17. Take the baby first into the sunlight on Sunday. Put it into short clothes and make all changes on that day.
18. To make a child rise in the world, carry it upstairs (or to the attic) first. Mifflintown, Pa.
19. The baby must go upstairs before it goes downstairs, or it will never rise in the world. Massachusetts.
20. To be a bright baby, it must go up before it is carried down, and it must be bumped to the attic roof for luck. New England.
21. A young baby was taken up a short step-ladder by its nurse before being for the first time carried downstairs lest it should die before it was a year old. Holyoke, Mass.
22. A child will have a nature and disposition similar to that of the person who first takes him out of doors. Georgia.
23. The first time a baby is taken out of its room, it must be taken up, or it will not go to heaven. If the door of the room steps down, then the person carrying the baby must step up on a chair or book with the baby in her arms. North Carolina.
24. Let the baby have or touch the thing he starts after on taking the first step, and he will always get what he wishes. If it be the moon, then let him touch something light, on which its light shines.
25. When taking the child into your arms for the first time, make a good wish for him; if you give him his full name and he opens his eyes and looks at you (answers to his name), it is good luck.
26. To be a bright baby, it must fall out of the crib before it is eleven months old. Brookline, Mass.
27. If a baby does not fall out of bed, it will be a fool. Eastern Massachusetts.
28. A child's tumbling out of bed is a sign he will never be a fool. Maine.
29. To drink water out of a bucket which is being carried on a child's head stops its growth. Virginia.
30. To step over a young child stops its growing. Virginia.
31. About 1860 the Alabama negresses believed that if any one stepped on their pickaninnies it would dwarf them.
32. Pass a baby through a window and it will never grow. South Carolina.
33. Do not go for the first time into the room where the infant is without removing the veil and gloves.
34. If the "cradle cap" of a baby be combed with a (fine?) tooth comb, the child will be blind. Labrador.
35. A baby should not look into a glass before it is a year old; if it does it will die. Deer Isle, Me.
36. Hold a baby to a looking-glass, he will die before he completes his first year. Massachusetts.
37. If you let a child look into a looking-glass before it is a year old, it will cut its teeth hard. Baltimore, Md. (negro), and Virginia.
38. It is bad luck not to weigh the baby before it is dressed. When it is first dressed put the clothes on over the feet instead of the head for good luck.
39. The common nurse has an objection to weighing a new-born baby.
40. Always give a baby salt before it tastes aught else. The child will not choke, and in general it is a good thing to do. Mansfield, O.
FIRST ACTIONS.
41. If a child cries at birth and lifts up one hand, he is born to command.
42. If the baby smiles in its sleep, it is talking with angels.
43. If a baby yawns, the sign of the cross should be made over it that the evil spirit may not enter. Niagara Falls, Ont.
44. While tying on a baby's cap repeat,--
Look up there and see a fly, Look down there and see it die.
Its chin will follow the direction indicated, and the tying is hastened. Brookline, Mass.
VARIOUS.
45. First a daughter, then a son, The world is well begun. First a son, then a daughter, Trouble follows after. Maine and Massachusetts.
46. First a son, then a daughter, You've begun just as you oughter. Brookline, Mass.
