The Motherhood Circle

The following is a question that was asked and answered in the November, 1926 issue of Modern Priscilla. It is part of a monthly column called "The Motherhood Circle" written by Mary S. Haviland, Research Secretary of the National Child Welfare Association. Women wrote to her to have their questions about childcare answered.. I thought it humorous and wondered how many hours women sat with their tiny babies over a chamber pot in their lap trying to potty train them when they were only a month old.

Question. I am much distressed because my neighbor tells me that it is wrong to keep my month old baby dry. She says that diapers should be changed only at feeding time. Changing her every time I find her wet necessitates too much handling and will make her "bad" when she grows up. I'm sure this is an important problem for many young mothers, if as she says, it's a new theory, and I hope you will find room for the answer in next month's PRISCILLA. M. C. B.,Penn.

Answer. This may be a new theory, but if so I strongly suspect it originated in the brain of someone who grew tired of changing the baby every ten or twenty minutes or so.

There is not a grain of truth in the idea that making the baby dry and comfortable is likely to start bad habits,--quite the reverse. The urine is salty, is sometimes acid and will set up an irritation that is certain to be injurious. If a baby's sex organs are not kept clean and free from irritation, the habit of handling them is very likely to develop. Therefore, I beg you, when your baby is wet, remove the diaper at once, wash and pat her dry, especially in the creases. Do not use powder unless necessary. If she is chafed, put on albolene or zinc ointment. Then put on a clean, dry, warmed diaper folded oblong and fastened at the sides. This prevents too much bulk between the legs.

But if you have not yet started to do so, you should begin training your wee daughter to keep dry. Use a small, warmed chamber or cuspidor, held in your lap and set the baby on it with her back leaning against you. Do this in the early morning or late afternoon whenever she seems most likely to have a bowel movement. Also, about twenty to thirty minutes after feeding or drinking, remove the diaper and try to forestall her before she wets it. If you keep this up faithfully, it is quite possible to train a baby only a few months old to keep almost entirely dry. But if she does get wet, by all means change her at once, no matter what your neighbor says!


Hope you got a chuckle out of this as I did. If I get my printer hooked up in the next couple of days (just moved recently and everything is not all together yet) so that I can scan pictures, I will share a knitting or crocheting pattern with you next. Happy New Year!

I'm back again !!!

Hello again!

It has been a long time since I have posted to this blog as I have spent most of my time being sick and in and out of the hospital. Now that I am reasonably well, though disabled, I thought it was time to get back. Since I am disabled I spend alot of time at home . So I thought I would use some of that time sharing with you some of the things I love. You can probably tell from previous posts that I have a fascination with the lives of women that lived long ago. I have a large collection of ladies magazines from the late 1800's and early 1900's. I thought I would share with you some of the articles, recipes, advice, and needlework patterns (especially knitting and crocheting, of which I have a large collection). The following is part of an article from "Modern Priscilla" dated July 1928.

"Modern Cooks Use the Refrigerator" by Ruth Axtell Chalmers

Cooking in the refrigerator! Obviously this is a figure of speech, but it's meaning is apparent to the modern housewife who makes the most of her efficient, up-to-date refrigerator, either iced or electric. It signifies that food can be prepared and cooked in advance of the serving time, and kept in the refrigerator in perfect condition, all ready for last minute garnishing or, perhaps, heating.

When full use is made of the refrigerator the actual work involved in preparing meals can be done at the time most convenient; in summer, relagated to the coolest part of the day. Sunday dinners can be practically all cooked on Saturday, luncheon and dinner dishes made ready in the morning, refreshments for afternoon or evening entertainment served with ease. The following recipes are illustrative of the different varieties of "refrigerator cooked" foods.


Fudge Mystery

1 tablespoon gelatine
1 cup hot milk
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cream
Pinch salt
Sponge cake

Soften gelatine in cold water, add sugar and salt and dissolve in hot milk. Add vanilla. Let stand until cold and partially thickened. Mix with cream, whipped stiff; turn into a shallow bowl lined with slices of sponge cake. Let stand in refrigerator. Serve in dessert glasses with Fudge Sauce.


Fudge Sauce


1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, cocoa, and flour. Add milk and bring to boiling point, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes. Add salt, butter, and vanilla .


Sandwich Loaf

1 loaf sandwich bread, unsliced
1 small green pepper, chopped
4 oz. pimento cheese
1/2 lb. tomatoes, sliced
3 hard-cooked eggs
1 pound cream cheese
Mayonnaise

Trim crusts from sandwich loaf, cut in 4 lengthwise slices; butter each. On first slice spread pimento cheese softened with some of the cream cheese; on second, chopped hard -cooked eggs and green pepper mixed with mayonnaise; on third, sliced tomatoes spread with mayonnaise. Put together, cover with cream cheese softened with cream. Let stand in refrigerator several hours. Slice in inch slices.

Hope you enjoy this bit of nostalgia!