Endora

Had a wonderful visit with my dear SIL this afternoon, and one such memory we reflected on is how raising babies today has changed so much compared to a few short decades ago.

Dear SIL and I made our own baby food and formula, and preparing a baby's bottle meant warning the glass bottle in a sauce pan/pot full of water which sat on the stove. Always worried about the glass bottle cracking or shattering, I always held the bottle suspended in the pot of water until the water started to tumble, then I'd test the temperature and upon the temperature being just right, baby got his or her bottle.

Yes, there was disposable diapers around when my kids were babies, however, neither dear SIL or I used them, we opted to use good old-fashioned cloth diapers. The cloth diapers we used were large sheet style, which fit from birth to toilet training, and had to be folded from scratch. To secure those old-fashioned cloth diapers we used proper diaper pins... one on each side of the diaper, always being careful not to accidently stick baby with a pin. Then there was the rubber pants that went on over the diapers to waterproof baby's bottom. I remember when I'd double or triple diaper, I'd have to tuck the diapers in around the elastic waistband and elastic leg holes of the rubber pants to prevent leaking.

When diapers were changed, wet ones went into a plastic diaper pail, and the poopy ones were walked to the bathroom where they were dunked, bobbed, and swished up and down (and around) in the swirling toilet water, before being given a quick wringing (by-hand), then deposited into the diaper pail.

Twice weekly, diapers were laundered and hung to dry on the clothesline, rubber pants were hung on the line with the diapers. When dry, the line was stripped of all, brought into the house by way of a laundry basket, folded, stacked, and the whole process of changing, rinsing, storing, and washing happened again. Boy, was using cloth diapers ever frugal!

Cribs had drop-sided railing, making it easier to reach in to change and dress our babies, and when it came to lifting baby in and out of the crib, those old-fashioned drop-sided cribs were da-bomb! Saved moms backs big-time!

Crib mattresses were changed and made up using a fitted rubber crib sheet, with a flannelette crib sheet over, and I remember doing what I refer to as double sheeting, where I made up my babies cribs with a single rubber crib sheet, with a flannelette crib sheet over, then I added a second rubber crib sheet over the flannelette sheet, and a second flannelette crib sheet over the second rubber sheet. Made for quick and easy changing of the cribs! Just strip off the top flannelette sheet along with the rubber sheet, and voila, a fresh flannelette crib sheet wa always ready and waiting and in place to do it's job when a quick crib change was needed! A 2 am lifesaver double sheeting was!

No such thing as disposable training pants or pull-ups when my kids were little ones. Good old-fashioned 100% cotton waffle-knit training pants was how toilet training was done. I doubled the pants for absorbency and used rubber pants over them to prevent wet-through. Being able to outfit our toilet training kids bottoms with pants they could pull up and down themselves (sans safety pins) when they had to go potty, allowed the child more freedom and independance. No more having to lay our kids down like a baby to change their rubber pants and pin-fastened diapers.

Homemade baby food and formula was the way of the day. So easy and nutritious. Into the highchair our little ones would go, a vinyl bib put on, and baby/toddler was ready for their feeding. Gosh, those old-fashioned vinyl baby bibs lasted forever! Easy-care, quick wipe, no-fuss care, drape over the back of the highchair when feeding time was done!

I kept things simple and no-fuss in my home when my kids were little. They lived in t-shirts, socks, and diapers with rubber pants. When weather got cooler and throughout the colder months of the year (winter), two-piece pyjama bottoms with the nifty rubber-soled feet, or one-piece baby sleepers were introduced, with everything being fully machine washable and dryable.

Gosh, what memories.

- What about in your home back in the day, can anyone else relate to?
- Did you raise your children the same as my SIL and I did?
- Is there anyone here that opted for diaper service instead of home-laundering their children's diapers the old-fashioned way?
- Is there any mothers here that just couldn't stomach the idea of cloth diapers, and opted to use disposable diapers instead?
- For those who used cloth diapers, remember the OUCH that resulted when we missed the mark when applying a diaper pin to the diapers and instead stuck ourselves? Boy, did that ever used to smart! If only I had a dollar for every time I got myself with a diaper pin!

bearisgray

Been there, done that.

I prayed.that i would not have to raise grand children.

We did pretty nuch what you did, except we had a wringer washer. And did not do the double diapetummies. Diapers were changed during the night, it did not seem necessary.

I also breast fed my kids, so skipped the formula thing. They seemed to grow up allergy free And omparatively healthy. I give credit to my casual housekeeping style for their being relatively healthy now.

Two big changes since the 1960's. Decent car seats and babies are to sleep on their backs instead of their tummies.

i never could figure why it supposedly took boys longer to catch on to when they had to urinate - after all, they could see what they were doing instead of just going by sensation..

I think there were more stay at home moms then I suppose we might have be e n considered lower income people - but we always had enough food. Sometimes the pickings were thin, but I do not remember ever being hungry hungry.

we also actually cooked- most of the time.

in- laws were nearby. It was mostly good back then.

are kids better off. now? They have different opportunities and different perils since my kids were babies.

Stitchnripper

I love the memories of raising my two babies. Many of the same as y'all. Times sure were different

sewbizgirl

I began with disposable diapers (the 80's) but changed to cloth diapers because my baby would get horrendous rashes from the absorbant gel in the disposables. I think today's disposables have something different in them, because my grand children have been fine with them. I double diapered and washed and hung them on the line. I had two little boys in diapers at the same time (1 year apart) so double that and you can imagine how my clothesline went all the way around my back yard. The neighbors joked that I must be diapering a dozen kids.

I actually loved hanging those dipes on the line. We had a fenced backyard and the 3 kids would play while I hung diapers. It was a very relaxing task and the dry diapers smelled so good from the outside air. We saved a mint on disposables.

I also breastfed all 3 of mine, so no formula to fool with here. One of my grands had to be bottle fed... so expensive! When the kids got to the age of adding food to their diet, I would usually blend up some of the soft foods we were eating. I love to give a blender as a baby shower gift, but some of todays new moms just look at it like a cow looks at a new gate.

Yes, it was a special time. I had my 3 babies in 4 years ('86, '88, and '89.) It was a handful, but at least they got to grow up always having someone to play with. Made the homeschooling easier, too.

Oksewnsew

And don't forget, hanging those diapers when it was COLD - they froze dried..lolo OH what good memories we have. Everything was exactly like what I did - cloth diapers, rubber pants, doing the crib that way.. Sure did save time at 2am, when one flooded the bed..lolo Those were the days...

Onebyone

. I didn't do everything by the book or what was considered the way I should do things. Whole milk at age six months and table food at age one with their favorite jar baby foods. After bassinet age they slept anyway they wanted in a crib. No car seat laws then but I used the seats to keep them in one spot in the car. I guess it was okay, they both are healthy, smart, and living a good life as adults. Now my great grandson is being raised more relaxed then any of the grandchildren. No stress parenting is what my granddaughter calls it. He's seems to be thriving.

Endora

OMG, I remember wringer washing machines!

I used to help my mom launder baby siblings diapers in her wringer washing machine, and remember us popping a couple of pairs of rubber pants by running them through the rollers the wrong way!

I breastfed for my first two, not fulltime, but a good portion of the time, then switched to the bottle with my last two. As for getting up in the night to tend to a wet bottom, I did the same, however, when it came to double diapering, I always felt my kids were more comfy when they were well-padded for the night, and double diapering definitely equated to more absorbent diapers.

Like yourself, I, too, remember all the kerfuffle over putting babies down on their tummies or backs, and yet with my kids I'd put them down in their cribs one way, and a half hour later I could go in and check up on them and they'd be sleeping another way, so I never concerned myself over sleeping styles back in the day.

When I think of young and growing children today as compared to in the past, I can't help but think of how free children were (back in the day) to run and play for blocks around, whereas nowdays kids are kept contained within white picket fences.

Endora

Times sure were different.

Endora

I remember the first time I came across disposable diapers (late 70's). I was in high-school and babysitting for a new neighbour that used Pampers and I hated them. They leaked, the plastic tore every time I opening a tape to check for a wet diaper, and the padding bunched and shifted badly. That was the only household I babysat at where disposables were used.

Yes, yes, yes, on having two babies in diapers at the same time and double diapering! I recall telling a neighbour how I used to go through 24 to 30 diapers a day (early stages), and she couldn't believe it, but two diapers, per baby, at every change, it didn't take long to depleat the tall stack of diapers that I'd start off with each morning that sat folded and ready on top of the dresser beside the cribs.

By day two, which was when I'd do a wash-load of diapers, I used to run out of clothespins, because I had so many diapers to hang, and I remember how the line used to sag in the middle under the weight of all those freshly laundered diapers which stretched from back porch, all the way out to the corner post in the back yard, and how the diapers would gently wave and sway with each gentle breeze, and how the rubber pants would bob and dance.

Agree, hanging and folding diapers was relaxing, even meditative, and diapering my kids in cloth the old-fashioned way somehow made me feel more like a real mom. It always seemed more befitting to me, more proper.

No arguing the economics of old-fashioned cloth diapering, and nothing makes for better window cleaning cloths than old leftover cloth baby diapers!

Yes to using a blender to ready a batch of fresh baby food, and then there was my fork technique I used to mash-up whatever were were eating when feeding my older ones.

Endora

Oh yes, clothesline drying extended well into the fall months for me, too, however, I did forego hanging diapers outside during the winter.

The double sheeting I learned from a mom I babysat for in my teens. Thought it was the niftiest idea ever!

So right you are... whether it was a bad spit-up, baby puke, or rubber pants that failed to contain an overly flooded diaper, stripping baby's crib of wet sheets was made super-quick and easy with the double sheeting technique!