Average Weight and Height of Babies in 1914

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, May 21, 1914: Mother was with Besse today. I dreaded it when she came home for I was afraid she would bring bad news, but no, they filled me with glad anticipations.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma’s married sister Besse gave birth to a daughter the previous day. Besse lived in the nearby town of Watsontown. She had a baby that died in 1912, and Grandma was very worried about this infant.

I wonder if the baby was born prematurely, and was very small. Here’s what Ladies Home Journal had to say in 1914 about the characteristics of “normal” babies:

The Normal Baby

Every mother is anxious for a normal baby, but many mothers, do not know just what a normal baby should be like. Variations are always found in every human being, but the following measurements given by Dr. L.E. Holt in his large book, “Diseases of Infancy and Childhood,” are now taken as the standard for the normal baby.

The weights are taken without any clothing. The height is taken by placing the baby on a perfectly flat surface like a table, and having some one hold the child’s knee down so that he lies out straight, then taking a tape-measure and measuring from the top of his head to the bottom of his foot, holding the tape line absolutely straight.

The chest is measured by means of a tape line passed directly over the nipples around the child’s body and midway between full inspiration and full expiration. The head measurement is taken directly around the circumference of the head, over the forehead and occipital bone.

Some other points of interest in the development of the normal baby are the following: head held erect if trunk is supported during the fourth month. Sit alone for a few minutes about seven months of age. In the ninth or the tenth month the baby will usually attempt to bear his weight on his feet. When ten or eleven months old he often stands alone with slight help. Makes first attempt to walk at twelve or thirteen months. The baby must not be urged to do any of these things; let him alone to develop naturally.

The teeth are always of interest; here is the way the average normal baby cuts his first set of teeth: Two lower central incisors, 6 to 9 months; four upper incisors, 8 to 12 months; four canines, 18 to 24 months; four posterior molars, 24 to 30 months.

At 1 year a child should have 6 teeth; at 1 1/2 years, 12 teeth; at 2 years, 16 teeth; at 2 1/2 years, 20 teeth.

The “soft spot” on fontanel on top of the head closes with the average normal baby at eighteen months, but often varies greatly.

Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)

An Auntie for the Second Time

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Wednesday, May 20, 1914: This afternoon I learned that I am an “auntie” for the second time. It is a little baby girl. Mingled with this new joy is a dim foreboding.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma—

Wow. . . Congratulations on being an auntie once again!

. . . but this has taken us by surprise. . . Why didn’t you ever mention in the diary that your married sister Besse was pregnant?

I understand your sense of foreboding. This is what you wrote in 1912 when Besse had her first baby:

I was an aunt for one brief half a day yesterday, but didn’t know it until this morning. I was so disappointed when I heard it was dead. My little nephew was buried this afternoon. The baby I never saw. I feel like crying, when I think I am an aunt no longer.

April 9, 1912

Three Blind Mice

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, May 19, 1914: Nothing much today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since not much was happening in Grandma’s life a hundred years ago today, I thought that you might enjoy seeing a few pages from a children’s book published in the early 1900s. I wonder if Grandma’s 8-year-old brother Jimmie owned a copy of Three Blind Mice.

I scanned in these pages from a hard copy of the book, but you can read the entire book on the Project Gutenberg site.

Sleeping Porches a Hundred Years Ago

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Monday, May 18, 1914: These May days are rather lazy times. I go to bed sleepy; sleep like a top, and get up sleepy.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (July ,1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Life was good! . . Grandma usually had to do so much work. I think this is the first time that she ever sounded like she had some time to relax.

The weather must have been perfect for sleeping. A hundred years ago—in the days before electric fans and air conditioning— sleeping porches were very popular. The Muffly’s didn’t have one, but I thought that you might enjoy seeing pictures of some lovely sleeping porches that were featured in the July, 1914 issue of Ladies Home Journal.

Stopped with a Friend

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, May 17, 1914: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. Stopped with a friend a couple of minutes.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sounds like a wonderful, fun, relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Hmm. . . What does stopped with a friend mean? . . . Did Grandma go into a friend’s home in McEwensville after Sunday School to see something? . . . sit on the grass and talk? . . . stop to pick wildflowers?

I like this picture of McEwensville even though Grandma didn't go to this church. (She attended the Baptist Church which was torn down years ago). — I like this picture even though Grandma didn’t go to this church. (She attended the Baptist Church which was torn down years ago).

“Don’t Buy Booze”

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, May 16, 1914: Same as yesterday.

Milton Evening Standard (April 9, 1914) — *Milton Evening Standard* (April 9, 1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since not much was happening at the Muffly house, I’ll share an intriguing 1914 article from Grandma’s local paper, the Milton Evening Standard. I’m not quite sure what to make of the article, but it’s definitely thought-provoking.

Prohibition in the US began in 1920 when the 18th amendment went into effect—but, as this article indicates, there was a strong movement against alcohol in preceding years.

The article is about the town of Mount Carmel. Grandma lived in the northwestern part of Northumberland County. Mount Carmel is at the eastern edge of the county, and was in the heart of the anthracite coal region.

1914 P and G White Naphtha Soap Advertisement

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, May 14, 1914: Had a job this afternoon, and it lasted quite a while, too.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (March, 1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Hmm. .. Grandma—

You aren’t giving me much to go on here. What was the job?. . . cleaning the house? (I don’t think so , since you just completed the spring housecleaning a few days ago.). . . pulling weeds? . . . cleaning manure out of the barn? . . . doing laundry? . . .

—

I’m going to go with the laundry. . . Farmers clothes get very, very dirty; and it can be a lot of work to get the stains out of overalls and other work clothes.