Get to Know Your Baby
Tucson Dating & Marriage Advice Circa 1950

WELCOME THE LITTLE STRANGER

In a few days the baby will come home from the hospital. What a different place your house will be when it contains a little one! It will be a new and unusual experience for everyone. Get acquainted. The bashful or timid father will miss many happy hours with his children. Get to know your baby, and the sooner the better.

You will find there is a Golden Time, a ten-minute period following each bath during which your baby will smell fresh and clean. Take advantage of this. Dandle him, both on the knee and free-hand. A little dandling will go a long way. Get to know your baby, and—equally important—let your baby know you.

AVOID DIAPER RASH

From the beginning your role as a father is one of guid­ance. You will be helping to shape the little mind. Time and again, however, you will be carried away by a wave of sentimentality and be tempted to enter into the physi­cal, or bottle-and-diaper side of parenthood. Control these impulses. Your duty is to the mind.

No need to be timid. It is perfectly safe to touch babies, preferably above the waist. An occasional pat on the head will do no harm whatever and is appreciated by the child. You will run small risk of infection as long as the child is kept clean. It is easy to convince your wife that you are acting in the best interests of the family as a whole.

"David, wake up, it's your turn to walk the baby!"
"Ummmmm, yes pet. Looking forward to it. Ooops!"
(Let any heavy bedside object crash to the floor.)
"David!"
"It's nothing, pet. Just my fingers. Keep opening, you know. No need to worry. Just can't seem to hold things firmly."
"David, maybe you shouldn't—"
"It'll be all right. No problem to hold the little devil, if he doesn't move."
If this does not have the right effect, take the next easy step.
"Funniest thing happened, pet. Little rascal just slipped through my fingers."
"Oh, no!"
"Bed was right there. Lucky wasn't it! Guess there must be some kinda Providence that watches over clumsy daddies, huh?"

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