How were we ever born?

[billybump]

Slightly an off topic rant here but the closer I get to my due date the more I look into baby care and the 'recommendations' and the more it puzzles me. How did our parents ever manage to have healthy children let alone our grandparents.
Here is some of the advice or must have products that have made me wonder.

Baby powder - now banned because its a choke risk.
Sudocrem - can irritate skin and is no longer used in hospital.
Baby monitors - especially movement ones, didn't exist we relied on our lungs to get attention or observation.
Sleeping babies on their backs - when i was born they needed to be on their front, hubby had to be on his side. We lived.
Room temperature monitoring - if babies were too hot or cold they cried.
no blankets - read this one yesterday, babies are now not supposed to be covered by blankets and sheets they should have those sleeping bag things.
Moses baskets - these have now gone from nice to have not essential items to you must have a Moses basket for the first few months.
Rat buckets - aka newborn car seats - you must have one of these to leave hospital now any car seat suitable for a newborn is. no longer acceptable.
Baby baths - the kitchen sink and washing up bowl worked.

I'm sure there are many more that I either haven't heard or can't remember. I haven't tried to offend anyone these are just my thoughts some things I've listed are useful and have benefits but previous generations didn't have them and the human race survived. Thanks for reading my rant.
X

 

[lynnikins]

lol i know however did we survive long enough to have our own childre, i take advice with a pinch of salt and dispose of what doesnt work for me unless theres a dam good reason for it,

 

[emalou90]

its ridiculous what we're 'not allowed' these days
but i swear by things like sudocrem! i was always being smothered in it as a child haha nothing wrong with me! x

 

[gills8752]

This makes me laugh, I'm very much of the old school opinion. I havent bothered with a moses basket or a second place for baby to sleep, she's got a cheapy crib with blankets. I don't have a baby moniter (I have ears) I don't have a baby bath, I have a full size bath and a pair of hands. I dont have a sterliser - I have milton tablets. I do have a baby car seat but I've been involved in a few crashes due to other people negligence and have broken my back as a result so am wary about that.

All in all this baby has cost me approximatly £250 excluding my pram which MIL bought for £300.

I'm sooo not into these fads for all the latest gadgets and gizmos.


Saying that I am waiting on delivery of this bouncer - but thats because I want baby stimulated from day one so she learns co-ordination and interaction early, it has a moving waterfall and moving creatures and music etc

https://www.mothercare.com/Fisher-P...ing=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=44388031&mcb=core

 

[IvyBaby]

I have been thinking about the same Everything was simpler those days and babies grew up just fine, I think nowadays people (even medical professionals) get influenced by manufacturer's campaigns too much anyway- telling them what they need, what they cannot live without etc. That's why this board is so great, people can learn from other's experience and not fall in to that trap of buying things that are not absolutely necessary.
As for me, I just want to keep it as simple as possible

 

[gills8752]

Speaking of this - i can't seem to find the sticky threads of what people couldn't live without and what they never used with their babies... anyone know where it is? Its probly my pregnancy brain that can't find it haha

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Some of the things now are just ridiculous. I didnt use baby moniters ever because I lived in a small flat etc. Didnt see the need. My son never had a moses basket either, He just either slept in his pram or cot. My daughter slept on her front from day 5.

 

[Floralaura]

I remember reading a book about childcare from the 60's (i think) where it said that those who lived in a flat should get a basket thing that you hung over the window ledge (kinda like a flower box) and you put Baby in it so baby was on the outside of the window so it could get fresh air..try that today and you would be locked up! lol

 

[Claire788]

And all that nice lead paint on our cots that we used to chew!! rofl now i feel old

 

[anothersquish]

Why so against medical advancement?
They used to prescribe Thalidomide for morning sickness, would you still take it now its been proved to cause severe birth defects?
I mean most things are reccomended because they have scientifically been proved safe(r)/unsafe so its only for the benefit of our children yet its generally met with scorn and "well we were ok!" Well, yes but those who died as a result of certain things are dead...they cant post on internet forums!!
For example the cases of SIDS have fallen dramatically over the last 40 years, particularly in the last ten years. From 30 deaths per 1000 in 1950 to just 7 per 1000 in 2003.

 

[DueMarch2nd]

I cant see how people get away with no momitors. I am not implying you SHOULD have one, just saying that my flat is small and I have young cats (7months old) so they run about all night making noise and it hardly wakes me up (we sleep with the door closed) And neighbors dogs dont wake people up all the time. So it seems if our sleeping brains can block out pets and cars outside and things, it would miss the baby's wee noises. But if it works, more power to you

Anyway back ON topic, my sister has 5 kids (9-17years old) and my mom had 5 so I get a lot of my "do I need it" advice from them. My sister actually said the other day that some of those nappy rash creams are awful and lock in the infection. Each of her kids needed different types because what worked on one, irritated the next. So I plan to have a few kinds in, plus the old fashioned vaseline.

I do admit, I buy into the sleeping advice and the baby powder stuff because there are so many things we know now we didnt know then, and that sort of advice isnt manufacture driven anyway

 

[JayDee]

I think the problem is that people try to find reasons for infant deaths and give recommendations based on the conditions these babies were subject to.

A lot of the things you mention aren't necessary, just recommendations. I've never heard of the no blankets thing for example, no quilts yes, but celluar blankets ok.

The info is out there, it's up to us to decide whether we follow it or not, apart from the car seat thing, they are all optional, and some people do choose to ignore them/don't know about them in the first place.

 

[jess_smurf]

they do these thing to prevent deaths in some cases though through study

I will be getting a baby monitor as petrified i will lose this baby
the talc can get in their lungs
sudocrem can be used just later on when they get used to thing in the outside world
if the room is too hot risk of cot death as air becomes stuffy
blankets can be used, never been told this the sleeping bags just wont get over their face
you cant leave hospital without care seat for safety
baby baths are just advance in technology and more economical saves filling a whole bath and wouldnt want to wash my baby where i wash my dishes

dont think they are trying the make things hard they are just trying to get modern technology to help us if i didnt have baby monitor i swear i would never sleep as would end up watching the baby day and night

i personally am very paranoid and glad these things are here to help us x x

 

[henny]

although my baby will be sleeping in our room in a moses basket, i have bought a sensor monitor even though i didnt use one for my first son, as i will just worry. my son had gro bags as he kept moving the blankets away and waking up. I think the advice is very important as research and technology has moved on since i was a child and I will follow the advice as best i can to ensure my son is kept safe.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Advances in medical science and reasearch has save countless lives

maybe some are unnesscary but I'm sure some must make a difference
xx

 

[MrsBandEgglet]

I have to say the only one that's really surprised me is Sudocrem. I've been told by dozens and dozens of people that Sudocrem is just about the best thing you can put on a baby's skin and all the other 'baby products' can be problematic. The rest I can kind of see the logic as I've had reservations myself about using/not using. Everything I've ever read has always suggested sleeping a baby on its back and I think when it comes to something like sleeping and from the research i've done just as a mum-to-be on SIDS I'm much more inclined to follow the current advice. Everybody is different of course and it's up to the individual what advice you follow, but personally as grateful as I am for the advice of the "experienced", i'm still someone who does pay attention to the current research that's been carried out. xx

 

[billybump]

Sorry if I've made people feel the need to defend the modern thinking I was just saying few things that had occurred to me and it shows that advice changes. I understand that developments are made and the advice is there for our best interests but will we still feel the same way in 20 years.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I was not being against medical advancement, Both mine slept in the cot next to me whilst newborns so a baby moniter was pointless lol. The flat was open plan and when I was awake the baby was in the room with me and when I went to bed they would have been next to me. When they went in their own rooms (my son was 13mths, daughter ws 9mths) I still didnt need moniters, I found that I was jumping at every noise they made and me and them were not getting enough sleep! Now they settle themselfs back to sleep.

Some advances are great- digital moniters etc etc but some are just gimmicks that people feel they HAVE to have. When they dont x

 

[chuck]

Lead paint in the nursery, alcohol in gripe water/bottles/on dummies, honey, playing with anything not just BPA free child friendly toys....