The outdoor raiment, while baby is in long clothes, should be as simple as possible. For the baby born in the spring a flannel wool cape with hood attached, and a soft silk lining, is ideal for the first few outings. The baby who has his first airings in the fall or winter should be more warmly clad. One of the most sensible first coats for a baby I have ever seen is made of light-weight white eider-down flannel. The pattern is in three pieces—a pointed hood, such as you see in pictures of Eskimo children, the back and the front of the coat with seams on the shoulders under the arms and on either side of the garment. The back of the coat, like the petticoat described on page 158, is longer than the front and turns up like an envelope flap to protect the feet. The coat opens down the front; and attached to the back is a pad made from rubber sheeting covered with cheese-cloth or nainsook. This can be washed, and it protects the coat from stains. Mittens may be added for cold weather; but veils are no longer used for babies. The most important thought to be borne in mind when fashioning the layette is that baby should be comfortable and clean. The average inexperienced woman makes the clothing too small. Baby either outgrows it or is bound round the waist, neck, armholes, and wrists. Give him room to kick and grow. If he frets after he is dressed and refuses to go to sleep, you will probably find that he is bound by some one of the little garments. Cleanliness is only another word for comfort. Choose fabrics that wash well, and then wash them carefully. Never use strong soap, washing-powder, or starch on baby’s clothing. Wash the flannels in tepid soapsuds made from a good white soap, and rinse them several times in clear water of the same temperature. Violent changes in the temperature of the water will make the flannels shrink. The unhemmed belly-bands will fray a little with each washing; but this is better than cutting the skin with hemmed bands. Do not imagine that you can protect your baby from colds by overdressing him. The average home, heated by furnace or steam, has a temperature of from 70 to 80 degrees. This is equal to summer weather outdoors and no child should be tortured with woolen underwear, heavy sacques, etc., in such an atmosphere. This warning against overdressing applies also to babies in the summer, even when they are passing through the dreaded period of teething. We can all remember the time when baby in his “second summer” was tortured with flannel to ward off summer-complaint. Science has proved that the baby who is suffering from heat will not digest his food. If a baby is normal, healthy, and gaining steadily in weight, in hot weather, he will need only the knitted band, diaper, and little slip. If the weather should change suddenly the flannel skirt can easily be slipped on again.