PART II MOTHERHOOD (Part 10)

baby is not perfectly normal in health, but mothers as well as nurses have proved that it can be done. Mothers who have come under the influence of our grandmothers' theories concerning the "bringing up" The old of children, sometimes feel that the modern idea that ing up we should help Nature by supplying fresh air, sun-^new shine, good food, and plenty of sleep, and after that- let the child come up rather than be brought up, indi- cates a heartless classing of the human young with the "beasts of the field." To such a person the care of a baby signifies the entire absorption of a mother's time and strength, and often the depth of her devotion is measured by the extent of his tyranny. If she could only realize that it means a mutual benefit to accustom the child to lone: hours of rest to Lons p i * • , * 1 1 1 , hours of body in sleep, and to nerves and muscles through nor- sleep and mal expression of his activities in natural exercise, exercise she would have fewer qualms of conscience in en- joying the added leisure it would give her. A baby will find endless entertainment in the free movement of his own limbs, if not hampered by clothing, as he lies in his crib, unless he has been trained to cry for the artificial exercise and the stimulation of constant change of position. For the first few months, sleep should make the largest part of his day. This can only be accomplished if he is kept comfortable as far as his other demands are concerned. Food is the chiefest, and if this is given when it is needed, it will take little time, and will ^eV* be expected only at stated intervals. Warmth is an- intervals other requisite, and can be realized if the temperature of the room is well regulated, the crib is protected from draughts, and the diapers are changed often enough to keep the dampness from the other clothing. 278 MOTHERHOOD Great care should be taken to guard the baby from Guard the shocks to the nervous system. Fear is not yet devel- nervous oped, there is no reason in his sudden cry and start, shocks ^ut ^ jjttje fo0£y js aijve w}tn nerves, and every time these are played upon uselessly they are so much more easily affected and less likely to perform their greater function. We see the results, not in added sensibility, but in lack of control and poise, in little reserve force, and often in an excessive emotionalism. The aim of motherhood ought to be to bring forth at least as good a representative of the species as either of the parents, and after birth to give the care which will bring about at least as perfect a development. The ^""hnd amma^s of other species accomplish this, but the develop human animal fails of it time out of number, and Nature's too often has no sense of obligation in the matter. If hnes obligation is admitted, it must also be conceded that we could perhaps learn from the methods of animals in caring for their young, that the best results are not attained by surrounding a Child with artificialities, and by keeping his senses abnormally alert, but by letting his development progress along Nature's lines. The number of babies who are allowed to go through babyhood as little happy animals, with every want gratified when they are clean and warm and fed, is increasing every year, but there is still an appalling amount of ignorance and well-intentioned cruelty in their treatment. UNWISE TRAINING If we follow a baby brought up in the latter way through his day, we can see why he is a troublesome child, and can appreciate better, perhaps, the rational method of caring for him. In the morning, when his first day feeding is due, HABITS 279 he is asleep, and the mother, thankful for a little respite, The baby's 11 i , ..ii 11 1 • 1 • • morning hushes the other children and lets him he quiet as in bad long as he will. Stomachs only a few days old hold training very little, and after a long fast this one begins to make active remonstrance. Up comes the baby, wet and starving, showing such signs of indigestion that the mother at once gives him food in self-defence, and pushes on bath and clean, dry clothes for an hour or so longer. The milk is taken so rapidly, and the stomach is filled so full, that instead of going off to sleep, the How he little one fusses and cries till life is a burden to. the entire family. He is trotted and rocked, a rubber nip- ple, a "pacifier," is put in his mouth, or an attempt is made to nurse him again, till the process of digestion has corrected some of the discomfort, when he falls asleep. When he wakes again, the dampness from his wet diapers has penetrated through all his clothing, and His sleep he is either steaming or cold, and must inevitably be chilled when he is taken out of his nest for his next feeding. His bath soothes him so that he sleeps for some hours, and a repetition of the empty stomach and the cramps from greedy feeding follow. So the day passes with frequent periods of crying, with irregular feedings, with much handling and with discomfort on the part of both mother and baby. The night brings little sleep, for the feedings have been given at such long intervals that the night's rest is as broken as the day. The really pernicious thing about such a scheme for the baby's life is that it is not confined to the early Pernicious months. It can not help making its influence felt baftrain- th rough the years. The stomach will not fulfil its ^ffer'iife duty in after life if it is alternately starved and over- 280 MOTHERHOOD The key- note of a baby's existence The de- forming effect of the "pacifier" How it misshapes the mouth 111 effect of breathing through the mouth loaded at first, and the nervous system will demand variation, excitement, and indulgence if these things are supplied in babyhood. That means that the ner- vous force will be exhausted, and can not be depended upon in time of need. Serenity ought to be the keynote of a baby's ex- istence. Through childhood, we are supposedly pre- paring the body to meet the requirements of adult life, and whatever handicaps the organism for future use- fulness, whatever exhausts, rather than builds up, is distinctly working against that end. Few mothers understand the really harmful effect of the "pacifier" or nipple, which a baby is allowed to keep in his mouth between his feedings. The con- stant use of such an apparatus is almost sure to de- form the jaw, which means difficulties when the teeth begin to come, and also a condition known as mouth- breathing, which may be- responsible for many ills of throat and lungs. If teeth are overcrowded, as they must be when the jaw is misshapen, they are much more liable to become decayed. It is an easy matter to pick out from a group of children those who have been allowed to suck empty nursing bottles or the regular nipple. The upper-lip is swollen and protruding, the under-lip recedes, and unless the habit has been outgrown for some time, the child generally drools when he has not the nipple in his mouth. When we breathe normally, through the nose, the air is warmed and filtered before it reaches the lungs. The impurities are largely sifted out in its progress through the nasal passages, but when it is taken in directly through the mouth, all the dirt and the germs of disease have much freer access to the lungs, so that the danger of infection is greatly increased. HABITS 281 This ought to have weight, even if the unsightly ap- pearance of a child whose mouth has been so deformed has no influence with the mother. THE DAY'S ROUTINE There can be a routine order in the care of the child which becomes habitual and saves much labor. lie should be taken up for his first feeding at about half past six, and for six weeks food should be Hours for . feedin°r given every two hours, until half past ten in the even- a baby ing. One feeding between this hour and morning is ^"e^ S1X enough. He should be allowed to nurse for twenty minutes, but should be kept awake and busy during that time. Generally the mother can arrange a definite time for the bath, and can give it at about the same hour Definite each day. It should come between the feedings about ti^bath an hour after he has nursed, and is given preferably in the forenoon. The baby should be waked during the daytime for his feedings. There is a temptation to let him sleep, Wake 11 • • 1 r c r i tne baby but he requires a certain number ot ounces ot tood for his during the twenty-four hours, for the proper nour- ee ings ishment of his body, and it is far better for him to get this largely between six and ten, leaving the night for unbroken rest. The hours of his meals should be absolute. A baby's cry generally means something, especially if . he has been properly treated from birth, but it more often means over than under feeding, and while put- ting him to the breast may silence him, it does not cor- w^ter1""1 rect the trouble, but onlv makes it more liable to occur !.hree .or J four times again. He requires water as well as milk, and should a day have a teaspoon of it three or four times a day. The crying may be caused by thirst or by colic 282 MOTHERHOOD His crying pains from gas in the intestines. This latter diffi- culty is especially frequent when the mother is taking cathartics. The warm water may relieve this, or turning the baby over on his stomach and rubbing his back often sets the gas in motion and thus gets rid of it.. Very often holding a baby in front of a fire and warming his hands and feet will stop his crying and will relieve pain. If colic seems to recur for^cST* a* ak°u* the same time each day, a thorough toasting and rolling the child in a heated blanket will some- times act as an effective preventive. Some babies cry when the diapers are wet, and they should always be changed when the feedings are given. If wet or soiled napkins are left on the deli- cate skin becomes chafed and there is further cause for uneasiness. If the precaution of frequent chang- Treatment {ncr is observed there will probably be no trouble of for irri- ° . ........... , tation of this sort, though sometimes if there is diarrhoea there is an unavoidable irritation of the skin. Bathing with a solution of boracic acid tends to heal the chafed surface, and if stearate or oxide of zinc or bismuth subnitrate is used to powder the buttocks after the bathing the condition is quickly relieved. Talcum powder is all that is required ordinarily, but the zinc has particular properties of absorbing water which makes it of especial use when the skin needs particular care. Talcum powder is of equal service in the case of similar an adult invalid, especially when there is difficulty in retaining the urine or excessive perspiration, so that the skin in the crease between the buttocks is in- clined to be moist. It has no tendency to become caked, but it should not be put on thickly, and should always be washed off when the parts are dressed. Having then looked after the diapers, having treatment for adults HABITS 283 made sure that the clothing is not creased uncom- Points to fortably under him, and that there are no pins un- when a clasped and pricking him, having given him water baby cnes and changed his position in the crib, he may safely be let alone and allowed to cry for a time without fear of injury. A mother soon learns to distinguish the character of a crv, and can also tell bv the position the child Character 11 • 11 • T t> 1 1 °f t,ie assumes whether it is caused by pam. If he draws baby's cry the knees up against the abdomen and holds them there position it generally indicates colic, while in temper he usually stiffens his arms and legs and makes his back rigid. If a child is really delicate, not normal in health, it may easily be impossible to follow the usual rules in his training, but more babies are made abnormal by unwise treatment than by inherited tendencies. We will suppose that the bath is given in the middle of the forenoon. The rest of the day is un- varied till late afternoon. The baby is undressed and put into his night- clothes just before the half-past four feeding. If the ^"is^ room can be made warm enough it is a very good undressed plan to let a baby tumble about on a big bed, dressed only in his diaper and shirt, for fifteen or twenty minutes at this time. He will enjoy the freedom, and after a few months he will begin to make efforts toward co-ordinated motion. He will especially enjoy lying on his stomach and kicking very hard against a hand held at his feet. Movements of this kind, the self-expression of his Baby's activity, are helpful in the development of the child, gymnastics while trotting, tossing, or walking the floor with him are purely pleasurable excitements which retard rather than increase his ability to depend on his own resources. 284 MOTHERHOOD Let his diversion be along natural channels We have lost the child's point of View Excess of toys unfits a child for the work of life The day's schedule A baby does not need to be amused if his interests are helped along natural channels instead of being diverted into artificial ones. When he is old enough to sit up in his crib or on the floor, a simple toy, or often investigation of his own hands and feet, will keep him busy and happy, and later the discovery of the use of his muscles is a joy the sweets of which we can not appreciate because we have lost it from our memory of babyhood delights. We make trouble for ourselves in our care of children. We take from them simple pleasures in the way of physical activities because we are "Olym- pians" and have lost the child's point of view, and we offer substitutes that seem desirable from our stand- point, which require our co-operation and which do not at all represent a child's original interests. An over-abundance of toys and of devices for the entertainment of the child means dissipation quite as surely as over-indulgence in any other variety of luxurious living, and the results educationally are almost as pernicious as those of the latter sort are physically. It is unfitting a child for the work of life. The day's schedule then would be as follows : At half-past six the baby gets his first feeding of twenty minutes, is changed and laid down again. At about half-past nine the bath is given, and he is dressed Clean and fresh for the third meal at half-past ten. The afternoon routine is unvaried, nursing him and keeping him dry being the rule, alternating with an occasional drink of water and a change of position. Between four and six comes the preparation for the night, and the little frolic on the bed. The body has not been disturbed by unnecessary handling, the nerves have not been unduly stimu- HABITS 285 lated, the physical needs have been satisfied, and neither mother nor child is nervously wearied by the Why the end of the day. If the feedings have been regularly sieep well given, the dark and extra quiet will tend to make the baby sleep in longer intervals during the night, and the mother can get her much needed-rest. A baby needs fresh clothing each day, especially the bands and shirts, which come next his bodv. ciia,n.geso£ ' clothing Sometimes a slip and petticoat may be used a second time if they are taken off at night and carefully aired. THE BABY'S LAUNDRY The shirts are very easily laundered, and it is ad- visable to wash them out as they are used. If dia- SimP,ify- J ing the pers, shirts, and dresses accumulate it seems much laundry more of a task to get them out of the way, but if they are done each day as they are taken off it is a very simple matter. The device of putting small squares inside the diaper to receive discharges from the bowels makes more pieces to wash, but also makes the washing easier. As soon as the diaper is taken off, the solid matter on it should be rinsed off under running water, and the cloth should be put to soak. Absorb- ent cotton can be substituted for the small squares, and can be burned; this is an additional expense, though a small one. Soiled diapers should never be put on a second time, and it will take only a few moments to wash Wasnins them out as they are used. The odor becomes very diapers offensive if they are left, even when they are covered with water, and they are more objectionable to handle. DETAILS OF BATH AND NAPS The daily bath may seem like a burden, and is even regarded by some persons as unnecessary, but 286 MOTHERHOOD Comfort