Endora

Surely, Lynnie and me, aren't the only ones who changed diapers before having children of our own.

Did no one else here have baby siblings or babysit outside of their childhood homes and have to change diapers?

Stitchnripper

I started when my baby brother was born. I was 8 going on 9 - by the summer he was 8-9 months old and I was 9 1/2. Every morning I got him up, changed his double diapers, dressed him, made his cereal and bottle, cleaned him
up, put him in his big baby carriage and walked him around the neighborhood until lunch time. Most days the weather cooperates. By then my mother would be awake. I have a middle brother and I took care of him too but was too young to change his diapers when he was little. He didn't want to come on the walks. He didn't get in trouble while I was walking and my mother was sleeping.

Endora

Yes, I remember the baby carriage and baby stroller expeditions I used to take my baby siblings on, too. I would have been around age 11 or 12, at the time, and a friend had a baby sister, so on weekends we'd go for walks to the park pushing our baby siblings in their carriages or strollers.

Friday nights were the big one for me when it came to babysitting and caring for siblings, as mom and dad always did their shopping on Friday nights. Double diapers applied in our house, too, and not just at nighttime, and plain old-fashioned white rubber pants.

NZquilter

Oh yes, I was a total pro at diapers by the time my baby was born I probably started at eight years old too with my siblings and by the time I was married my youngest sibling was still in diapers! (Came from a family with 11kids!) I shocked my mother-in-law at how easily I changed my own baby, one handed and in five seconds straight.

NZquilter

I hope no one truly believes that "dry for 12 hrs" junk! I would never leave my baby in a diaper that long, disposable or not. I change my baby's diaper as soon as I know it's time, whether it's five minutes later or an hour later.

Endora

Jeepers-creepers, do you ever come from a large family! I hope your mom used cloth diapers? The bill for disposables would be astronomical with such a large family!

Endora

I hate to say it, but DH and I, were attending a dinner a number of years back at a friends house, and there were a good number of us in attendance, with younger children mixed in. Anyhow, there was a fairly new little one in our midst that day, whom the mother had tucked away in the corner on a blanket on the floor, and we were there for a good 4-5 hours, and that little one wasn't changed once in the whole time we were there. Not once.

I suspect in households where finances are tight, children go much longer in the same diaper, so my opinion of commercials that tout how many hours a baby or child can go without being changed, shame on them.

NZquilter

No, my Mom used disposable diapers I don't know how they afforded it, honestly

Endora

Holy smokes. I can't imagine. I never expected that.

Trisher

ok... I had my babies in the late 70's and early 80's. I used cloth diapers - Curity Gauze if I remember correctly. I folded them in thirds and then folded as big of a flap as i needed to (to the front for my boy and the back for my girl) to fit. Then pinned them shut with sliding head diaper pins. Used rubber pants (they were likely plastic) too.

Disposable diapers were not widely available. I remember Baby Scotts and Luvs. Maybe Pampers were around too. They weren't too absorbent, they didn't wick like they do now and they didn't hold the breast-fed mustard poops in... so I LIKED cloth better.

I didn't like rinsing out diapers in the toilet, and stinky diaper pails, and hauling heavy wet diapers down two flights of stairs to the laundry, but that is what it took!!!