Newborns - The Nursery : Baby's Bed, Crib

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 13 of 41)

We wish it were possible for every mother who reads this book to have a special baby's room or nursery. Some of our readers have a separate nursery-room for the little folks, and so we will devote a portion of this chapter to the description of what seems to us a model arrangement for such a room; but, realizing that ninety-five percent of our readers can only devote a corner of their own bedroom to the oncoming citizen, we have also carefully sought to meet their needs and help them to take what they have and make it just as near like the ideal nursery as possible.

The Separate Nursery

The nursery should be a quiet room with a south or southwesterly exposure. The bathroom should adjoin or at least be near. A screened-in porch is very desirable.

Draperies that cannot be washed, and upholstered furniture, do not belong in the baby's room. A hardwood floor is better than a carpet or matting; while a few light-weight rugs, easily cleaned, are advisable. Enameled walls are easily washed and are, therefore, preferable to wall paper or other dressings.

The windows should be well screened, for by far the greatest dangers to which the baby is exposed, are flies and mosquitoes - carriers of filth and disease. Flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, bed bugs, cats, dogs, lice, and mice are all disease carriers and must therefore be kept out of baby's room.

Nursery Equipment

At each window should be found dark shades, and if curtains are desired they should be of an easily washable material, such as mull, lawn, voile, or scrim. The hardwood floor may be covered where necessary with easily handled rugs which should be aired daily. The other necessary articles of furniture are a crib of enameled iron whose bedding will be described elsewhere in this chapter, a chest for baby's clothes and other necessary supplies, a screen or two, a low table and a low rocker, a small clothes rack on which to air the clothes at night, a pair of scales, and a medicine chest placed high on the wall.

If the room will conveniently admit it, a couch will add greatly to the mother's comfort; and, if possible, it should be of leather upholstery; otherwise, it should possess a washable cover, for all articles that promote the accumulation of dust are not to be allowed in the nursery. In these early weeks and months baby will not benefit from pictures or other wall decorations, and so let him have clean walls that are easily washed and quickly dusted.

The necessities for baby's personal care are:

Talcum powder. Castile soap. Soft wash cloths. Soft linen towels. Bottle of plain Vaseline. Boric acid, oz. IV (Saturated Solution). Olive oil. Sterile cotton balls in covered glass jar. Safety pins of different sizes. Hot water bag with flannel cover. Baby scales. Drying frames for shirt and stockings.

Baby's Bed

Since the days of Solomon, accidents have occurred where mother and babe have occupied the same bed. Not only is there the ever-present danger of smothering the babe, but there are also many other reasons why a baby should have its own bed. The constant tendency to nurse it too often and the possibility of the bed clothing shutting off the fresh air supply, are in and of themselves sufficient reasons for having a separate bed for baby.

The first bed is usually a basinet - a wicker basket with high sides - with or without a hood. A suitable washable lining and outside drape present a neat as well as sanitary appearance. The mattress of the basinet is usually a folded clean comfort slipped into a pillow slip; this is to be preferred to a feather pillow, as it is cooler and in every way better for the babe.

Drapes about the head of the basinet are not only often in the way, shutting out air, etc., but they also gather dust and are unsanitary. Screens are movable - they may be used or put away at will - and are, therefore, very convenient about the nursery.

The basinet may be dispensed with entirely if the sides of the enameled crib are lined to cut off draughts and the babe is properly supported by pillows. After the baby is four to six months of age it is transferred to the crib. The basinet has an advantage over the crib during those early weeks in that its high sides protect the babe from draughts, and the comforts and blankets can be more easily tucked about the little fellow to keep him warm. The sides should not extend more than four inches above the lying position of the child.

The Crib

The enameled iron crib should be provided with a woven-wire mattress, over which is placed a mattress; hair is best as a filling for the mattress, wool next, and cotton last. Over the mattress should be placed a rubber sheet, and over all a folded sheet.

A pillow of hair or down is not to be discarded; for recent investigation has shown that the pillow favors nasal drainage, while lying flat encourages the retaining of mucus in the nose and nasal chambers - the sinuses. The pillow slip should be of linen texture.

During the winter a folded soft blanket over the rubber sheet increases both softness and warmth. No top sheet is used during the first months, particularly if the first months are the winter months. The baby is wrapped loosely in a light weight clean blanket or shawl, and other blankets - as many as the season demands are tucked about the child. These blankets should be aired daily, and the one next to the baby changed, aired, or washed very often.

The Sleeping Blanket

To prevent baby from becoming uncovered the sleeping blanket has been devised. The blanket is folded and stitched in such a way as completely to envelop the sleeping babe, and at the same time afford the utmost freedom. The babe may turn as often as he desires, but cannot possibly uncover himself. Bed clothes fasteners are also used - an elastic tape being securely fastened to the head posts and then by means of clamps or safety pins attachment is made to the blankets on either side. The elasticity allows considerable freedom to the child in turning.

Nursery Heating and Ventilation

The subject of ventilation has been so fully discussed by the authors in another work that we refer the reader to The Science of Living, or the Art of Keeping Well.

For the first two or three weeks the nursery temperature should be maintained at seventy degrees Fahrenheit by day and from sixty degrees to sixty-five degrees by night. In the third week the day temperature should be sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit measured by a thermometer hanging three feet from the floor. After three months the night temperature may go as low as fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, and after the first year it may go as low as forty-five degrees.

The heating of the nursery is usually controlled by the general heating plant, and no matter what system of heating is maintained, humidifiers must be used, the necessity for which is doubled when the system is that of the hot-air furnace.

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.