Tight bands should not be placed about the babe. If the umbilicus protrudes, do not endeavor to hold it in by a tight band, but consult your physician about the use of a bit of folded cotton and adhesive plaster, and then allow the child the freedom of the knitted bands, with skirts suspended from yokes. The day of tight bands and pinning blankets with their additional and traditional windings is over. After the complete healing of the cord, the need for a snug binder to hold the dressings in place is over. Should the baby cry violently, the umbilicus should be protected in the manner described above--the fold of cotton and the adhesive plaster. The diaper, stockings, shirt, skirt, and dress with an additional wrapper for cold days completes the outfit at this age. BIRTH REGISTRATION "One of the most important services to render the newborn baby is to have his birth promptly and properly registered." In most states the attending physician or midwife is required by law to report the birth to the proper authority, who will see that the child's name, the date of his birth, and other particulars are made a matter of public record. Birth registration may be of the greatest importance when the child is older, and parents should make sure this duty is not neglected. A public health official some time ago epitomized some of the uses of birth registration as follows: There is hardly a relation in life from the cradle to the grave in which such a record may not prove to be of the greatest value. For example, in the matter of descent; in the relations of wards and guardians; in the disabilities of minors; in the administration of estates; the settlement of insurance and pensions; the requirements of foreign countries in matters of residence, marriage, and legacies; in marriage in our own country; in voting and in jury and militia service; in the right to admission and practice in the professions and many public offices; in the enforcement of laws relating to education and to child labor, as well as to various matters in the criminal code; the irresponsibility of children under ten for crime or misdemeanor; the determination of the age of consent, etc., etc. CHAPTER XIII THE NURSERY We wish it were possible for every mother who reads this book to have a special baby's room or nursery. Some of our readers have a separate nursery-room for the little folks, and so we will devote a portion of this chapter to the description of what seems to us a model arrangement for such a room; but, realizing that ninety-five per cent of our readers can only devote a corner of their own bedroom to the oncoming citizen, we have also carefully sought to meet their needs and help them to take what they have and make it just as near like the ideal nursery as possible. THE SEPARATE NURSERY