Old Fashioned Newborn Baby Care
Newborn baby care has changed radically over the past centuries. Strangely enough, it's not the babies that have changed!
I find it very interesting to explore the mindset of past generations in regard to newborn baby care. Sometimes they had it right, and sometimes....not so much.
The picture you see above is my mother taking my new baby sister from the nurse as we prepared to bring her home from the hospital (that's me in the front seat with the flowers). I'm pretty confident that the whole family rode home that day in the front seat of the car without any carseats! Yes, times have changed!
Click here to share your "times have changed" story from the past.
Another great example of how much newborn baby care has changed is my own grandmother's story:
- When my grandmother was born at home in 1910, her mother was not allowed out of bed (or even to dangle her legs over the side of the bed) for 2 weeks! They hired a nursemaid to stay with them and take care of mother and baby for the first 6 weeks. Most likely my great-grandmother would have NEEDED a nurse after being confined to bed for 2 weeks, but...
My! How times have really changed!
Today's medical personnel want a new mother up and moving within an hour or two after her baby's birth. With most of my babies, I was home within 24 hours. While I wouldn't want to be confined to bed for 2 weeks, having that nursemaid around to help with the housework wouldn't be too bad!
Share a story from the past...
Now it's your turn to share stories about the evolution of caring for newborn babies. Do you have stories passed-on from years gone by? Share them with us! It will help us better appreciate the time in which our babies were born (except it still might be nice to have that nursemaid).
What stories have YOU heard that make you shake your head and say..."My! How times have changed!"
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
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