Good Housekeeping Baby Book (c) 1969

Labor
“When you recognize the signs of labor beginning, do not eat any solid foods. A full stomach at the time of delivery materially increases the hazards of whatever anesthetic you may receive. Once you think you are in labor, drink only clear liquids such as water, weak coffee, or tea.”
“When you arrive at the hospital, you’ll be taken to the ‘Prep’ room. There you’ll be prepared for delivery and examined by your doctor.”
“Some hospitals permit the husband to remain with his wife during labor. Others to not.”
“…many doctors feel that you will relax more and rest better if your husband is not present.”


Birth
“This second stage of labor lasts from 30 minutes to two hours for a first baby, and five to 30 minutes in subsequent deliveries.”
“Your doctor may perform an episiotomy. This means that he makes a cut in the vagina to avoid any irregular tears which might be difficult to repair later.”
There is no need to be concerned about a forceps delivery. […] There is no danger to the child.”

Visitors
“Many hospitals allow only husbands to visit the maternity floor. If your hospital has this regulation, remember it’s for the protection of you and the baby.”

Breastfeeding
“…your hospital may furnish a day’s supply of formula. Take it home even if the baby is breast fed. Excitement of going home and the confusion of visitors may lessen breast milk for that day.”
(During menstruation) “Sometime breast milk is not as plentiful during these periods, or the baby may seem restless. If this occurs, give him a bottle for a few feedings. It is good to accustom him to an occasional bottle, anyway, after the first month or so even though he is entirely breast-fed.”
“Naturally, you’ll take care to keep your breasts and nipples clean, as infected breasts or infections for your baby may result from carelessness. Wiping the nipples with soap, warm water, and sterile cotton once a day is sufficient. Between nursings sterile, absorbent nursing pads or a freshly laundered white handkerchief may be placed over the nipples…”
“Two to five minutes is long enough for each nursing period the first few days.”
“Studies indicate a nursing baby will get 75 percent of all the milk that he’s going to get out of the breast after five minutes of nursing. Considering this, it’s probably not necessary to let the baby nurse longer than 15 or 20 minutes on one breast and 5 or 10 minutes on the second breast. Prolonged periods of nursing should be avoided because it’s a waste of time and, at first, will make the breast quite sore and painful.”

Weaning
“When you decide to discontinue nursing, or when you no longer have enough milk, get in touch with your doctor. He’ll prescribe medication to dry up your milk and will also give you a formula for Baby.”
“The earliest age at which you would want to wean the baby completely from the breast or bottle would be about nine months.”

Formula Feeding
Recipes are included for making formula from whole milk and evaporated milk.>>
“Doctors differ over when to change the baby from formula to homogenized milk. Your doctor may suggest you do it now [4-5 months], or wait until the 5^th or 6^th months.”
“Many doctors find it best to change the baby from formula to homogenized milk at this age [5-8 months] rather than earlier.”

Circumcision (This is the entire section)
“If your doctor elects to circumcise your boy, it will probably be done between the 1^st and 4^th day. In circumcision, the movable fold of skin which covers the end of the penis is clipped away. There are several reasons for this.
“The first, and most obvious, is that it is an aid to cleanliness. The second reason is that it has been shown that men will not develop cancer of the penis if they have been circumcised at birth. Third, the incidence of cancer of the cervix of women whose husbands have been circumcised is less than those whose husbands have not been circumcised. Finally, as your son grows older, he will want to be like other boys, most of whom will have been circumcised.
However, some doctors are opposed to circumcision. This is usually because the incidence of cancer of the penis or cervix affects relatively few persons and, therefore, he feels surgery on every baby is unwarranted.
If a circumcision is not performed, your doctor will give you the necessary instructions for cleansing under the foreskin.”

Care of the Penis (This is the entire section)
"Care for the circumcision is quite simple. Generally, a bandage or gauze pad won’t stay in place and is really unnecessary. If the wound has a tendency to stick to the diaper, apply a little vaseline to the cut edge.
“During the first two or three weeks, it’s important not to forcibly pull back the foreskin, because the cut edges of the wound might pull apart. However, after three weeks, retract the foreskin with each bath to prevent it from adhering to the head of the penis.
“If the baby is not circumcised, your doctor may tell you to retract the foreskin with each bath. Be sure you pull it forward again after washing the head of the penis. If you can’t pull the foreskin forward again, and the penis begins to swell, call the doctor immediately.”

Sleep
“If he’s still crying hard after ten or fifteen minutes, he may just want to be held for a few minutes and comforted. But then put him right back down and leave him there. Constant holding, jostling, walking the floor, and bouncing may turn him into a demanding little fellow who has to be held to be happy.”
“Rocking, walking the floor, or taking him in to bed with you (which is a dangerous habit) may soon become a nightly event – one you’ll wish you’d never started!”

Sunbathing
“At first, he shouldn’t be left in the direct sunlight for more than a few minutes. As he becomes more and more accustomed to the sunshine, you can increase his period in the sun to 30 or 40 minutes daily.”

Solids
“Cereal: 3 months
Fruit: 3 ½ - 4 months
Vegetables: 4 months
Meat: 5 months
Egg Yolk: 6 months”
“Cereal can be started quite readily at 3 months.”
“Some doctors prefer to wait and start fruit at 5 months. They’ve been delayed until now because these doctors feel that if fruits are the first solid given, babies tend to refuse other solids when introduced.”
A list is given of foods which a 12-18 month old child should not be given, including (among other things) hot fresh breads and rolls, griddle cakes, ready-to-serve cereals, eggplant, green corn, cucumbers, radishes, condiments, spices, ice cream, berries or melon, figs, dates, rhubarb, and fresh fruits, except those mentioned previously.>>

Playing
“Three months is a good age at which to begin playpen periods. […] if he gets accustomed to his pen at this early age, he won’t object to being put in it when he’s older.”

Vaccines
“Acquaint yourself with the immunization programs, but your doctor will decide when and what to give your baby.”

Toilet Training
“Some mothers boast that their child was trained to have his bowel movement in the potty by the time he was 1 year old. Actually this means that the baby had a fairly regular bowel movement, and the mother was trained to catch it in the potty.”

Other Observations
There is only one picture of a nursing baby (the breast is not visible in any way). All other pictures include bottles, and most feeding instructions assume the baby is bottle-fed.>>
A pictorial section on boys shows them playing outdoors and building things, while the section on girls shows them playing with dolls and playing house.>>