SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
161 
using new nipples they should be scrubbed inside and 
out and boiled for at least five minutes. After using 
they should be carefully rinsed in cold water and kept 
in a covered glass containing a solution of boric acid 
(one teaspoonful dissolved in a pint of boiling water), 
and at least once a day be turned inside out and thor- 
oughly washed with soap and water, then rinsed. Nip- 
ples should be boiled twice a week. 
Bath — A baby should have a bath every day, not 
sooner than one hour after feeding. The room should 
be warm ; if possible there should be an open fire in 
the room. The temperature of the water for a baby 
up to six months old should be 98°. Then it should 
gradually decrease, next temperature being 95°, until 
at the age of two it should range between 85° to 
90°. Before a baby is undressed the person who is 
bathing the baby must be sure that everything needed 
for the bath and dressing is at hand. The hand basin 
or small tub of warm water, a pitcher of hot water 
in case it is needed, castile or ivory soap, soft wash 
cloths, towels, brush, powder, fresh absorbent cotton, 
boric acid solution, and the baby’s clothes laid out in 
the order in which they will be needed in dressing the 
child, the soft flannel bandage, the diapers, the shirt, 
flannel petticoat, dress and shawl. 
For some people it is easier to handle a baby when 
laid on a bed or table than on one’s lap, having under 
the child a soft bath towel or canton flannel large enough 
to be wrapped around it. Its nose may be cleaned with 
a bit of absorbent cotton rolled to a point, using a fresh 
piece for each nostril. To bathe the eyes use fresh 
pieces of absorbent cotton dipped in boric acid solution. 
Wash the baby’s face carefully so that the water does 
not drip into its ears. Dry the face carefully. Wash 
the head gently and thoroughly with soap, being careful 
