An ordinary oblong tin tub, painted white inside and large enough to give plenty of room, is to be preferred to either a porcelain basin or a wooden tub. When in use, the tub should be placed on the floor, for the sake of firm support, or on the bath table, and afterward must be well cleaned, dried and aired.

Water for the bath ought to be pure and soft, and should it be muddy or otherwise foul, the nurse must take the trouble to filter it. The character of softness is an important one, and when it is impossible to obtain anything but hard water from the ordinary sources of supply, a special provision ought to be made for the collection of rain water. The quantity used at a time should be sufficient to cover the child up to the neck when placed in the tub in a semi-reclining position.

A matter of great importance is the temperature of the water. Some - fortunately very few - people use cold water from the first, under the impression that it is strengthening. So far from this being the case, cold water, instead of hardening, depresses the vital forces and frequently produces inflammation of the eyes, nasal catarrh, and inflammation of the lungs and bowels.

While cold baths are not to be recommended, one must not go to the other extreme, and use too hot water; for this also weakens the frame and renders it more susceptible to the attacks of disease.

The initial temperature of 100° F. must be maintained in subsequent baths until the child is three or four months old, and then slowly reduced, so that by the end of the sixth month it is 95° and throughout the second year from 85 to 90°, being somewhat lower in summer than in winter. As the heat of water cannot be estimated by hand with any degree of accuracy, it is essential to use a bath thermometer (Fig. 16).

Place this instrument in the water and allow it to remain a few moments, so as to get a full effect upon the mercury. Should the water be too hot, it may be readily cooled by the addition of cold water, or, if too low in temperature, is easily raised to the proper degree by pouring in hot water.

It is impossible to insist too strongly upon the necessity of uniformly using the bath thermometer. Several times in my experience a tin bathtub has been filled with water so hot that its sides burned the delicate skin of the little hand placed upon it. Fortunately, in such instances, the consequent screams led to careful investigation, and no serious damage resulted. On the other hand, I have felt the water cold enough to pain the fingers. Don't neglect the thermometer, then!

Fig. 16. - Bath Thermometer.

A piece of flannel is very useful for the first part of the bathing. It readily takes soap, and, being soft, can be thoroughly rubbed over the skin without danger of injury. A large, soft sponge, however, is best suited to the finishing of the bath, for it holds more water than a flannel wash-rag, and enables the bather to stream the water over the child's body, and thus get the stimulating effect of a miniature shower bath at the same time that the dirt and superfluous soap are washed away from the surface. The wash-rag and sponge must, by the way, be the child's exclusive property, and are not to be used twice in succession without being thoroughly cleaned and dried in the open air.

Unscented Castile or glycerin soaps are the best to use. Common soaps are irritating to the skin, and even the purest and most bland articles must be employed with care, that is, neither too frequently not too profusely, lest they lead to eczema or other cutaneous disorders. When any skin disease is present, the physician's advice must be had not only as to the use of soap, but also in reference to the propriety of the bath itself.

Two towels are required for each bath. These should be large and composed of fine, soft material.

They must be dry and warm, and perfectly clean before they are applied to the surface of the child.

The bath apron should be made of two pieces of soft, white flannel; one long enough to extend from the waist almost to the feet of the bather, and broad enough to completely cover the front of her gown; the other quite as broad but about four inches shorter. Both pieces are sewed to a waist belt, forming, in reality, two aprons; the upper of which is thrown over the shoulder when the infant is being lifted from the tub, and then used as a dry and warm covering when he reaches the lap. After the bath, the apron, being more or less wet, must be taken off and thoroughly dried. Several such articles should be provided, as they must be frequently washed to keep then clean and free from odors.

Any low chair will do to use in bathing, although as those usually sold have not a sufficiently broad seat to give a comfortable support, it is better to make one by sawing off the legs of an ordinary wooden kitchen chair.

The bath must be given at a regular time each day. The best hours are in the morning, midway between two feedings, and in the evening, just before the infant gets his last feeding and goes to bed. The first is perhaps the better hour, but regularity is the more important point.

At the time selected, place the tub containing the water, heated to a proper temperature, in a warm and sheltered part of the room, and around it arrange, within convenient reach of the hand, the various requisites of the bath.

Upon undressing the child, wet his head first; then let the head and shoulders rest on the left forearm and lower the child gently into the water, that his body may be covered as far as his neck. Take a wetted and soaped flannel wash-rag in the right hand and pass it rapidly but thoroughly over the body, avoiding the eyes. Pay particular attention to the arm-pits, to the region between the folds of the buttocks and to the groins. This done, take a large, well-filled sponge in the right hand and squeeze the contents over the body. The chief force of this miniature douche must fall upon the back and loins, and the child, during the operation, must be lifted clear of the bath-water by the left arm and hand.