CHAPTER VIIICLEANLINESS AND HEALTH
HOW TO GIVE THE BABY’S BATH—CARE OF THE VARIOUS ORGANS—THRUSH AND ITS TREATMENT—SPECIAL BATHS FOR DELICATE CHILDREN—HABITS OF CLEANLINESS
HOW TO GIVE THE BABY’S BATH—CARE OF THE VARIOUS ORGANS—THRUSH AND ITS TREATMENT—SPECIAL BATHS FOR DELICATE CHILDREN—HABITS OF CLEANLINESS
Cleanlinessis one of the foundation-stones on which is reared the beautiful structure of baby’s good health and good temper. When it is neglected, all sorts of weaknesses, discomforts and irritations creep in.
Uncleanliness invites disease and furnishes a lodging-place for germs. Moreover, the baby that starts off life by being comfortable through cleanliness forms habits of neatness, which it never loses. Whenever a mother tells me that she cannot keep her three- or four-year-old baby clean, that it simply “attracts” dirt wherever it goes, whatever it does, I wonder how she started it off at birth. Moreover, I have noticed at Better Babies Contests that many minor defects and small ailments can be traced by the examining physicians directly to untidiness on the part of the mother.
Looking back on the babyhood of my own children I can recall no happier hours than those spent before the open fireplace in the adobe cabin of a Western ranch, where the babies were sponged and patted dry and cuddled off to sleep by the light of the dancing flames.
The mother who allows plenty of time for the morning bath is sowing seeds which are bound to blossom in habits of cleanliness in the child. So, in planning for the coming of a new baby, she should spend more on the equipment for the bath than on embroidery for the layette.
The little baby should not be bathed in the family tub. It should have a small metal or enameled tub of its own. This tub should be used for no other purpose. The skin of the new-born baby is very tender, and infection is always at hand. At the Better Babies Contests I have heard more than one physician trace an eruption on the baby’s skin to careless bathing or care of the tub. Doctors say that bad cases of boils can be traced to an infected tub. In fact, there are women who love their babies, yet who are so thoughtless as to leave diapers soaking in the bathtub, where, after a superficial rinsing off with warm water, baby is bathed. Diapers, all of baby’s clothing, in fact, should be soaked and washed in separate utensils, never in the bathtub.
The task of bathing the baby will be lightened if the tub is placed on a low table and the motherstands before it. When the tub is on the floor and the mother has to kneel or bend, it is not so easy to handle the baby. The top of the table may be protected with a pad, which can be dried after the bath, or with a piece of oilcloth and a square of muslin.
In addition to the tub there should be provided a large, but light, pitcher, preferably of enameled ware, for carrying the water from the bathroom or the kitchen to the nursery; a china or enameled bowl for the boracic acid solution; castile soap; squares cut from old, clean handkerchiefs, or old linen, for wash-cloths; a number of well-worn soft towels; a bath thermometer for testing the temperature of the water; medicine dropper for washing out baby’s eyes; shaker of talcum powder; absorbent cotton and aseptic gauze for cleansing the nose, ears, and mouth; soft hair-brush; and a needle and thread for sewing on the bands.
The bath equipment should not be allowed to stand on the table between baths. It should be kept, away from dust, in a closet or chest.
A word of caution about the bathtub which has been used for other babies. When it is handed down from one baby to another, or perhaps has been rescued from attic or cellar, the tub may be a bit battered or rusty. If the paint is worn off, the rough spaces may offer a lodging-place for germs. It is a very simple matter for some memberof the family to give the tub a fresh coat of enamel paint, which comes for the purpose. This precaution may save the baby from irritations of the skin, and the mother from wakeful hours.
Never use strong washing-powders to cleanse the tub, as they irritate the skin.
Always throw away the cotton and aseptic gauze or old pieces of linen used for washing the baby.
Never use new towels or new, rough wash-rags for bathing the tender skin of the baby. Old fabrics, well washed, and dried either in the sun or before the nursery fire, are much better.
Never use a sponge for the baby; it cannot be kept clean. A germ-laden sponge may cause many forms of skin diseases, chafing and general irritation.
Do not start the task of bathing until you have everything at hand. The aprons, rubber and flannel, for the mother should be hanging over the back of the chair; the equipment for the bath arranged on the table; and the baby’s clean clothing hung to air and warm on the rack near the fire.
The temperature of the room in which the bath is given should be at least 70° F. The temperature of the water should be tested by the bath thermometer. For the first eight weeks of the baby’s life the bath thermometer should show that the water is 100° F. From two months to six the temperature should be 98° F. From sixto twenty-four it should register from 85° to 90° F. The baby under two years old should never be given what is known as a cold bath, even when it is suffering from the effects of heat in the summer. A bath thermometer is a splendid investment for any mother; but if it is not within the financial possibilities, then the mother must test the bath very carefully by thrusting her bare elbow into the water.
During the first week or ten days of the baby’s life it is sponged off without laying it in the tub. After the navel cord has come off the baby gets its first real bath in the tub.
Now for the important process of bathing. Have the bathtub two-thirds full of water, with the temperature carefully regulated. Lay the baby on your lap, flat on his stomach. If his garments open in the back, roll these up and draw them over the head, not over the feet, and lay them aside. Then wrap around him the flannel apron or square which you have laid over your rubber apron.
Wash the eyes with a bit of absorbent cotton which has been dipped into a lukewarm solution of boric acid—one even teaspoonful to one pint of water. Nostrils and ears are then cleansed with absorbent cotton and the boracic acid solution, a fresh piece of cotton being used for each operation. While the baby is very small the cottonmay be wrapped around a wooden toothpick, from which the sharp point has been removed.
Next comes the very important washing of the genitals, which, if not properly cleansed, will soon become chafed. With a girl baby the organs should be washed daily with a solution of boracic acid stronger than that used for the eyes, ears, and nose—two teaspoonfuls of boracic acid to one pint of water. If any discharge is found, the boracic acid solution must be used not only at the time of the bath but again in the evening. Wash the genital organs of a boy baby daily; the foreskin should be pushed back at least twice a week, while the parts are bathed gently with absorbent cotton and boracic acid solution. If the foreskin cannot be drawn back or is tightly adherent, the mother should call the family physician’s attention to the difficulty, and he will decide whether circumcision is advisable. Under no circumstances should the mother or nurse attempt to stretch the skin forcibly.
All the special organs having been cleansed with boracic acid solution, the face and head are washed off with clean gauze and patted dry with a soft towel.
If there is a tendency to scurf or scales, rub the head every night with sweet-oil, vaseline, or cold cream, wash it gently off in the morning and, after drying, apply witch hazel or alcohol and water in equal parts. Never use a fine tooth comb to removethese scales. If the growth of scales or milk crust is persistent, it may be necessary to stop washing the head, and cleanse it only with oil or cold cream.
Now baby is ready to be soaped and laid in the tub. Make a good lather with castile soap and warm water, and rub the baby’s body thoroughly. Be careful not to get the soap in the eyes. Rinse this off in the tub.
There is an art in laying the baby in the water. Support the back and head with your left hand, grasp the ankles with your right, and very gently slip the little body under the water, being careful not to immerse the head: the sensation of water running into the ears, mouth, and eyes startles the baby and implants in him a fear of the daily bath. Support him with the left hand, and, with the right, rinse off the soap, using a piece of gauze or absorbent cotton. The very young baby should be kept in the water only long enough to rinse off the soap. As he grows older, and shows pleasure in the bath, he may remain in the water three, four, or five minutes. If, from the first bath, a child shows great fear and does not seem to outgrow this, do not plunge him directly into the water. Have a large square of muslin stretched over the tub, lay him on this and gently lower him into the bath, always keeping his head above the water.
Once the soap is rinsed off lift him out carefully,the left hand supporting the back and head, and the right hand holding the ankles. Have a warm bath-towel at hand, spread it over the flannel apron on your lap, and roll baby up comfortably in towel and apron. Pat him dry. Never rub. Rubbing may start up irritation in the tender young skin. Dust him with talcum powder; and be particularly careful about drying and powdering the creases.
Next sew on the belly-band. Draw on the shirt by slipping it over the feet, never over the head. Next comes the diaper and, finally, the Gertrude skirt and slip. Draw these up from the feet, never over the head.
Then the baby is ready for his feeding and good sleep.
Physicians quite generally agree that the best hour for bathing the baby during the first year is in the morning before the second feeding. This gives the busy mother a chance to get her breakfast work out of the way, her husband off to business, and the older children off to school. As one who has been her own housekeeper and cook, I know that it seems very hard to stop in the middle of a busy morning, when every room in the house calls for attention, and give half an hour or more to bathing the baby, but if this becomes a habit with mother and child it means a quiet, comfortable baby, and several peaceful hours in which the mother can catch up with her household duties.Irregular bathing is disturbing to a baby, and, while the average mother may think that she can spare the time better just before his bedtime, she should realize that this is the family supper hour, and if she postpones it, baby’s sleep is disturbed.
You will notice that I have not spoken of washing out the baby’s mouth. Many of the best baby specialists claim that Nature has supplied a cleansing element in the saliva and that washing the mouth is unnecessary; that it may cause thrush or other affections of the mucous membrane. Other equally good authorities hold that the mouth may be cleaned with a swab made by wrapping absorbent cotton around a wooden toothpick; this is dipped in cool water that has been boiled, and the folds between the gums, lips and cheeks are gently cleaned out at the time of the morning bath and also before the baby is put to bed for the night. Both medical factions agree that the old custom of wrapping a bit of soft linen around the mother’s forefinger and using that to cleanse the baby’s mouth is dangerous, as it is too large and apt to injure the delicate mucous membrane. If the mouth is washed at all it must be done with great care.
In case of thrush or sprue, which consists of tiny white threads or flakes on the inner side of the lips and cheeks, and even on the tongue, the mouth must be washed carefully, after every feeding or nursing, with a solution of borax—one eventeaspoonful to three ounces of water. Thrush or sprue may come from other causes than washing the mouth, and it is wise to call a physician if it appears and spreads.
The system of bathing and cleansing so far described is suited for the normal baby only. Some children should not have a daily tub bath. This includes anemic or very delicate infants, and babies suffering from acute illness, when the exposure and fatigue of a bath might drain the already depleted system too heavily. In case of eczema and certain other skin affections, bathing with soap would increase the trouble. Your family physician will prescribe a method of cleansing the baby’s body in case it suffers from eczema or any other serious eruption. The very feeble child may be rubbed with sweet-oil when too weak to stand a tub bath, and common cooking salt or sea salt has been found useful in giving a bath to a delicate child. The water is prepared by adding a cupful of cooking salt or sea salt, which can be purchased at any druggist’s, to each two gallons of water.
When a child is suffering seriously from prickly heat, soap should not be used. Instead tie a cupful of bran-meal in a bag of muslin or cheese-cloth and squeeze this in the water until the latter takes on a milky color; this bath is particularly soothing to infants with very delicate skins.
When a child chafes easily, particularly at thebuttocks, a soda or a starch bath is soothing. One tablespoonful of bicarbonate of soda should be added to the water in the usual infant’s tub, or half a cupful of laundry starch, powdered very fine, to the same quantity of water.
When a child is suffering from fever, due to teething or indigestion, and in very hot weather, in addition to the regular morning bath it may have a sponge bath just before bedtime. This may be of plain, tepid water, or of water and alcohol—a quart of warm water to eight ounces of alcohol.
Many mothers think that the daily bath is sufficient to provide for cleanliness in a child. This is a mistake. From the very start a child should learn that to be clean is to be comfortable. Particularly if the mother is careless about changing the diapers and the bedding, the baby will actually become accustomed to the discomfort which follows and will not resent it. If the diapers are changed immediately they are wet, the baby will cry bitterly when he is neglected and allowed to lie in a wet diaper or other clothing.
At four months the healthy, normal baby should be trained to sit upon a small infant’s chamber at certain times in the day for the bowels to move. These chambers come in very small sizes and, as the baby is too small to sit alone, the mother holds the chamber in her lap and supports the baby with her arm or against her breast.When he is strong enough to sit up alone, the chamber is covered with a low, comfortable chair, which allows the feet to rest on the floor. The seat of the chair is protected by a rubber ring, which can be bought from any store where sanitary supplies for children are sold; this can be taken off and cleansed, and is a great improvement on the ordinary wooden seat. The use of a chamber of adult size is most undesirable for two reasons: it is so uncomfortable that the child cries and the movement is retarded rather than encouraged; and in the strained position certain organs may be displaced. It is best to use the little chamber and low chair twice a day, directly after the feeding in the morning and before going to sleep at night. When the child is older he will become accustomed to one movement of the bowels each morning.
At eight months the mother should begin to train the child not to wet the diapers. To this end he is placed on the chamber or chair every hour, and in a surprisingly short time he learns, by training and instinct, that he can control the urine. The baby thus trained will never lie contentedly in wet or soiled clothing, and will develop into a child of cleanly habits.
A word of warning here about the care of the diapers. They should never be used twice without washing. When soiled by a movement of the bowels, they should be washed off immediatelyand then dropped into a pail of water until the mother or nurse has time to wash them thoroughly. Each wet diaper is added to the same pail. It is a great mistake to wash these diapers in a solution of sal soda, washing-powders, or strong soap. If a good white soap is used the mother will be repaid in the freedom of her child from chafing or eruptions. The diapers, like all of baby’s clothing, should be rinsed until absolutely free from soap. Nightdresses, skirts, and slips should not be starched. Diapers may be taken from the line when dry, smoothed, folded, and placed under a weight—never ironed.
All of this takes time; but it is also a time-saver, because the dry, clean, comfortable baby makes very little trouble in the household and interrupts the mother in her duties only for the regular routine of bathing, feeding, and undressing. Many mothers who spend hours embroidering tiny frocks or sewing on yards of lace will hurry through the process of bathing, or be careless in the handling of diapers and other clothing which will chafe the baby’s delicate skin. Love which expresses itself in the overdressing of the child is far less practical than that which expresses itself in cleanliness and sweetness for all that surrounds the child.
The careless, untidy mother has no right to expect Nature to keep her child fine and healthy. He may be well proportioned and strong at birth,but he will soon lose strength and health if he is not kept clean. A child has the right to cleanliness; and the child who grows up careless, untidy about his person, generally owes his displeasing habits to the thoughtlessness or indifference of the mother, however well she may love him.