every three hours from 6 A.M. to 
 9 P.M., which with the 2 A.M. feeding makes 
 seven in twenty-four hours. At three months 
 of age the baby should, if he has gained in 
 weight properly, even though he was small 
 at the start, be put upon the three hour 
 nursing schedule. At four months, if he is 
 a normal well child, he should not be nursed 
 at all between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. This gives 
 him six feedings in twenty-four hours, which 
 is sufficient throughout the first year. 
 
 WEANING 
 
 BY weaning I mean, of course, both dis- when 
 carding the breast for the bottle or for a Feeding 
 general diet, and discarding the bottle for a g^^j 
 general diet. Substituting the bottle for the 
 breast is, perhaps, the most important part 
 of this subject, because it is done so frequently 
 during the first year when there is no neces- 
 sity of taking such a radical and often dis- 
 astrous step. When it is necessary to stop 
 the breast, however, it should be done without
 
 156 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 any hesitation. There are certain definite 
 indications for such a procedure and they are 
 as follows : (1) Excessive vomiting ac- 
 companied by loss of weight, or by stationary 
 weight extending over a period of two weeks 
 or more. (2) A bad diarrhea which can- 
 not be remedied while the baby is breast- 
 fed, and accompanied by loss of weight or 
 by stationary weight extending over a period 
 of two weeks or more. Loose bowels alone, 
 especially when there is a progressive gain 
 in weight and the proper general develop- 
 ment, is not an indication for discontinuing 
 the breast. (3) Progressive loss of weight 
 or stationary weight extending over a period 
 of three weeks or more while the digestion 
 seems normal. (In all of these conditions 
 every effort should be made to overcome 
 them while the child remains on the breast. 
 It is also important that these things do not 
 arise from an acute illness of the baby aside 
 from that due to a poor milk supply.) (4) 
 A serious disease of the mother. 
 Baby's In my discussion of breast-feeding it may 
 Bestride appear as though I thought that all mothers 
 m Weanmg. CQU \^ nurse their babies if they so desired.
 
 WEANING 157 
 
 I wish that this were so, but it is not. And 
 when shall we know that the baby is not get- 
 ting sufficient nourishment from the breast ? 
 First of all, from the weight. When a breast- 
 fed baby ceases to gain in weight, we look 
 about for a reason. Is he fed at regular 
 intervals? Is he vomiting? Has he any 
 intestinal indigestion, as shown by bad stools ? 
 Is the mother's diet a correct one, are her 
 bowels in good condition, and is she paying 
 the proper attention to all the details of the 
 baby's daily routine, including nursing at 
 regular intervals? These things we regu- 
 late to the best of our ability and still the 
 baby does not gain in weight. Even then 
 we stick to the elixir of life, the breast milk, 
 and add to this a few bottles of the properly 
 modified milk each day to see if we may rem- 
 edy the conditions and get a gain in weight 
 and good stools and no vomiting. After a 
 faithful trial of all these things, we bravely 
 step forward and defy nature, or rather the 
 present artificial mode of living, and take 
 up the task of nourishing this baby with as 
 much faith in our success as our experi- 
 ence will allow. It requires a great deal of
 
 158 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 experience to acquire sufficient confidence 
 in one's self to step in and assume the role 
 of nature. Therefore, I would advise mothers 
 and nurses to go slowly without medical 
 advice. After many years' experience in in- 
 fant feeding, I still find cases that require 
 the utmost resourcefulness to enable me to 
 make some of my babies do well on the bottle, 
 may The first few weeks after the baby is born, 
 insufficient it may appear as though the breast milk was 
 i nsu ffi c i ent > but we must not be too easily 
 discouraged. It is a trying period and con- 
 ditions are never at their best. The mother 
 has endured the hardships of the labor and 
 she is in bed at least convalescing, if not ill. 
 Where there is any question of discontinuing 
 the breast at this time, we should wait until 
 the mother is up and about and living her 
 normal natural life again before we decide 
 to start upon the bottle. Often the milk 
 supply increases at once when the getting-up 
 time comes. Of course, if there is a con- 
 tinuous loss in weight after the usual loss of 
 the first three days, this waiting policy should 
 not be adopted. In fact, continuous loss of 
 weight at any period of the baby's life is
 
 WEANING 159 
 
 sufficient reason either to stop the breast 
 or add supplementary bottle feedings. The 
 same may be said of stationary weight ex- 
 tending over a period of two to four weeks. 
 
 I would not give the impression that all 
 mothers are able to furnish sufficient nour- 
 ishment for their babies throughout the first 
 year, for many seem to do well until the latter 
 half of this period, when the milk supply gives 
 out in spite of all we can do. 
 
 There are certain conditions arising in the when the 
 mother when it is necessary to discontinue Mother gete 
 the breast, for we should have some con- Sick - 
 sideration of her welfare. Any acute illness 
 with fever is apt to spoil the milk supply for 
 a time, as well as to be an extra drain upon 
 the mother's strength, so that it is well to 
 stop the breast while it lasts. If the illness is 
 short, the breast feeding may be resumed upon 
 its abatement. Throughout such an illness 
 the breasts should be pumped out with the 
 breast pump at regular intervals, usually once 
 in three hours. This is to prevent the breasts 
 from drying up while the mother is too sick for 
 the baby to nurse her. A chronic disorder of 
 any consequence is an indication for giving
 
 160 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 up the breast permanently. Tuberculosis, 
 kidney disease, anaemia, epilepsy, grave 
 mental disorders, progressive loss of weight 
 in the mother, and pregnancy all point 
 toward a discontinuance of the breast 
 feedings. The return of menstruation is 
 usually not accompanied by any alteration 
 in the milk supply. It may occasionally 
 give rise to a slight disturbance in the 
 baby's digestion for a day or two, but 
 unless there is a decided and permanent 
 change for the worse in the baby, the breast 
 should not be discontinued on this account. 
 Teaching When we have finally decided that the 
 o h us?^e baby must be weaned from the breast, our 
 Bottle, troubles are not over by any means, for we 
 must then select the proper food and we have 
 got to teach the baby to take his nourish- 
 ment from the bottle. The bottle and nipple 
 should always be used in a child under ten 
 months of age if the breast is given up al- 
 together, for he cannot at this age get suffi- 
 cient nourishment from the cup or spoon. 
 If he has already learned to take the bottle 
 during his breast-fed days, as I have sug- 
 gested, the task is easy. But if he stub-
 
 WEANING 161 
 
 bornly resists all our efforts to give him sus- 
 tenance in this artificial manner, a struggle 
 is ahead of us. I am often obliged to get a 
 trained nurse for these trying days until he 
 has learned to take the bottle. However, 
 if one is persistent and will not give in to the 
 little fellow, allowing no nourishment in any 
 other way for one or two days, he soon learns. 
 The hole in the nipple should be very large 
 so that the milk will run into his mouth with- 
 out much sucking until he has learned to 
 work for it. 
 
 After ten months or a year it is far easier The Proper 
 to wean the baby, because if he has done well 
 up to this time and is strong and well, he may 
 take milk out of the cup, eat cereals and other 
 soft foods. In fact, as a matter of education, 
 it is well to teach the child to drink out of a 
 cup or eat cereals or stale bread while he is 
 still doing well on the breast, say at nine 
 months, so he will take to it kindly when the 
 time comes to wean him. It is extremely rare 
 to find a mother who can nurse her baby 
 after the first year. Mothers often do it, but 
 children who are nursed too long cease to 
 gain in weight, their muscles become flabby,
 
 162 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 and they soon begin to suffer from rickets, 
 anaemia or some other form of malnutrition. 
 Some of the worst cases of poor nourishment 
 I see in children over a year are due to nursing 
 during the second year. 
 
 When should a child be weaned from the 
 bottle ? Like the breast-fed baby, he should 
 Baby. De gj n to receive some food from the cup or a 
 spoon at about nine months, if he is up to the 
 standard in weight and health. At a year 
 he can get one whole feeding in this way and 
 consequently one less bottle feeding. At 
 fourteen months he can get sufficient nour- 
 ishment with three feedings from the bottle 
 and two meals of soft food. At sixteen 
 months, three meals a day and one bottle 
 at 10 P.M. will suffice. At eighteen to 
 twenty months, the ten-o'clock bottle is 
 stopped and baby is weaned. 
 
 THE BOTTLE AND NIPPLES 
 
 THE first thing that concerns us when we 
 >D Care of find we have a bottle baby on our hands is 
 
 Bottles. fa e selection and care of the bottles and 
 nipples themselves. The best bottles are 
 those that are round and cylindrical and
 
 THE BOTTLE AND NIPPLES 163 
 
 have a narrow neck for the attachment oi 
 the nipple. The one important requirement 
 is that they have no corners on the inside, 
 being rounded both at the bottom and at 
 the top where the neck begins. This shape 
 of the inside of the bottle enables us to clean 
 it thoroughly. An improvised medicine bot- 
 tle should never be used, as it is absolutely 
 impossible to clean out the corners. It is 
 best to get as many bottles as there are feed- 
 ings in twenty-four hours. Also buy a wire 
 bottle rack to hold them when the food is 
 made up for the day. As soon as the baby 
 has taken his feeding, wash out the bottle 
 with soap or washing powder, using a long- 
 handled bottle brush to get it scrupulously 
 clean. Then rinse the soap out with hot 
 water, and put into the bottle a heaping tea- 
 spoonful of borax. Some warm water is now 
 poured in and the bottle is vigorously shaken 
 until all the borax is dissolved. It is then 
 filled brimming full of water and allowed to 
 stand full of this strong borax solution 
 until the next morning, when the feedings 
 are made up for the day. If each bottle 
 is treated in this way, we have in the
 
 164 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 morning the whole lot perfectly clean and 
 ready to be filled with the day's feedings as 
 soon as the borax solution has been poured 
 out and the bottles rinsed once with clear 
 'water. With this method it is unnecessary 
 to boil the bottles each day and it is a great 
 saving of time and trouble. The bottles 
 should never be allowed to stand unclean or 
 filled with plain cold water or even with cook- 
 ing soda in them, for borax is the stronger 
 and better antiseptic to use. 
 The Kind The nipples are important, too. For the 
 
 of Nipples , . , i , 111 i i 
 
 and how little baby we should see that the nipple is 
 3C too large or too long. Frequently, a 
 
 long nipple will gag him and cause him to 
 vomit up the whole feeding just as he has 
 nearly finished it. It is often a very diffi- 
 cult task to get nipples with the right sized 
 holes. If the baby gets the food too fast, 
 it may cause colic or indigestion or vomiting, 
 so we should select a nipple with one hole in 
 it which will be small enough so that the 
 feeding cannot be taken in less than twenty 
 minutes. It is well to have two or three 
 nipples on hand. When new, they should 
 be boiled once. As soon as the feeding is
 
 MILK 165 
 
 taken, the nipple should be filled with borax 
 and held under the faucet while it is being 
 rubbed between the thumb and fingers. It 
 is then placed in a cup of water containing 
 one heaping teaspoonful of borax. The 
 nipples need not be boiled out after the first 
 'lay, nor need they be turned inside out when 
 
 cleaned 
 
 MILK 
 
 FRESH cow's milk, properly modified, is the what is 
 )nly food for the bottle baby. Nothing else Good y 
 will take its place. But we should endeavor MUk " 
 to get good milk. By good milk I mean, in 
 the first place, milk from cows that are free 
 of tuberculosis, tuberculin-tested cows. 
 The cows should have plenty of air space. 
 The hay should not be stored directly above 
 them where the dust may sift down upon 
 the milker, nor should the cows be hayed 
 just before milking, for the same reason. 
 The walls of the cow house should be white- 
 washed two or three times a year. The 
 manure should be stored outside the barn. 
 The floors are best made of cement and 
 washed with a hose, but, of course, this is 
 often impossible for the average farmer.
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 He can, however, sweep the floor each day, 
 sprinkling it first. The cows should be kept 
 clean, the flanks and bag wiped off with a 
 moist cloth before milking. The milker's 
 hands should be washed before milking (it 
 will do them no harm after his day's work). 
 He can slip on a clean duster for this part of 
 the day's work. The milking pails should 
 be clean. The milk is rapidly cooled after 
 milking to at least 45 F. and put in quart 
 bottles that have been boiled or sterilized 
 and tightly covered. The bottled milk should 
 then be kept cool until the milk is consumed. 
 The There is, of course, a reason for all this 
 & from seeming nonsense. Milk is a splendid food 
 Bacteria. or g erms> as we \\ as f or babies. If the milk 
 
 is dirty to start with, it is swarming with 
 bacteria. If it is allowed to remain warm, 
 these bacteria multiply enormously, so that 
 after a few hours there are as many as five 
 or six million in a cubic centimeter or a 
 quarter of a teaspoonful. This is what 
 makes milk sour quickly. The products of 
 these bacteria are what cause the vast ma- 
 jority of bowel troubles in infants during 
 the summer, and they also cause so-called
 
 MILK 167 
 
 milk poisoning. Of course, all bacteria are 
 not harmful. To any one who says that the 
 method of producing good milk just described 
 is not practicable, I will answer that the pro- 
 gressive farmer has proven to the contrary. 
 It is to his credit that each day he sends 
 thousands of quarts of perfect milk into New 
 York City and many other cities in this 
 country. This milk has to come up to the 
 standard of the County Medical Society be- 
 fore it is accepted as "certified milk." It 
 is subjected to repeated examinations for 
 bacteria and rejected if the bacteria are found 
 in excess of a stated number. From a finan- 
 cial standpoint it is a paying proposition, as 
 such milk sells for from 15 to 20 cents a quart. 
 It is also worth this extra price to the baby. 
 
 Pasteurized and boiled milk have been Pasteuriz- 
 much discussed in the press. By pasteuriz- b^i^g 
 ing we mean heating the milk to 150-175 F. MDk - 
 This kills most of the bacteria, but it gives us 
 a false sense of security, since the milk will 
 soon become as bad as ever if it is not put 
 in clean containers and kept cold just the 
 same as any other milk. When milk is 
 boiled, it is brought to the temperature of
 
 J^ 168 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 212 F. This, of course, changes the taste 
 of the milk and destroys still more bacteria, 
 but not all of them. A child who takes noth- 
 ing but boiled milk for a prolonged period of 
 time receives no fresh food and is liable to 
 get scurvy, just as the sailor does who eats 
 no fresh food. Therefore, boiled milk should 
 not be used for any length of time if good 
 clean milk can be had, and if one can depend 
 upon the intelligence of the person making 
 up the baby's food. At times, however, 
 these conditions are not right and it is best 
 to use boiled milk through the summer 
 months. The tendency to scurvy may then 
 be overcome by giving the baby the juice of 
 half an orange once or twice a day, according 
 to his age, unless he has a diarrhea. Boiled 
 milk is also used temporarily in suitable cases 
 to make the food more digestible. For this 
 reason, I usually advise boiling the new-born 
 baby's milk for the first two or three weeks, 
 and also the milk of babies who have diges- 
 tive disturbances. 
 
 Milk from Milk from one cow has its disadvantages, 
 because if that cow eats something wrong 
 or gets chased by a dog or what not, the milk
 
 MIXING AND CAEE OF THE FOOD 169 
 
 is made temporarily indigestible for the 
 baby. On the other hand, the milk from the 
 whole herd would be far less liable to such 
 accidents, and it would be more uniform from 
 day to day. I would, therefore, prefer milk 
 from the herd, if the dairy is well conducted. 
 
 MIXING AND CARE OF THE FOOD 
 
 IT is far better for the baby and easier for utensils 
 the mother if she takes a certain time each 
 morning to make up the food for the day. 
 She then does not have to think of it again 
 until the next morning. All the utensils for 
 mixing the food are kept in a place by them- 
 selves and are not used for any other pur- 
 pose. The person whose duty it is to make 
 the food should be responsible for their con- 
 dition and keep them clean, not trusting to 
 any one else. These utensils are not many. 
 A cheap measuring glass, or graduate, hold- 
 ing sixteen ounces and divided into ounces, 
 is a time-saving device, which it is well to 
 have. A wide-necked pitcher that pours 
 well and holds two quarts, a glass funnel 
 which does not fit too tightly into the neck 
 of the nursing bottles, a tablespoon, regula-
 
 170 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 tion size, a new enamel saucepan for boiling 
 the water or gruel or food, and a one-quart 
 preserving jar to put the gruel or boiled 
 water away in until it is cold. If gruel is 
 used to dilute the milk, it may be made the 
 night before so that it will be ice cold before 
 it is added to the milk. 
 
 The First, the bottles, one for each feeding 
 les- throughout the day, are attended to. They 
 are all clean and standing full of borax 
 water from the day before. The bottle 
 rack is held over the sink, and the bottles, 
 one at a time, are placed in it upside down 
 to empty the borax water. They are then 
 turned right side up in the rack and filled 
 with hot water to rinse out the borax and 
 again placed upside down to drain and cool 
 while the food is being mixed. 
 Mixing the The fresh unopened bottle of milk is then 
 
 Food for 
 
 the Day. poured into the pitcher so that the cream 
 will be mixed in thoroughly, and then poured 
 back again into the bottle in which it came. 
 Measure the proper amount of milk in the 
 graduate and pour it into the pitcher. Meas- 
 ure out the proper amount of ice-cold water 
 or gruel and pour it into the pitcher. Meas-
 
 MIXING AND CARE OF THE FOOD 171 
 
 lire the sugar with the tablespoon and add to 
 the food. If level tablespoonfuls are ordered, 
 level each with a knife, heaping tablespoonfuls 
 mean all you can get upon the tablespoon. 
 Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the food 
 is done. Using the funnel, pour into each 
 bottle the amount baby is to have at each feed- 
 ing. Stop up the bottles with clean absorbent 
 cotton and put the rack, full, in the ice chest, 
 directly on the ice if possible ; wash up the uten- 
 sils and put them away for the following day. 
 
 And now, when the feeding time comes, all The 
 we have to do is place one of these bottles in tu e 
 a pan of hot water, or in an alcohol bottle Food< 
 heater, and the milk is not contaminated by 
 handling. The food should be just body 
 temperature when it is fed. It is just as 
 bad to have it too hot as it is to have it too 
 cold. The temperature should be tested 
 by pouring a few drops upon the forearm and 
 never by putting the nipple in one's own 
 mouth, or touching the finger to the food it- 
 self. In winter it is well to have a woolen 
 bag or knitted cover, which just fits the bottle, 
 to hold the heat in during the twenty min- 
 utes while the baby is feeding.
 
 172 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 THE COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OP 
 THE FOOD 
 
 A Radical THE days of complicated formulas for 
 from ow babies' foods are over. Well babies do not 
 nee d top milks and creams, whey, limewater, 
 and the various foods that we have formerly 
 used. Such foods should be reserved for 
 sick babies who are under the physician's 
 care. This is a great departure from the 
 methods that we have used for the last fif- 
 teen or twenty years, but I speak with the 
 authority of experience. Plain cow's milk 
 (with its cream all stirred in) to which is 
 added water and sugar, answers all the re- 
 quirements of a good food until the baby is 
 seven or eight months of age, when barley 
 or oatmeal gruels may be used instead of the 
 water. Plain milk mixed with water is 
 easier to digest than cream or top milks, and 
 nourishes the baby as well or better. The 
 water is added so that the food will not be 
 too concentrated for the digestion, as well 
 as to give the proper amount of bulk and 
 furnish the required quantity of liquids that 
 the child needs in twenty-four hours.
 
 COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF FOOD 173 
 
 The sugar is added solely for its nutri- The Sugar, 
 tional value and for its laxative action upon 
 the bowels, and not at all for the taste. 
 Sugar is very concentrated nourishment and 
 is therefore one of the most important in- 
 gredients of the food. One ounce of sugar 
 supplies as much nourishment as six ounces of 
 milk. Sugar also is usually the most diffi- 
 cult part of the food to digest. If too much 
 of it is given, it may cause either diarrhea or 
 vomiting ; while if too little is given, the 
 child will not gain in weight. Milk sugar, 
 which has been so extensively used in the 
 past, should never be used where there is any 
 digestive disturbance. It is not as easily 
 digested as either cane sugar (ordinary table 
 sugar) or malt sugar. The latter is the best 
 of all the sugars, especially for young babies 
 and for those with a weak digestion. The 
 malt sugar that I have always used is Mead's 
 Dextri-Maltose. It is nothing less than 
 marvelous to see a baby (as I have in in- 
 numerable cases) who has never done well 
 when fed on other mixtures, thrive and gain 
 at once on the simple milk and water mixtures 
 when Dextri-Maltose is used.
 
 174 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 The important considerations, then, in 
 deciding upon a well baby's food are three- 
 fold : the amount of milk, the amount of 
 sugar, and the amount of water to be added to 
 make up the proper bulk and concentration. 
 The quantities of these ingredients depend 
 HOW to upon the baby's weight and age. The 
 ?ai proper amount of actual cow's milk a given baby needs 
 oTMUk* i n twenty-four hours to sustain life and make a 
 proper gain in weight is twice the number of 
 ounces of milk as he weighs in pounds, provided 
 he can digest one and one half ounces of 
 sugar in his total daily quantity of food. 
 The Enough water is added to make the proper 
 of Water, amount of food (the total quantity in twenty- 
 four hours), which amount is determined, 
 of course, by the quantity at each feeding 
 and the number of feedings in twenty-four 
 hours. The general rule for the quantity of 
 food at each feeding is 1 to 1| ounces more 
 than the number of months of the baby's 
 age ; at four months give 5 or 5| ounces at a 
 feeding; at six months, 7 ounces, etc. The rule 
 for the number of feedings in twenty-four 
 hours is as follows : the first three months, 
 10 feedings; the fourth month, 8 feedings;
 
 COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF FOOD 175 
 
 the fifth month? feedings; after that, 6 feed- 
 ings. To illustrate : a child three months of 
 age who weighs 12 pounds should receive 
 and digest 24 ounces of cow's milk in twenty- 
 four hours. To this must be added the 
 proper amount of water to make up the bulk, 
 and 1| ounces of sugar. Therefore, if this 
 baby were able to take 4|- ounces of food 
 every 2 hours, 8 feedings in twenty-four 
 hours, he would receive 36 ounces of food 
 in twenty-four hours, 24 ounces of which 
 is milk, 12 ounces of water, and 1^ ounces 
 of sugar. 
 
 The table on the opposite page gives an ap- 
 proximate scheme for feeding babies of differ- 
 ent weights and ages. It is not intended for 
 babies with digestive disturbances, nor will it 
 invariably suit every well baby. 
 
 The question of how often a bottle baby is Number of 
 to be fed is not always an easy one to decide, ings for ** 
 In general the small baby, or one under three 
 months of age, should be fed every two hours 
 from 6 A.M. until 10 P.M. with one feeding at 
 2 A.M., making in all ten feedings in twenty- 
 four hours. At three months (during the 
 fourth month), the baby may be fed every two
 
 TABULATED SCHEME FOR FEEDING 
 
 AGE 
 
 FOOD 
 
 TOTAL 
 QUANTITY 
 IN 24 
 HOURS 
 
 AMOUNT 
 AT EACH 
 FEEDING 
 
 INTERVALS 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 FEEDINGS 
 
 NUMBER 
 OF FEED- 
 INGS IN 
 24 HOURS 
 
 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Hrs. 
 
 
 1st week . . 
 
 See " Food for New-born 
 
 10 to 15 
 
 1 to 1J 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 Baby," p. 178 
 
 
 
 
 
 2d week . . 
 
 See " Food for New-born 
 Baby," p. 178 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 Weight 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (stripped) 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lb. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 
 
 
 
 3d and 4th I 
 weeks j 
 
 6 
 7 
 8 
 
 12 
 14 
 16 
 
 13 
 11 
 9 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 ( 25 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 11 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 2d month 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 H 
 
 \ 30 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 H 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 
 3d month < 
 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 
 16 
 18 
 20 
 
 14 
 12 
 10 
 
 U 
 li 
 H 
 
 I 30 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 4th month J 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 
 18 
 16 
 14 
 
 H 
 11 
 H 
 
 }- 36 
 
 41 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 ( 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 li 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 18 
 
 li 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 6th month < 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 24 
 26 
 
 16 
 14 
 
 li 
 li 
 
 ( '40 
 
 5} 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 ( 
 
 14 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 H 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 li 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 26 
 
 28 
 
 16 
 14 
 
 U 
 li 
 
 r 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 12 
 
 li 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 13 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 7th month J 
 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 28 
 30 
 30 
 
 14 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 H 
 
 li 
 
 r 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 14 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 li 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 16 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 8th month 
 to 1st year 
 
 17 
 18 
 19 
 
 32 
 34 
 34 
 
 16 
 14 
 14 
 
 H 
 U 
 H 
 
 48 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 20 
 
 36 
 
 12 
 
 li 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 36 
 
 12 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 38 
 
 10 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 Under "Interval between feedings" is meant from 6 A.M. to 10 P.M. 
 One night feeding at 2 A.M. is allowed until five months of age. 
 
 Two level tablespoonfuls of cane sugar (leveled with a knife) make an ounce. Two 
 rounding tablespoonfuls of Dextri-Maltose make an ounce.
 
 COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF FOOD 177 
 
 and one half hours from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M., 
 with one feeding at 2 A.M., giving eight feed- 
 ings in twenty-four hours. At four months 
 (during the fifth month), the feedings come 
 three hours apart from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M., with 
 one feeding at 2 A.M., making seven feedings 
 in twenty-four hours. After five months 
 of age, six feedings in twenty-four hours are 
 sufficient. In other words, the night feeding 
 is omitted at five months, and the baby is 
 fed every three hours from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. 
 From then on throughout the bottle period, 
 the number of feedings and the intervals 
 between them remain unchanged. However, 
 I have fed many fat, robust babies from birth 
 at three-hour intervals during the day with 
 one feeding at 2 A.M., making seven feedings 
 in twenty-four hours. These three-hour in- 
 tervals, of course, make the care of the baby 
 much easier. If the baby is weak and under 
 weight, two-hour intervals are advisable at 
 any age up to six months, provided the food 
 is of the proper strength. 
 
 As to the quantity the baby shall get at Quantity 
 each feeding, I can only give rules for the Feeding. 
 well baby. Those who have not been up to
 
 178 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the standard of weight and development, 
 and those who are actually sick, need expert 
 advice, and I would not assume the respon- 
 sibility of generalizing for them. The well 
 baby will take one half to one ounce at a 
 feeding during the first week. During the 
 second week he is usually able to take care 
 of two ounces ; during the third and fourth 
 weeks, he may take two and one half ounces; 
 and during the second month, three ounces 
 at a feeding. After that, he can take one 
 to one and one half ounces more than the num- 
 ber of months of his age up to eight ounces. 
 It is never necessary to give the bottle baby 
 more than eight ounces at a feeding. I would 
 emphasize the fact that these rules apply 
 only to well babies of normal weight and de- 
 velopment for their age. Much harm is 
 done by the novice trying to feed sick babies. 
 After many years of practice, I still feel that 
 the feeding of sick babies is a matter of judg- 
 ment based upon a large experience. 
 Food for During the first week a baby's digestion 
 will not stand enough food to make him 
 gain and we should not expect it of the bottle- 
 fed baby. Therefore the rules given above
 
 COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF FOOD 179 
 
 do not apply to him. Occasionally it is neces- 
 sary to feed a baby on the bottle from the 
 start, through illness of the mother or because 
 there is absolutely no breast milk. In start- 
 ing his food, make it very weak at first and 
 work up a little each day, until by the middle 
 or end of the second week the food is strong 
 enough to make him gain. On the second or 
 third day make the twenty-four-hour quan- 
 tity of food with three ounces of milk and 
 twelve of water (boiled) no sugar. The 
 next day give him four ounces of milk, twelve 
 ounces of water, one teaspoonful of sugar; 
 the next day five ounces of milk, twelve 
 ounces of water; and so on. Each day in- 
 crease the food by adding one more ounce of 
 milk until by the tenth or fourteenth day the 
 baby is getting food of the proper strength 
 for his weight. In the meantime the sugar 
 should be gradually increased also, one 
 teaspoonful at a time, until one or one and 
 one half ounces are given in the total twenty- 
 four-hour quantity of food. It is usually best 
 to add one more level teaspoonful every other 
 day. For the first few weeks, it is well to 
 bring the milk and water rapidly to an active
 
 180 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 boil, stirring vigorously so that a scum will 
 not form upon the top. This boiling makes 
 the milk more digestible, but should not be 
 continued for more than a month or so. The 
 sugar is not added until the food is boiled and 
 taken off the stove. 
 
 Food for The gradual increasing of the food, as de- 
 whohave scribed in the paragraph above, also holds 
 
 D0t teu e &d m babies of any age who are fed by this 
 system of feeding for the first time, or those 
 who have not done well on other foods, al- 
 though it is not necessary to make the food 
 so weak at the start for older babies, and it 
 may be increased more rapidly. It is usually 
 well to begin older babies with one third 
 milk and two thirds water, boiled after mix- 
 ing. No sugar is added to the food until the 
 stools appear well digested and- vomiting has 
 ceased or improved greatly. When the baby's 
 digestion improves, as shown by the vomit- 
 ing and stools, the strength of the milk should 
 be increased by adding one or two ounces 
 more of milk, and one or two ounces less of 
 water each day, until he is getting milk of 
 the proper strength for his age and weight. 
 The sugar is also begun at the same time,
 
 COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF FOOD 181 
 
 adding at first only one teaspoonful and in- 
 creasing it each day, a teaspoonful or two at a 
 time, until one and one half ounces are given 
 in the total twenty-four-hour amount. Re- 
 :.. ember a child may not gain who is overfed. 
 He is also apt to have diarrhea and vomiting. 
 Remember, also, that sugar will cause diarrhea, 
 undigested stools, or vomiting, and that some 
 babies will stand more of it than others. 
 That is why it is best to stop all sugar tem- 
 porarily when these symptoms appear. The 
 food should be boiled also, as described in the 
 paragraph above. 
 
 Proprietary or patent foods are not neces- Patent 
 sary for any baby. I believe that there is necessary!" 
 no virtue in the foods themselves, and any 
 babies that I have ever seen who have done 
 well on the proprietary foods have done so on 
 account of the sugar or carbohydrate in the 
 food and on account of the cow's milk which 
 the mother adds to it. There is no myste- 
 rious lifegiving property about them. Most 
 of them are made up of starches and the 
 various kinds of sugars and some of them have 
 dried milk or egg added.
 
 182 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 FOOD FOR TRAVELING 
 
 BABIED really should not travel at all, but 
 they often have to. However, the necessity 
 should be very great to take a bottle-fed 
 
 
 
 child on a long journey, especially if he has 
 had any difficulty with his feedings. Each 
 spring, particularly, I am busy instructing 
 mothers how to prepare the food for a 
 longer or shorter journey. If it is practicable, 
 a traveling ice box with a wicker cover 
 may be carried and good milk carefully 
 prepared will last forty-eight hours in this, 
 the ice being replenished constantly. Where 
 this is not advisable, the food, after it is 
 made, but before the sugar is added, is boiled 
 for at least ten minutes. It is then put into 
 preserving jars which have been boiled with 
 the cover and rubber, and which are still 
 piping hot when the boiling food is added, 
 and the jars are sealed. This will last forty- 
 eight hours, if cooled immediately and kept 
 cold throughout the journey. The Walker- 
 Gordon Milk Laboratories make a specialty 
 of putting up milk for traveling. The 
 milk is prepared all ready for the baby to take
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 183 
 
 in any strength or combination desired, and 
 will last throughout a journey of six or seven 
 days. 
 
 For any prolonged journey where fresh 
 milk cannot be procured, unsweetened con- 
 densed milk is the best food. Remember that 
 condensed milk is only twice as strong as 
 fresh cow's milk and therefore make the food 
 up accordingly, adding the proper amount 
 of sugar and water. Remember, also, that 
 it will not keep much longer than fresh 
 milk once the can is opened. When it is 
 given over any extended period of time, give 
 the baby orange juice each day to add the 
 fresh element to his diet. Condensed milk 
 is not a good diet for a baby, and I would 
 not put myself on record as indorsing it, 
 but there are occasions when it is useful, 
 and this is one of them. 
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 
 
 THE second year is the most difficult feed- Three 
 ing period of childhood. All children in their children. 
 second year may be divided into three classes : 
 Those who won't eat anything; thos^who 
 eat everything they shouldn't ; and those who
 
 184 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 have their diet regulated for them at the cost 
 
 of much patience, care, and thought on the 
 
 mother's part. It is for you to choose 
 
 under which class your baby will come, for 
 
 it is within your power to regulate his diet 
 
 and lead him toward a life of bodily health 
 
 and happiness. Help him to form a taste 
 
 for the proper kind of food and he will enjoy 
 
 eating things that are good for him as much 
 
 as he will those that are injurious. 
 
 DO not A child that does not want to eat solid food 
 
 CMWwith a t this a S e is generally overfed with milk, 
 
 Things he or p erna p s he is allowed to nibble on crackers, 
 
 should not 
 
 Eat. or bread, or cake all day long, or perhaps have 
 a drink of milk whenever he is thirsty. Eat- 
 ing between meals is not permissible. A 
 child who eats things he shouldn't is taught to 
 do so by giving him a taste of this or a taste 
 of that from the table where he is allowed to 
 eat with the family. I think it is only fair 
 to the child not to set before him things which 
 he is not allowed to eat. If he comes to the 
 table with the adults, they should themselves 
 forego some of the pleasures of the palate. 
 A good compromise is to allow the child to 
 come to the table for breakfast and luncheon,
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 185 
 
 which may be simple meals such as he can 
 eat, and to give him his supper by himself 
 at 5 or 5.30 o'clock. 
 
 After the first year, we may divide the The 
 feeding of children into two periods, which, of 
 course, gradually merge one into the other. 
 These are the weaning period, from nine or 
 ten months to eighteen or twenty months; 
 and the period of from eighteen months to 
 two years, when three meals a day are suffi- 
 cient. The weaning period begins when we 
 first begin to feed baby from a cup or spoon 
 in order to teach him to eat, and it lasts until 
 he has all his teeth, which is usually at eight- 
 een months. At nine or ten months baby The Baby 
 is given a drink of milk from the cup once a 
 day before a nursing. A little later we try 
 a well-cooked cereal with some milk upon it, 
 but no sugar, just to teach him to eat cereals. 
 Still later we vary his training by giving him 
 a piece of dry bread crust or crackers or zwie- 
 back, just before a nursing time, so he may 
 learn to eat solids. It is very important that 
 the child should learn to drink milk at this 
 time, because if he does not he may dislike 
 it all his life. It should be offered to him
 
 186 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 day after day until he has acquired a taste 
 for it.. 
 
 When introducing a new food into the diet, 
 begin with very small quantities, just a taste 
 at first and gradually increase the amount. 
 If any new article of diet seems to disagree, it 
 is usually well to persist in giving it in small 
 amounts. It is well to remember that the 
 stools are colored at times by the vegetables 
 that are given. For instance, it is not at all 
 uncommon to see the green spinach in the 
 stools nor the yellow of carrots. This is 
 no contraindication to giving these vege- 
 tables. 
 
 Diet One By the time he is a year old he has per- 
 Fourteen fected himself enough in the art of eating to 
 Months, enable n i m t o g e t a wno i e meal without the 
 
 aid of the bottle or breast, which meal con- 
 sists of a cereal and drink of milk from the cup 
 with a piece of hard bread in his hand to 
 chew upon. He is at this time fed every 
 three hours from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M., and there- 
 fore gets five bottles or breast feedings in 
 twenty-four hours and one meal, as above 
 described. It does not make any particular 
 difference what time this meal comes, but
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 187 
 
 it usually takes the place of either the 
 9 o'clock or 12 o'clock bottle. 
 
 At fourteen months he can get two meals a Diet at 
 day in addition to the three feedings from the Months! 1 
 bottle, cup, or breast. The schedule for the 
 day is as follows : 
 
 7 A.M., cereal, milk, toast. 
 
 11 A.M., eight ounces of undiluted milk 
 from the bottle or cup, or a breast feeding. 
 
 2 P.M., baked potato with butter or milk 
 upon it, a cup of milk, bread. 
 
 6 P.M., eight ounces of undiluted milk from 
 the bottle or cup, or a breast feeding. 
 
 10 P.M., eight ounces of undiluted milk from 
 the bottle or cup, or a breast feeding. 
 
 Rarely at this age, does the breast furnish 
 milk in the proper quality and quantity for 
 the feedings given at 11 A.M. and 6 and 10 
 P.M. If the breast milk supply is good, 
 these three feedings may be given from the 
 breast; otherwise, milk from the cup takes 
 its place. 
 
 At fifteen months we give a meal made up Diet 
 of one vegetable, mashed fine, besides the Eighteen* 
 baked potato. The vegetables contain iron, Months - 
 which baby needs very much at this age. We
 
 188 THE HEALTHY 
 
 > 
 
 also introduce eggs into his diet. He is now, 
 at fifteen months, getting four feedings in 
 twenty-four hours, three of which he may 
 take at the family mealtimes, with eight ounces 
 of undiluted milk at 10 P.M. His schedule 
 for the day is then as follows : - 
 
 7 or 8 A.M. Breakfast: cereal, bread, 
 cup of milk. 
 
 12 or 1 P.M. Dinner: an egg, potato, 
 one other vegetable, bread, dessert of fruit. 
 
 5 or 6 P.M. Supper : milk, bread. 
 
 10 P.M. Eight ounces of undiluted milk 
 from the bottle or cup. 
 
 Raw fruits in the middle of the morning 
 and afternoon help to shorten the intervals 
 between meals when the child is unaccustomed 
 to going so long without eating. He may 
 have a scraped raw apple, an orange, pear, 
 or peach between any or all of his feedings, 
 according to the condition of the bowels. 
 Diet At eighteen months of age all the teeth 
 M?nth s e to nave come through and meat is added to the 
 TWO Years, dietary. Occasionally it is a little later than 
 eighteen months, but I am generalizing. And 
 now three meals a day are all that are nec- 
 essary since the meat supplies more concen-
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 189 
 
 trated nourishment, and the 10 P.M. feeding 
 is omitted. The menu for the day is : 
 
 7 or 8 A.M. Breakfast: cereal, egg, 
 bread or toast. 
 
 12 or 1 P.M. Dinner: meat, potatoes, 
 one vegetable, dessert of cut fruit or sponge 
 cake. 
 
 5 or 6 P.M. Supper: bread toasted hard 
 in the oven, cup of milk, or, instead of the 
 milk, fruits cut up raw or cooked, or plain 
 broth may be given with the bread. 
 
 The supper is usually the milk meal, but 
 it may be varied occasionally for the sake of 
 eliminating monotony. Some children never 
 tire of the milk at this meal, so that it is not 
 necessary to make this change. The milk 
 should be given at least five or six times a 
 week. 
 
 There is really no reason why a child should Diet for 
 have a diet that differs from the one that I children, 
 have given until he reaches adult life, with the 
 exception of desserts, which I will mention 
 later. This diet really contains all the neces- 
 sary kinds of food, and allows considerable 
 latitude, so that it is really sufficient, as far 
 as that is concerned, for the adult. It should
 
 190 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 not differ from this one under any circum- 
 stances, until the school age is reached. 
 When the child starts going to school, how- 
 ever, it may not be practicable to continue 
 with the hearty meal at noon and the light 
 supper. At the same time I believe that this 
 is still the best plan if it is possible to carry 
 it out. When the hearty meal must be given 
 at night, the child should not go to bed for at 
 least two hours afterward. It is also im- 
 portant that meat should not be given more 
 than once a day until after the tenth or twelfth 
 year. This makes the noon meal rather a 
 slim one unless special care is given to it. 
 Milk, custards, junkets, and hearty desserts 
 made with milk and eggs often help to make 
 the luncheon a nourishing one, so that the 
 active child shall not go from early morning 
 until a late dinner without sufficient nour- 
 ishment. 
 
 Kinds of Bread should never be given when it is 
 Bre Givl fresh or soft - It; should be stale enough to 
 crumble. It is best cut in squares and put 
 into the oven until it is brown and hard all the 
 way through. Do not give it this way all 
 the time, for the monotony soon sickens the
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 191 
 
 child of it. Vary the kinds of bread with 
 white bread, whole wheat bread, graham 
 bread, rye bread, and bran biscuits. Crack- 
 ers are also a good addition to the starchy 
 foods. Hard-tack, soda crackers, oatmeal 
 crackers, graham crackers, egg biscuit, rice 
 and arrowroot wafers, with an occasional 
 sweetened cracker for dessert at supper, are 
 allowable. Never give hot bread, hot muffins, 
 doughnuts, griddlecakes, or waffles. 
 
 Cereals are good for the child, but one cereal The Place 
 meal a day is enough, and that is best at i n the Diet 
 breakfast. Cereals may be cooked in milk or 
 water. They should always be well cooked ; 
 one to three hours, according to the coarse- 
 ness of the grain. Undercooked cereals are 
 the source of much stomach disturbance. It 
 is therefore well to cook them the night be- 
 fore, as they are apt to be underdone when 
 hastily cooked for breakfast. Cream of 
 wheat, rolled oats, wheatina, farina, gritz, 
 cornmeal mush, rice and hominy, are all 
 healthful. Teach the child to eat them 
 without sugar, but with plenty of milk and 
 some cream, and he will like them just as 
 well as though they were sweetened. In. the
 
 192 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 first place, sweetened food at the morning 
 meal is apt to take away the appetite for the 
 rest of the meal, and in the second place it is 
 well to teach the child to like the cereals for 
 their own taste. The so-called ready cooked 
 cereals should be reserved for children over 
 two years of age. 
 
 Vegetables Vegetables are a necessity in the diet be- 
 B Necessary cause of the fresh element they supply and 
 iron. on accoun t o f the iron they contain. Babies 
 are born with enough iron stored in the liver 
 to last them during the first year, for a mini- 
 mum amount is supplied in the breast milk 
 and cow's milk. So we begin early with the 
 vegetables. Potatoes must be well cooked, 
 either boiled, baked, or mashed, but never 
 fried or scalloped. One other vegetable 
 once each day at the hearty midday meal 
 must be prepared. Peas, string beans, spin- 
 ach, carrots, asparagus tips, beets, well- 
 cooked winter squash, and boiled parsnips, 
 are all suitable vegetables. Children should 
 not be allowed cabbage, cauliflower, onions, 
 shelled beans, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, tur- 
 nips, or sweet potatoes until after the third or 
 fourth year. The vegetables should always
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 193 
 
 be cooked until they are soft, and mashed fine 
 with a fork. 
 
 Meat is given sparingly at first. A table- what 
 spoonful of rare beef scraped with a fork is give and 
 thoroughly mixed into the potato for the cook them, 
 first week or two, after the eighteenth month. 
 The quantity is gradually increased and the 
 variety extended during the next month or 
 two. The meat should always be cooked 
 rare and not boiled, except chicken. It 
 should be cut up very fine and mixed with the 
 potato during the second and third years. 
 The meats a child may eat are : beef roast, 
 broiled, or chopped Hamburger fashion ; lamb 
 roast or chops ; chicken roast, broiled, or 
 boiled; veal roast or broiled ; fish boiled; 
 bacon cooked dry and eaten in the fingers 
 at two and one half years. Never give pork, 
 ham, sausage, liver, tripe, or thickened gravies. 
 
 Eggs should be given boiled, coddled, Eggs, 
 dropped in water, and, after two and one half 
 years, hard boiled. The whites should be soft 
 and jellylike instead of tough and leathery. 
 In order to do this, put them into cold 
 water, and place them upon the stove until 
 the water comes to a boil, and then set them 
 o
 
 194 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 aside in the water for a few minutes. It some- 
 times takes many trials to get them just right, 
 but a little practice soon teaches the beginner. 
 Eggs should never be fried. Many mothers 
 think their children cannot eat eggs, but this 
 is rarely true. If the egg is not well borne, 
 give a teaspoonful each morning until that 
 much is well taken and gradually increase 
 to larger amounts. 
 
 Soups not Soups I have not said very much about 
 because I do not believe they are an impor- 
 tant article of food. Thickened meat soups 
 are indigestible. Clear broths and beef tea 
 are mostly water and are given only to vary 
 the diet, stimulate the appetite, and act as a 
 vehicle in which bread and crackers may be 
 eaten. 
 
 simple Desserts are not given until the second year. 
 - Then they should be simple puddings sweet- 
 
 mended. ene ^ ? such as, bread pudding, rice pudding, 
 blancmange, gelatine puddings, farina, ice 
 cream, soft and hard custards, sponge cake 
 and lady fingers dry or with whipped cream, 
 angel cake, sweetened crackers, and fruits 
 raw or cooked. No other cake or pastry is 
 allowed until after the child is twelve years
 
 DIET AFTER THE FIRST YEAR 195 
 
 old. Butter, lard, or suet cooked into any 
 food is indigestible, and that is why the usual 
 pastry, rich cake, and cookies are ruinous to 
 the digestion. 
 
 Children seem to crave sweets, but I am Craving 
 not one of those who believe that this craving not Normal 
 is normal and should be catered to. I do 
 know, however, that from a practical stand- 
 point more indigestion and ill health is caused 
 among children by eating sweets than by any 
 other one article of diet. A moderate amount 
 of candy usually does ,10 harm, but modera- 
 tion is difficult to achieve. Friends and rela- 
 tives always see to it that the supply is not 
 lacking, and it is far easier to lay down rules 
 than it is to carry them out. Candy may, 
 however, be allowed after the second year, 
 once or twice a week, one or two pieces after 
 dinner, provided the dessert has not been a 
 sweet one. Sugar takes away the appetite 
 because it is a very concentrated form of 
 nourishment. For the same reason it harms 
 the digestion. Children who have poor appe- 
 tites should have no sweets nor desserts 
 whatever. 
 
 Cut fruits, berries of all kinds either cooked
 
 196 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 The Eating or uncooked, make good desserts. Bananas 
 are the only fruit I exclude from the dietary. 
 Under two years fruits, such as apples, pears, 
 and peaches, should be scraped with a spoon. 
 Berries should not be allowed, until the latter 
 part of the second year. It is a false idea 
 that children will not digest uncooked fruits. 
 If they are carefully given and not swallowed 
 in great pieces which have not been mashed 
 . or scraped, or well masticated, they are as 
 digestible as cooked fruits. Cooked fruits 
 must not be sweeter, d too much. If they 
 are made sirupy with a lot of sugar, they are 
 far worse than when given raw. The eating 
 of fruits between the meals helps the bowels 
 if the latter are inclined to be constipated. 
 It also puts something into the stomach while 
 the child is becoming accustomed to longer 
 intervals between feedings. Once the taste 
 for fruit is acquired, a child is just as well 
 pleased with it as with cake and candy, and 
 it does him no harm. For this reason I 
 encourage the eating of fruits as much as 
 possible. Oranges are best eaten with the 
 spoon until the third year, so that the tough- 
 est part of the pulp will not be swallowed.
 
 DIET FOR SICK CHILDREN 197 
 
 Cut the orange in half and dig out the soft 
 part as well as the juice. An apple can be 
 most easily scraped if it is cut in half with the 
 skin on, and the core dug out with a spoon. 
 The skin then makes a cup out of which the 
 rest of the apple is scraped so that there are 
 no hard pieces whatever. 
 
 DIET FOR SICK CHILDREN 
 
 As a rule I do not believe that sick children 
 ought to be made to eat things that are dis- 
 tasteful to them. It is no time to teach the 
 child to cultivate a taste for any article of 
 food, when he is ill. Another mistake that is 
 often made, is to try to force sick children 
 to eat. Occasionally, especially during a pro- 
 longed illness, this is necessary, but as a rule 
 it is not. Still another error that is apt to 
 occur, is in allowing the child to drink large 
 quantities of milk at irregular intervals 
 during the illness. Especially if there is any 
 fever, the thirst is apt to be excessive and 
 milk is taken in place of water to quench 
 the thirst. It is a very good idea to stop the 
 food altogether at the beginning of almost 
 any sickness, especially where there is fever.
 
 198 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Broths. Broths and soups are very good invalid's 
 foods, but it must be remembered that, even 
 when well made, they do not contain a great 
 deal of nourishment. This may be a dis- 
 tinct advantage where it is advisable to avoid 
 overtaxing the digestion. Beef, lamb, and 
 chicken may be used. The meat is chopped 
 up and allowed to stand in cold water for an 
 hour or two, when it is put upon the stove 
 and brought to a simmering heat of 160 F., 
 but never allowed to boil. After simmering 
 in this manner for two or three hours, it 
 should then be strained and set away to cool, 
 so that the fat may harden upon the top, in 
 order to get every particle of it off. It is 
 absolutely impossible to get the grease off 
 while the soup is hot. Bouillon capsules 
 may be temporarily used to make the broth, 
 where it is our purpose to give a weak food. 
 
 Gruels. Gruels help to take the place of milk, and 
 are often more easily digested than milk. 
 Especially during attacks of diarrhea, the 
 gruels must be relied upon almost entirely for 
 nourishment. When this is the case, it is 
 best to vary the kinds of gruels, so that the 
 child will not sicken of them. They should
 
 DIET FOR SICK CHILDREN 199 
 
 be made with water only, adding a little salt, 
 but no sugar unless otherwise directed by the 
 physician. Occasionally, however, they may 
 be made with half milk and half water, if it 
 is so ordered. The one essential point is 
 to cook them long enough. If made of the 
 different flours, they should be first mixed 
 up to a thin paste with cold water, and the 
 paste stirred into the proper amount of boil- 
 ing water to which the salt has been added, 
 and stirring vigorously until brought to an 
 active boil. They should then be put upon 
 the back of the stove, and allowed to boil 
 gently for at least one half hour. Where 
 the double boiler is used, gruels should be 
 cooked for at least two hours. As a rule I 
 do not approve of the double boiler, because 
 this long cooking is apt to be neglected. I 
 may mention as the different kinds of gruels : 
 barley gruel, farina gruel, arrowroot gruel, 
 cornstarch gruel, wheat flour gruel, cracker 
 gruel, browned flour gruel, rice flour gruel, 
 cornmeal gruel, and oatmeal gruel. The 
 browned flour gruel is made by putting ordi- 
 nary wheat flour into the oven and leaving it 
 until it is browned all through, stirring it
 
 200 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 occasionally so that it will not burn. The 
 browned flour is then made into a gruel. 
 Oatmeal and cornmeal gruels should not be 
 used in cases of diarrhea. Any of these 
 gruels may be dextrinized or partially di- 
 gested by adding a teaspoonful of Cereo to 
 them after they are cool enough to taste. 
 Dextrinized gruels are often well borne when 
 other foods are rejected. 
 Bread Bread pap adds another variation to the 
 
 Pap 
 
 sick child's diet. This is made by cutting 
 thin slices of white bread and putting them 
 into the oven until they are thoroughly 
 browned through. They are then put into 
 a saucepan and moistened with enough 
 water to make a thick pap, thoroughly mixed 
 up and put upon the stove and brought to 
 a boil. Neither sugar nor milk should be 
 added unless specially ordered. 
 Junket. Junket often takes the place of a more 
 solid food, especially for older children. It 
 is also more digestible than milk. It is made 
 in the following manner : Put into a clean 
 saucepan, one half pint of fresh milk, heat 
 lukewarm, and then add one teaspoonful of 
 essence of pepsin, or a junket tablet dis-
 
 WATER 201 
 
 solved in a tablespoonful of cold water. 
 (The junket tablets may be bought at any 
 grocery store.) Stir it just enough to mix 
 the tablet with the milk, then pour it into 
 small cups and allow it to stand until it is 
 firmly jellied. A little flavoring may be 
 added, or often a small amount of sugar, 
 while the milk is heating. Egg junket may 
 be made by stirring in with the milk a 
 thoroughly beaten egg. These eggs add a 
 greater nutrition value to the food. 
 
 WATER 
 
 STRANGE as it may seem, the giving of Water 
 
 , . , more 
 
 water to a baby is an important subject and harmful 
 one upon which there have been many false 
 ideas in the past. In some of the leading 
 obstetrical hospitals of the world it is the 
 custom to administer sweetened water to 
 the new-born babe soon after he is born. 
 This has been done for two reasons : first, 
 to give the baby some liquid to prevent loss 
 in weight during the first two or three days 
 when he is not getting much nourishment 
 from the breast ; and second, for the laxative 
 action of the sugar upon the bowels. Now
 
 202 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 the reasons that this procedure is not neces- 
 sary are also twofold : first, it does not pre- 
 vent the loss of weight; and second, the new- 
 born babe never has any trouble in having 
 the bowels move if he is let alone. On the 
 other hand, the harm it does is to satisfy the 
 baby so he will not take the breast well, his 
 stomach being filled with sweetened water. 
 When The small amount of sugar water the 
 may^be baby gets from the breast is sufficient until 
 Given. ne j^g learned to nurse vigorously. Then, 
 if he cries a good deal, he may be given a 
 small amount of unsweetened water. If he 
 does not cry, give him nothing except what 
 he gets from the breast. After the flow of 
 milk has set in, he will get sufficient water 
 in the milk itself if the milk supply is right. 
 As for the bottle baby, can you imagine a 
 more foolish procedure than giving him a 
 few teaspoonfuls of water when he is already 
 getting a food which is 90 per cent water? 
 A child who is getting a quart of liquids in 
 twenty-four hours has far more water in pro- 
 portion to his weight than does the adult. 
 Water for But there comes a time when it is well to 
 children' & ve the baby water as a matter of education,
 
 WATER 203 
 
 so that he may learn to take things from the 
 cup and spoon. At six months it is time to 
 begin this training with a few teaspoonfuls. 
 In this way gradually the baby learns to take a 
 considerable quantity so that he is not a stran- 
 ger to swallowing by any other method than 
 sucking. The weaning is thus made easier. 
 After eighteen months, the child is put 
 upon a drier diet. He is usually thirsty and 
 drinks a good deal of water of his own accord. 
 If he does not, it should be offered to him at 
 intervals throughout the day.
 
 PART VI 
 LISTS AND TABLES
 
 LIST FOR EXPECTANT MOTHER 
 
 A fountain syringe. 
 
 A bed-pan. 
 
 One or two enameled hand basins. 
 
 New rubber cloth, one and a half yards wide, two 
 
 yards long, to protect mattress. 
 Pilch cloth, five yards (for bed pads). 
 Unbleached muslin, two yards long, eighteen inches 
 
 wide (for mother's binders). 
 Plenty of towels. 
 
 Absorbent cotton, one pound package. 
 Braided silk (for tying the cord). 
 Large safety pins (two dozen) . 
 Fluid extract of ergot, one ounce (bought one week 
 
 before confinement). 
 Brandy, two ounces. 
 
 Antiseptic tablets (corrosive sublimate), one bottle. 
 Boric acid, powdered. 
 Sterile gauze (1 five-yard package). 
 
 FOR THE BABY'S BASKET 
 
 One pound of absorbent cotton. 
 
 Safety pins of assorted sizes. 
 
 A soft baby's hair brush. 
 
 A powder box containing powder and puff. 
 
 Soap and soap box. 
 
 One fourth of a pound of boracic acid. 
 
 An old soft blanket in which to receive the child after 
 
 birth. 
 
 A couple of soft towels. 
 A bath thermometer. 
 Scales. 
 
 207
 
 208 
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 CLOTHES 
 
 Flannel bands 4 
 
 Knitted bands 4 
 
 Diapers 4 dozen or more 
 
 Shirts 6 
 
 Petticoats, flannel 4 
 
 Petticoats, cotton 4 
 
 Slips . 6 
 
 Socks 6 pairs 
 
 Nightgowns 6 
 
 Jackets 2 
 
 Cloak 1 
 
 Hood 1 
 
 Mittens 1 pair 
 
 Veil 1 
 
 Blankets . 2 
 
 TABLE OF HEIGHT 
 
 AGE 
 
 1 month 
 
 2 months 
 
 3 months 
 
 4 months 
 
 5 months 
 
 6 months 
 
 7 months 
 
 8 months 
 
 9 months 
 
 10 months 
 
 11 months 
 
 1 year 
 
 2 years 
 
 3 years 
 
 4 years 
 
 5 years 
 
 6 years 
 
 7 years 
 
 8 years 
 
 HEIGHT 
 20f inches 
 
 21 inches 
 
 22 inches 
 
 23 inches 
 23 inches 
 
 24 inches 
 24| inches 
 
 25 inches 
 25| inches 
 
 26 inches 
 26 inches 
 
 27 inches 
 31 inches 
 35 inches 
 37| inches 
 40 inches 
 43 inches 
 45 inches 
 47 inches
 
 LISTS AND TABLES 209 
 
 TABLE OF WEIGHT 
 
 AGE WEIGHT 
 
 1 month 9 pounds 
 
 2 months 10 pounds 
 
 3 months 12 pounds 
 
 4 months 13| pounds 
 
 5 months 15 pounds 
 
 6 months 16 pounds 
 
 7 months 17 pounds 
 
 8 months 18 pounds 
 
 9 months 19 pounds 
 
 10 months 20 pounds 
 
 11 months 20| pounds 
 
 1 year 21 pounds 
 
 2 years 27 pounds 
 
 3 years 32 pounds 
 
 4 years 36 pounds 
 
 5 years 40 pounds 
 
 6 years 44 pounds 
 
 7 years 48 pounds 
 
 8 years 53 pounds 
 
 NUMBER OF PULSE BEATS PER MINUTE 
 
 At birth 130 to 150 
 
 First month 120 to 140 
 
 1 to 6 months 120 to 130 
 
 6 months to 1 year . .' 120 
 
 1 to 2 years 110 to 120 
 
 2 to 4 years 90 to 110 
 
 6 to 10 years 90 to 100 
 
 10 to 14 years 80 to 90 
 
 NUMBER OF RESPIRATIONS PER MINUTE 
 
 For the first 2 or 3 weeks 40 
 
 During the first year 30 
 
 1 to 2 years about 28 
 
 2 to 4 years about 25 
 
 4 to 15 years 20 to 25
 
 210 
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 TABLE OF POISONS AND ANTIDOTES 
 
 POISON 
 
 Acid, acetic, hydrochloric, 
 sulphuric, nitric. 
 
 Acid, carbolic. 
 Acid, oxalic. 
 
 Aconite. 
 
 Alcohol (brandy, etc.). 
 
 Alkalies (as ammonia, 
 lye, caustic, potash). 
 Ammonia (see Alkalies) 
 Arsenic (Fowler's solu- 
 tion, Paris green, 
 "Rough on Rats"). 
 
 Atropine (see Belladonna). 
 Belladonna (atropine). 
 
 Blue vitriol (see Copper). 
 Carbolic (see Acid). 
 
 ANTIDOTES 
 
 An alkali, such as mag- 
 nesia, whiting, soda, soap, 
 followed by soothing 
 drinks or sweet oil. 
 
 Epsom salts in abun- 
 dance, soap, no oil; for 
 external burns, alcohol. 
 
 Emetic, followed by lime 
 (as chalk, plaster, whit- 
 ing) or magnesia, but not 
 by potash or soda; then 
 soothing drinks. 
 
 Emetic, followed by dig- 
 italis; no pillow under 
 head ; free stimulation. 
 
 Emetic ; cold douche on 
 head; warmth and arti- 
 ficial respiration. 
 
 Vinegar or lemon juice, 
 followed by soothing 
 drinks or sweet oil. 
 
 Emetic; followed by a 
 fresh mixture of the tinc- 
 ture of chloride of iron 
 .with calcined magnesia, 
 or baking soda, or water 
 of ammonia; then white 
 of egg, soothing drinks, or 
 sweet oil ; castor oil to 
 empty bowels. 
 
 Emetic ; tannic acid 
 freely; cold to head: 
 coffee ; stimulants and 
 warmth if needed.
 
 LISTS AND TABLES 
 
 211 
 
 Caustic (see Alkalies). 
 Chloral. 
 
 Copper (blue stone, 
 blue vitriol, verdigris). 
 
 Corrosive sublimate. 
 
 Gas (illuminating gas, coal 
 
 Hydrochloric acid (see 
 
 Acid). 
 Iodine. 
 
 Laudanum (see Opium). 
 
 Lye (see Alkalies). 
 
 Matches (see Phosphorus). 
 
 Morphine (see Opium). 
 
 Nitric acid (see Acid). 
 
 Nux vomica (see Strych- 
 nine). 
 
 Opium (including lauda- 
 num, morphine, pare- 
 goric, soothing sirups, 
 etc.). 
 
 Oxalic acid (see Acid). 
 Paregoric (see Opium). 
 Paris green (see Arse- 
 nic). 
 
 Treatment as for opium 
 poisoning. 
 
 Emetic, followed by 
 white of egg or milk; 
 yellow prussiate of potash ; 
 then soothing drinks. 
 
 Emetic, followed by 
 white of egg or milk; 
 soothing drinks; tannic 
 acid freely ; castor oil to 
 open bowels. 
 
 Fresh air ; artificial res- 
 piration; ammonia to nos- 
 trils; cold douche. 
 
 Starch or flour mixed 
 with water, given freely; 
 emetic; soothing drinks. 
 
 Emetic (often not effec- 
 tive) ; permanganate of 
 potash in doses of 4 or 5 
 grains if case is seen early ; 
 strong coffee; atropine- 
 keep awake by cold 
 douche to head and back, 
 walking, and artificial res- 
 piration.
 
 212 
 
 THE HEALTHY BABY 
 
 Phosphorus (match- 
 heads, some roach and 
 rat poisons). 
 
 Potash (see Alkalies). 
 
 Rough on Rats (see Ar- 
 senic). 
 
 Silver nitrate (lunar 
 caustic). 
 
 Strychnine (nux vomica). 
 Sulphuric acid (see Acid). 
 
 Emetic; then perman- 
 ganate of potash in doses 
 of 4 or 5 grains well 
 diluted; Epsom salts or 
 magnesia to open bowels; 
 no milk or oil of any kind. 
 
 Table salt, followed by 
 emetic; milk or white of 
 eggs. 
 
 Emetic, followed by tan- 
 nic acid, bromide of pot- 
 ash freely, or chloral.
 
 MEMORANDA 
 Record of Weight the First Year 
 
 213 
 
 Name 
 
 AOE 
 
 DATE 
 
 WEIGHT 
 
 GAIN 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 At 
 
 birth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 week 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 month 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 months 
 
 8 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 months 
 
 13 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 months 
 
 17 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 20 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 months 
 
 22 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 months 
 
 26 weeks 
 
 
 

 
 214 
 
 MEMORANDA 
 
 Record of Weight the First Year (Continued) 
 Name 
 
 AGE 
 
 DATE 
 
 WEIGHT 
 
 GAIN 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 
 27 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 months 
 
 31 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 32 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 33 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 34 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 months 
 
 35 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 36 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 37 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 38 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 months 
 
 40 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 41 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 42 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 43 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 months 
 
 44 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 46 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 47 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 months 
 
 48 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 49 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 51 weeks 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 months 
 
 52 weeks 
 
 
 

 
 MEMORANDA 
 Record of Weight after the First Year 
 
 215 
 
 AGE 
 
 DATE 
 
 WEIGHT 
 LBS. 
 
 GAIN 
 
 13 months 
 
 
 
 
 14 months 
 
 
 
 
 15 months 
 
 
 
 
 16 months 
 
 
 
 
 17 months 
 
 
 
 
 18 months 
 
 
 
 
 19 months 
 
 
 
 
 20 months 
 
 
 
 
 21 months 
 
 
 
 
 22 months 
 
 
 
 
 23 months 
 
 
 
 
 24 months 
 
 
 
 
 3 years 
 
 
 
 
 4 years 
 
 
 
 
 5 years 
 
 
 
 
 6 years 
 
 
 
 
 7 years 
 
 
 
 
 8 years 
 
 
 
 
 9 years 
 
 
 
 
 10 years 
 
 

 
 216 MEMOKANDA 
 
 Record of Bottle Baby's Food 
 Date Age 
 
 oz. Milk Quantity at Each Feeding oz. 
 
 oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings. _, . _ .hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number Color Consistency . 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting 
 
 Date 
 
 -oz. Milk Quantity at Each Feeding oz. 
 
 _oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 _oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number Color Consistency. 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting 
 
 Date Age 
 
 -oz. Milk Quantity at Each Feeding oz. 
 
 -oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 -oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number. Color Consistency. 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting
 
 MEMORANDA 217 
 
 Record of Bottle Baby's Food 
 Date Age 
 
 oz. Milk Quantity at E ach Feeding oz. 
 
 oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 . . -oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number Color Consistency. 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting 
 
 Date Age 
 
 _oz. Milk Quantity at Each Feeding oz. 
 
 _oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 -oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number Color Consistency. 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting 
 
 Date Age 
 
 -oz. Milk Quantity at Each Feeding oz. 
 
 -oz. Water Number of Feedings in 24 hrs 
 
 -oz. Sugar Intervals between Feedings hrs. 
 
 oz. Total quantity in 24 hrs. 
 
 Bowels 
 
 Number Color. Consistency. 
 
 Appetite Sleep Vomiting
 
 218 MEMORANDA
 
 MEMORANDA 219
 
 220 MEMORANDA 
 
 Held Head erect Date Age 
 
 Date Age 
 
 Date Age 
 
 Walked with ^Support Date Age 
 
 Walked Alone Date Age 
 
 \
 
 MEMORANDA 221 
 
 Record of Talking 
 First word, Notable sayings, etc.
 
 MEMORANDA 
 
 Health Record 
 
 Nature of Illness 
 Attending Physician 
 
 Nature of Illness 
 Attending Physician 
 
 Nature of Illness 
 Attending Physician 
 
 Nature of Illness 
 Attending Physician
 
 First Tooth 
 2 Lower Central Teeth 
 2 Upper Central Teeth 
 2 Upper Lateral Teeth 
 2 Lower Lateral Teeth 
 2 Upper Double Teeth 
 2 Lower Double Teeth 
 
 2| Year-old Double Teeth 
 
 MEMORANDA 
 Teething Record 
 
 Right . _ 
 
 223 
 
 Left 
 
 Right 
 
 Left 
 
 Right 
 
 Left 
 
 Right 
 
 Left 
 
 Right.. 
 
 Left 
 
 Right.. _-. 
 
 Left 
 
 ( Upper Right 
 
 Left 
 
 ( Lower Right . 
 
 Left...
 
 224 MEMORANDA
 
 MEMORANDA 225
 
 226 MEMORANDA
 
 MEMORANDA 227
 
 228 MEMORANDA
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abdomen, 9. 
 
 Abscess of breast, 152. 
 
 of ear, 133. 
 Accidents, 101. 
 Adenoids, 121. 
 
 cause of, 122. 
 
 cause of bed-wetting, 109. 
 
 in infancy, 124. 
 
 symptoms of, 123. 
 Airing, 55. 
 
 indoors, 56. 
 
 of sick room, 79. 
 Alcohol bath, 91. 
 Anger in discipline, 64. 
 Angry cry, 17. 
 
 Antidotes for poison, 108, 210. 
 Antitoxin, 84. 
 Anti-vaccinationists, 86. 
 Appetite, 20. 
 
 excessive, 23. 
 
 lack of, 184. 
 
 loss of, in infants, 21. 
 
 loss of, in older children, 22. 
 Awakening baby for food, 12. 
 
 Baby's basket, 207. 
 
 Baby carriage, 57-59. 
 
 Baby comfort, 73, 122. 
 
 Backward children, ears in, 132. 
 
 Backwardness from defective 
 eyes, 131. 
 
 Bad air, 53. 
 
 Bananas, 196. 
 
 Band, 41. 
 
 Barley gruel in infant feed- 
 ing, 172. 
 
 Bath, 49. 
 
 in fever, 52-91. 
 
 temperature of, 51. 
 
 thermometer, 51. 
 
 time of, 52. 
 
 tub, 49. 
 
 when omitted, 52. 
 Beans in nose, 104. 
 Bed, the, 16. 
 Bed-wetting, 73, 109. 
 
 causes of, 109. 
 
 punishment for, 112. 
 
 treatment of, 111. 
 Belly, 9. 
 Belly-band, 41. 
 Berries, 195. 
 Blankets, 41, 45. 
 Bleeding from nose, 103. 
 
 from wounds, 102. 
 Blindness, cause of, 130. 
 Body, development of the, 8. 
 Boiled milk, 167. 
 
 for traveling, 182. 
 Bones, broken, 103. 
 Bonnet, 48. 
 Bottles, 162. 
 
 brush, 163. 
 
 care of, 162, 170. 
 
 cleaning of, 163. 
 
 cover, 171. 
 
 feeding, 172. 
 
 rack, 163. 
 
 selection of, 162. 
 Bouillon capsules, 198. 
 Bowels, 28. 
 
 habits of, 30. 
 
 nursing mother, 150. 
 
 regular habits of, 28. 
 
 229
 
 230 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bowel troubles, cause of, 166. 
 Bread, 190. 
 
 pap, 200. 
 
 Breast abscess, 152. 
 Breasts, care of, 152. 
 Breast feeding, 147. 
 
 bottles in, 152. 
 
 duration of, 159, 161. 
 
 intervals of, 154. 
 
 number of, 155. 
 Breast Milk, 147. 
 
 and mother's bowels, 150. 
 
 weaning, 155. 
 Broths, 198. 
 Bruises, 103. 
 Burns, 107, 
 
 Calomel in diarrhea, 37. 
 
 in vomiting, 26. 
 Candy, 195. 
 
 cause of poor appetites, 21. 
 Cane sugar, 173. 
 Castor oil in diarrhea, 37. 
 Cathartics, abuse of, 32. 
 
 in diarrhea, 37. 
 Celluloid gloves for finger 
 
 sucking, 74. 
 Cereals, 191. 
 Certified milk, 167. 
 Chamber for evacuation of 
 
 bowels, 30. 
 Chapping, 135. 
 Chicken pox, -86. 
 Choking, 105. 
 Circumcision, 140. 
 Citrate of magnesia, 27. 
 Clothing, 41, 208. 
 
 for older children, 47. 
 
 in summer, 46. 
 
 restriction from, 59. 
 Coins swallowed, 106. 
 Colds, 53. 
 
 beginning of measles, 84. 
 
 cause of, 87. 
 
 treatment of, 94. 
 
 Colic, 18, 152. 
 Complexion, 135. 
 Condensed Milk, 183. 
 Constipation, 31. 
 
 cause of bed-wetting, 109. 
 
 fruit in, 33. 
 
 in bottle-fed infants, 31. 
 
 in breast-fed infants, 31. 
 
 in older children, 32. 
 
 massage in, 33. 
 
 vegetables in, 33. 
 Consumption, 88. 
 Contagion, 81. 
 Contagious diseases, 81. 
 Convulsions, 98. 
 
 causes of, 99. 
 
 genitals in, 140. 
 
 treatment of, 100. 
 Coughs, 92. 
 
 cause of, 87. 
 
 nervous, 116. 
 Cracked nipplep, 153. 
 Crackers, 190. 
 Cream, 172. 
 Creeping, 4. 
 
 Cross-eyed children, 131. 
 Croup, 95. 
 
 kettle, 97. 
 
 treatment of, 96. 
 Crying, 17. 
 "Crying it out," 16. 
 
 normal amount of, 18. 
 Curds in stools, 29. 
 Cuts, 102. 
 Cutting the hair, 137. 
 
 Daily routine, 68. 
 Deafness from adenoids, 122. 
 Decayed teeth, 128. 
 Defective speech, 7. 
 Delayed talking, 6. 
 Delayed teething, 125. 
 Delicate Child, exercise for, 61. 
 
 fresh air for, 57. 
 Dentistry, importance of, 129.
 
 INDEX 
 
 231 
 
 Desserts, 194, 190. 
 Development, 3. 
 Dextri-Maltose, 173. 
 Dextrinized gruels, 200. 
 Diapers, 43. 
 
 the discarding of, 6. 
 
 wetting of, 72. 
 Diarrhea, 34. 
 
 from improper feeding, 35. 
 
 from teething, 36. 
 
 treatment of, 37. 
 Diet after the first year, 183. 
 
 cause of bed-wetting, 109. 
 
 cause of poor appetite, 22. 
 
 for nursing mother, 149. 
 
 for sick children, 197. 
 
 in bed-wetting, 112. 
 
 in weaning period, 185. 
 
 of first year, 172. 
 * one year to 14 months, 186. 
 
 at 14 months, 187. 
 
 15 to 18 months, 187. 
 
 18 months to 2 years, 188. 
 
 older children, 189. 
 
 school age, 190. 
 
 the third year, 189. 
 Diphtheria, 84. 
 Discipline, 62. 
 Draughts, 17, 53. . 
 Drawers, 45. 
 Dress, the, 43. 
 Drinking cups, 87. 
 
 Ears, 132. 
 
 abscess of, 133. 
 
 foreign bodies in, 104. 
 
 laps, 48. 
 
 protruding, 132. 
 
 washing of, 132. 
 Earache, 133. 
 
 treatment of, 134. 
 Eczema, 136. 
 
 bath in, 52. 
 Eggs, 193. 
 Emergency supplies, 101. 
 
 Emetics, 108. 
 Entertaining the baby, 8. 
 Epilepsy, 98. 
 Eruption of teeth, 124. 
 Eruptions, 82, 135. 
 Examination of the throat, 121. 
 Exercise, 58. 
 
 for delicate child, 61. 
 Expectant mother, list for, 
 
 207. 
 Eyes, 130. 
 
 care of, 130. 
 
 foreign bodies in, 106. 
 
 routine examination of, 131. 
 
 Fat babies, 9. 
 Feeding, 172. 
 
 breast, 147. 
 
 formulas, 176. 
 
 for newborn baby, 178. 
 
 for traveling, 182. 
 
 gruel in, 172. 
 
 intervals of, 69, 175. 
 
 number of, 155, 174, 176. 
 
 of sick babies, 180. 
 
 quantity of, 177. 
 
 record of, 216. 
 
 sugar in, 173. 
 
 tabulated scheme for, 176. 
 Fever, 90. 
 
 bath in, 52. 
 
 treatment of, 91. 
 Finger sucking, 73. 
 Fire escape, airing on, 69. 
 First teeth, 124. 
 Fly, the, 88. 
 Fontanel, 9. 
 Food for traveling, 182. 
 
 monotony of, 23. 
 Forcing, 3. 
 Foreign bodies, in ear, 104. 
 
 in eye, 106. 
 
 in nose, 104. 
 
 in throat, 105. 
 
 swallowed, 106.
 
 232 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Foreskin, 140. 
 Formulas, feeding, 176. 
 Fractures, 103. 
 Fresh air, 53. 
 
 at night, 17. 
 
 for delicate child, 57. 
 Fretful babies, 62, 70. 
 Fretful children, 20. 
 Fretful cry, 17. 
 Fruits, 188, 195. 
 
 in constipation, 33. 
 
 uncooked, 196. 
 
 Gain in weight, 10. 
 Genital organs, 139. 
 German measles, 86. 
 Gruels, 198. 
 
 dextrinized, 200. 
 
 in infant feeding, 172. 
 Gums, care of, 128. 
 
 in teething, 126. 
 
 lancing of, 127. 
 Gymnasium work, 61. 
 
 Habits, 71. 
 
 of crying, 19. 
 
 spasms, 115. 
 Hair, 137. 
 
 cutting of, 137. 
 Handling in babyhood, 62. 
 Happiness, 68. 
 Hardening, 48. 
 
 process, 92. 
 Head, 8. 
 
 Headache from eyes, 131. 
 Health record, 222. 
 Height, 8. 
 
 table of, 208. 
 Hemorrhage, 102. 
 Hoarse cry, 18. 
 Hot bath in convulsions, 
 
 101. 
 Hunger, 17, 18. 
 
 natural, 20. 
 Hysteria, 116. 
 
 Ice cap in convulsions, 100. 
 Imagination, 66. 
 Inattention, 123. 
 Indigestion, 18. 
 Infant feeding, 172. 
 Infection from wounds, 102. 
 Intervals of feeding, 164. 
 
 Jacket, 43. 
 
 Jaw, deformed, 122, 
 
 Junket, 200. 
 
 Kindergarten, 8. 
 Kissing, 87. 
 Knitted band, 42. 
 
 Lancing the gums, 127. 
 
 Layette, 208. 
 
 Leggings, 47. 
 
 Length of body, 8. 
 
 Lisping, 7. 
 
 List for baby's basket, 207. 
 
 List for expectant mother, 
 
 207. 
 
 Lists, 207. 
 Lying, 66. 
 
 Malaria, 88. 
 
 Malt liquors for nursing 
 
 mother, 151. 
 Malt sugar, 173. 
 Massage in constipation, 33. 
 Masturbation, 141. 
 Mattress, 17. 
 Measles, 83. 
 Meat, 193. 
 
 Medicines, as poison, 108. 
 Memoranda, of talking, 221. 
 
 of events, 220. 
 
 of weights, 213. 
 Menstruation, milk supply 
 
 during, 160. 
 Mental development, 7. 
 Milk, 165. 
 Milk, bacteria in, 166.
 
 INDEX 
 
 233 
 
 Milk, boiled, 167. 
 
 boiling of, 179. 
 
 breast, 158. 
 
 cauf= of diarrhea, 34. 
 
 cau_ , of tuberculosis, 90. 
 
 certified, 167. 
 
 condensed, 183. 
 
 crust, 138. 
 
 for nursing mother, 151. 
 
 for sick children, 197. 
 
 from herd, 168. 
 
 modification of, 172. 
 
 pasteurized, 167. 
 
 production of, 165. 
 
 rule for mixing infants', 174. 
 
 sugar, 173. 
 
 temperature of, 171. 
 
 too much, 23. 
 
 Mina, the development of, 7. 
 Mixing of babies' foods, 168. 
 Modified milk, 172. 
 Moist air, 93. 
 Mosquitoes, 88. 
 Mouth breathing, 121. 
 Mouth, care of, 50. 
 Mucus in stools, 29. 
 Muffins, 191. 
 Mumps, 86. 
 
 Mustard flour t -ause vomit- 
 ing, 109. 
 Mustard foot bath, 100. 
 
 Nail biting, 74. 
 Naps, 13. 
 Navel, 9. 
 Nervous child, 115. 
 
 treatment of, 117. 
 Nervous cough, 116. 
 Nervous mothers, 149. 
 Nervousness, 115. 
 
 genitals in, 140. 
 Newborn baby, feeding, 178. 
 Night clothing, 45, 49. 
 Night cry, 18. 
 Nightgown, 43. 
 
 Nipples, care of, 152, 162. 
 
 selection of, 162. 
 
 shield, 153. 
 
 soreness of, 153. 
 Nose, foreign bodies in, 104. 
 Nosebleed, 103. 
 
 from adenoids, 123. 
 Nursing, 147. 
 
 in sickness, 80. 
 
 intervals of, 154. 
 
 mother, 148. 
 
 mother, diet for, 149. 
 
 mother, exercise for, 148. 
 
 mother, illness in, 159. 
 
 Orderliness, 72. 
 Outdoor airing, 55. 
 Overdressing, 46. 
 
 Pain cry, 18. 
 
 Pasteurized milk, 167. 
 
 Patent foods, 181. 
 
 Pebbles in nose, 104. 
 
 Permanent teeth, 127. 
 
 Petit mal, 99. 
 
 Pillow, 17. 
 
 Pimples, 135. 
 
 Pinning blanket, 42. 
 
 Pinworms, 114. 
 
 Playing with baby, 62. 
 
 Poisons, 108, 210. 
 
 Poor appetites in infanta, 
 
 20. 
 
 Poor sleepers, 15. 
 Powder, common toilet, 134. 
 Prepuce, 140. 
 Prickly heat, 136. 
 Prominent ears, 132. 
 Proprietary foods, 181. 
 Protruding ears, 132. 
 Protruding navel, 9. 
 Pulse, table of, 209. 
 Punishment, for bed-wetting, 
 
 112. 
 of children, 65.
 
 234 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Question asking, 67. 
 
 Rainy-day airing, 56. 
 Record, of feeding, 216. 
 
 of health, 222. 
 
 of teething, 223. 
 
 of weight, 213. 
 
 Rectum, fissures, polypi, pro- 
 lapses, 33. 
 Regurgitation, 24. 
 Respirations, table of, 209. 
 Restless sleepers, 15, 17. 
 Restless sleeping, adenoids in, 
 
 123. 
 Rickets, cause of delayed 
 
 teething, 125. 
 Rocking, 16. 
 Rompers, 45. 
 Routine, 68. 
 Rubber diapers, 44. 
 Rubbers, 49. 
 Rupture of the navel, 9. 
 
 Safety pins, swallowed, 106. 
 Scales, 11. 
 Scalp, 138. 
 Scarlet fever, 82. 
 Schedule for the day, 69. 
 School age, diet at, 190. 
 School for nervous children, 
 
 117. 
 
 Schools, inspection of, 88. 
 Schoolrooms, ventilation of, 58. 
 Scraped apple, 197. 
 Scurvy, 168. 
 Second summer, 36. 
 Second teeth, 127. 
 Sedentary children, 60. 
 Shampoo, the, 137. 
 Shield for nipples, 153. 
 Shirt, 42. 
 Shoes, 48. 
 Showing off, 5. 
 Sick room, 79. 
 conduct, 80. 
 
 Sitting alone, age of, 4. 
 Skin, 134. 
 Skirt, 42. 
 Sleep, 12. 
 
 for nervous children, .18. 
 
 and adenoids, 123. 
 Sleeping, out of doors, 14, 57. 
 Sleeping room, temperature 
 of, 55. 
 
 ventilation of, 55. 
 Sleeplessness, 13, 15. 
 Slip, the, 43. 
 Smallpox, 86. 
 Soap for bathing, 134. 
 Socks, 43, 48. 
 Sore nipples, 153. 
 Sore throats, 95. 
 Soups, 194, 198. 
 Sour milk, 166. 
 Speech, 6. 
 
 defective, 123. 
 Spoiled children, 20. 
 Spoiling the baby, 62. 
 Sponge, 51. 
 
 Sprays for throat, 121. 
 Sterilizing wounds, 102. 
 Stockinette nightgown, 43. 
 Stomach, attacks, 26. 
 
 worms, \\ f 
 Stools, 28. 
 
 number of, 28. 
 
 of bottle-fed baby, 29. 
 
 of breast-fed baby, 28. 
 Story telling, 66. 
 Stuttering, 7. 
 Sucking, 73. 
 Sugar, cane, 173. 
 
 for older children, 195. 
 
 in bottle feeding, 173. 
 
 malt, 173. 
 
 Summer complaint, 35. 
 Summer teething, 126. 
 Supplies for accidents, 101. 
 Swallowing of foreign bodies, 
 105-106.
 
 INDEX 
 
 235 
 
 Sweets, 195. 
 
 cause of a poor appetite, 21. 
 
 Table, of height, 208. 
 
 of poisons and antidotes, 210. 
 
 of respirations, 209. 
 
 of weight, 209. 
 Talking, 6. 
 
 memoranda of, 221. 
 Tapeworms, 114. 
 Teasing, 66. 
 Teeth, 124. 
 
 care of, 128. 
 
 number of, 125. 
 
 protruding, 130. 
 
 second, 127. 
 Teething, 126. 
 
 and diarrhea, 36. 
 
 cause of convulsions, 99. 
 
 record, 223. 
 
 Temperature of bottle feed- 
 ings, 171. 
 
 of living rooms, 54. 
 Testicles, undescended, 142. 
 Thermometers, 90, 51. 
 Thirst in sick infants, 21. 
 Threats, 64. 
 Throat, 121. 
 
 foreign bodies in, 105. 
 Tics, 115. 
 Toothbrush, 128. 
 Top milks, 172. 
 Tonsillitis, cause of, 123. 
 Tonsils, 121. 
 
 cause of enlarged, 122. 
 Trained nurse, 80. 
 Training, 62. 
 
 lack of in bed-wetting, 110. 
 Truthfulness, 66. 
 Tuberculosis, 88. 
 Twitching, 115. 
 
 Underclothes, 42. 
 
 Underfed babies, 19. 
 Urine, retention of, 142. 
 
 Vaccination, 86. 
 Vegetables, 192. 
 
 in constipation, 33. 
 Ventilation, 53, 54. 
 
 of schoolrooms, 58. 
 
 of sick room, 79. 
 
 of sleeping room,55. 
 Visiting, 5. 
 Vomiting, 24, 
 
 from poisons, 108 
 
 habitual in infants, 25. 
 
 of infants, 24. 
 
 sudden or acute, 25. 
 Vomitus, green or yellow, 27. 
 
 Walking, 5, 59. 
 Walker-Gordon Milk, 182. 
 Water, 147. 
 
 in diarrhea, 37. 
 
 in fever, 91. 
 
 in older children, 202. 
 
 in vomiting, 37. 
 Weaning, 155. 
 
 diet in, 185. 
 
 from bottle, 162. 
 
 reasons for, 156. 
 Weight, 10. 
 
 guide to weaning, 156. 
 
 record, 213. 
 
 table of, 209. 
 Wetting, drawers, 113. 
 
 the bed, 109. 
 Whooping cough, 85. 
 Windows, 17. 
 
 Wine for nursing mother, 151. 
 Worms, 113. 
 
 cause of bed-wetting, 109. 
 
 common cause of convul- 
 sions, 99. 
 Wounds, open, 102. 
 
 
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