Part 72

But suppose baby will not sleep, but continues cross and wakeful and peevish; can I not give medicines to produce sleep? Never. If baby is wakeful and refuses to sleep, there is something wrong with your training, his clothing, covering, or his food, or he may be sick, he may not get enough food, etc., or he may have worms. If everything is all right and you have trained your baby right from his birth, he will sleep. Find out the cause and remove it. All soothing syrups, cordials, and quieting medicines contain opium in some form, and all experienced physicians realize the danger of giving these mixtures to babies. Babies have been killed by medicines which were declared to contain neither opium nor anything else injurious. They are often used. Remember that opium, laudanum and paregoric are dangerous for babies and old people. Careful proper training, allowing plenty of sleeping time, no waking at wrong hours, warm feet, legs and body, cool head, proper modified food, and especially mother nursing, with mother careful with herself, will give a good baby in nine out of ten cases.

Will children ever sleep too much? Not if they are healthy; you must remember a newly-born baby sleeps nine-tenths of the time; excessive sleeping may indicate disease of the brain.

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EXERCISE.

Is exercise necessary for infants? Yes.

How can it be obtained? A young baby usually gets its exercise by screaming, waving its arms, kicking, etc. It is a good plan to let baby lie in the center of a large bed, and with his long skirts drawn up, allow him to kick his little legs about for twenty or twenty-five minutes twice each day or one-half hour once a day. His clothing ought to be loose for this exercise. If the room is all right you can remove all clothing except his shirt, stockings and napkin; change his position sometimes and let him lie on his stomach for awhile. Of course this exercise cannot be taken after a meal and before the fourth month. Take a large clothes basket, put a blanket and some large pillows in it and prop baby up in a half sitting position for a little while each day, beginning with fifteen minutes, then one-half hour, and you can also at this time (fourth month) play with baby for a short time every day, but never just before bedtime, and the best time is just after his morning nap. Do not toss him in the air to make him laugh or crow; he is too tender and delicate for that. When baby is older and in short clothes, place a thick quilt upon the floor and allow him to tumble as he will; a fence two feet high which surrounds a mattress, makes an excellent place, or a box for this young animal to exercise his arms and legs without danger of injury. Before you put baby to sleep at night give him a warm sponge bath with a fresh band and shirt and he will sleep.

When, if ever, is crying useful in a baby? The cry expands the lungs of a new-born baby, and he should use his lungs a few minutes daily in order to keep them well expanded.

How much crying daily is necessary? Twenty to thirty minutes is not too much.

What kind of a cry is it? Loud and strong and infants get red in the face with it. Some call it a scream. It is exercise for baby and necessary for its health.

When is the cry abnormal? When it is very long and too frequent. It is not strong, but rather of a moaning or worrying nature or only a whine.

What causes such crying? Habit, temper, pain, hunger, illness.

What is the indulgence or habit cry? This is the cry of infants who cry to be rocked, or carried about, for a bottle to suck, etc.

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Temper cry? This is loud and strong and is usually accompanied by kicking, stiffening of the body, bending backward and is usually quite violent.

Pain cry? This is generally strong, sharp and quick, but not usually continuous, the features contract, legs draw up and the baby plainly shows symptoms of distress,

Hunger cry? This is a continuous fretful, pitiful cry, not strong and lusty,--baby looks hungry.

The cry of illness? This is moaning, fretful, easily aroused to crying. This can be distinguished even from a little distance before seeing baby, if you have heard it once. A baby who cries to get things stops when he gets them.

If baby cries at night what shall I do? See that he is comfortable, clothing all smooth under and about him, with warm feet and hands, and clean unsoiled napkin. If he is all right, let him cry. If it is habitual, find out the cause.

If baby cries from temper or habit what shall I do? Let him cry it out, you must conquer him or he will make of your life a burden. Be sure first it is habit or temper and then conquer him. I have seen many babies who cried from cause and I have also seen those who needed conquering.

But will not crying cause rupture? Not in young infants if the band is properly applied and not under any conditions after one year.

HOW TO LIFT A CHILD.

Grasp the clothing below the feet with the right hand and slip the left hand and, arm beneath the infant's body to its head. It is then raised upon the left arm and its head is upon your arm or chest. This supports the entire spine and there is no undue pressure upon the chest or abdomen, as is often the case when baby is grasped around the body or under the arms.

How shall I lift a child who is old enough to run about? Place your hands under the child's arms, at the arm-pits and never by the wrists.

Can I injure the child lifting it by its hands or wrists? Yes, it often injures the elbows or shoulder joints.

TEMPERATURE.

Normal temperature of an infant? This varies more than it does in adults. In the rectum it varies from 98 degrees F. to 99.5 degrees F., and a temperature in the rectum of 98 degrees F. or of 100 degrees F. is not of much importance unless it continues.

Where should I take the temperature of infants and young children? First the rectum, next the groin, the first is from one-half a degree to a degree higher than that of the groin.

How long should the thermometer be left in place? Two minutes in the rectum and five minutes in the groin.

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What meaning has the different temperature in a young child? 100 degrees F. to 102 degrees F. means a mild illness.

One hundred four degrees F. or over means a serious illness. The duration of the fever is more important. Slight causes often produce a high temperature in all young children which lasts for a few hours. There is then not much cause for alarm unless the temperature continues high or is accompanied by important symptoms of illness.

Is high temperature a more serious symptom in a young child than in an adult? No, for young children are very sensitive to conditions which produce fever and the thermometer often gives an unduly high idea of the severity of the symptoms. The same cause which would produce a temperature in an adult of 102 degrees F. or 103 degrees F. would likely produce a temperature of 104 degrees or 105 degrees F. in a child.

NERVOUSNESS.

What are the principal causes of nervousness in young infants and in children? The brain is a delicate structure at this time, and it grows rapidly, and during the first year of life grows as much as during all the rest of life. This needs quiet and peaceful surroundings and infants who are naturally nervous should be left almost alone, and few people should see them. Such babies should not play much. The poor little baby is often so tried by the attentions given him by older people that he does not know what to do, and as one author, a lady, says: "If he could speak he would beg for a quiet hour, and be perfectly happy if left alone with his own little hands and toes for his sole amusement." Babies of the very poor are less nervous than those of the wealthy and this is generally due to the fact that their mothers are too busy to constantly entertain and bother them. Children are better companions for babies than adults. Such little attentions given by the parents and relatives make sleepless and nervous babies very often. Playing with them before time and out of season, makes them not only nervous and irritable, but causes indigestion and allied diseases.

TOYS.

It is instinct for baby to put everything in its mouth. However, toys should be chosen that are smooth, easily washed and which cannot be swallowed. Avoid toys with sharp points like corners, or loose parts, small objects that can be pushed into the nose or ear or swallowed, such as coins, marbles, buttons, safety pins, beads, painted toys and those covered with hair or wool. Infants frequently swallow such wool or hair.

KISSING.

What objections are there to kissing babies? They are many and serious. No one, at least, outside of the immediate family has any right to kiss baby. Tuberculosis, diphtheria, syphilis and many other diseases are given by kissing. If infants are kissed at all, they should be kissed upon the cheek or forehead.

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FOREIGN BODIES.

If in the throat, examine and remove with the finger. If it has gone into the stomach, give plenty of dry food, such as bread, potatoes, but do not give an emetic or cathartic. An infant should have its usual food. A cathartic would hurry the foreign body too rapidly through the intestines, and in this way do harm. In the usual way it becomes coated with fecal matter and usually passes the intestines without causing any injury.

What shall I do if it is in the ears? If you can easily remove it with your fingers or small hair pin or crochet hook, do it. If not, take the baby to a physician. If it is a corn, bean or pea, do not wet it, or it will swell and become larger.

What if it is in the nostril? Place baby upon the table with its face toward a good light and use a hair pin bent right and pass this slowly and carefully behind the object, and pull slowly forward; or compress the empty nostril and have the child blow the nose strongly. If not removed easily, see a physician.

COLIC.

This is a very common disturbance in children, and is always due to disturbed digestion. It occurs in both nursed and bottle-fed babies, and may appear in the healthiest baby from error in the last meal, or error of diet or habit in the mother. Some mothers cannot under any circumstances secrete good nourishing milk, suitable for their children, and continued stomach and bowel disturbances with colic and emaciation follow its use. Such mothers should not nurse their baby.

What are the causes of colic? As before stated, it is due to indigestion

What causes indigestion? In nursing babies this may be due to some irregularity in the health or habits of the mother, or change in her dieting, and if the colic is not persistent the cause is not hard to find. Worry, trouble, sorrow, anger, overwork, and errors of diet in the mother often cause this trouble or the child may nurse too fast, too long, too much, or too often, or the milk may be too rich. If so, give baby an ounce of hot water before nursing. Hand-fed children are too often over-fed, and this produces indigestion.

What are the symptoms of colic? The child screams sharply; the cry comes suddenly and returns every few minutes; he draws up his legs and feet; the muscles of his face contract and he has other signs of pain. The belly is usually hard and tense.

What can I do for colic? First warm his feet and hands by placing them against a hot-water bag, or holding them before the open fire, turn him on his stomach, letting him lie on a hot-water bag or hot piece of flannel; pat his back gently to help up the wind and give him a little hot water with a medicine dropper and a few drops of essence of peppermint may be added to the water. If the colic continues, put ten drops of turpentine into a half teacupful of warm water, and inject this slowly into the rectum, and at the same time gently rub the abdomen so as to start the wind. If the wind is in the stomach, give him one-half a soda mint tablet dissolved in a tablespoonful of very warm water, or a little soda. If the attacks are frequent, the foods are too strong; use less cream or milk and more water. Regulate the mother's diet carefully if the baby nurses, and she should take some exercise out of doors, if possible, and try not to be nervous. Cereals, cocoa, milk, eggs, gruels made of corn, oatmeal; most fruits, not tart, and vegetables, with some meat, make a good diet for a nursing mother. The bowels must move freely every day at least once.

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MOTHERS' REMEDIES.--1. Wind Colic, Yarrow Tea for.--"Steep the yarrow tea the same as for catnip tea or any ordinary herb, and give as often as necessary." This is a remedy that has been very much used, and will help in a great many cases. It is perfectly harmless, and no one need have any fear of trying it.

2. Colic, Camphor Cure for.--"One drop of camphor in a teaspoonful of water. This remedy worked like a charm with my little girl." This acts quickly, and is sure to give relief as it warms up the stomach.

3. Wind Colic, Castor Oil for.--"Give large doses of castor oil." Colic, as we all know, is frequently caused by fermentation of the food in the stomach and bowels, and castor oil is one of the best known cathartics in a case of this kind. This can be given to small babies, in small quantities of course.

4. Wind Colic.--A New York mother sends in the following relief for:--"Give enough essence of wintergreen in water to make it taste for a small babe, and more according to age. For mine I give 1/4 to 1/2, cup of warm sweetened water. I have always used this remedy, as it was recommended to me by my mother. It is better than peppermint as it is not so binding."

5. Wind Colic, a Good Herb Remedy for.--Add enough water to one ounce of snake root to make one-half pint." Give in doses according to the age of the child. This is a good remedy, and has been used by many mothers with good success.

6. Wind Colic.--A doctor in New York sends in the following remedy for.--"One-half teaspoonful sweet spirits of nitre in one-third glass of water, for baby. Increase the dose for older children or adults. This warms the stomach, and is highly recommended."

7. Wind Colic, Cloves for.--"Make an infusion of 1 or 2 ounces of cloves. Cloves are warming, cordial and strengthening; they expel wind, and are good for the colic." This treatment has been known to give many a fretful baby a good night's sleep, and will be found very useful in homes where babies have this disease.

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PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.--Temporary relief is obtained in attacks of colic by emptying the bowels of irritating materials, either by an enema or medicine. Peppermint, anise seed, catnip are effective, but may be harmful if continued long. Gin and whisky, warm, are good when the gas is in the stomach and upper bowel. It is always best to mix them with a solution like the following:

Bicarbonate of soda 40 grains Aromatic spirits of ammonia 30 drops Enough peppermint water to make 2 ounces

Put one teaspoonful in a cup of hot water for a child one year old.

The following is good to move the bowels:

Bicarbonate of soda 40 grains Aromatic syrup of rhubarb 4 drams Syrup of senna 5 drams Syrup of orange 1 ounce

One teaspoonful two or three times daily is needed in sour gassy stomach, with constipation or foul smelling stools. Fortunately such medicine is not often needed if the mother is careful, or baby is carefully bottle-fed. When there is vomiting with the colic and the stools contain curds the food is too strong. The nursing baby should be given one ounce of warm water before nursing, and the food for the bottle-fed baby should be made weaker by going back one formula. Sometimes peptonizing the food for a short time will do. This is very good when the proteids (curds) are hard for the baby to digest.

EARACHE.

Many young babies suffer from this trouble without the cause being even suspected. It may come after a cold, an attack of bronchitis or pneumonia, and sometimes during teething. It often accompanies scarlet fever and measles. The child screams, presses his head against his mother or nurse, pulls at his ear as if it hurt him. If you press in front of the ear the baby jumps as if in great pain and cries aloud. The pain is likely to be continuous and prolonged.

What can I do for it? Heat is the best remedy. Wash out the ear with a hot solution of boric acid fifteen to twenty grains to the ounce of water, and then apply heat in various ways. Have the child lie with the painful ear against a covered hot water bag or heat a flannel over a lamp and place it against the ear, changing it often to keep it hot. A bag of hot salt or bran is also very good. Laudanum and oil should not be used unless ordered by a physician. As soon as possible after the first attack of pain the baby should be examined by a doctor and unnecessary deafness is often avoided by such action. For a more extended account, see General Department. Fomentations applied are often beneficial, especially of hot water.

(See Earache, Mothers' Remedies, etc. under General Department).

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CROUP.

This disease is treated fully in the general department; only a general outline is given here. This is a disease dreaded by most mothers. It is more distressing than dangerous. Its appearance is sudden and generally at night. The baby may have had a slight cold or have been exposed to a bad wind or it may have come on without any known cause.

Symptoms.--They are known to almost everyone. There is a hard, dry, barking, hoarse cough, generally with difficulty in breathing to a greater or less degree with a distressed look.

(For Mothers' Remedies, see General Department.)

Treatment.--If the child has eaten a big supper, it is well to give a simple emetic, such as warm mustard water, alum and molasses, or goose grease, or melted lard. Wring out pieces of flannel in hot water and put them on the child's throat as hot as he can bear them and change them often to keep them hot. Make a tent by spreading a sheet over an opened umbrella over the crib then place a croup kettle or teakettle close to the crib, directing the steam under the sheet into the tent so that baby may inhale the vapor, taking care not to burn him. This affords much relief. If necessary give ten drops of syrup of ipecac until vomiting occurs; a teaspoonful of castor oil should also be given and if the baby is constipated, give an enema of soapsuds and water. Keep the child indoors the next day.

CONSTIPATION IN BABIES.

MOTHERS' REMEDIES.--1. Constipation, Olive Oil Treatment for.--"Rub the abdomen with a firm yet gentle motion from left to right with pure olive oil. This is what the doctor told me to do for my babe of three years." This treatment will be found very beneficial as the olive oil is very strengthening and the rubbing will always give relief.

2. Constipation, A Pleasant Treatment for.--"One-half teaspoonful olive oil, one-half teaspoonful orange juice, three times a day after feeding."

3. Constipation, Prunes a Medicine for.--"Abate heat and gently open the bowels by the use of prunes. These should be fed to children more often. This would often prevent sickness. A very useful way of administering prunes as a medicine is to simmer for one-half hour, a few in water enough to cover, with 1/2 oz. senna leaves; remove the prunes, allow to dry and let the child eat them when needed. This is very good."

4. Constipation, Soothing Syrup Made by a Mother in New York for.--"One- half ounce spearmint, one-quarter ounce lady's slipper, one-half ounce rhubarb, one-quarter ounce cinnamon powder; pour one-half pint boiling water on the whole, mix and let stand to boil fifteen minutes, strain and sweeten well with syrup or honey. Give a teaspoonful every half hour, diminishing as the pain subsides." This will be found very beneficial in children, and may be used without any fear whatever, as it is perfectly harmless.

5. Constipation, Figs as a Medicine for.--"Grind up equal amounts of figs and senna leaves, put in closed jar and eat dry when needed." This will be found especially good for children, and most of them like it.

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CONSTIPATION may be caused by many things, inheritance, malformation of the rectum and other parts, errors of food in the mother and in bottle-fed babies.

What is the treatment? If the baby is nursed and the mother is constipated, she should at once change her habits and diet. She should exercise in the open air at least two hours every day, and have a movement daily, even if she must take some mild laxative.

What should she drink and eat? She should drink plenty of water, and pure rich milk, cocoa, eat oatmeal and cornmeal gruels. She should not drink tea or coffee. She can eat fruit, most green vegetables and some meat, but not much starchy food. Baby may not get enough residue in his bowels. Give him one or two meals daily of modified milk made up of oatmeal gruel instead of barley, and give him plenty of water between his meals. One teaspoonful of cream in a little hot water given before nursing is often beneficial, or one or two teaspoonfuls of beef juice may be given night and morning, After six months a little orange or prune juice may be added.

BOTTLE-FED BABIES.

Add a little more top-milk or cream to each bottle than the formula gives; do not pasteurize the food unless it is necessary; do not use lime-water, but bicarbonate of soda in proper strength in its place, as lime-water is often very constipating. Malted food may be added to each bottle for some time. If necessary, stimulate the rectum mildly; this can be done by holding the baby over a small chamber at exactly the same time after a meal each day and insert into the bowel a small cone of oiled paper, or use a small castile soap suppository. This may form a habit in a few days. Suppositories of gluten are very beneficial if used in the morning. The child should not be allowed to go longer than twenty-four hours without a passage. A enema made up of one or two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil may be given with a bulb syringe, or an ounce of warm water to which has been added one-half teaspoonful of glycerin, or one-half pint of warm soap-suds. Do not give it every day; massage the baby's abdomen. Your hand should be warm. Begin at the right side groin and make a series of circular movements with your fingers, lightly at first, and then press down harder as the baby becomes accustomed to it; work your way up gradually to the ribs, then across to the ribs on the left side, and down to the left groin. This can be done twice daily for eight or ten minutes at a time, and always at the same time of day, but never soon after a meal. Olive oil may safely be given for constipation to a baby,--from twenty drops to one teaspoonful one or two times daily, but castor oil should not be given for constipation, as after a time it leaves the baby more constipated than ever. Sometimes inserting your finger, well oiled, into the rectum, will produce a passage. For older children, decrease the amount of white bread, toast, potatoes, and give green vegetables, oatmeal, and graham bread instead, with plenty of proper fruit twice daily; raw, scraped apples are sometimes the best fruit to use.

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DIARRHEA. (For Older Children).