. . .if you are living in a different time period. Check out this advice which was once commonly practiced. . .
Esepecially when the twins were born we had a myriad of friends and relatives visiting us. But one doctor notes: “Your friends and relatives really mean well and they do want to show their affection and interest, but it would be better if they were more considerate. After all the baby would much rather be left alone. … No one should handle the baby except the qualified nurse in the nursery and he should be placed on view only behind glass.”
And you felt bad for asking every single person to wash their hands thoroughly before picking up the baby!)
For aesthetics and a good dose of Vitamin D, “beginning at one month old put your baby in direct sunlight without clothing. Start out with 3 minutes on each side and increase the time by one minute per side until you’re up to 20 minutes per side.”
We used to swaddle our babies as newborns because it calmed them. The current thinking is that swaddling helps make a transition from the secure environment of the womb to the outside world. But maybe we’re wrong. . .
In the Middle Ages, infants were generally swaddled to, “help their arms and legs grow straight.” While busy peasant mothers were working in the fields, they may have tied their infant to a tree so that they could work.
Also, during the Middle Ages, breastfeeding was encouraged by the church. If the mother died or was too ill to breastfeed her child, a family would find a wet nurse. If there was no wet nurse well, then, soak a piece of bread in some milk and the baby can eat that!
We avoided giving our babies honey until after a year because of the potential for botulism poisoning. . .but apparently it used to be quite common to give a new born baby’s tongue, “a good cleansing with water–to ensure that the child learns to speak properly, and then rub the baby’s tongue with honey to ensure the child has a good appetite.”
Do you have any words of wisdom from another age?
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