Baby Care Experience (before becoming a mom)

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
How did you enter motherhood? Experienced or not experienced? Prepared or not prepared?

Did you know the ins and outs of taking care of a baby before your first born came along?

If you were experienced, where did you learn baby care? Helping with baby siblings? Babysitting? Other?

If you didn't have baby care experience, did you have someone that you could call when help or advice was needed?

Hands-up if you a copy of the Dr. Spock Baby Care Book...

Did you find with each baby born (after the first), you relaxed more as far as baby care went? i.e. less worry over changing baby every hour, fussing over, etc?

For those who entered mothered experienced, what sorts of things do you remember learning about (and using) related to baby needs and supplies?
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I learned basic baby care from my mother, not so much with-caring for my sister (whom I couldn't have been less interested in. When she came home from the hospital, my first words were: "Take it back. I want a puppy!") And continued to learn from her as I was preparing for every young girl's first job: baby sitting.

Of course, knowing how to use a bottle sterilizer, etc, are hardly useful skills these days, but...
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
How did you enter motherhood? Experienced or not experienced? Prepared or not prepared? Experienced, yes... prepared, ugh-uh. LOL! Surprisingly, even considering the extensive babysitting experience I had behind me prior to my first being born, as well as the hands-on experience I gained helping with the care of baby sibs, my first born still surprised me in many ways. i.e. Night wakings, endless crying spells, etc, etc, etc.

I was one of those women that thought I knew it all before my first born came along. Boy, was I ever quickly taught a lesson! :)


Did you know the ins and outs of taking care of a baby before your first born came along? Oh yes. Having grown-up with baby sibs, I was well-practiced in the department of diaper changing, feeding, etc.

If you were experienced, where did you learn baby care? Helping with baby siblings? Babysitting? Other? Helping care for baby siblings, and babysitting for mothers around the neighbourhood.

If you didn't have baby care experience, did you have someone that you could call when help or advice was needed? Even though I had prior baby care experience behind me prior to my first being born, my mom was but a telephone call away at all times. Bless you mom for that.

Hands-up if you a copy of the Dr. Spock Baby Care Book... LOL, sure did, and boy did I delve into it a lot!

Did you find with each baby born (after the first), you relaxed more as far as baby care went? i.e. less worry over changing baby every hour, fussing over, etc? ROFLAO! Yuppers! First kid got checked and changed whether said kid needed it or not, second kid got changed when said kid needed changing, and by the 3rd and 4th kids, they got changed when I got around to it! LOL!

For those who entered mothered experienced, what sorts of things do you remember learning about (and using) related to baby needs and supplies? Making homemade baby formula and baby food, using cloth diapers (folding, changing, laundering), heating and sterilizing glass bottles and nipples, caring for diaper rash, and so much more...
 
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Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
I learned basic baby care from my mother, not so much with-caring for my sister (whom I couldn't have been less interested in. When she came home from the hospital, my first words were: "Take it back. I want a puppy!") And continued to learn from her as I was preparing for every young girl's first job: baby sitting.

Of course, knowing how to use a bottle sterilizer, etc, are hardly useful skills these days, but...
LOL! I remember going through a few pangs when first baby sibling came along. Prompted such a big lifestyle change in our home. All of the crying used to sometimes get to me.

I agree, sterilizing glass bottles (among other things) may not be as forefront as it was back in our day, but for those of us (like ourselves) who babysat, knowing those basic things was a big added plus. I know for a fact that I got more calls to babysit, due to the fact I had baby siblings that I had experience caring for. Even an aunt hired me to babysit two baby cousins, because of all the experience I had.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
My mother used to make me help her when she was watching cousins, nieces, nephews, etc., so like it or not...I learned how to care for babies.

The one thing that got my mom a frantic phone call everytime was a colicky baby. There was only so long that I could handle the high-pitched screaming. My mom ran out of advice once, and sent my dad over to drive me and the baby around for a half hour or so, which put the baby to sleep, just as it had in my colicky days.

Dad then tiptoed into the house and put the baby to bed without waking her, saying he had more practice at this than I did.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Yep, and learning to place your thumb between the baby and the diaper when pinning so as not to stick the baby.

I actually stuck myself good a couple of times doing that...older, wriggly tykes.
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
My mother used to make me help her when she was watching cousins, nieces, nephews, etc., so like it or not...I learned how to care for babies.

The one thing that got my mom a frantic phone call everytime was a colicky baby. There was only so long that I could handle the high-pitched screaming. My mom ran out of advice once, and sent my dad over to drive me and the baby around for a half hour or so, which put the baby to sleep, just as it had in my colicky days.

Dad then tiptoed into the house and put the baby to bed without waking her, saying he had more practice at this than I did.
My experience started early on, too, helping my mom with baby siblings and aunts with baby cousins, but I was never made to help, though I'm sure I would have adopted such strictness well.

I remember sharing my room with baby siblings when they were still babies and in cribs, and that was a real challenge for me at first. Took some real getting used to, and I still recall how I'd get up in the middle of the night to change someone's diapers or give them a bottle.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Hi. Another cool thread!!

I never ever helped cared for younger siblings. I was not a focused kid...it was best for all that I didn't. But I loved to play with the neighborhood babies and always dreamed of being a mother. So....I did not have hands on experience with babies, but I seemed to take to it like a duck in water after Bart was born I loved my first very much. He cried a lot but it did not anger me or make me upset. I learned quickly to sterilize bottles and heat the formula and since I had no desire for anything but disposable diapers, they were no sweat. I loved to feed my son and cuddle him and would have breast fed except I was on medication.

I raised three babies. Sonic and Goneboy did not come as infants. Princess and Jumper did. I adored caring for them. Bart was my only baby who cried a lot. God gave me lots of patience for my kids. Always. I am grateful. My own mother treated me like dirt but I made sure I was not like her.

Sonic came at two and with his autism and drug exposure and he was a sweet boy but had many tantrums and did not sleep and was in diapers for four years but neither husband nor I got mad at him....maybe having a sweet, helpful, understanding husband helped. Bart got harder with time but I never lost it or hit him. Same with Princess during drug days.

All the kiddos, minus Goneboy, tell me they had great childhoods. We were not strict, but the kids knew what we would tolerate and not tolerate. We were child-centric though.

My downfall was my lack of organization. I was always losing something and running g around looking for it lol!

At one time I wanted ten babies! I'm so glad that never happened...yikes!!
 
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Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Yep, and learning to place your thumb between the baby and the diaper when pinning so as not to stick the baby.

I actually stuck myself good a couple of times doing that...older, wriggly tykes.
Absolutely, I remember that. Two fingers behind the diaper when pinning, was the method in our house. Did the same when I babysat.

As for sticking myself, I used stick myself regularly, and I'm not just talking about when I was changing baby siblings or changing diapers when babysitting. I stuck myself (LOTS) changing my own kids! You'd think a mother would get good at avoiding such accidents with thousands of changes to her credit, but no matter how careful I was, I pinned myself regularly (AND GOOD)!
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Hi. Another cool thread!!

I did not have hands on experience with babies, but I seemed to take to it like a duck in water. I loved my first very much. He cried a lot but it did not anger me or make me upset. I learned quickly to sterilize bottles and heat the formula and since I had no desire for anything but disposable diapers, they were no sweat. I loved to feed my son and cuddle him and would have breath fed except I was on medication.

I raised three babies. Sonic and Goneboy did not come as infants. Princess and Jumper did. I adored caring for them. Bart was my only baby who cried a lot. God gave me lots of patience for my kids. Always.

Sonic came at two and with his autism and drug exposure was a sweet boy but had many tantrums and did not sleep and was in diapers for four years but neither husband nor I got mad at him....maybe having a sweet, helpful, understanding husband helped.

My downfall was my lack of organization. I was always losing something and running g around looking g for it lol!

At one time I wanted ten babies! I'm so glad that never happened...yikes!!
Why thank you, SOT! :)

I cherished the whole process, too. Kids spent a lot of time on my lap! Had a son that wore diapers until age 4, too... in fact, he didn't get out of diapers (nighttime) until age 4-1/2. Thankfully he was a skinny-minnie, so I was able to carry-on diapering him in standard baby rubber pants, though by that stage he wore the big toddler size.

As for accepting our roles as caregivers and enjoying it, I'm convinced were born with it as women.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Old Hand, I was a foster mom. There are plenty of crappy mother's that neglect and abuse their babies. Unfortunately. The foster care system is overcrowded due to mom's who don't have that trait. Sonic's birthmom had five kids that I know of. All five she blew off for drugs. She left Sonic in the hospital. Just one of tons of case studies we read. There was leaving baby at home alone not feeding, leaving with others and not returning, one mom threw her baby into a wall and he was in a body cast for a year, many drink and drug while pregnant and after, others practice cult abuse...we read it all. We had many kids whose mother's were abusive. Most of the kids in care were from single mothers. A few had dad's. Many had boyfriend's that they put first. This abuse is pervasive in the U.S. and abroad. If all women are genetically inclined to be good caregivers, many problems would not exist!

Not all mother's are loving. Kudos to you for being one who is :)
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Old Hand lol the rubber pants.

I never even thought about using cloth and rubber. I felt disposables were cleaner and smelled better and did not cause as much rash. Plus I thought they were probably more comfortable for the baby and also nobody in my world used cloth.

It absolutely never crossed my mind lol. Also....I have an excellent long term memory and I swear I can remember the smell of urine from my siblings in saggy diapers covered with rubber pants. But maybe it's just my imagination..
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Old Hand, I was a foster mom. There are plenty of crappy mother's that neglect and abuse their babies. Unfortunately. The foster care system is overcrowded due to mom's who don't have that trait. Sonic's birthmom had five kids that I know of. All five she blew off for drugs. She left Sonic in the hospital. Just one of tons of case studies we read. There was leaving baby at home alone not feeding, leaving with others and not returning, one mom threw her baby into a wall and he was in a body cast for a year, others practice cult abuse...we read it all. We had some kids whose mother's were abusive. Most of the kids in care were from single mothers. A few had dad's. Many had boyfriend's that they put first. This abuse is pervasive in the U.S. and abroad.

Not all mother's are loving. Kudos to you for being one who is :)
You know, SOT, I ended two babysitting jobs back in day, due to the mothers neglecting and abusing the children.

Basic baby needs should always be top-order when raising a child. Keep them fed, keep them dry and clean, and keep them happy. At least that was always my rule of thumb when it came to baby and childcare.

Whenever I came across a kid with a red bottom in my babysitting day, the though always crossed my mind as to how frequently (or infrequently) the child was being changed. Diaper rash happens in the best of homes, but knowing the abuse and neglect that children suffer, you tend to question such things.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
I wasn’t particularly experienced with babycare.

I had a baby sister and helped out some, but I was often busy with school and activities.

I babysat a few times as a teen, but mostly kids that were out of diapers.

My first job “real” job was a paper route, and I mowed lawns and worked on the farm. I much preferred this to babysitting.

My mom wasn’t very interested in teaching me domestic skills, as her favorite phrase was “I’m not raising my girls to be housewives”. She was very against cloth diapers and breastfeeding.

My first were twins, and I read books about that. No Spock. My third was born 22 months after the twins. I finally figured out what was causing that and put a stop to it....

I really enjoyed my last one the most. My older kids were teens and I just had the one baby. I nursed her till she was four. I still enjoy her so much. It’s bittersweet, knowing that she is my last.

I remember, when my oldest three were in diapers, one brand had pink ones for girls and blue ones for boys. They didn’t have that anymore when my youngest was born.

When my son was an infant, the changing table was in the bathroom, right across from the toilet. I heard my then-husband call me to come quick. When I got there he had the baby on the changing table, diaper off to be changed. My son had started to pee and it pointed up and over, straight into the bowl. Not a drop outside the toilet. Cutest thing I ever saw! (For some reason, he hates it when I tell this story)....
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Old Hand lol the rubber pants.

I never even thought about using cloth s d rubber. I felt disposables we're cleaner and smelled better and did not cause douch rash. Plus I thought they were probably more comfortable for the baby and also nobody in my world used cloth.

It absolutely never crossed my mind lol.
One thing is for certain, SOT, be it cloth or disposables, so long as said kid is changed regularly, that in itself puts a smile on my face just knowing said kid is being taken good care of.

I remember when I first started babysitting outside the home, how my mom used to remind me (on my way out the door), you check and change those diapers as soon as they're wet.

With my baby siblings, my mom always changed them before putting them down for the night, regardless of whether they needed changed or not, and so I did the same with my own kids. A clean fresh dry diaper for bed.
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
I wasn’t particularly experienced with babycare.

I had a baby sister and helped out some, but I was often busy with school and activities.

I babysat a few times as a teen, but mostly kids that were out of diapers.

My first job “real” job was a paper route, and I mowed lawns and worked on the farm. I much preferred this to babysitting.

My mom wasn’t very interested in teaching me domestic skills, as her favorite phrase was “I’m not raising my girls to be housewives”. She was very against cloth diapers and breastfeeding.

My first were twins, and I read books about that. No Spock. My third was born 22 months after the twins. I finally figured out what was causing that and put a stop to it....

I really enjoyed my last one the most. My older kids were teens and I just had the one baby. I nursed her till she was four. I still enjoy her so much. It’s bittersweet, knowing that she is my last.

I remember, when my oldest three were in diapers, one brand had pink ones for girls and blue ones for boys. They didn’t have that anymore when my youngest was born.

When my son was an infant, the changing table was in the bathroom, right across from the toilet. I heard my then-husband call me to come quick. When I got there he had the baby on the changing table, diaper off to be changed. My son had started to pee and it pointed up and over, straight into the bowl. Not a drop outside the toilet. Cutest thing I ever saw! (For some reason, he hates it when I tell this story)....
Oh, Apple... I remember those pink and blue diapers! Were they Luvs brand? I seem to remember them being Luvs.

I never ever used disposable diapers on my kids, but do remember having to change them occasionally when babysitting. One mother I sat for used rubber pants over her children's disposables, but those diapers were plain white.

LOL, about your son tinkling straight into the toilet from the changing table surface!

In our old house, the washing machine and dryer were in the bathroom, so I kept a vinyl changing pad that I'd lay-out at change-time over both machines, and I'd change diapers right on top of the washing machine and dryer. It was like having a changing table. With diaper pail in the bathroom, I could rinse out the diapers in the toilet after changing them, and straight into the diaper pail they'd go!
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Also....I have an excellent long term memory and I swear I can remember the smell of urine from my siblings in saggy diapers covered with rubber pants. But maybe it's just my imagination..
LOL, SOT! Your memory serves you well! Believe me, you are not imagining a thing! :)

Morning-time was the worst, as was a hot summer day! Kid would drench their diapers through the night or wet them heavily during the day, and both diapers and rubber pants would need changed, and when you'd pull back those rubber pants to start the changing process, the strong ammonia odour of urine would waft-out of baby's rubber pants like a blast furnace, burning at your nose and eyes!

ROFLAO! I swear I witnessed steam escaping from out of my kid diapers a few times!!! And yes, when cloth diapers were wet, they sagged something awful! LOL!
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Yep, and learning to place your thumb between the baby and the diaper when pinning so as not to stick the baby.

I actually stuck myself good a couple of times doing that...older, wriggly tykes.
Also remember how I used to check cloth diapers and rubber pants for wetness... I used to stick a finger inside the elastic of the rubber pants around the leg-hole!
 
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