Mongolian custom of having children.

Mongolians attach great importance to having children, and the babies born, whether male or female, will put up signs outside the house immediately after they land. If the baby is a boy, cut a bow and arrow from elm branches into one foot five inches to two feet and hang it outside the door. If the baby is a girl, put a red cloth outside the door. On the third day after the baby was born, a baptism ceremony was held and a banquet was held to entertain relatives and friends to show good news. After washing, wrap the baby in sheepskin swaddling clothes, and smear it on the baby's forehead with milk such as butter according to the traditional custom, wishing him healthy growth. This is an ancient custom, but no one does it now: "The treasure of grassland is wrapped in sheepskin."

At the baby's full moon, cattle and sheep will be slaughtered again and a feast will be held for relatives and friends. Among the gifts given by relatives and friends, only the baby's grandparents are the heaviest. Send all kinds of fine furs in winter and more silks and satins in summer. If the baby's grandparents are well-off, they should also send cows, sheep or horses.

In infancy, in eastern Inner Mongolia, babies are generally equipped with wooden cradles, which are covered with soft objects and thick plates of buckwheat skin. The baby lies on his back and is tied tightly with a cloth rope. Pillows are small hard pillows filled with glutinous rice. It is said that children who grow up like this have good looks in their heads and bodies. There are ancient money or other auspicious things hanging on the cradle head. Usually babies enter the cradle after the full moon. When they first enter the cradle, they will hold a small cradle feast and smear the cradle with milk such as butter to celebrate. In the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia, babies are generally separated indoors with cloth to keep out the cold. In order to keep the baby's normal body temperature, it is necessary to cover the baby with bedding made of camel hair, and put the fried sand in two cloth bags, alternately on both sides of the baby's stomach. Where there is a cradle, put the cradle next to your mother. Mother often shakes it by hand, and some even hum lullabies to let the baby sleep peacefully. In the place where the baby urinates, put the hot fried Mingsha, which is easy to absorb moisture, and change it when it is wet. Under the conditions at that time, this is a convenient and hygienic solution. The author grew up in this traditional cradle, tied tightly, and there was nothing unusual in his constitution. Now, although he is seventy years old, he is in good health. This may be due to the traditional upbringing of my nation. Today, people are still using this cradle in addition to their hometown, and Mongolian people living in cities have rarely used it. My three children were not brought up in an old cradle. They are also very healthy now, all young and promising, all working hard in their own jobs. Of course, after the founding of New China, with the rapid development of China's economy and culture, the improvement of Mongolian people's living standards is inseparable from the improvement of medical and health conditions.