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**Umbilical Cord Wrapping Method:** When wrapping the infant's umbilical cord, the cord should be coiled into a ball. Calcined Alum powder (Ku Fan Mo) should be sprinkled onto the cord, covered with approximately half an inch of new cotton wool, and then bound externally with soft silk fabric. The tightness must be moderate; if too tight, it may cause the infant to vomit. Daily care is required to prevent urine from wetting the area, and the bandage should not be loosened frequently or casually. When loosening, doors and windows must be closed, and curtains lowered to avoid exposure to wind. Afterward, Calcined Alum powder should still be applied to the site. If the umbilical area remains moist, eroded, or does not dry, a mixture of five qian of Calcined Alum, one qian each of Dragon Bone (Long Gu) and Yellow Lead Oxide (Huang Dan), and a small amount of Musk (She Xiang), ground into powder, can be applied. Alternatively, ash made from burning disordered hair can be used. In summer, Powder of Phellodendron Bark (Huang Bai Mo) is suitable for application.

**Bathing Method:** Bathing the infant on the third day using "Five Branches Decoction" (Wu Zhi Tang) is highly effective. "Five Branches" refer to branches of Mulberry (Sang Zhi), Peach (Tao Zhi), Locust Tree (Huai Zhi), Elm (Yu Zhi), and Willow (Liu Zhi). Take 20-30 segments of tender branches, each about three cun long, for each type, and decoct them in water. Once the temperature is lukewarm, add pig bile for washing. This method avoids raw water, helping infants under one year old avoid scabies and erysipelas (Dan Du), while warding off evil pathogens. However, infants born in the north are often not bathed but wiped clean with old cotton wadding, resulting in generally robust health. In severe winter cold, bathing is unnecessary. In spring or autumn, it is advisable to delay bathing by ten days or half a month, choosing a sunny and warm day to bathe the infant in a windless room. Yet,世俗 people often ignore climatic conditions, insisting on bathing on the third day regardless. Some, believing the infant has internal heat, allow the child to sit in hot water for extended periods during baths, leading to external invasion of wind-cold and internal infiltration of dampness, which may transform into wind-induced convulsions (Feng Chu). Is this not worthy of caution? Additionally, newborns often have hard nodules ("cakes") on their nipples. These should be frequently rubbed, lifted, and pinched until they dissipate. It is also beneficial to gently pinch each nipple once during the bath.

**Infant Care Method:** Newborns have unconsolidated skin and flesh; clothing should be adjusted according to cold and heat, aiming to keep the back and abdomen constantly warm. In spring, summer, and autumn, single-layer garments are appropriate, avoiding thick warm clothes, as excessive warmth leads to weak sinews and bones and predisposes to sores and ulcers. In winter, old cotton wadding is preferred over new cotton, as new cotton induces sweating, causing surface deficiency and loose interstices (Cou Li), making the infant susceptible to wind-cold. Infants should regularly be exposed to earth qi and especially to wind and sunlight. Keeping infants in heavy curtains and sealed rooms, deprived of earth qi, wind, and sunlight, results in soft sinews and bones prone to injury. I have seen children of wealthy families wrapped in thick layers and carried in arms all day; even at several years old, they cannot walk and frequently fall ill. Conversely, rural children exposed outdoors daily, sometimes hungry or cold, rarely suffer other illnesses. This demonstrates that loving a child does not lie in indulgent protection. A song states: "Raising children requires careful care, do not let supervision slacken; too much milk harms the stomach, food stagnation injures the spleen. Thick quilts offer no benefit, thin clothes are proper; see the sun when there is no wind, follow heaven and earth in cold and heat." This is truly a wonderful secret. Furthermore, in severe winter cold, instead of using fire to warm the infant, simply adding layers of clothing keeps the infant warm without the risks of fire toxicity. Clothes and bedding should be sun-dried and stored promptly, not left out overnight to be dewed. Books state: "Flying stars and evil birds in the sky should not be offended; if infants contract miasma (Li Qi), they may develop inexplicable diseases and cry incessantly. Change clothes immediately." If clothes get wet, dry them with vinegar and charcoal; if sunny, expose them to the sun.