The gauze, cotton-batting and absorbent cotton are used for dressings for the bed. These may be made by the mother or the nurse. They must then be sterilized and put in an air-tight box or drawer until needed. With great care they may be sterilized by dry heat in the oven, but as there is danger from scorching, steam is more satisfactory. The most convenient way is to utilize a washboiler, one-fourth full of water. The dressings are laid, first in loose cheese-cloth bags, then in a hammock-shaped strip of muslin attached by either end to the handles of the boiler. The hammock should be swung high enough in the boiler so that it does not actually touch the water. The lid is fastened on tight and the steaming goes on for an hour. The dressings are then dried in the sun or in the oven. In the latter case great care must be taken or they will be scorched. In preparing an outfit for the baby, it should be borne in mind that this is an age of simplicity in dressing children; also that a baby outgrows its first clothes very quickly. The essentials for the new-born baby are: Four abdominal bands of soft flannel, unhemmed, six to eight inches wide, twenty inches long. Four shirts of wool and silk mixed, or wool and cotton, in size 2. Four flannel skirts, hung from the shoulder, not made with bands to pin around the abdomen. Four nightgowns or wrappers of outing flannel, which button in the front. Three knitted bands of wool and cotton mixed, with shoulder straps. Six white slips, made very simply. Four dozen diapers, made of cheese-cloth or a material known as stork diapering, which is much like Turkish toweling. Three pairs of socks, if it is a summer baby. Three pairs of long white merino stockings, if it is a winter baby. One simple cloak, made of soft material. One cap lined with silk. Mittens for the winter baby. One bath blanket, made from an old summer weight blanket. Several crocheted, knitted, or flannel blankets. Soft material should be used for making the baby’s garments and neither lace nor embroidery should be employed around the necks and sleeves of the little slips, as they may chafe the tender skin and cause eczema. Cleanliness is the one demand for the baby until it has passed safely through the first month of its life, when the mother may give more attention to its raiment. In this day when cotton materials are highly mercerized and bleached, it is safest to wash the little garments made from them before they are worn by the new-born baby with its delicate skin. Diapers in particular should be washed, and dried, but not ironed. The necks of dresses or slips should be loose and tied with tape; buttons or fancy pins may cause discomfort to the baby.