OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 640, 4 February 1914, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. " It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom."

CRYING BABIES.

Mothers, especially young mothers, are often greatly agitated when the baby cries, and as they have frequently had little experience with regard to the ways of infants they are at a loss J to know what ot do. The following j notBS with regard to different kinds of cries and the causes which brings ' them about should prove helpful to many of our readers. The custumary course to pursue j with a crying baby is to feed it. j This should never be done unless the regular feeding time ha' come j round. The mother should lay down the times for feeding, and adhere to them strictly. Even should he conclude that baby is hungry she should not feed him before the proper time. A drink of boiled water should be given, and at the regular feeding time a ilght addition may be made in the quantity of food allowed if there is good reason for supposing that he has been really underfed. CRIES OF BABY. Learn to recognise the different forms of crying—'then act kindly, sensibly, and if necessary firmly. Never stop crying by using a "comforter" or a "soothing powder." Never feed a baby out of his proper time to pacify him; dont' "spoil" him. T-HE REMAIN VARIETIES OF CRYING IN BABYHOOD.' ]. Primary, painless, reflex crying, needed for expansion of lungs and exercise. 2. Crying due to bodily discomfort, or to being "out of sorts," ill, or in actual pain. 3. Crying without pain, merely to gain attention. This is the cry of the "spoiled" infant, and needs firmness, not further attention and yielding. PAINLESS REFLEX CRYING. Crying at birth is reflex, natural, and necessary for proper expansion of the lungs; further, a certain amount of crying during the ensuing month is healthful, because the normal act of crying involves, besides deep breathing, considerable all-round nervous and muscular activity and exercise. This explains how it is that when no motion has taken place on merely "holding-out" the baby he may have a good motion directly he crieß. Howeevr, a young baby should get his main exercise by vigorous suckling —there being added later, kicking, waving of armß, etc. IS THE CRYING NORMAL OR ABNORMAL? Crying in moderation is natural, but baby should not cry too much, and he should not cry the wrong way. Professor Holt says: "The proper cry is loud and strong. Infantß get red in the face with it; in fact, it is a scream. A cry is abnormal when it is too long or too frqeuent. The abnormal cry is rarely strong, often it is a moaning or a worrying cry, sometimes only a feeble whine." "The nurse should learn or recognise the loud cry of temper or of hunger, the intermittent, sudden outbursts, suggestive of pain, the longdrawn wail of continued suffering, the sharp, penetrating cry of brain trouble, or the mournful whine of utter exhaustion." —Forsyth. CRY OF HUNGER OR THIRST. This is generally fretful, but may be loud and may merge into the screaming of temper. It is usually continued, is accompanied by sucking of the fingers, and stopß promptly when the baby is fed or given a drink. However, never resort to feeding as a mere means of stopping crying—■ never feed except at feeding times. If the baby habitually cries,before the appointed hour comes round, probably his allowance is not enough (consult "Feeding Table," page 20, "What Baby Needs"), but remember that indigestion and discomfort arising from overfeeding may cause similar crying. Don't jump to conclusions. Investigate. CRYING BECAUSE UNCOMORTABLE. This may be due to baby being too hot or too cold; to wet napkins; harsh, tight, over-heavy, or rucked clothing; or discomfort from lying too long in one position. In the last case crying stops if baby is turned on to the opposite side. Any other external irritation, such as fleas, sore buttocks, or prickly heat, eczema, etc., will keep a baby awake and fretful; the same applies to external dicsomfort of hunger or thirst, 3light indigestion or wind, thrush, the irritation of teething, or any other aches of infancy. CRYING FROM OVERTIREDNESS, FEEBLENESS, OR EXHAUSTION. An overtired or sleepy baby may cry and fight for a time against going ' to sleep, but will drop off when made quit? cosy and comfortable. Though an overtired baby always tends to cry, a very wpak, delicate, exhausted child i« capable of loud or continued crying. If severe pain is long sustained, even a strong baby becomes exhausted, and loud cries give place to mere feeble wailing or moaning—a much more dangerous state than the earlier stage when the child is able to cry lustily