sponge bath and the daily oil rub should be
administered. We have found the late afternoon hour to be better than
the early morning hour for baby's bath. It requires too much vital
resistance to react to an early morning bath, especially when the
house is cool.

REGARDING SOAP

The use of soap is very much abused with young babies. I recall one
mother who came into the office with her poor little baby which was
constantly crying and fretting because of a greatly inflamed body--all
a result of the too frequent use of soap. I said, "I am afraid you do
not keep your baby clean." "O Doctor!" she replied, "I wash him with
soap every time I change him; I am sure he is clean." And come to find
out, the poor little fellow's tender skin had been subjected to soap
several times a day. We ordered the use of all soap discontinued,
vaseline and talcum powder to be used instead, and the child's skin
got well in a very short time.

CARE OF THE UMBILICUS

Tight bands should not be placed about the babe. If the umbilicus
protrudes, do not endeavor to hold it in by a tight band, but consult
your physician about the use of a bit of folded cotton and adhesive
plaster, and then allow the child the freedom of the knitted bands,
with skirts suspended from yokes. The day of tight bands and pinning
blankets with their additional and traditional windings is over. After
the complete healing of the cord, the need for a snug binder to hold
the dressings in place is over. Should the baby cry violently, the
umbilicus should be protected in the manner described above--the fold
of cotton and the adhesive plaster.

The diaper, stockings, shirt, skirt, and dress with an additional
wrapper for cold days completes the outfit at this age.

BIRTH REGISTRATION

"One of the most important services to render the newborn baby is to
have his birth promptly and properly registered."

In most states the attending physician or midwife is required by law
to report the birth to the proper authority, who will see that the
child's name, the date of his birth, and other particulars are made a
matter of public record. Birth registration may be of the greatest
importance when the child is older, and parents should make sure this
duty is not neglected.

A public health official some time ago epitomized some of the uses of
birth registration as follows:

There is hardly a relation in life from the cradle to the grave
in which such a record may