Keeler-Bailey Family, 1828-1928

How to take care of baby:

Dr. Annie Keeler, Mrs. Collins and Miss Brennan give valuable points

How to properly care for babies and bring the most accurate knowledge into use to give them their chance of life was told in interesting talks at the St. James’ Parish House Saturday afternoon by Dr. Annie Keeler, Mrs. Matilda Collins, the school nurse and Miss Mary Brennan, the visiting nurse. Each of the talks was interesting and contained many valuable points regarding the care of babies and children.

It was the final event of ``Baby Week'' which was extremely successful in this city in directing attention to a most important subject and arousing interest in greater study of the health and welfare of babies and children. The information with regard to the progressive movement to save the babies was followed with great interest by mothers of the city. Attention was called to the matter by posters, window displays, sermons in the churches and in other ways.

The campaign brought out the fact that a large number of babies die each year through lack of proper attention. The campaign was for the purpose of waking the people to the necessity of guarding the health of their babies by taking counsel of the most up-to-date methods and studying the latest information on the subject.

Compliments Dr. Penfield.

Dr. Annie Keeler in the course of her speech complimented Dr. Sophie Penfield on the leaflets which had been published by the Baby Week committee under her direction and which contained in short form many valuable suggestions with regard to the care of babies. She said that she hoped that when a baby show was held by the women of St. James’ parish in the future that It would be one in which mothers would show by exhibitions the results of following out the information gained during ``Baby Week''.  Keeler said that Dr. Penfield and her ``Baby Week'' committees had done a  wonderful work and one that would be productive of important results. She spoke in part as follows:

Save the Babies.

``To save the babies is one of the most important questions of the day. Thousands, even 300,000, die every year. Why? Because mothers do not know how to take care of them. Thus I will try to give you a few practical points in how to save the babies.

``The first experience in a baby's life is the baby's bath. There are two ways of giving the bath. The first is in the tub. This should be quickly given, the temperature being 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The second way is in the lap. The temperature of the room should be carefully observed and the portions unwashed should be kept uncovered. Both baths should quickly given. Two towels should be used, one for the face and the other for the body.

Avoid Talcum Powders.

``There is no objection to using soap of a proper kind on the skin of an infant, the accepted soap being white castile. A variety of dusting powder is used but all the talcum powders, however fine, are gritty and tend to chafe the skin and stop up the pores. The finest and safest dusting powder is finely powdered starch. There is a great choice in the wash cloth to be used. A piece of soft white flannel takes the soap beautifully and is very soft and delightful to the touch. A flannel band should be worn over the bowels winter and summer until after teething.

``Great care should be used especially in the baby’s bath not to get water into the car. The drum of the ear lies very near the surface and water can cause an intense earache and intense suffering and crying. At one time we heard a great deal about growing pains which were nothing more or less than muscular rheumatism from the infant bathing in too cold water or too cold a room.

Nurses Contribute Points.

``The Graduate Nurses' association has contributed valuable points from their experiences. The superintendent of the hospital and members of the Graduate Nurses' association emphasize the great importance of this point: Extreme care in keeping the buttock clean. Sore buttocks is a very common trouble. The napkin should be changed immediately when wet. Bluing in the water will cause sore buttocks. Some of the members have found that there is no need of bluing but putting on grass or leaving in the sun will keep the napkin sufficiently clean. Poor soap will cause sore buttocks. They should be kept extremely clean and dusted profusely with starch. Wash or rinse out the napkins always. Never hang them up to dry unwashed in the house.

``Crusts on the head should be softened with oil or vaseline and washed every day to remove them. Do not be afraid to wash the head. The `soft spot' on top of the head does not close until the end of the first or second year. There is no danger of injuring it by careful washing.

Wash Baby's Mouth.

``Another point emphasised by Graduate Nurses' association is necessity of washing the mouth of the bottle-fed baby before and after eating to avoid a sore mouth. A soft piece of lint wrapped around the finger and dipped in cold water should be used to wash out the particles of food that lodge in the baby's mouth. Prevention of sore mouth is one reason why mothers should nurse their children, if possible.

``The second experience in the baby's life, is baby feeding. They should be fed at regular hours. The greatest number of deaths oocur from bottle feeding. The feeding bottle and nipple should be washed in hot water and soda with a brush and thoroughly rinsed. It is the sour bottle that causes sore mouth and bowel trouble. Never use a stopple with a rubber or glass tube because it is impossible to sterilise them.

Thirst Often Overlooked.

``Give the baby water to drink several times a day. Thirst may be mistaken for hunger and unthought of. The infant should be fed according a scale of time: Every two hours up to two months; every three hours from two to ten months; every four hours from ten to twelve months; at night every two hours at first, then every hour up to two months; after two months there should be no night feeding. The child should be fed as nearly as possible in the same position as in nursing. Never lay the baby down with a feeding bottle by itself. If it regurgitates the milk or there is offensive stool colic or gas, there is too much fat in the milk and constipation may result. The curd of cow's milk is coarser than mother's milk. When constipation results, use three level teaspoonfulls of Mellen's Food to the pint of milk. The curd will separate: the casein will be softened and the constipation relieved.

Why babies Cry.

"Babies cry only from three causes. The first is hunger, because the baby is not satisfied. The second is pain in some form such as colic, rheumatism, earache or sore buttocks. The third is thirst, which is mistaken for hunger.

    "Don't trot the baby on your knee. That little jolt going up through its spine to the head is very mischievous and can cause the baby to throw up the milk. Keep it quiet and free from excitement. Never deceive it by giving it an empty bottle or the pernicious pacifier or soother. Soothers cause wind and colic from the plastic condition of the tissues of the infant. Soothers cause deformity of the mouth and gums and roof of the mouth and septum of nose and other troubles.

    "See that the baby has fresh air day and night not cold air but fresh warm air. Keep it from too strong light. If it is out-of-doors, see that the wind does not blow in its face. In the baby carriage the shade should be of dark color, green preferred. White is to be avoided because of the reflection from the sidewalk. Remember that when the baby creeps, draughts of air from the floor are colder and more impure than a little higher up.

Baby Discipline.

"The word of God is the rule of life. It is the right way to do the right thing. Proverbs 22:6 says, `Train up the child in the way he should go and, when he is old he will not depart from it.' To train is to teach, to educate. Obedience should be the first lesson. Everything should be down with regularity. There should be regularity in bathing, eating, sleeping and exercise.

    ``If the baby cries, don't walk the floor with it and make a slave of yourself. Lay it down, preferably a little on the right side, and if it cries leave it until it settles itself into sleep. Proverbs 23:13 says, "Withhold not correction from the child.' Set him right if he is easily governed. When he does wrong punish him if necessary. Sparing the rod may spoil the child.

 

Cause of Cancer.

    ``Be careful not to have the baby knead the breast. It is a direct cause of a cancer to the mother as it is a very subtle form of injury. 1f the baby is disposed to do that this, shake the head and say, `No, No.' If he persists, slap his hands, shake the head and say `No, No, ' but see that it obeys.

    In Proverbs 23:15, we read. `Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.' Hence the need of training. In Proverbs 29:15, it reads: 'A child left to itself bringeth its mother to shame.' Abraham Lincoln said that if he ever had a chance at slavery, he would hit it hard, and I want you to know that the word of God hits the Montessor and Gary systems hard.

Asphyxiated Babies

    ``Baby deaths number hundreds and thousands.. Many infants are born in hospitals in an asphysiated condition, because the bronchial tubes are filled with mucus or are born blue for the lack of oxygen and are apparently still born.''

    At this point Dr. Keeler explained the parts of the infant lungmotor used in many hospitals to force oxygen into babys lungs and draw the mucus from it bronchial tubes. The lungmotor is essentially the same in principle as the pulmoter used in resuscitating persons who have been partially asphysiated by gas or in some other way. A lungmoter was on exhibition. Continuing, Dr. Keeter said:

    ``A baby should draw a full breath every second during the first hour of life. During the second hour the respirations drop to forty a minute. The lungmoter is so devised that it can be operated at the proper rate of the respirations.''

    Dr. Keeler spoke at considerable length about the infant lungmotor and said that it had been due to the efforts of Dr. Penfield that the modern apparatus for resuscitating asphyxiated babies, had been brought to this city to be placed on view. Dr. Keeler said that the apparatus should be kept in the city, and suggested that some public spirited person come forward and donate the money to purchase it for the Danbury hospital. Her explanation of the operation of the infant lungmotor was interesting. She showed that the infant lungmotor drew from the baby's lunge mucus and impure air and forced oxygen into the lungs.

``Little Mothers' '' Dialogue

   Mrs. Matilda Collins\index{Collins!Matilda}, the school nurse, spoke on the care of children. Before beginning her speech she staged an interesting dialogue between two little girls, Julia Fleming\index{Fleming, Julia} and Lacy Collins\index{Collins!Lucy} of the third grade of the Balmforth avenue school. One of the little girls was dressed like a nurse with cap and arm band. On the arm band was the letters, ``L. M. L.' or ``Little Mothers’ League. The dialogue took place over a babys' crib, loaned for the occasion by F. L. Austin\index{Austin, F.L.}. In their dialogue the little girls told of the work of the Little Mothers League in other cities.

    They explained how in some large cities such a league had been formed to instruct children up to the age of sixteen in the care of babies. Such a league has been conspicuously successful in New York city. Some of the things which the girls of the league are taught with regard to the care of babies were demonstrated by making use of the crib which was covered with netting, a doll lying in the crib representing a baby.

    Mrs. Collins' address was on the care of children and she spoke in part as follows:

Care of Children.

    ``The physical and mental condition of the man or woman depends largely upon the care they have received a children. The care of the children is most important. The first step to take is to study the child. If he or she is a normal child and has had the proper care from birth up to the present time we have passed from babyhood into childhood with a good foundation. It is harder to watch them from now on as they are not constantly under our watchful eye. They are out at school, at play, etc. Unless we form the correct habits immediately we will have something to answer for later in life. We must have the little ones form good habits, for now they are old enough to understand and it is wonderful how much a child at five comprehends.

    ``Then we study the feeding of the child. Three regular meals are advised. A glass of milk, broth and bread should be given midway between meals. That is to children who seem to need this. Should a child be delicate it may need to be fed more frequently. Let the mid-day meal be the most substantial. Children should eat by daylight. Never send a child to bed without his meal, as a punishment. In the summer time less food is needed, so as to be less heating to the body. In cooler weather, due to increased activity and loss of heat from the body, more solid food, more heat and energy-giving foods are essential.

Food For Children.

    ``Growing children use their food rapidly when active out of doors. A mixed diet is advised because it meets all the neede of the body more easily and usually more fully than a more restricted diet. Plenty of water should be given: fruits and green vegetables promote digestion even when they do not in themselves add much nutriment. The growth and strength of a child do not depend on how much he can eat but how much of the food eaten is assimilated.

    ``When in New York city, many of my cases were malnutrition cases. I would have a talk with the mothers and repeatedly they would say, `Well, Johnnie or Susie eats more than the rest, and he never gets a bit fatter.' Then we would get down to a heart to heart talk on diet, and invariably I would find the child was over-eating, never giving the stomach time to rest, and that kind of food which pleased the eye and palate but was not of nutritious value; for instance, for breakfast, a large cup of coffee and sweet buns, then a race to school; at recess, a few lollypops, candy and sometimes a large sour pickle, then a race home for lunch of highly seasoned food, pies and cakes, and so it goes. The body is not satisfled but craves food and the child claims it is hungry. Never allow a child to tell you what she wants to eat. Place before her and teach her to eat food which will strengthen and nourish

Teaching the Mother.

``After long talks, showing the mother where the mistake is, and having the child weighed, keeping track of same, she becomes convinced that maybe there really is something in this so-called new-fandangled idea and she will carry out instructions, and at the end of the month notes the difference, is pleased, telling the nurse she wished she had started earlier. Children must have plenty of air and sunshine, if we expect them to grow. Feeding alone will not accomplish health. Air in the rooms night and day, and sunshine in the rooms when a child is compelled to remain indoors. Exercise should be moderate

``Beginning at five years a child can learn and put into practice the daily cleansing of the hands, face and teeth.
A tooth brush is as necessary as a wash cloth. If we want a nice, clear skin we must see that it is thoroughly cleansed. The same with the teeth. A clean tooth means a sound tooth and sound teeth mean a sound body. The motto used is very good, `A clean tooth never decays.'

``At five years the jaw commences to enlarge and between the age of five and six we get what is termed the sixth year molar, one of the most important of our set. The first reason, it only comes once and if decayed we have a space which interferes with the chewing of our food, and food not properly chewed cannot be property digested and instead of nourishing our bodies leaves the body as waste matter. The digestive tract needs exercise but not abuse or over use, and if our teeth are sound and we chew on food the digestive tract gets the required exercise to give us health and strength.

Care of Teeth

``Mothers, I advise you to look in the mouths of your little ones. Count from the front tooth and if a sixth tooth is present, watch it carefully, see that the child brushes the teeth at least in the morning and before retiring. If a cavity is present go to the dentist to have it filled.

``A bath is necessary at least once a week. A child after five years should rearn that before retiring a nice washing of the face, hands, arms and chest, with warm water and soap is positively necessary so as to keep the skin healthy; also the habit of keeping nails clean. In the morning washing with cold water adds to our health. A good habit can be formed as well as a bad one and the only way is to start a good one.

Hours For Sleep.

``Sleep is necessary to life. A child  from five to twelve should retire not later than eight p. m. From twelve to fourteen not later than nine o'clock. It is the only thing which rests the body. The heart and lungs work day and night but less at night. The eyes and nervous system rest only while sleeping and without air in the room while sleeping, our rest is interfered with.

Clothing should be according to the weather. In summer light and cool, and in winter light and warm. The feet should be kept perfectly dry. Many children are ruined for life due to the carelessness in caring for the feet and ankles, particularly in the growing girl.

Care of Hair.

``Daily caring of the hair is of great importance, as vermin breeds very quickly. When in places of amusement or crowded care take a few minutes to investigate. It may save you many days of tedious care and unpleasant words and worry. They do not always came from the school-rooms

``Children intelligently fed and properly cared for during infancy childhood and youth, may hope for normal health, in adult life, with natural physical strength and endurance and bouyance and will be able to resist inherited weak tendencies and disease''

Talk on Modified Milk

One of the most interesting talks of the afternoon was that given by Miss Mary Brennan, the visiting nurse. Her subject was ``Modified, Milk'' Miss Brennan gave a practical demonstration of preparing food quantities for infants of different ages. Her formula for modified milk was as follows: Separate milk from cream; take five ounces of cream that has stood twenty-four hours; five ounces of the milk which has been stirred, and fifteen ounces of water which has been boiled and one ounce of milk sugar of a preferred brand. Stir together. From this take three ounces for one feeding every three hours for a baby from two to three months old. Miss Brennan said that the quantity thus prepared was sufficient for twenty-four hours.

She advocated the proper sterilizing of bottles and all containers. At the end of her talk she answered a number of practical questions.

Infant Gets Prize.

    Mrs. John C. Downs awarded a prize of \$2.50 in gold to the first baby registered. It was Arthur C. Atherdon, infant son of Lester and Susan Atherdon, 14 State street. The baby was born on March 4, the mother being but eighteen years old. Mrs. Downs emphasised in her talk the fact that Danbury mothers have great opportunity to give their babies good care since they have both the visiting nurse and the school nurse to call upon at any time.

    The Baby Week committee will give a souvenir to the youngest baby in attendance at Saturday's meeting, who was Wilma Miller, of Chappelle street. 

    Mrs. John McCarthy had general charge of Saturday's meeting.

Baby Week Committee.

Much credit is due to Dr. Sophia Penfield and the members of the Baby Week committee for the success of the movement in this city. Dr. Sophia Penfield was the chairman of the committee, which was composed of Mrs. D. Frank Stevens, of the Travelers club; Mrs. Andrew Little, of the Other club; Mrs. Clarence Nowlan, of the Afternoon Musical society; Mrs. Cephas B. Rogers of the Monday club; Mrs. J. Moss Ives of the Classics; Mrs. C. H. Doran of the Fortnightly club; Mrs. F R. Barber of the Students club; Mrs. C. Stuart McLean of The Club: Mrs. M. C. Loewe of the Literata: Mrs. John F. Woodruff of Mary Wooster chapter D. A. R.; Dr. Annie Keeler of the Graduate Nurses’ association; Mrs. Matilda Collins, the school nurse; Miss Mary Brennan, the visiting nurse; Mrs. C.S. Barnum of the Central W. C. T. U..; Mrs. Arthur Patchin of the Mill Plain W. C. T. U., and Mrs. L. E. Darling of the East Danbury W. C. T. U.

The Baby Week campaign was a community affair and the promoters have expressed their thanks and appreciation for the cooperation and aid of individuals and organisations They feel justified in hoping that it will result in a vast extension of the work for conservation of infant life and be productive of more prompt registration of births in the city and town.