Infant clothing

“ Children's Clothing.—An infant's clothing should be soft, warm, and light in weight, covering all parts of the body with equal warmth. Tight bands and long, heavy skirts should never be used, the dress and petticoat being just long enough to keep the feet covered and warm. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Of the Clothing of Children. The clothing of an infant is so simple a matter, that it is surprising how any person should err in it; yet many children lose their lives, and others are deformed, by inattention to this article.
Nature knows no use of clothes to an infant, but to keep it warm. ”

“ How should the infant be held during dressing and undressing?
Nothing is more awkward than to attempt to dress a young baby in a sitting posture. It should lie upon the nurse's lap until quite old enough to sit alone, the clothing being drawn over the child's feet, not slipped over the head. ”

“ 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. ”

“ HOW TO DRESS INFANTS. FASHION has far too long been permitted to hold absolute sway over the layette, and it is more than time that some radical change should be made in this respect. If the problem to be solved in clothing infants were how best to keep them cold, fetter their movements, check their excretions, and render them generally uncomfortable, no better plan could be adopted than that at present in fashion. ”

“ This prescription, unaided by anything else, has often restored a nursing baby to equanimity and to health.
Of less vital importance to a child perhaps than its food, yet claiming no little attention, is the clothing. The mothers of to-day have learned by experience how to clothe their children better than their mothers clothed them. It hardly seems possible that at one time the fashion of dresses low in the neck and with short sleeves was well-nigh universal for infants. The babies of the aristocratic and middle classes are, as a general thing, warmly and properly clothed. ”

“ Within a few years we have shortened the long clothes worn by youngest infants; twenty-five years ago the handsome dress of an infant, such as the christening-robe, was so long that when the child was held on the arm of its standing nurse or mother, the edge of the robe barely escaped touching the ground. Two hundred years ago, a baby’s dress was much shorter. In the family group of Charles I and Henrietta Maria and their children, in the Copley family picture, and in the picture of the Cadwalader family, we find the little baby in scarce “three-quarters length” of robe. ”

“ Such a rest in the middle of the day favors the relaxation of muscles and nerves and breaks the strain of a long day of intense activity.
PROPER CLOTHING.
Proper clothing for a child includes three things: (a) Equal distribution of warmth, (b) Freedom from restraint, (c) Light weight.
Equal distribution of warmth is of great importance, and is seldom attained. The ordinary dress for a young baby, for example, leaves the arms and the upper part of the chest unprotected by more than one thickness of flannel and one of cotton—the shirt and the dress. ”

“ The choice of children's clothing should never be left to nurses or outfitters; but the mother, be she never so rich and fashionable, should superintend it herself, so as to be sure that every garment worn by her little ones is both healthy and comfortable.
We must never let children wear clothes they have outgrown. ”

“ These directions for infants’ clothing are so simple that many may think they are not worth following, but when we see the little ones bandaged and burdened as we do, is it not time to make a protest that will reach every mother? A child’s dress should always serve the purposes of protection and warmth without any hindrance to its activity and development. ”

“ However, it may be mentioned in this connection that a large layette of long clothing generally proves a waste of labor and money. The normal baby soon outgrows it, and as styles change in baby’s clothing, as well as in adult raiment, it is now the custom to shorten the baby’s clothes at six months, or even less. ”

“ A square yard of flannel and one of muslin, hemmed all around and edged with lace or embroidery, known as pañale, are wrapped around the infant's body and worn for three months, when little drawers—calzoncillos—are substituted. Dresses are held in reserve, to be worn on special occasions.
In wealthy families now, however, European wardrobes for babies are used, yet many still adhere to the original mode. At night the nurse wraps a small rebozo tightly about the arms and hands of the little one. She explains that baby will become frightened at his hands and scratch himself with his nails. ”

“ In choosing materials for clothing, care must be taken to avoid weight while securing warmth; and, above all, they should be inexpensive and strong, so that the child may not suffer from being forbidden healthy play lest its clothes should be spoiled. It must be a poor sort of mother's love—and yet it is a very common one—which prefers the welfare of the clothes to that of the child. If a woman wants a block to set fine clothes on, let her get one made of wood or wax, but not turn her little boy or girl into one. ”

“ As young mothers do not like to handle the new baby very much, the little garments should be very simple in construction and most easy to slip on and off. This is very much better for the baby, too. An infant should have as much repose as possible and every interruption of its daily schedule or struggle with its tiny belongings is just so much more excitement to its delicate system. ”

“ Baby’s comfort, and, incidentally, the peace and quiet of the entire household, may be increased by intelligent selection and care of clothing. Every adult has experienced more or less discomfort from ill-fitting or unsuitable underwear, tight bands and shoes, yet in many homes where babies are deeply and truly loved clothing for the tender little bodies is chosen thoughtlessly and adjusted carelessly. Even the mother who threatens her own eyesight, embroidering dainty bits of linen for the layette, may fairly torture her baby by supplying underwear that irritates the delicate skin. ”

“ It is no less instructive than interesting to observe what a marked increase takes place in the growth, and improvement in the health, of boys, when from the ordinary improper clothing of young children they are promoted to the trousers or knickerbockers and stockings, with the jacket and waistcoat of schoolboy life. ”

“ There is a constitutional difference in the skin of different children in regard to retaining the animal heat manufactured within, so that some need more clothing than others for comfort. Nature is a safe guide to a careful nurse and mother, and will indicate by the looks and actions of a child when more clothing is needful. As a general rule, it is safe for a healthful child to wear as little clothing as suffices to keep it from complaining of cold. Fifty years ago, it was not common for children to wear as much under-clothing as they now do. ”

“ How much we owe to pioneers of children's dress reform, and especially to Messrs. Liberty, who evolved what is generally known as the æsthetic style in dress. From sketches courteously placed at my disposal, I am enabled to put before the reader examples of children's clothing which are artistic in form, light of texture, and which in no way impede the physical development. Those who have the care of children should remember what a sacred charge is imposed upon them, and that their future health mainly depends, upon the manner in which they are clothed during the first few years of life. ”

“ And when one ventures to express doubts as to the propriety of dressing an infant in long clothes, instead of arguments in their favor, one is met by the absurd remark, “A baby looks so grand in long clothes!” ”

“ GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
The choice of material demands some thought and attention. As a rule, baby's clothing materials should be light in weight, good moisture absorbers, and at the same time able to retain the body heat. Most layettes have the common fault of being prematurely outgrown; and so it is well to allow for ample growth in making baby's first clothes. Since the principal object of clothing is to insure a uniform body temperature, it is important that the mother be constantly on her guard to keep the baby cool enough in the summer and warm enough in the winter. ”

“ The contents of the aforesaid bundle being duly examined, they prove none other than a round-faced, 203charmingly beautiful, black eyed baby girl. There is nothing in the “make-up” of the child or its wardrobe that even the most fastidious might criticise; every article of clothing is of the finest texture, and delicately wrought. ”

“ When a baby is born she gathers together all her friends, and they discuss a scheme of decoration for the set of miniature dresses that the little one is to wear. More care is taken with these baby dresses than with those of any grown person, and if the parents are rich the sums that are spent on silk crepe are sometimes such as would shock any English mother. So much has to be taken into consideration with regard to the design of a child’s dress: it might be cherry-blossom or a landscape, according to the month and the circumstances amid which the infant was born. ”

“ If there is one thing in which the schoolmaster or the reformer is more wanted than in another, it is in our dress. From our birth to our death we are the slaves of fashion, of prejudice, and of circumstances. The tender, unresisting infant, the delicate girl, the mature woman, alike suffer from these evil influences; some fall victims to them, others suffer during life. Let us consider the dress of an infant. Here, however, it must be acknowledged that of late years much improvement has taken place in some respects, although much still remains to be done. ”

“ THE FIRST CLOTHING
After the oil bath, the silk and wool shirt (size No. 2) , the diaper and stockings are quickly put on to avoid the least danger of chilling. The band having been applied at the time of the dressing of the cord, our baby is now ready for the flannel skirt. This should hang from the shoulders by a yoke of material adapted to the season, cotton yoke without sleeves if a summer baby, and a woolen yoke with woolen sleeves if a winter baby. The outing-flannel night dress completes the outfit and should be the only style of dress worn for the first two weeks. ”

“ If she wishes to have both her arms free, however, she puts the baby into the center of a piece of cotton cloth, ties opposite corners of the cloth together, and slings her burden over her shoulders and upon her back, where, with his brown legs astride his mother’s hips, the infant rides, generally with much satisfaction. ”

“ One-piece dresses with a drop skirt save the expectant mother another set of bands. All the clothing should be loose and easy, and it is well for the expectant mother to buy stockings, shoes and even gloves in a size larger than she ordinarily wears. ”

“ The coat opens down the front; and attached to the back is a pad made from rubber sheeting covered with cheese-cloth or nainsook. This can be washed, and it protects the coat from stains.
Mittens may be added for cold weather; but veils are no longer used for babies.
The most important thought to be borne in mind when fashioning the layette is that baby should be comfortable and clean. The average inexperienced woman makes the clothing too small. Baby either outgrows it or is bound round the waist, neck, armholes, and wrists. Give him room to kick and grow. ”

“ The women are clothed in white cloth made from the paper mulberry, the dress extending from the shoulders to the feet, in double folds, and so loose as entirely to conceal the shape of the person. The mothers, while nursing, carry the infant within their dress; as the child advances in growth it sits across the hip of the parent with its little hands clinging to the shoulder, while the mother's arm passing round it keeps it in safety. ”

“ Aside from the convenience of easy-to-slip-on clothing, the importance of styles which can be quickly and easily laundered are to be considered. A dainty and freshly clothed baby is not only happier and more attractive but also much healthier. ”

“ The unnecessary haste in which some nurses are accustomed to dress children, cannot be too strongly reprehended. In addition to this hurried dressing, its clothes are often injuriously tight. Pins should never be used in an infant’s clothes ”

“ With infants, as with older children, it is a mistake to heap on too much clothing. Many children by such coddling, which is intended to prevent them catching cold, are rendered delicate and susceptible to chills. Just enough clothing should be worn to keep the little one comfortably warm and no more. ”

“ Clothing should be warm, but not heavy; it should allow free transpiration, so that the breathing action of the skin may not be impaired, and it should be absorbent of moisture. All these conditions are fulfilled by wool; but the exactly opposite characteristics are possessed by those cotton and linen materials of which infants' clothing is, on the present system, chiefly constructed. Further, clothing must not hinder any of the natural or acquired movements of the body. ”