Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Page 7

way of leaving it off is to tear a strip
off daily for a few mornings, and then to leave it off altogether. "Nurses who take charge
of an infant when the monthly nurse leaves, are frequently in the habit of at once leaving
off the belly-band, which often leads to ruptures when the child cries or strains. It is far
wiser to retain it too long than too short a time; and when a child catches
whooping-cough, whilst still very young, it is safer to resume the belly-band." [Footnote:
Communicated by Sir Charles Locock to the Author.]
24. _Have you any remarks to make on the clothing of on infant_?
A babe's clothing ought to be light, warm, loose, and free from pins. (1.) It should be
light, without being too airy. Many infant's clothes are both too long and too cumbersome.
It is really painful to see how some poor little babies are weighed down with a weight of
clothes. They may be said to "bear the burden," and that a heavy one, from the very
commencement of their lives! How absurd, too, the practice of making them wear long
clothes. Clothes to cover a child's feet, and even a little beyond, may be desirable; but for
clothes, when the infant is carried about, to reach to the ground, is foolish and cruel in the
extreme. I have seen a delicate baby almost ready to faint under the infliction. (2.) It
should be warm, without being too warm. The parts that ought to be kept warm are the
chest, the bowels, and the feet. If the infant be delicate, especially if he be subject to
inflammation of the lungs, he ought to wear a fine flannel, instead of his usual shirts,
which should be changed as frequently. (3.) The dress should be loose, so as to prevent
any pressure upon the blood-vessels, which would otherwise impede the circulation, and
thus hinder a proper development of the parts. It ought to be loose about the chest and
waist, so that the lungs and the heart may have free play. It should be loose about the
stomach, so that digestion may not be impeded; it ought to be loose about the bowels, in
order that the spiral motion of the intestines may not be interfered with--hence the
importance of putting on a belly-band moderately slack; it should be loose about the
sleeves, so that the blood may course, without let or hindrance, through the arteries and
veins; it ought to be loose, then, everywhere, for nature delights in freedom from restraint,
and will resent, sooner or later, any interference. Oh, that a mother would take common
sense, and not custom, as her guide! (4.) As few pins should be used in the dressing of a
baby as possible. Inattention to this advice has caused many a little sufferer to be thrown
into convulsions.
The generality of mothers use no pins in the dressing of their children; they tack every
part that requires fastening with a needle and thread. They do not even use pins to fasten

the baby's diapers. They make the diapers with loops and tapes, and thus altogether
supersede the use of pins in the dressing of an infant. The plan is a good one, takes very
little extra time, and deserves to be universally adopted. If pins be used for the diapers,
they ought to be the Patent Safety Pins.
25. _Is there any necessity for a nurse being particular in airing an infant's clothes before
they are put on? If she were less particular, would it not make him more hardy_?
A nurse cannot be too particular on this head. A babe's clothes ought to be well aired the
day before they are put on, as they should not be put on warm from the fire. It is well,
where it can be done, to let him have clean clothes daily. Where this cannot be afforded,
the clothes, as soon as they are taken off at night, ought to be well aired, so as to free
them from the perspiration, and that they may be ready to put on the following morning.
It is truly nonsensical to endeavour to harden a child, or any one else, by putting on damp
clothes!
26. _What is your opinion of caps for an infant_?
The head ought to be kept cool; caps, therefore, are unnecessary. If caps be used at all,
they should only be worn for the first month in summer, or for the first two or three
months in winter. If a babe take to caps, it requires care in leaving them off, or he will
catch cold. When you are about discontinuing them, put a thinner and a thinner one on,
every time they are changed, until