d in. It is not necessary that the
baby should be exposed to the admiring inspection of every member of the
household--there will be plenty of time for that without risking the
health of the child. A pan of water at a temperature of 100 deg. F. should
be placed on a stool in front of the nurse. The nurse should have on a
rubber apron, and on top of this, an ordinary apron and a warm bath
towel laid over her knees. The child should be gently rubbed with warm
sweet oil to remove the _vernix caseosa_ (the greasy substance which is
on all babies when born to a lesser or greater extent). Particular
attention is to be given to all folds of the skin, as under the arms, in
the fold of the neck, in the groin, behind the ears, etc., because in
these parts the substance is thickest and if not carefully removed it
will cake, and cause painful eruptions and sores, which may bleed and
render the infant extremely uncomfortable. It is not necessary to
expose the whole body at one time while applying the oil. The lower half
may be covered with a warm soft towel while the nurse is oiling the
upper part, and vice versa. After the body has been thoroughly oiled it
should be cleansed with water at the proper temperature, in which pure
castile soap has been dissolved. Absorbent cotton only should be used to
wash the baby. All the washing is done with the baby on the nurse's
knee; it is not put into the water.

The baby should be mopped dry with sterile gauze, or with a soft sterile
towel, the cord dressed and the flannel band adjusted. It should then be
completely dressed and put to the nipple and later to sleep.

DRESSING THE CORD.--The cord should be covered with powder and sterile
gauze. The powder to use should be plain subnitrate of bismuth. If there
is any reason to use another powder the physician will write a
prescription for it according to indications. The subnitrate of bismuth
will be found much better than any ordinary talcum or toilet powder,
many of which do not make good dressing powders.

Very few nurses know how to dress the cord. It seems to be impossible to
impress them with the need of frequent attention to the cord. Fresh
powder should be put on every time the diaper is removed, every time the
infant urinates, and at other times during the day. The cord should be
kept absolutely dry. Putting on powder twice daily will not keep the
cord dry and many nurses are too lazy to bother to do it oftener. You
cannot make a mista