It's the 1980's, what are you doing?

February 1987... baby #3 is 4 months old already!

I feel blessed to be able to be a fulltime stay-at-home mom, though money is tight. To help offset the financial hit, I make my own homemade baby food and mix my own homemade baby formula from scratch, and with two babies in diapers, traditional home-laundered cloth diapers are a must.

Double diapers and rubber pants (daytime)... triple diapers and rubber pants (nighttime). Aside from an occasional diaper rash every now and then, I couldn't ask for a better diaper! No running to the store for Pampers... no running out of diapers in the middle of the night!

Economical, reliable, versatile, traditional!

old-fashioned cloth diapers those were the days (5).jpg rubber pants & diaper liners (2).JPG rubber pants white economy (2).jpg
 
Liz Adams said:
Hello all, in the 80's I got married, bought my first house , and my two eldest children were born. Both boys, ond in 86 and the other in 88.
I didn't go back to work and even though money was tight I'm SO glad I didn't as being a mum and raising my children was the biggest joy of my life.
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Oh, Liz... so much to talk about, being that you had two of your children in the same window as a couple of mine.

Three of mine were born in 1985, 1986, and 1988, with my oldest born in 83, and two more in 1990 and 1992. Six in all, and I stayed at home with all.

I love thread topics like this, because it takes me back in time, sort of a chance for me to relive the days of babyhood and being a busy mom, so having you join in is super-great!

Like yourself, me being able to stay-at-home fulltime was my biggest joy as well, not missing out on all of the important steps and stages along the way, those milestones such as the first time walking, talking, and knowing my children were at home and being taken care of my myself, not planted into a daycare or a babysitting setting.

Were you old-fashioned like me, Liz, where glass baby bottles, homemade baby food and formula, and cloth diapers and rubber pants filled your days? Or did you take the more modern day approach and rely on modern disposable liner bottles, store-bought baby formula and Pampers?
 
Same here , I could already sew but I went to adult education to get the hints for sewing stretch fabric especially the ribbing it was all new fabrics I’d never tried before ….pretty sure it was 1983 , I’ve still got the enrolment form in a folder and instructions how to line / turn ~ the crutch part of knickers handout ,we are instructed to only use 100% cotton fabric on inside of crutch part
 
Madge Bumstead said:
Oh, Liz... so much to talk about, being that you had two of your children in the same window as a couple of mine.

Three of mine were born in 1985, 1986, and 1988, with my oldest born in 83, and two more in 1990 and 1992. Six in all, and I stayed at home with all.

I love thread topics like this, because it takes me back in time, sort of a chance for me to relive the days of babyhood and being a busy mom, so having you join in is super-great!

Like yourself, me being able to stay-at-home fulltime was my biggest joy as well, not missing out on all of the important steps and stages along the way, those milestones such as the first time walking, talking, and knowing my children were at home and being taken care of my myself, not planted into a daycare or a babysitting setting.

Were you old-fashioned like me, Liz, where glass baby bottles, homemade baby food and formula, and cloth diapers and rubber pants filled your days? Or did you take the more modern day approach and rely on modern disposable liner bottles, store-bought baby formula and Pampers?
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Sorry late reply.
I'll start by saying Wow . 6 babies in 9 years and I thought I did well with 3 in 5 years. My Third was born in 91.

As for baby milk, I fed them myself as long as I could , but after that it was formula in plastic bottles , not glass .

As for nappies, I tried with terry toweling ones with those nappy pins (!).. but I was totally rubbish at putting them on . I would pick the baby up and the nappy would fall off his feet lol.
So I went onto disposable ones.
Not pampers though. Couldn't afford those. Bought cheap ones and they were rubbish too as no elastic round legs so baby , clothes , carrycot , cot etc were constantly soaked !!!!!

But they were happy days.

( I bought my house in 84. A three bed semi for £19, 000 ).
 
Liz Adams said:
Sorry late reply.
I'll start by saying Wow . 6 babies in 9 years and I thought I did well with 3 in 5 years. My Third was born in 91.

As for baby milk, I fed them myself as long as I could , but after that it was formula in plastic bottles , not glass .

As for nappies, I tried with terry toweling ones with those nappy pins (!).. but I was totally rubbish at putting them on . I would pick the baby up and the nappy would fall off his feet lol.
So I went onto disposable ones.
Not pampers though. Couldn't afford those. Bought cheap ones and they were rubbish too as no elastic round legs so baby , clothes , carrycot , cot etc were constantly soaked !!!!!

But they were happy days.

( I bought my house in 84. A three bed semi for £19, 000 ).
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I breastfed my oldest two, then went to the bottle. Used both plastic and glass bottles... glass at the start, then once they got more mobile (crawling/toddling), I made the switch to plastic for safety.

Gosh, I remember when I was first learning how to change my baby siblings diapers, how the diapers fit loose, would droop and sag and fit poorly. Didn't take long to get the hang of things though, and with the addition of babysitting for neighbourhood moms, all of whom used old-fashioned cloth diapers, by the time my first was born I was an old-hand at folding, pinning, and rubber panting little bottoms.

I do remember the old disposable diapers from the 70's. No refastenable tapes, no elastic gathers, they were bulky, the padding shifted, bunched and separated, the absorbency was terrible, they fit poorly, leaked something awful, and they were expensive.

So right you are about those days being happy ones, I love reminiscing about it. The years go by so quickly and before you know it, our once little ones are toddling off to school, then poof, they're gone, starting new lives for themselves and embarking upon the real world. What I'd give to go back to those early days and relive it again.
 
Oh the same here Madge. I'm very close to my boys but the best days by far were before they started school and I had them all to myself before society got hold of them.

It's a different story with the grandkids.
I feel sorry that in this day and age that both parents have to work and miss out on all that because the little ones have to go to daycare.

When mine came along I started out being their carer while son and daughter in law went to work.
I stayed over a few nights a week sometimes.
And I loved it, but ill health forced me to stop.

No posh pushchairs either back then.
It was a carrycot which they slept in at first which fit into a wheeled frame to push about outside .
 
Liz Adams said:
Oh the same here Madge. I'm very close to my boys but the best days by far were before they started school and I had them all to myself before society got hold of them.

It's a different story with the grandkids.
I feel sorry that in this day and age that both parents have to work and miss out on all that because the little ones have to go to daycare.

When mine came along I started out being their carer while son and daughter in law went to work.
I stayed over a few nights a week sometimes.
And I loved it, but ill health forced me to stop.

No posh pushchairs either back then.
It was a carrycot which they slept in at first which fit into a wheeled frame to push about outside .
Click to expand...
Oh, Liz, so true about the world and society getting a hold of our children.

Your mention of pushchairs (strollers) reminded me of the old drop-side baby cribs, where the railing could be raised and lowered. What a blessing they were, helping keep us from straining when lifting our little ones in and out, and so great when it came to dressing an changing, being able to lower the railing.

Yes, the whole daycare thing today is sad. Little ones just don't get the same one-on-one love and care as they would being at home under the care and watchful eye of mom.

I often close my eyes and can still hear the sounds of laughter, and I smile just thinking about the toothless little grins, their first words, their first steps, the bulky double diaper waddle they'd do, and everything in between. I still chuckle at bath-time when my boys were little, they'd drag everything they could into the bathroom with them on bath night! Everything from swim goggles, to flippers, to toys, and their favourite of all, their bubble pipes!

A little bubble bath added to the tub, and they were in heaven!

iu
 
Madge Bumstead said:
Oh, Liz, so true about the world and society getting a hold of our children.

Your mention of pushchairs (strollers) reminded me of the old drop-side baby cribs, where the railing could be raised and lowered. What a blessing they were, helping keep us from straining when lifting our little ones in and out, and so great when it came to dressing an changing, being able to lower the railing.

Yes, the whole daycare thing today is sad. Little ones just don't get the same one-on-one love and care as they would being at home under the care and watchful eye of mom.

I often close my eyes and can still hear the sounds of laughter, and I smile just thinking about the toothless little grins, their first words, their first steps, the bulky double diaper waddle they'd do, and everything in between. I still chuckle at bath-time when my boys were little, they'd drag everything they could into the bathroom with them on bath night! Everything from swim goggles, to flippers, to toys, and their favourite of all, their bubble pipes!

A little bubble bath added to the tub, and they were in heaven!

iu
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Haha , yes, the bubble pipes . Had to make sure they were blowing and not sucking in !
Yes, we had the drop side cots too (complete with a lead paint picture on the bottom ! No health and safety then ).

Aye, their littles nappies that needed changing fair dragging along the floor with wee wee lol.

Oh it's no good having threads like this where proud mums can gather.
The internet will likely crash !
 
Liz Adams said:
Haha , yes, the bubble pipes . Had to make sure they were blowing and not sucking in !
Yes, we had the drop side cots too (complete with a lead paint picture on the bottom ! No health and safety then ).

Aye, their littles nappies that needed changing fair dragging along the floor with wee wee lol.

Oh it's no good having threads like this where proud mums can gather.
The internet will likely crash !
Click to expand...
LOL, about the water bubble pipes!

Oh yes, lead paint and even though the crib mattresses I used were plastic coated, I still outfitted them with a separate rubber sheet when changing the cribs!

ROFL about the wet diapers dragging on the floor as they crawled! Yes! I so remember that! I remember the toddler stage with my kids, when toilet training was near, I'd wake in the morning and go down to the baby room to change and get the little ones up from their cribs. They'd be standing up inside their cribs waiting for me, uncomfortable in their droopy, sagging wet cloth diapers and plastic waterproof pants, they couldn't wait to be changed out of them!

Down they'd go, flopping themselves onto the crib mattress on their backs, legs straight up in the air, they knew the drill!

Gosh, Liz, nothing beats old mommy memories!
 
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