Question of the day... Motherhood

[AnnieO]

Interesting about the soothers, that may be where the sitter got the term "soo-soo". A lot of people around us called it a "binky". I preferred "paci" and still do.

 

[Pink Elephant]

I have a vague (and I do mean very vague) memory of my siblings in cloth and rubber...lol. i remember something like cloudy colored whitish rubber pants and can imagine how yukky they would smell hiding fresh baby poop...lol. i have a pretty good imagination. Ewwww. But in the days my own kids were little i dont know anyone who didnt use paper diapers. Trust me, poop in paper diapers smells nasty too!!!

Your vague memory is spectacular! LOL! You're right on with the colour!

As far as knowing people that used disposables, I knew very few, other than a couple of neighbours, otherwise, everyone I knew used cloth diapers, and even during the 80's when my kids were right in the thick of the diaper years, all of our neighbours were using cloth, and nearly all of the mothers were stay-at-home moms like myself.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you spank?
A: sometimes. Preferred "time out"

I did the time-out thing, too, usually relying on the crib as the jail sentence, and boy did my kids ever hate that! Being cooped-up and contained in a baby crib while everyone else got to run around freely and play, always had a way of working wonders in our home!

 

[Pink Elephant]

I wrote out a whole long response, but it didn't post!

I may (or may not) try again!

Awww... do post again, Apple! Would love to hear from you!

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you rely on family to babysit or did you use regular ordinary babysitters? My parents were so beside themselves excited by being grandparents that babysitting was never an issue. My dad used to stop in during the day just to visit "his boy".

Awww... that is so sweet about your dad checking in on your son!

 

[Pink Elephant]

Interesting about the soothers, that may be where the sitter got the term "soo-soo". A lot of people around us called it a "binky". I preferred "paci" and still do.

I remember one of my siblings using a soother for a really long time, and I remember one morning, my mom taking his soother away from him and right in front of him, taking a pair of scissors to it and cutting it in half over the garbage pail. That was the end of the soother for that sibling.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you spank? *Yes but never hard enough to hurt, as pain is not the point, getting their attention is

This was my method, too, for the most part. The shock factor was usually enough.

 

[BusynMember]

I used time out, putting them in an out of the way place, usually on a chair. I was not particularly strict. When I had to be, however, when they hit the teens I could be very strict, like using tough love on my daughter when she used drugs. She was stunned, to say the least.

 

[Pink Elephant]

I used time out, putting them in an out of the way place, usually on a chair. I was not particularly strict. When I had to be, however, when they hit the teens I could be very strict, like using tough love on my daughter when she used drugs. She was stunned, to say the least.

Oh, you've touched on something that my husband and I were always no-nonsense about, and that was drugs.

We sat each of our kids down at a fairly young age and read them the riot act. DO DRUGS, YOU'RE OUT! No deals, no negotiating, no explaining, you're out!

 

[BusynMember]

We told all the kids that doing anything illegal would result in tough measures, no lawyer, no bail, nothing. I really never thought any of them would break the law.

It was very hard to do once it happened and took years, but we did call the police on Daughter and did cut off allowance, car, and all extras. Making her leave was extremely hard. Cried for weeks.
But she quit cocaine, meth and even cigarettes.

 

[Pink Elephant]

We told all the kids that doing anything illegal would result in tough measures, no lawyer, no bail, nothing. I really never thought any of them would break the law.

It was very hard to do once it happened and took years, but we did call the police on Daughter and did cut off allowance, car, and all extras. Making her leave was extremely hard. Cried for weeks.
But she quit cocaine, meth and even cigarettes.

I hope she was able to remain clean and free of all of her addictions.

True, honest-to-goodness tough love is hard, but losing a child is harder.

 

[BusynMember]

She is doing well. It has been twelve years.

I thought she was going to die. She was skeletal, had a gray complexion, and her face was all broken out. I was desperate.

Today she looks healthy again. I am so grateful.

 

[KTMom91]

- What era were you raising babies? 1960's? 1970's? 1980's? etc...1990's

- Were you a stay-at-home mom or did you work outside the home? I worked until Hubby and I married, then I was home for about a year, then went back to work.

- Did you bottle or breastfeed? Bottle

- Did you Make homemade baby food and formula? Nope. I worked a 50 hour week and the commute took up another 15.

- Did you use crib bumper pads? Yes

- Did you use cloth or vinyl bibs? I don't remember

- Did you bathe baby in the kitchen sink or a plastic baby tub? Tub in the sink when she was newborn

- Did you use a playpen? Not very long

- Did you use cloth diapers and rubber pants or disposable diapers? Cloth for about three weeks, then disposables

- Did you use a changing table? No

- Did you use a Diaper Service? For about three weeks

- Did you use glass or plastic baby bottle? Plastic

- Did you use cloth training pants or disposable training pants? Disposable

- Did you use a baby stroller of baby carriage? Stroller

- Did you use 100% cotton baby washcloths or disposable baby wipes? Wipes

- Did you spank? Yes

- Did you rely on family to babysit or did you use regular ordinary babysitters? Day care was in a private home; but for evening babysitting, I had grandparents. Mostly my mom.

 

[Pink Elephant]

She is doing well. It has been twelve years.

I thought she was going to die. She was skeletal, had a gray complexion, and her face was all broken out. I was desperate.

Today she looks healthy again. I am so grateful.

Welcome news. So happy.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you use cloth diapers and rubber pants or disposable diapers? Cloth for about three weeks, then disposables

Let me guess... the 3 weeks of Diaper Service was a gift and you loathed every minute of it?

 

[KTMom91]

LOL! Pretty much, Old-hand. I was not an eco-mom, and my patience was wavering (I think I had post-partum depression, but that wasn't talked about much at that time), and adding in the newborn things I knew nothing about with a less than helpful and cooperative husband, I just went for what was easier.

 

[Pink Elephant]

LOL! Pretty much, Old-hand. I was not an eco-mom, and my patience was wavering (I think I had post-partum depression, but that wasn't talked about much at that time), and adding in the newborn things I knew nothing about with a less than helpful and cooperative husband, I just went for what was easier.

You made the right decision, KT! I commend you for that.

Motherhood is complicated enough without adding more complexities to it.

 

[BusynMember]

Kt, we are of the same sort...if its easier, it works