Terry nappies

Yes, I have 4 children and certainly started potty training before 18 months, as both my daughters were dry day and night by 18 months. The boys day by 2, night by 2.5. We had a real incentive, washing those darn terry nappies. With disposables it's easy to put it off till they are " ready". But they don't feel wet, so they won't be ready until mums decide!

I used Harrington's in the early and mid seventies and oh... I can still smell the bucket in the bathroom. Yuck.

harrigran has raised the point I was going to make: I wonder if our children were out of nappies faster than those of today who use disposables? Having a wet cloggy nappy half-way down one's legs in conducive to wanting to be dry!

One daughter used disposables and the other shaped terry nappies which I found a bit of a faff but that was probably just me. I admired her 'nappy-ethics'.

I know of small children who are rising five and still not completely 'dry' - I have always thought that this was perhaps due to early use of disposables or, dare I say it... laziness.....?! We were constantly checking if our sproglets needed the loo and couldn't rely on a hidden 'trainer' pant which is really just a big nappy.

Out of interest- has any of you been called 'a liar with memory issues and pink coloured glasses' when discussing potty training with anyone from the current generation of mums ;)

I had a little boy n used the kite method too. I remember being told to run the nappy pin ,hough my hair before putting through the nappy as a bit if natural grease helped it glide through the nappy. And it worked too.

There is nothing like a soggy terry nappy, hanging round the knees, to encourage potty training. I had DD out of nappies, during the day, at 14 months. I wasn't the only one, in 1957 my mother had my sister out of nappies before she was walking. She was a bottom shuffler so mother made nappies into little briefs and that made it easier for her to get around.

I didn't experience it but have heard that children have come to reception class in nappies.

which doubles the environmental disaster too...

I used terries folded in 3, then half upwards, boys with the padded bit at front, girls other way round, if that makes sense. Pin on each hip,plus plastic pants and nappy liners, and they still managed to leak. What a palaver. No wonder we potty trained them by 18 months. Unlike these days when mums just seem to leave them in nappies till they are about 3.

BTW, many councils give a subsidy to buy those nappies. And many towns have nappy services- collect dirty nappies to wash and return fresh ones.

Daddima, thanks for the video. But honestly there is just no need for it being complicated. Here is another video showing just how easy to use modern shaped nappies are - easy peasy:

youtu.be/3zLWScrGrw4

My experience was very similar to yours TriciaF - also in Singapore. When indoors DS very seldom wore a nappy or anything else for that matter, but he didn't seem to 'get' the potty for a while - I think boys are more difficult to toilet train than girls. I used to get the towelling pants from the night market - cheap enough to be disposable.

My youngest was born in Singapore, and the hot damp climate led to terrible nappy rash. There was a special powder for it, not very nice.
But eventually I took her out of nappies altogether (?except night?) and bought lots of little towelling knickers. We had tiled floors so if she peed it didn't matter. She became toilet trained much sooner than the others, and with no particular effort from me. I just left a pottie available.

ruby aloe Vera gel is great for irritation etc under boobs - I have found that to be better than the talc which can sometime get a tad claggy when damp with sweat etc. - it is good for any skin problems at all.

I think it was called the kite method with a thicker pad at the front for boys.
I used Terry's and my only experience of using disposables on my children was awful. But the modern ones are very good, easy to use and they can stay on a lot longer with no nappy rash. I've got used to them with grandchildren. But I agree, environmentally worrying.
I used to use a lot of talc (on me, not the babies, I used zinc and castor oil cream on them) but have cut it right down now to a bit between my toes after a bath to prevent athlete's foot. Actually they don't even use cream on the babies bottoms now, just the ubiquitous wipes.

Harrigran I understood quite some time ago there had been evidence of women with ovarian cancer showing particles of talc on their scans
But I have some for use on the beach, it really is magic for getting rid of sand.

I used both Ashton's Zorbit and Harringtons nappies, with liners. My DS was born in the Far East and I was lucky enough to have someone to do the laundry for me, but I wouldn't let her wash the nappies - simply because it was an unpleasant job and I didn't like to stick someone else with it. She thought this was very odd. DH could never fold a nappy properly so when DD was born, I bought shaped terry ones. An American friend of mine gave me some boxes of disposable ones for DD as a gift. I'd never seen them and they certainly weren't available in the UK at that time. I saved them for when we were travelling and they were a godsend and still are for most mothers, though there are issues around disposal. My two existed in a permanent cloud of Johnsons baby powder, but It was strictly verboten for GS. When he got older, though, and would bathe at our house, he used to like a bit of my Simple talc and I couldn't see the harm.

I wish I had known that when DS was born. I doubt it would have been big enough though, he was a whopper. I had to just fold the nappy in half and fasten with a pin on each hip.

You Tube to the rescue!

youtu.be/NMUJJEZ6HCk

Thank you, Mancgirl, it was indeed Ashton's Zorbit. I also remember Marathon " one way" liners, which claimed to keep baby dry.

And I can still remember how to fold a boy's nappy to form a thicker pad down the middle, but can't describe it.

I used terry nappies for both of my children but now find myself buying prem baby disposables so that GD can dress 'baby' properly. We have brought into use DD's 40 year old Silver Cross pram and the cellular blankets. Waste not want not

I miss the smell of Johnson's baby powder, GC didn't smell like a baby should.
I was told that females should not use powder in the genital region because it could cause irritation and ultimately ovarian cancer, I always took that with a pinch of salt but who knows ?
Powder does work on sandy feet and prevents that awful girlie squealing when it is time to go home.

I use Femfresh Talc Free Powder but find that it is very fine and it catches in my throat and my doggie sneezes too. I don't use it often, I get a rash from time to time under my boob so it's used for that but it certainly does make me wonder what I am inhaling.

We were in Germany when DD was born in the early 70's and disposable nappies were available there, I believe they were actually Pampers, so we used to bring a large amount back when we came on holidays to save all the washing, although I did use towelling ones normally. I too remember living nappies out on the line in the frost and snow 'up north' in UK at Easter time.

Regarding talc, I think there have also been concerns about babies inhaling it if you're not careful.

One tip I heard, which I wish I'd known about when mine were young, is that talc can be used when you're at the seaside to get the sand off damp feet and bodies. You just rub it on and somehow the sand falls off, which sounds brilliant!

I used terries for my boys in the 70's and disposables in the 80's/90's for my girls. We lived in a house near John O Groats when the boys were small. We had no central heating and sometimes I had to break the ice on the Napisan bucket to wring them out before washing. My poor hands, even with rubber gloves on!

I still have a few terries somewhere and I use a couple of muslins for pressing my needlecraft works etc. Also have some pram & cot linen. Some of it was passed onto me by my sister-in-law and her daughter is now 45yo so it's ancient! The cot sheets get used as under sheets when my grandchildren stay here.

My coach-built pram is still in the attic. I daren't get rid of it as dd1 has laid claim to it for her, as yet non-existent, children. She can rehome the linen, too.