Diaper pattern

“ In this piece the diaper decoration, in green and yellow, which distinguishes early Ming and Kang-he, is again prominent. These diapers are largely used in borders too. Many of them can be traced in our illustrations, such as the key pattern, the T, the swastika, Joo-e-head, trellis, triangle, herring-bone, honeycomb, ring, diamond, as here, plain, sometimes it is flowered; lozenge, coin, scroll, fish-roe, octagons and squares, net-work, petal-work, speckled-work to imitate fish-skin, scale, curl, Y-work. They should be studied. ”

“ Nothing is more trying, in a small way, than to get a diaper that cannot be folded true. These should be made double and the edges turned in and sewed around. By the time the baby has outgrown them they will be fit only for the rag- bag, and may be thrown aside. The second size diaper, also the third should be many times washed to make them soft enough for use. These may be used at first folded eight times and put under the baby next the damask diaper, between that and the pinning blanket, and will often save the nurse the trouble of changing the baby's clothing, because it is wet through. ”

“ The baby’s diaper should be changed whenever it is wet or soiled, for in addition to making him restless and fretful for the time being, the skin about the thighs and buttocks will grow red and chafed if he is allowed to wear wet diapers. Wet diapers should not be dried and used again but washed with a mild soap, boiled and whenever possible, dried in the open-air and sunshine. ”

“ If the training of the bowels and bladder will replace the245 diapers with drawers, the baby will attempt to walk sooner than when encumbered with a bunglesome bunch of diaper between the thighs. The little fellow runs alone at sixteen months and thoroughly enjoys it, and the wise mother will pay no attention to the small bumps which are going to come plentifully at this particular time. ”

“ If she places a pad underneath the baby, which will absorb the urine quickly, he often does not awaken or become chilled. The pad should be sufficiently thick to ensure that the nightgown does not get wet.
RUBBER DIAPERS
Rubber sheeting diapers of any description should never be used. Avoid all patent diapers with a covering or an inner lining of rubber, for, like the rubber diaper, they not only irritate the child but also retain moisture and heat, which produce such irritation and itching that the subsequent "habit-scratching" often lays the foundation for future bad practices. ”

“ Much work can be saved if pads of loosely woven absorbent material are used inside the diaper to receive discharges. The pads can be burned, but even if washed the labor is less than washing full sized diapers. Like all other infant's garments, diapers should be washed with pure white soap and without starch. Waterproof material used to cover the diaper is almost sure to irritate the baby's skin, and is consequently harmful. ”

“ A thin shirt, band, diaper and cotton slip will usually be enough for out-of-door wear, while in the house he may often dispense with the slip and sometimes with everything but his diaper.
During excessively hot days, the baby should have two or three cool sponge baths, in addition to the soap and water bath, one of the sponges being given before he is put to bed for the night. He should sleep on a firm mattress, preferably curled hair but never feathers, and in the coolest, best ventilated room available. ”

“ Overdressing, like overfeeding, is a common and serious mistake. If the baby’s skin is moist to the touch, he is overwarmly dressed and thereby made highly susceptible to “colds” and pneumonia. If his feet are cold, skin “goose-fleshed”, and lips blue, he needs more clothing. With a room temperature of 68°-70° F., duly humidified, a baby four months or over usually needs only a diaper, cotton or quarter-wool double-breasted shirt, flannel petticoat and cotton slip. The binder is needed only until the navel heals,—about three weeks. ”

“ Many mothers think that the daily bath is sufficient to provide for cleanliness in a child. This is a mistake. From the very start a child should learn that to be clean is to be comfortable. Particularly if the mother is careless about changing the diapers and the bedding, the baby will actually become accustomed to the discomfort which follows and will not resent it. If the diapers are changed immediately they are wet, the baby will cry bitterly when he is neglected and allowed to lie in a wet diaper or other clothing. ”

“ There was the unpleasant business of a diaper change, during which he became sharply aware of hunger. He yelled lustily for food, and soon he was sucking hungrily on a deliciously flexible rubber nipple that yielded an ambrosia of warm sweetness.
A jumble of clear, high voices chirped familiarly in his ears, but he paid no attention to the words as such. His bath was delightful, although he sneezed violently at the talcum dust afterward. ”

“ At your side, on the floor, have a small blanket ready to lay over the rubber apron when needed. Put your baby basket where you can reach it, be sure that it contains all the things you will need—sponge, soap, powder, pins, vaseline, etc., and an extra diaper or two. Now get the tub (tin) and pour in the water until it is about four inches deep. Have the water no warmer than 100 degrees F. Bath thermometers are made that are quite cheap, and a great convenience; one should always be at hand, as no nurse should ever trust her feelings as to whether the water is hot enough or not. ”

“ No material which prevents the escape of perspiration, urine or fecal matter should be employed for a diaper. The use of a chair-commode as early as the end of the first year is highly to be commended, as being more comfortable for the sex organs and healthier for the child. ”

“ If tight bands are an injury to grown people, then in the name of pity emancipate the poor little infant from their torture!
7. The Diaper.—Diapers should be of soft linen, and great care should be exercised not to pin them too tightly. Never dry them, but always wash them thoroughly before being used again.
8. The band need not be worn after the navel has healed so that it requires no dressing, as it serves no purpose save to keep in place the dressing of the navel. The child's body should be kept thoroughly warm around the chest, bowels and feet. ”

“ When the baby is crying and getting his daily exercise, remove some of the covering, loosen his diaper, and let him kick and wave his arms in perfect freedom.
When the baby's feet and hands are cool he is not warm enough. Cotton underskirts cannot be used in the dead of winter on little babies. They do not hold the body heat as woolen garments do. The baby's feet should always be warm and this is particularly necessary in poorly nourished children. The outer wrapper of woolen material should be added to such baby's clothing. ”

“ Dress the infant and lay it on its crib while putting away all the things used for its bath. It is perfectly proper for a baby to exercise its lungs by crying, so do not be alarmed, but be sure that its clothing is comfortable and that the child is clean. Garments worn at night should always be different from those worn during the day. The garments next to the skin should be of wool or part wool, except the diaper, which should be soft cotton, and when new, washed several times before using. Wet diapers should be rinsed in cold water and dried before using a second time ”

“ Above this the petticoat is placed, and then the infant's frock or slip. A shawl or piece of flannel should also be provided to throw over the shoulders. The head is better left without any covering A linen diaper is next applied, and the process of dressing is complete.
Nursing.—It should be regarded as a part of every mother's duty to bring up her child at the breast, unless, of course, there are obstacles in the way which prevent her doing so. The only consideration that ought to weigh with a mother should be the welfare of her child ”

“ The woman who finds herself pregnant works until the very last moment before the child is born, and resumes her tasks immediately afterward, as soon as the baby is attended to. They leave their children so much to themselves, and give them so little care, that they are forever creeping around on the floor in all the mire and dirt, and always completely naked. A diaper and a tiny hipil are all they get for the first few days of their life. Around wrists and ankles they occasionally will tie tiny cords made of blue cotton to protect them, so they say, from epilepsy. ”

“ The variations in the time of the urinations were only fifteen or twenty minutes, so nearly did the kidneys act at the same time each day. The caretaker was instructed to remove the diaper and hold the baby out at the earliest occurrence on the daily schedule, and, to the astonishment of the entire family, no further accidents occurred, and the child soon acquired the habit of letting them understand when he was about to wet his diaper. Bowel movements may be regulated more easily than the urination. After the child is about a year old, very few accidents should occur. ”

“ To a fully developed child the first bath may be given at once. Have everything ready before beginning, a foot tub, warm soft towels, warm water, castile soap, olive oil or vaselin, small squares of muslin or linen, dusting powder, a dressing for the navel and clothing, the latter consisting of a diaper, a flannel band, a shirt, long woolen stockings, a loose long sleeved flannel petticoat and a simple soft white outside garment, the two last, long enough to more than cover the feet. ”

“ Not only will the child be uncomfortable and fretful if the diapers are not properly fitted and adjusted to his small person, but misshapen legs are often the result of unnecessarily heavy and bulky diapers. ”

“ The eyes are wiped with boric pledgets and the nostrils with spirals of cotton dipped in oil. The buttocks are wiped with an oil sponge each time the diaper is changed.
The premature baby is very susceptible to infection and strongly predisposed to pneumonia. Infection in general is guarded against by having everything that comes in contact with the baby scrupulously clean; protecting him from drafts, chilling and dust; allowing no one with a suspicion of a cold to come near him and by the nurse’s wearing a clean gown and protecting her nose and mouth with a gauze mask while attending him. ”

“ In the first place, the men go entirely naked, with the exception of a cloth they wear, something like that of an American baby’s diaper. The women wear about four yards of cloth thrown carelessly around them, covering the lower extremities, and tied by the ends about the waist. ”

“ In the 13th century also comes into vogue the highly decorated diaper-work, generally of lozenges or chequered patterns in brilliant colours and brightly burnished gold. These fill the backgrounds of miniatures and initials, together with other forms of decoration, such as sheets of gold stippled or surface-drawn in various designs. Diapering continued to be practised in all three countries down into the 15th century ”

“ The urine of the very young child should be clear, free from odor and should not stain the diaper, nor should it irritate the skin of the babe. Often urination does not take place for several hours, sometimes not at all during the first twenty-four hours. If the infant does not show signs of distress, there is110 no cause for alarm ”

“ Fine diaper generally, but sometimes dimity and muslin are employed, or the table is covered with a kind of Marseilles quilting, which is prepared expressly for the purpose. Sometimes the covers are merely hemmed round, but they look much neater if fringed, or bordered with a moderately full frill. Sometimes a worked border is set on. All depends upon taste and fancy. ”

“ They are properly all gold stitches; but purse silk, thin cord, or even untwisted silk may be used.
A wonderful example of the many varieties of diapering is to be seen in the South Kensington Museum, No. 689. It is modern Belgian work, executed for the Paris Exhibition of 1867. As a specimen of fine and beautiful diapering in gold, this could scarcely be surpassed.
Basket Stitch is one of the richest and most ornamental of these ancient modes of couching. Rows of “stuffing,” manufactured in the form of soft cotton cord, are laid [Pg 43] across the pattern and firmly secured. ”

“ Chequer backgrounds.In the fourteenth century the plain gold background was mostly superseded by delicate diapers of lozenge and chessboard form, with alternating squares of gold and blue or red, very rich and beautiful in effect, and sometimes of extreme minuteness of scale, so that each lozenge or square of the diaper is not larger than an ordinary pin's head. In France these diapered patterns were used with great frequency, and their use survived in some cases till the early part of the fifteenth century. ”

“ Diapers should be made of soft absorbent material such as well-washed linen and should be about two yards square and folded in a three-cornered shape. An infant should always sleep in a bed or cot by itself. ”

“ A soiled garment should never be put back on the baby. Dirt draws flies, and flies are breeders of disease. Sour-smelling garments should be changed at once. They are likely to make the baby sick and interfere with his appetite if left on indefinitely. The care of the diaper has already been mentioned.
The main symptom of too much clothing is sweating, and when the baby sweats something must come off. If he has209 perspired so much that his clothes are moist, the clothing should be changed and the skin well dried with talcum powder. ”