New Moms Have It "Easy"

Having spent time last month with two of my daughters (Lea and Carrie) who had just had new babies made me reflect on how much things have changed since my own little ones were born. First of all, the normal hospital stay was three days. Now, barring no complications, you are home in one. I guess this was a good thing for me because I had no one to help me once I got home. We were instructed by hospital nurses to make sure we put our babies on a strict schedule once we were home. They should not be allowed to eat oftener than three hours and not past four. If they were screaming before the three hours we could give them a little water sweetened with a little Karo syrup. The bottles used had to be meticulously sterilized. That meant boiling all bottles, nipples, pacifiers and anything that went in the baby's mouth. We had a special kettle that were designed just for that purpose.

The pacifier of my day was a regular nipple from a baby bottle stuffed with cotton. Babies were to be bathed every day and were to be placed on their tummies to sleep. Since there was no such thing as a disposable diaper, our cloth ones were to be washed daily, if possible, and only in Ivory Snow or Dreft (mild soaps). And it was recommended that they be soaked in bleach before washing to disinfect them. All other baby clothes were to be washed separately in the same mild soap. Since all clothes had to be hung out to dry (no dryers on the scene yet) they didn't come in very soft and fluffy. It helped if we had a good wind blowing on washday. In the winter it was common for the clothes to freeze on the line, so I had to bring them in and drape them on furniture all over the house to dry them.

New babies had to wear "belly bands" around their tummies until the cord fell off. They would never stay in place, and the little shirts were the cross-over ones with ties that usually just rode up around the neck....no "onesies" or shirts that went on over the head. Babies wore night gowns with draw strings at the bottom night and day. They were not dressed up unless you were going out, and "going out" with the baby was highly discouraged until six weeks. (I didn't follow that rule very much. And you know what? I don't ever remember my babies getting sick much either.)

As for furniture and accessories that are so helpful for moms these days, there was practically nothing; no changing tables, no carriers, no swings, no car seats, no little bouncy seats that play music and make soothing sounds to place them in while you worked around the house (I'm sure they must have a name), no walkers, no intercoms and no fancy strollers (only the umbrella kind which were just new and expensive. I could go on and on. What I had in those early years as a young mom were: a week's worth of clothes and diapers with "soakers" or plastic pants to go over them, blankets, a crib and a second hand "buggy" which was like a cloth bed on wheels with a handle to push. It was used like a stroller is used today to take babies for walks. It had a "hood" which raised up to protect from the sun. That was it. If we wanted to take babies with from room to room we would just take a blanket and lay them on the floor. In the living room we would prop them up in the corners of the couch and put a pillow in front of them. Playpens were available, but we never had one until our twins were born. When the baby was old enough there were jumping swings that attached to a door frame. Someone loaned me one of those, and it was a godsend. My little ones loved to jump in that swing.

Somehow, all of our children survived, or better said, I survived without all those special things that help young moms today. I'm especially grateful that our children survived all the traveling in a car without seat belts or car seats. It seemed I always had a baby or toddler on my lap as we drove. That's kind of scary as I look back. Helps for a new mom have come so far these days, as has the concern for the safety of children. That is good. But at times I wonder if we have gone a little overboard as to what think are "necessities" for new babies. With a little creativity we didn't do so bad taking care of our children in the fifties. And it surely was a lot cheaper! I can hardly conceive of what life must have been for pioneer mothers.