LADIES' COLUMN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6090, 29 January 1898, Page 3

LADIES' COLUMN.

THE BABY. HOW TO WASH IT (Woman.) Those who have never made an attemp can form no idea of the feeling of awk wardnesa experienced by a woman who fo the first time undertakes to wash a youn< infant. The baby seems so fragile an< helpless that she is overwhelmed with feai of crushing or injuring it. With practic< thi3 feeling passes away, and what was i difficult task becomes, by degrees, easy t( accomplish. A few hints may be of ser vice to those who are going to perform th( office for the first time. It is surprising at how early an age ji child notices the manner of the one ir charge of it. A rough, impatient mannei produces a slight fall of the child's lowei lip, while patience and gentleness are rewarded by a soft coo of satisfaction Therefore, for the sake of the helpless little one a patient and gentle manner should be cultivated. The nurse, or mother, should always wear a flannel or flannelette apror while washing the baby, as a linen or print one strikes cold to the delicate The sleeves of the dross should be wide enougl to roll up, for should they get wet, the comfort of the child is not increased bj being flapped with moist sleeves; and lastly, with regard to the nurse, she must see that her dress bodice has not been used as a pin-cushion for stray needles and pins. The bath should be shallow and fairly large. The hammock baths, which are now sold, ara useful when a very young baby is being washed. Soft water is best, and rain water should be used when it can be obtained. The water should be at about blood-heat. The fingers are a very bad guide for testing the temperature. If a bath thermometer be not at hand, the water should be tried with the back of the hand, or with the elbow and some nurses even use the tongue. At eighteen months the child could •be washed with warm water, and rinsed with cold. At three years a cdld bath might be given every morning during the summer, but it is always advisable to let the child stand in warm water. This, by enlarging the blood veasels of the feet, acts as a safeguard to the head. A mild soap shruld be chosen. Pear's soap usually answers admirably for washing an infant. Those who wish for a cheaper brand should use curd soap, which is also mild. A soft piece of flannel is required for the washing, a small Turkey sponge for the rinsing, and a soft diaper towel for the first drying, the final drying being done by puffing with a little pure starch powder. Before lifting the child from its bed, everything required for the washing and dressing must be at hand and methodically arranged so that the little one may not catch cold while the nurse hunis for something which she has forgotten, or mislaid. The room door should be locked, or a portion of the room be screened off, in order that no draught may strike the naked child when anyone enters the room. . The best time for bathing a child is before breakfast. It should stay in bed till the bath is ready, and not be allowed to play about, and get chilled. The child should be undressed and wrapped round with the flannel apron while the head and face are washed. These should be rinsed and dried. The limbs and body should next be washed with soap, and the little creature, if more than a fortnight old, should be placed in the bath and sponged. The time in the water must be short. The baby should be lifted out, wiped with the soft towel, special attention being given to the creases and the spaces between the toes. The body should then be dusted over with starch powder, and gently rubbed with the palm of the hand. Very little soap should be used, and the rinsing must be thoroughly done. The head and shoulders should be supported in the bath by the nurse's left hand, while she sponges with the right. The eye 3 need, great care. All gummy secretions should be removed by bathing with luke-warm water. Neglect of this precaution may cause blindness. Of the children who are described as blind from birth, ninety-nine per cent become blind during the first twenty-four hours of life through neglected eves.