Truby King again

In his book "Feeding and Care of Baby" the Doctor reproduced this charming drawing by R. F. Reynolds, of a child asleep in an ordinary go-cart. He uses it to illustrate the harmful posture a child can fall into, if it is put into an unsuitable conveyance, and at an age before it can sit up and rest its feet on the footrest.





In a book by his adopted daughter Mary, who carried on his work, I found this illustration of a wicker cradle on a stand designed for warm climates. It allows the air to circulate freely, and the overhead hoops will support a mosquito net if necessary. I instantly recognised the second-hand cradle I was lucky enough to come by when my first child was born in Bombay.




You will be able to see from these two snaps of my own that it is almost identical, except that mine had the added advantages of having carrying handles, and of the stand being on wheels, so that it could be trundled out onto the verandah. Another great advantage of this design was that you did not have to bend to attend to the child or pick him up.

Here is Matthew in the cot. It went back to England with us and his three brothers also slept in it, after which it was passed on to someone else in need. I like to imagine that my cot was actually made in the 1930s, when Mary's book was first written, and had survived until 1959 when it came to me - not an impossibility by any means. I hope it is still doing the rounds somewhere. For the cot, I am prepared to thank the Truby Kings!