What was it like, when you were a mother to a small baby?

Congratulations and enjoy your baby!
My first was born in 1987 so not too long ago. I was by far the oldest mum on the maternity ward at 31! We did have disposable nappies but they often leaked-much more than those my daughter used for her children. A lot of friends gave us hand knitted clothes and blankets. I used to meet friends in the park in summer and each other’s houses-never occurred to us to pay for coffee and biscuits! Clothes and toys mostly secondhand. I went back to work when my baby was 6 months old-I worked for the local council and was only the 2nd woman to take and return from maternity leave!

I had my babies in 1960, 1962 and 1965. The first was born in a maternity home, no husbands allowed at the birth. I was left to labour alone until just before the birth, then was left alone on the delivery table for about two hours, really cold and afraid. My baby had been put in a cot in the far corner of the delivery room, he made no sounds and I had been told not to move-- I thought he had died! ( He was OK thank goodness). I had to stay in bed for 10 days and was constantly chided for not doing well at breast feeding--told I wasn't trying. The truth was that my baby was autistic and just would not latch on. I fed him for three months and every day was a nightmare.
I had my other two children at home and it was wonderful.The middle one was delivered by the district nurse and the last one came in a rush and a hurry and my OH had to be midwife!
All my babies had terry nappies over muslin nappies, folded into triangles and fastened with a nappy pin-- you had to put your fingers between the nappy and baby to make sure that baby didn't get punctured. I had a secondhand washing machine with a wringer on the top and all the rinsing was done in the deep stone sink so the floor was awash with the transference between machine and sink. Drying was outdoors-- in winter, the nappies froze and came in like cardboard. Airing was on a wooden drying rack in the kitchen,hauled up to the ceiling on a pulley. Nappy boiling was done in a Baby Burco boiler which regularly cascaded suds all over the kitchen floor.
Shopping had to be done every day because we had no fridge. This involved pushing two babies ,one on a toddler seat, in a big Silvercross coach built pram with the eldest child walking, holding on to the pram, along a rough road to the local shops then putting the shopping into a bag suspended from the pram handle and the rest into a wire rack under the body of the pram. Coming home, it was really hard work--felt like pushing a tank!
It was difficult keeping the children warm in winter as we had no central heating, only a coal fire in the living room. The winter of 1962- 1963 was a nightmare as we were snowed in for weeks on end and had no fuel at all, and I was looking after a sick toddler and a baby only a few months old. My parents lent us an old oil stove and I constructed a kind of tent around it with sheets to make a warmish oasis. I made all their clothes and knitted non-stop in the evenings to produce warm jumpers. Money was in short supply so I cooked everything from scratch, jams, bread, preserves and grew vegetables and fruit .
Life was tiring and hard, but my friends were all in the same situation. At least we owned our own home--a three bedroomed detached with a big garden, 30 miles from London, which cost us £3,740.

My first baby was born in 1947. Difficult birth after having morning sickness for months.not that there was much to eat with rationing. We lived in an attic room with just a small coal fire for heating and having to go to the basement for water. Had been cold winter with freeze up in London. Queuing for small bag of coal, potatoes, pint of parrafin for the primal stove to cook on and heat water.. landlady did let me boil the nappies on her gas stove. Had to carry the prom up and down all the stairs
Landladys husband was demobbed and we were evicted when baby was eight months old. Went to the then London County Council for help who asked why we were so low on the housing list. Because we were unable to register because we were in the Forces. My mother who had a large house would not take us in because “You’ve married beneath you”:
Husbands mother who lived in a council house near uBirmingham and still had five children living at home took baby while we lived in a bed sit in London. Six months later we got a top floor flat, no bathroom. We were able to have baby back. When my son was born in 1949 rationing was worse than ever and nappies were still scrubbed with Sunlight soap and boiled on the gas stove. In spite of all this we were a very happy family.

My daughter was born in 1985, 3 weeks before my 21st birthday. I was induced due to having a miscarriage in my first pregnancy and a bleed at 35 weeks. It was a long Labour and I was so naive. I thought it would just be like period pain! She was so beautiful and I just couldn't stop looking at her for weeks. I had zorbit Terry nappies and used to love seeing them pegged on the washing line all snowy white. My favourite memory of her was when we walked through the park one day in spring. She was about 8 months old and sat up in her pram. Cherry blossom was drifting down from the trees and she had her arms held up trying to catch it. I remember it like it was yesterday. She now has two little boys of her own.
I have loved reading everyone's stories

Thank you, these have been so interesting to read, some really lovely memories I'm incredibly impressed at all the big prams fitting into little cars - I can barely wedge mine in!

I think what strikes me is how much of society/public spaces were not mother and baby or child friendly- I suppose I just assume there will be a baby change wherever I go, for example, and most places have lifts/ramps. I think that's something that had changed relatively recently. Society seems more child centred in some ways, in that there's lots more classes, things to buy, things to make life easier, but less so in other ways, with a lot of people living away from families/communities that could support them as new parents.

I had my first daughter in 1977 and lived in a one bedroomed flat, with an outside toilet and no bathroom. I was kept in hospital for 10 days. I had to have stitches so they wanted to make sure I could have a good soak in a salt bath to prevent infection.

My daughter was slightly jaundiced so she was put under some sort of lamp for a period of time every day. She looked like she had been sunbathing and was a beautiful golden brown colour lol!

She slept a lot and I got told off for letting her sleep through the night as they said she needed her feeds as she was quite small. I had thought she was just a really good baby!

When she was nine weeks old we got offered a council house, so we were fair chuffed. It was a brand new house on a brand new estate. Everyone roundabout us were young families so it was lovely.

I had my youngest daughter in 1980 and had her in the same hospital as my first daughter. She got an infection soon after birth and was rushed off to the SCBU. I was so upset as she appeared to be a healthy 8lb 4oz. She had to get an antibiotic jab every 12 hours. She looked enormous compared to all the other babies in there. She then got the skitters due to the medication she was getting so was very, very sore down below. I was told to leave her without a nappy on to let the fresh air get to her and we were encouraged to just pick our babies up for a cuddle whereas 3 years previous we were told only to pick our babies up to feed and change them! I had another 7 days or so in hospital as she had to finish her course of medication then they wanted to leave her another 24hours after to make sure she was ok. My eldest daughter was looked after by her granny.

Things are so different now, you are sent home within hours of having your babies. Not sure if that is better or worse!

Oh so many familiar tales especially the towelling nappies and buckets of Napisan. Mine were born 1977, 1979 and 1982. I remember discovering nappy liners which could be gathered up complete with poo instead of having to scrape it off the nappy into the toilet!

My babies came out in rashes with the elastic of the plastic pants but I found some with padded legs which worked (most of the time). The only problem was that they eventually went hard and sharp at the edges so didn't last long. There were some disposable nappies by the time of the youngest but if you didn't get it right first time the fasteners did not stick. The wee and poo also came out down the legs! DGC all had better designed disposable nappies but I don't think I could have afforded them at the time.

Living in a first floor flat with number one, I remember leaving baby on the floor while I took the pram down the stairs (and up). It was too heavy otherwise and I was afraid of dropping it. It was a Mothercare carrycot on pram base bought by MIL Baby went in carry cot part in the car with no seat-belts. Shock Horror!!

I lived far from relatives and husband worked away (and did not help anyway!) I was completely alone most of the time. I did go to mother and toddlers but had to pretend I didn't want a drink because I could not afford the 2p for a cup of tea.

I took my babies everywhere and remember standing in the guard's van on the train with the pram (and toddler on pram seat) when I went into town. There was usually a load of shopping on a tray under the pram when we came back. This included wallpaper rolls and paint once. Buses were harder because you had to fold up the pram/push chair while holding a struggling baby before you could board.

I thought I was very lucky with baby number two to have a twin tub washing machine, except for the day when it broke down and flooded the kitchen. I took the children in (and on) the pram and went for a very long walk till the boiling hot water cooled down and I could mop it up safely!! Happy days!! Definitely not!

Plus point ... I breast fed mine so no bottle sterilising hassle which I have had with DGC, (and it cost nothing!!)

My twins were born in 1965.
One boy & a girl. I remember thinking I had produced a readymade family. I gave birth at St Theresa's hospital in Wimbledon. Run by very kindly nuns. Only draw back was that whatever they were doing they would stop & fall onto their knees every time the bell rang. Not too convenient unless you were between contractions.
In the night after giving birth all the fire alarms went off & I awoke from a well deserved sleep to find two burly firemen with a large hose & axes racing thro my room looking for the fire.
It was a false alarm. Pretty alarming for us new mums tho.
It's amazing to think that, back then, the twins sat in their Silver Cross pram on the street outside Sainsbury's whilst I shopped inside !
I would put shopping in the tray beneath or behind their seats. I soon learnt that they somehow managed to join forces to get into the groceries stashed behind their seats. I came out of another shop onetime to discover them both munching on a large piece of cheddar cheese. No plastic wrappings in those days!
I also put them outside, in the front garden, to have a nap or simply to watch the world go by.
Never done these days. I made all their clothes on my Singer machine & sewed Ladybird buttons on them. I also knitted like crazy as did my dear Mum & my Nanna.
A play pen was a must & yes cloth nappies, Id empty the Napisan bucket into the bath & rinse them out before washing in my twin tub, with wringer. Phew ! I seem to remember ironing them too, must have been mad !!!
Every evening I pushed the pram down to the station to meet Daddy off his London train. I can still remember how his face lit up when he saw us waiting at the bottom of the station stairs. He pushed the pram home as it was uphill and he would get up for the night feeds too. We would do one baby each.
Many happy memories, life seemed so much simpler & less scary back then.

It does seem that memories of Terry nappies figure high! How did we manage with no baby wipes! Reading through the smell of Napisan came flooding back. A strong incentive to toilet train much younger than these days.

The advantages we had in the 70s I think were the wonderful prams. I had a hand me down Silvercross which carried the baby, two year old and four year old when she was too tired to walk, plus all the shopping on the tray underneath. Once my DS could sit up there was even more luggage space behind the back rest. Wonderful things and I’ve noticed one or two sneaking back. We also had a flimsy carry cot which strapped into the back of the car and had a folding wheeled base which went into the boot.

Also that week in hospital was wonderful.(maternity homes still gave ten days until the early 70’s). It was needed as few husbands could take more than a week off work and grandparents weren’t expected to step in the way they do these days. Our parents certainly made it plain that they’d done their bit bringing us up and had no intention of doing further childcare other than emergencies.

I did a lot of part time jobs which could be done at home as there were no nurseries around then. Hand writing envelopes was one, hand knitting Aran sweaters, child minding a teacher friends son - anything to bring in a few more pennies. It wasn’t until the youngest was settled in school that I was able to take an office job. Filing for a large insurance company on what would now be called GIG terms so I could stay home whenever I needed to to cover sickness and school holidays. Very few husbands ever took time off for childcare. But with only 10-15 days holiday a year, time off was precious. Things have changed so much!

I had my first baby in 1969 and had to give up work because there was no childcare that would work with my hours.
I was in hospital for ten days and then returned to a little cottage with just one coal fire for warmth. I had no washing machine so the terry nappies and all clothing was washed by hand and hung from the kitchen ceiling to dry.
I had a large second hand pram and walked everywhere, no problems losing the baby weight in thos days.
I spent all my spare time knitting to keep up with a growing baby and most other clothes were gifts from family.
DH drove taxis on an evening, after his day job, just to keep the wolf from the door.
We had very little of anything but we had each other.

Skinnylinny, that’s exactly what I did when I took my first daughter out for the very first time! Went into the chemist, leaving her asleep in the pram outside, and completely forgot I had a baby - only remembered when I got home! Was so panicked, I ran all the way back...fortunately all was well though!

It has been fascinating reading all these accounts of bringing up babies through the years, have really enjoyed reading them. They have brought back so many memories too....I do remember how happy I was just to be looking after my three, especially the first, going to a beautiful park nearby and just playing with her or reading while she slept in the pram. She was born in October 1976, so I was carrying her throughout the heatwave of that year - I have never felt so hot and uncomfortable. I was a nurse and there was no maternity leave or maternity uniforms either, I had to make a couple of dresses myself or wear a massive white lab coat! Such happy times though, we had no spare money, interest rates were about 17.5% as I recall but we just coped.

I think some people are having memory lapses as to when disposable nappies came in .My eldest son was born in 1965 ,we were a service family and used to travel up and down the country to visit our families and I used disposable nappies then.They were'nt anything special but did the job for a few days at a time.

My 3 were born similar dates to yours, chicken.
The birth of my first was a nightmare.I was in Hope Hospital Salford (good name).
Labour was prolongued and when he eventually emerged he was blue from lack of oxygen, so straight into an oxygen tent. I wasn't allowed to hold him for 2 days. But TG he recovered and now has children of his own.
Nowadays I would have had a cesarian. The next 2 were more straightforward.
My memories of that time was that I was always hungry and always tired. Husband worked away and my parents were far away. But I loved being a mother and watching with fascination the way they developed and learned new things.

Sorry stevej4491 my first child was born in 1968 and I have no memory of disposable nappies being available. Maybe they didn't arrive in the North of England until later.
It has been fascinating reading all the threads, some things I had forgotten about.
The salt baths, leaving our babies outside in all weathers etc.
I can relate to your uniform issue LMT49 I had just passed my finals and had my coveted staff nurse uniform. One day Matron stopped me in the corridor and said " it's time you went into a white coat Staff Nurse" I was so disappointed but Matron's word was law.

Another thought - having babies pre 1970s gave a mother a different attitude. Before this women had little choice about becoming pregnant. It was up to the man, either to be careful or to use a condom. We had no control over it.
After that with growth of the Family Planning Association we had the means to plan our families.

Bijou - you make me feel really young - I’m the same age as your firstborn!

There were disposable nappies in the shops in th early 70s when I had mine, but they seemed really expensive and not good value compared with terry ones. There was a skill in folding the terry ones too. We prided ourselves on how trim they fitted.

There was a disposable nappy called Paddipad in 1971. It was on a roll and you cut it to size. It gave my son terrible nappy rash so I quickly got rid of it. Then Mothercare brought out their own version, but I never found it very effective. I was good at folding the terry nappies in the 'kite' shape and used disposable liners which, allegedly, were flushable.

Oh yes, the kite shape for smaller babies I remember. It didn't seem to take long for the baby to be swamped by the terry nappy then suddenly it was a struggle to pull the ends across. Those nappy pins could be lethal as well.

I had my babies between 1981 and 1990. I used cloth nappies for DD but had DS1 two years later and Pampers certainly made life easier in an apartment!

I can vaguely remember walking beside a big, 'traditional' pram as a child with two of my 3 brothers in it. I didn't have a pram but Maclaren pushchairs which were quite the thing in their day!

Now I'm a Grandma I find things have changed and haven't - some of my DD's friends are very into the 'traditional' - cloth nappies etc - but much has. It will ever be thus but as long as you love and cherish them you can't go wrong!

I always remember the freedom of getting a really basic buggy which you could just kick shut and fold up in one move!
It meant being able to catch a bus instead of having to walk everywhere.

For my first child I had a Silver Cross pushchair which was so heavy I couldn't lift it. Then I got a Comfifolda one which was lighter. Not sure if that's how you spell the name. I think the word pushchair probably dates me now. I had the basic buggy for my second child in 1974 MissAdventure so easy to get on the bus as you say.

Yes I think there were disposable nappies back in the '70's but they were pretty rubbish at keeping anything in- nothing like todays. We couldn't afford them. I remember when we moved to a new housing estate in 1980 a young mum across the road used to get them delivered every month and I was in awe that they could afford what I'd thought was a luxury.

Nappy liners just came out when my first son was born in '71 - they were ok but quite often I had to still clean the poo off the nappy before soaking them.

So many memories reading all these stories. Going to one of the new supermarkets and filling the basket under the pram with tins of Heinz baby food, going to the clinic to get packets of Cow & Gate milk. I never breast fed mine - getting up in the middle of the night for a feed and drinking coffee and eating bourbon biscuits with the second one . I'd been told with the first never to feed him just give him bottled water - he was a big baby and obviously needed food but I was only 17 and thought they knew best

Talking of the terry towelling nappies, I remember having a bucket, complete with lid in the kitchen where the nappies soaked before being boiled or going into the twin tub. My eldest daughter was in her baby walker, the ones they sat in and scooted around in, when she whizzed over to the bucket, lifted the lid, leaned over to see what was in there and tipped the whole lot all over the kitchen floor! Was a nightmare trying to mop it up whilst trying to keep her out the way, bless her!