Remember Diaper Pins?
11-17-2023, 04:53 AM
#61
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
Originally Posted by cashs_mom
I doubt they do. During Covid one woman on Nextdoor was in panic because she couldn't get baby wipes. She said "how can I keep my baby clean?????" I was thinking "Do you have soap and water?" Probably better for the baby than all those chemicals anyway.
Soap, water, and a soft 100% cotton baby washcloth, that's how I dealt with my kids butts at change-time, and it worked for generations before me.
Baby washcloths went into the plastic diaper pail with the diapers and rubber pants, and all was laundered on wash day. As a mom I couldn't have asked for a better system.
11-17-2023, 05:07 AM
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
Speaking of rubber pants, does everyone remember when rubber pants came in pastel colours?
These were in vogue when I used to babysit (1970's)!
Used these with my older kids but couldn't find pastel coloured ones when my younger ones came along.
These were in vogue when I used to babysit (1970's)!
Used these with my older kids but couldn't find pastel coloured ones when my younger ones came along.
11-17-2023, 08:47 AM
#63
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 286
Originally Posted by Endora
Greetings, Bearisgray!
Yes, long time no post (or chat)!
So nice to know you're still here!
I'm with you on traditional fold-and-pin diapers, never cared for the prefold variety either, and as for the waterproof pants, the ones I used were plastic as well, though I always referred to them as rubber pants.
Like yourself, the disposable world we live in today is so defeating.
Saved my kids diaper pins in my notions basket, and still use them today for odd things!
P.S. I laugh at the thought of babysitters today having to deal with old-fashioned cloth diapers!
Yes, long time no post (or chat)!
So nice to know you're still here!
I'm with you on traditional fold-and-pin diapers, never cared for the prefold variety either, and as for the waterproof pants, the ones I used were plastic as well, though I always referred to them as rubber pants.
Like yourself, the disposable world we live in today is so defeating.
Saved my kids diaper pins in my notions basket, and still use them today for odd things!
P.S. I laugh at the thought of babysitters today having to deal with old-fashioned cloth diapers!
Polyester doesn't absorb. Sigh.
11-17-2023, 09:01 AM
#64
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
Originally Posted by AngelaS
The newer style prefolds are dumb. They're often found as 'burp cloths' at Target or Walmart but they're not layers of cotton. Instead they have a later of polyester batting to make them thick in the middle.
Polyester doesn't absorb. Sigh.
Polyester doesn't absorb. Sigh.
Then there's today's modern Velcro closing diaper covers which just don't seem like they would be as waterproof and reliable as the old-fashioned rubber pants I used.
I used 100% cotton flannelette diapers, the large rectangle sheet ones, they were so absorbent and soft, and once I had them folded and stacked on the dresser top beside my kids cribs, all I had to do was pluck a diaper from the stack, fit it to the baby, and a safety pin on each side took care of the fastening. No-nonsense diapers they were, and boy, did they ever get the job done, and very well may I add.
Always preferred folding diapers from scratch, because I always felt I could get a better fit from the old traditional fold-and-pin diapers.
11-17-2023, 09:42 AM
#65
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
Throwback Thursday!
Changing these for a whopping .25¢ and .50¢ an hour babysitting!
Anyone else grow up babysitting (back in the day), and remember stooping over lowered crib railings changing cloth diapers and rubber pants?
Changing these for a whopping .25¢ and .50¢ an hour babysitting!
Anyone else grow up babysitting (back in the day), and remember stooping over lowered crib railings changing cloth diapers and rubber pants?
Last edited by Endora; 11-17-2023 at 09:51 AM.
11-17-2023, 10:19 AM
#66
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,392
I vaguely remember my Mom using "real rubber" - or was it latex - diaper covers on my baby sisters.
I think it was during the same era as the playtes "living girdles" that were rubber or latex.
(1950 - 1955)
Or the three types of diaper fabric available when my kids were babies (1960-1969) , there were the long gauze rectangle, the gauze prefolds, flannel, and birdseye cotton.
My preference was the long gauze rectangles.
Don't remember much about the safety pins- except that the bigger ones were easier to handle, and the novelty ones were a bother.
The kids Dad did a much better job of diapering the munchkins than I did. He could make them stay up on the kids. He was not very enthusiastic about the job at first, but his older brother was a good example and showed him that it was okay for men to change the baby.
As far as using my hair to lubricate a diaper pin - I don't think I heard about that. Soap, probably. One could always stick the pin in a jar of vaseline for another alternative.
What did people use for leaky babies before cloth was available?
When my kids were babies, I had a wringer washing machine - was totally thrilled that I could fill the tub with a hose and drain it into a floor drain. My Mom had to carry water to her wringer machine and laundry tubs and then carry the water out.So wash DAY for her was a whole day process. It was for my MIL, too.
I think it was during the same era as the playtes "living girdles" that were rubber or latex.
(1950 - 1955)
Or the three types of diaper fabric available when my kids were babies (1960-1969) , there were the long gauze rectangle, the gauze prefolds, flannel, and birdseye cotton.
My preference was the long gauze rectangles.
Don't remember much about the safety pins- except that the bigger ones were easier to handle, and the novelty ones were a bother.
The kids Dad did a much better job of diapering the munchkins than I did. He could make them stay up on the kids. He was not very enthusiastic about the job at first, but his older brother was a good example and showed him that it was okay for men to change the baby.
As far as using my hair to lubricate a diaper pin - I don't think I heard about that. Soap, probably. One could always stick the pin in a jar of vaseline for another alternative.
What did people use for leaky babies before cloth was available?
When my kids were babies, I had a wringer washing machine - was totally thrilled that I could fill the tub with a hose and drain it into a floor drain. My Mom had to carry water to her wringer machine and laundry tubs and then carry the water out.So wash DAY for her was a whole day process. It was for my MIL, too.
Last edited by bearisgray; 11-17-2023 at 10:23 AM.
11-17-2023, 01:56 PM
#67
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
It was diapers and rubber pants for my baby siblings as well, I changed many being the oldest, however, I never seen actual real rubber pants in my day, all were vinyl-plastic, but mom always referred to them as rubber pants, so I carried the name forward as the years went by.
The diapers I used were cotton flannelette and rectangle in shape, and they fit from birth to toilet-training. I started off with 4 dozen diapers when my oldest was born, and then as they wore and became thinner and even threadbare, I replaced them with one to two dozen at a time which allowed for another 3-4 years of diapering. So economical.
I agree about novelty pins. Always used no-nonsense diaper pins with the larger traditional plastic safety caps, and I also used pins with metal locking heads.
Gosh, dear husband never changed a single diaper, never even touched one. He was raised in a gender specific and strict home, so baby-care was off limits. My dad was the same, never changed a diaper in his life. I sometimes wonder had I used Pampers, if I may have been able to convince dear husband to change an occasional diaper or two, but probably not.
As for waterproofing, rubber pants were a must for me, without the pants I wouldn't have considered cloth diapering. Had a couple of great aunts that claimed that they never used rubber pants, so lots of checking and changing with plain old-fashioned cloth. Me on the otherhand, I always used rubber pants. Do think rubber pants were more for moms to allow them to relax when tending to other domestic chores and things around the house... no worries over constant checking and changing when baby was diapered in rubber pants.
Was cloth diapers and rubber pants all through my babysitting years as well, and all the moms did old-fashioned home-laundered diapers in the washing machine, and hung them to dry on the clothesline. My mom told me that for the first year after I was born, she washed my diapers (by hand) in the bathtub at the end of each day, then she'd hang them to dry and pray they were ready by morning.
Then came her first washing machine, a wringer washer, and that lasted until the early 70's. Baby brother was born in 73, and in and around that time mom got a modern electric automatic washing machine. Washing diapers was never more easy! I remember how I would dump the diaper pail into the washing machine (top-loader), select the hottest water setting, add a little detergent and bleach, close the lid, then pull the button out to start the wash cycle.
When the wash cycle was done, into a waiting plastic laundry basket the diapers went, and out the back door and onto the line they'd go. On a hot summer day diapers would dry lickety-split! An hour often did it, and I'd be back outside unpinning and pulling down off the line, the long row of white rectangles, then back into the house, dump the basket out onto the kitchen table or mom and dads bed, fold and stack, and baby brother had a clean fresh supply of didies for another day.
Always double diapered, and always rubber pants over the diapers. No changing table in our house with my baby siblings, and I never relied on a changing table for my kids either. Diapers were changed in the crib, and the plastic diaper pail sat in the corner in the bathroom.
As for lubricating the pins, I did the bar soap thing, too, and my SIL used to stick her pins into a stiff sponge with a little baby oil added to the sponge. Both of my sisters used cloth diapers, too. They kept their pins in a pincushion and ran the business end of the pin through their hair at change-time like I did.
Cloth diapers and rubber pants saved us a ton of money, and when I had two wearing diapers at the same time, nothing beat old-fashioned cloth, pins, and pants! Rubber pants were cheap and lasted for months before needing replaced. $1.44 Day at Woolco... a package of 6 pairs of rubber pants for $1.44! Some months Woolco would offer two packs for the price of one! $1.44 for 12 pairs of rubber pants! Talk about economical!
The diapers I used were cotton flannelette and rectangle in shape, and they fit from birth to toilet-training. I started off with 4 dozen diapers when my oldest was born, and then as they wore and became thinner and even threadbare, I replaced them with one to two dozen at a time which allowed for another 3-4 years of diapering. So economical.
I agree about novelty pins. Always used no-nonsense diaper pins with the larger traditional plastic safety caps, and I also used pins with metal locking heads.
Gosh, dear husband never changed a single diaper, never even touched one. He was raised in a gender specific and strict home, so baby-care was off limits. My dad was the same, never changed a diaper in his life. I sometimes wonder had I used Pampers, if I may have been able to convince dear husband to change an occasional diaper or two, but probably not.
As for waterproofing, rubber pants were a must for me, without the pants I wouldn't have considered cloth diapering. Had a couple of great aunts that claimed that they never used rubber pants, so lots of checking and changing with plain old-fashioned cloth. Me on the otherhand, I always used rubber pants. Do think rubber pants were more for moms to allow them to relax when tending to other domestic chores and things around the house... no worries over constant checking and changing when baby was diapered in rubber pants.
Was cloth diapers and rubber pants all through my babysitting years as well, and all the moms did old-fashioned home-laundered diapers in the washing machine, and hung them to dry on the clothesline. My mom told me that for the first year after I was born, she washed my diapers (by hand) in the bathtub at the end of each day, then she'd hang them to dry and pray they were ready by morning.
Then came her first washing machine, a wringer washer, and that lasted until the early 70's. Baby brother was born in 73, and in and around that time mom got a modern electric automatic washing machine. Washing diapers was never more easy! I remember how I would dump the diaper pail into the washing machine (top-loader), select the hottest water setting, add a little detergent and bleach, close the lid, then pull the button out to start the wash cycle.
When the wash cycle was done, into a waiting plastic laundry basket the diapers went, and out the back door and onto the line they'd go. On a hot summer day diapers would dry lickety-split! An hour often did it, and I'd be back outside unpinning and pulling down off the line, the long row of white rectangles, then back into the house, dump the basket out onto the kitchen table or mom and dads bed, fold and stack, and baby brother had a clean fresh supply of didies for another day.
Always double diapered, and always rubber pants over the diapers. No changing table in our house with my baby siblings, and I never relied on a changing table for my kids either. Diapers were changed in the crib, and the plastic diaper pail sat in the corner in the bathroom.
As for lubricating the pins, I did the bar soap thing, too, and my SIL used to stick her pins into a stiff sponge with a little baby oil added to the sponge. Both of my sisters used cloth diapers, too. They kept their pins in a pincushion and ran the business end of the pin through their hair at change-time like I did.
Cloth diapers and rubber pants saved us a ton of money, and when I had two wearing diapers at the same time, nothing beat old-fashioned cloth, pins, and pants! Rubber pants were cheap and lasted for months before needing replaced. $1.44 Day at Woolco... a package of 6 pairs of rubber pants for $1.44! Some months Woolco would offer two packs for the price of one! $1.44 for 12 pairs of rubber pants! Talk about economical!
11-17-2023, 02:25 PM
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 622
Originally Posted by Still Sew N
Yup, great memories there. I still have a jar of those pins and use them to thread elastic thru casings. Rubber pants - I remember them too. My daughter is using cloth diapers and oh man have things changed. We couldn't even find rubber pants, diaper pins or those blue liners I use to use inside their diapers. The current system is mind boggling to me - so many snaps and thick liners and a fancy spray apparatus on the toilet itself. Crazy how the old system was in place for so many, many years and now, well things have changed! But you know - babies haven't! Thanks for the great memory reminder!
Those liners made cleanup a breeze when it came to the early meconium poops. Unlatch pins on the diaper, roll up the liner and flush, diaper into the pail!
The Curity brand diaper liners were blue (I used them), and the other brand of liners I used were Johnson's.
Once my babies were toddling, diaper liners didn't work, they shifted, bunched, and would sag and end up in a ball in the bum of their diapers, but when my kids reached the daytime toilet training stage but still needed to wear diapers at night, I'd line their nighttime double-fold diaper with a liner, pin-fasten the diaper on, top the diaper off with rubber pants, and not once did any of my kids suffer nighttime irritation or a diaper rash when I used a liner in their diapers, and by morning they'd always wake soaked, yet those liners kept them comfy and helped keep wetness away from their bottoms.
11-17-2023, 03:13 PM
#69
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,199
Originally Posted by Endora
Keeping the moisture resitant wrapper over the soap helped contain soap fragments inside, because the pins would slowly start breaking up the surface of the bar soap.
11-17-2023, 03:16 PM
#70
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,199
Originally Posted by Endora
I used disposable (flushable) diaper liners with my babies for the first 5-6 weeks after they were born. Had blue and white liners, and boy, were they ever a godsend!
Those liners made cleanup a breeze when it came to the early meconium poops. Unlatch pins on the diaper, roll up the liner and flush, diaper into the pail!
The Curity brand diaper liners were blue (I used them), and the other brand of liners I used were Johnson's.
Once my babies were toddling, diaper liners didn't work, they shifted, bunched, and would sag and end up in a ball in the bum of their diapers, but when my kids reached the daytime toilet training stage but still needed to wear diapers at night, I'd line their nighttime double-fold diaper with a liner, pin-fasten the diaper on, top the diaper off with rubber pants, and not once did any of my kids suffer nighttime irritation or a diaper rash when I used a liner in their diapers, and by morning they'd always wake soaked, yet those liners kept them comfy and helped keep wetness away from their bottoms.
Those liners made cleanup a breeze when it came to the early meconium poops. Unlatch pins on the diaper, roll up the liner and flush, diaper into the pail!
The Curity brand diaper liners were blue (I used them), and the other brand of liners I used were Johnson's.
Once my babies were toddling, diaper liners didn't work, they shifted, bunched, and would sag and end up in a ball in the bum of their diapers, but when my kids reached the daytime toilet training stage but still needed to wear diapers at night, I'd line their nighttime double-fold diaper with a liner, pin-fasten the diaper on, top the diaper off with rubber pants, and not once did any of my kids suffer nighttime irritation or a diaper rash when I used a liner in their diapers, and by morning they'd always wake soaked, yet those liners kept them comfy and helped keep wetness away from their bottoms.
