The Care of the Baby in Hot Weather
UNLESS the baby is under six months old, take off his flannels when sultry days come. When you take him for an outing, with the thermometer climbing toward the nineties, leave his coat and veil at home. If you have a feather pillow in his coach, smooth it down as flat as possible, and tuck a thin quilt over it tightly. Take off that starched, ruffled dress and the furbelowed petticoat. Substitute socks for stockings, or leave the tiny feet bare. Put on him a simple cambric slip plainly made and laundered without starch. See to it that he has frequent drinks of cool water, not iced, but not of a warmish temperature that is quite nauseating. If he seems irritable and cries easily when his general health is good, be sure that he is not too warm. To make him very happy, take off all his clothes but his underwear, and lay him in the center of the bed or upon some outspread quilts upon the floor. In a second he will be gurgling and kicking and cooing in delight. A small hair pillow is better than a feather one for hot weather. Trained nurses say, however, that no pillow at all is the correct thing for a small baby. After having found the correct food, do not experiment with the baby’s menu. Give him that which suits him, and nothing else. Do not give a child under one year of age crackers, mashed potatoes, or bits of bread. It may seem to be digested and kept down without trouble, but as the summer progresses you will probably have a case of cholera infantum upon your hands. It seems almost unnecessary to say, do not give him cakes or candy, ice cream or strawberries, or any of the summer fruits, for these things mean most serious trouble for an infant and his stomach. As stated before, the mischief may not show immediately. But be sure that you will reap a terrible harvest from your folly. A disordered stomach kills nine tenths of the babies that die, and the ignorance or carelessness of the mothers is responsible for it. “Indigestion consequent upon teething,” “convulsions incident to teething,”11“summer complaint caused by teething,” with all these phrases laying the blame upon the circumstances of teething, are generally at fault. Why is the teething such a hard matter? Why do convulsions and indigestion manifest themselves when the teeth are being cut? Very often it is because so many mothers feed their babies miscellaneous food, food just about as digestible to their tiny stomachs as would be ground up brickbats, just previous to the teething period, which commences at about the seventh or eighth month. The cutting of teeth in a healthy, vigorous child which has been fed properly, is as natural and easy as the growing of its hair or fingernails. Dress the baby simply, keep him clean and quiet, let him have frequent drinks of cool water, and feed him regularly with the food which has been found best suited to him, keeping all utensils used in its preparation scrupulously clean and well sterilized. On such a regime you can face summer and its changes with the utmost cheerfulness. Even if you stay in the city, the child should keep well and happy.—Michigan Christian Herald.