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distribution of warmth, (b) Freedom from restraint, (c) Light weight.

_Equal distribution of warmth_ is of great importance, and is seldom
attained. The ordinary dress for a young baby, for example, leaves
the arms and the upper part of the chest unprotected by more than one
thickness of flannel and one of cotton--the shirt and the dress. About
the child's middle, on the contrary, there are two thicknesses of
flannel--a shirt and band--and five of cotton, i.e., the double bands
of the white and flannel petticoats, and the dress. Over the legs,
again, are two thicknesses of flannel and two of cotton, i.e., the
pinning blanket, flannel skirt, white skirt, and dress. The child in
a comfortably warm house needs two thicknesses of flannel and one of
cotton all over it, and no more.

[Sidenote: The Gertrude Suit]

The practice of putting extra wrappings about the abdomen is
responsible for undue tenderness of those organs. Dr. Grosvenor, of
Chicago, who designed a model costume for a baby, which he called the
Gertrude suit, says that many cases of rupture are due to bandaging of
the abdomen. When the child cries the abdominal walls normally expand;
if they are tightly bound, they cannot do this, and the pressure upon
one single part, which the bandages may not hold quite firmly, becomes
overwhelming, and results in rupture. Dr. Grosvenor also thinks that
many cases of weak lungs, and even of consumption in later life, are
due to the tight bands of the skirts pressing upon the soft ribs of
the young child, and narrowing the lung space.

[Sidenote: Objection to the Pinning Blanket]

_Freedom from restraint._. Not only should the clothes not bind the
child's body in any way, but they should not be so long as to prevent
free exercise of the legs. The pinning-blanket is objectionable on
this account. It is difficult for the child to kick in it; and as we
have seen before, kicking is necessary to the proper development of
the legs. Undue length of skirt operates in the same way--the weight
of cloth is a check upon activity. The first garment of a young baby
should not be more than a yard in length from the neck to the bottom
of the hem, and three-quarters of a yard is enough for the inner
garment.

The sleeves, too, should be large and loose, and the arm-size should
be roomy, so as to prevent chafing. The sleeves may be tied in at the
wrist with a ribbon to insure warmth.

_Lightness of weight._ The underclothing should