OS childrearing

rach

I'm hoping to be OS with my forthcoming baby, with cloth nappies, breastfeeding and the like. Confess I have bought a monitor (second hand of course) but DH doesn't think we need it! Most clothes have been 2nd hand, as has 95% of stuff we have. DH always says 'people in africa manage without all this stuff...'

Talking about real old style though, when my dad was a baby (he's 62 now), the village Dr came round and noticed he was tongue-tied. Said, 'that baby's tongue tied', picked him up, put him on the kitchen table, picked up the bread knife that was on the side and cut the little tongue tied bit! :rotfl::rotfl:When my friend's baby was also tongue tied he had to go into hosp for the operation!

LilacPixie

my sister has a dairy allergy, she was born in 1983 and I can remember mum had to get powdered stuff from the baby clinic, bottles were sterilised in a big (well it seemed to me) plastic box with an orange lid and fizzy things were put in it, i guess sterilising tablets.

My gran said when my dad was born he was one of the first born in a maternity hospital that had just opened, they lived in a flat so she just used to put him to sleep in a pram and take it from room to room. I guess 1946 so no tv only a 'wireless'

Rainey_LB

When I was expecting my first I had most of the gadgets, most of them were a complete waste of money!!

But my nan always tells the story of when her youngest brother was born prematurely which would be over 70 years ago now. He was born at home and the midwife said to my great grandfather take the baby and put him in the back room, he'll be 'passed' by the morning!!

My great grandmother was apparently having none of it, for the first week she stayed in bed with him to keep him warm, the rest of the family had to get in, warm up and then take over keeping him snuggled if she had to get out for any reason.

The following few weeks if he wasn't in bed being kept warm she would apparently put the oven on low open the pull down door and put his crib on it to keep him warm enough!!

He's now in his early 70's!

Becles

Never bothered with a baby monitor. We only live in a 4 bed semi, so it's not like the baby wouldn't be heard if we were in another room.

I noticed when my brother and SIL were staying at my parents, they were up and down stairs at every gurgle and chunter they heard through the monior. I never heard noises like that and only heard louder cries, when they needed feeding, dirty nappy etc.

All of mine have been excellent at settling themselves and going to sleep, but my niece is 3 now and it still takes them a good couple of hours to get her settled into bed on a night. I guess mine did wake and gurgle but because I didn't know, they just learned to go back to sleep themselves.

lauren_1

I never bothered with a monitor, I live in a house not a mansion.

elfen

I had sisters to look after me and shout at my mum when I was crying - one was 4 and a half, the other was 2 and a half when I was born. We all looked after each other to be honest. Terry nappies pretty much until my lil sister (now 23) was a baby, same food as everyone else, all toys in the toybox and go search in there!

bexta

We did buy a monitor, but we have cats, and prefer to keep them downstairs, which means shutting the stair door. To be honest though, we've not used it, as bubs hasn't been put to bed by herself yet.

We're using a mix of cloth nappies and disposables at the moment, as she's just starting to get big enough for her cloth. Most of her clothes are 2nd hand too, except for some gifts, and also some 'tiny baby' babygros we had to get.

I agree though, a lot of people are losing touch with the concept a baby as being a person, and not a fashion statement to be taken out and displayed, then shut up and artificially entertained with huge amounts of gadgets.

Cookie_monster_7

Rainey_LB wrote: »

When I was expecting my first I had most of the gadgets, most of them were a complete waste of money!!

But my nan always tells the story of when her youngest brother was born prematurely which would be over 70 years ago now. He was born at home and the midwife said to my great grandfather take the baby and put him in the back room, he'll be 'passed' by the morning!!

My great grandmother was apparently having none of it, for the first week she stayed in bed with him to keep him warm, the rest of the family had to get in, warm up and then take over keeping him snuggled if she had to get out for any reason.

The following few weeks if he wasn't in bed being kept warm she would apparently put the oven on low open the pull down door and put his crib on it to keep him warm enough!!

He's now in his early 70's!

That's a lovely story

Rainey_LB

Cookie_monster wrote: »

That's a lovely story

Thanks

My great grandmother was lovely, I was lucky enough to have her unitl I was 9.

For pudding she would sometimes give me and my brother, dripping on toast for breakfast and sugar sandwiches pudding - can you imagine that today? :rotfl:

But every Sunday would cook a full roast and a homemade dessert, normally something involving apples as she had a large apple tree in the garden and would get all the grandchildren that were visitng in the kitchen helping, this is how I learnt all the basics and something my nan carried on....I loved Sunday's as a kid and think she must have had the patience of a saint as I am not sure I could cope with so many kids in the kitchen.

[Deleted User]

We used a monitor with our two as i worried we wouldn't hear them over the tv or general noise and we don't live in a huge house. I think it was more of a warning as once out in the hall way you would hear. We haven't got it anymore probably got rid about 8 months ago, so now their doors are slightly ajar and our lounge door it open. Our daughter never needs us once asleep, but our son is prone to nightmares or night terrors so every now and then we hear him.

They were both refluxy babies, so if you feel you need some advice or opinions please feel free to ask, i may not know the answer but my experience with my two FEELS quite vast. Daughter was worse than son, he got better at 8m's, but she was nearly 12m. Good luck with that, i know how draining and hard work it is. I used to really envy those mother's who just fed, winded and layed baby back down, or quite often just fed and layed down. I was just gobsmacked first time i saw someone do that and baby wasn't bothered.