Old vs new
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19846
Printed Date: 01 October 2025 at 2:20am
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Topic: Old vs new
Posted By: 2bmumof3
Subject: Old vs new
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 4:39pm
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So what are some of the different/funny things your parents/grandparents did for their babys that are now frowned upon, I'll start with a couple of obvious ones (and one not so)
Sleeping on tummys vs on backs Solids at 6wks vs 4-6mnths Dipping dummy in whiskey vs NOT!! ------------- Sara Corban (22/11/04) Connor (18/04/06) Chelsea (21/05/08) 
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Replies:
Posted By: Roksana
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:25pm
WOW...The third one is a bit scary....
------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:33pm
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Not really - you would be surprised at how many of us have had it done - just like rubbing whiskey on the gums for teething - they didn't have bonjela etc or couldn't afford it.
No carseats vs. such strict guidelines today. Mum informed me the other day that I was 'lucky' when I was born because they splashed out for capsules and carseats, most kids were just strapped in to the car in their carry cots then just chucked in booster seats
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Posted By: sadie
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:51pm
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Wow, Emz you were lucky!
I was stressing the other day about having to wake my little guy up to strap him in his car seat - my mum suggested I just hold him on my lap in the car.... |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:53pm
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Forget carseats, we didn't even have seat belts in the back seats. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: 2bmumof3
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:54pm
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Yeah my parents said they splashed out and got a carry cot, it didn't strap in, that they put us kids in and slung in on the back seat. ------------- Sara Corban (22/11/04) Connor (18/04/06) Chelsea (21/05/08)
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 5:55pm
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According to my plunket book I was put on cows milk at 6 months of age, and penicillin was the standard remedy for a cold.
These days antibiotics are avoided for viruses. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 6:00pm
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Ahhh maybe it was only when I was in the front then cos we didn't have seat belts either lol
Also we were given fenergan quite often   when our parents wanted us to go to sleep like New Years etc. Hehe bad parents! Quite common though.
Another one is juice - DH was put on juice at 2 weeks which was apparently common. Can't remember if I was as I only have his plunket book with me. Another one is just the amount of safety standards - we had a cot that the bars could be taken out of so we would just pull them and escape all the time! |
Posted By: Henna79
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 6:03pm
half the time we didn't have seats at all. I remember driving round in the old commer van and then the escort sitting on the floor cos there were no seats. At least in the escort it was all cushioned in the back. |
fleury wrote:Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 6:24pm
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I have my child clinic book (I wasn't a Plunket baby as I wasn't born in NZ), and at 6 weeks old I was having 2.5mls of freshly sqeezed orange juice in 10mls of colled boiled water. To increase the juice till it is 10mls of each. At 8 weeks I was having vegemite mixed in boiling water My MIL tells me about putting DH in the boot was a station wagon) in the bassinette as there was more space for him in there. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 6:41pm
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Oh and we got given cod liver oil urgh! Glad that ones gone out of fashion. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:09pm
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I was just thinking the same thing. My mum and dad spent a fair amount putting seat belts in the family car because my dad was an ambulance officer and far too often saw the result of kids without seat belts -------------  
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:11pm
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Snap on the carry cot on the back seat 2bmumof3!
And snap on the OJ Becks! -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:12pm
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Also cows milk..... my DH went onto cows milk at 3mo (plus the formula in those days probably wasn't any better than powdered milk). He was on solids really early too. -------------
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Posted By: 2bmumof3
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:14pm
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Hehe just remembered another one one of my parents friends told me. They had twins and to contain them they used to turn the cot upside down and put them under it OMG. Apparently as they got older they firgured out that one could hold up the side and the other one could get out....but they never stopped long enough to let the other on out of the cot. ------------- Sara Corban (22/11/04) Connor (18/04/06) Chelsea (21/05/08)
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Posted By: Neeks
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:18pm
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My mum was telling me that we (my sisters and i) all had carry cots that just got put on the back seat of the car with NO seat belts on (not that we ever had them in the back seats)
We also had a Ford Panel Van with wood trim on the outside... yeah baby LOL I was eating egg at 4 months Snap on the Vaccines & OJ too  -------------  
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:46pm
forget seats , we didnt even have cars ..... (no ,im kidding, we struggled, but still had a car) |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 7:53pm
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Yup, I was given whiskey when teething and overdosed on phenergan (no baby panadol) to go to sleep! Was given rusks with vegemite on them when I was about 3 months i think and bones to suck on. (yup you heard, mum made sure there was not pointy bits and then would let me suck on them, for iron apparently).
Mum was solo when I was born and didnt have a car... -------------   
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 8:10pm
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No straps in prams/strollers/etc
Introducing dairy products (custard, yoghurt, etc) oh so young! We had a Comma van too - when I was a bit older We also had some sort of bassinette on the back seat of the car - it took up more than half of it and then there were 2 or 3 of us kids squished into the rest of the back seat
Sharing seat belts We had a harness (after the baby seat stage) which was apparently suitable for up to 7 years, it seems my parents figured that was good enough and booster seats weren't necessary. Not sure how common that was because my cousins had booster seats. What about those booster seats made out of foam? ------------- |
Posted By: jack_&_charli
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 8:15pm
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we would quite often ride in the back of my dad's ute under the cover thingee
we'd also hang out at the pub alot cos my dad worked behind the bar ------------- http://www.alternatickers.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 8:19pm
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That phenergan what is it? Mum told me i should get some for Kylah but never did?? Is it bad? ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: 2bmumof3
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 8:53pm
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All I know about it is it sedates. For example I've heard of it being used when going on really long trips i.e England ------------- Sara Corban (22/11/04) Connor (18/04/06) Chelsea (21/05/08)
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 8:57pm
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It's an antihistamine with sedating side effects. I've used it a couple of times when Sienna has been sick with a cold/flu and gotten so overtired she couldn't sleep, one dose helped her settle and have a decent sleep and she woke up much happier.
It can have the opposite effect tho, we gave Maya a dose en route to London and she bounced off the walls all the way from Sydney to Bangkok ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 9:00pm
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phenergan for us was only ever used for the effects when we had allergic bee stings etc....now seems to be used for sedating which is kinda sad.
Becks - my grandma used to give me marmite drinks...basically marmite and boiled water as a kid...cannot beleive i liked it (for a while) |
Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 9:05pm
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Ha yeah we had this massive brown foam carseat. I loved it, it was so comfy.
Things weren't so different when I was born, but MIL tells me of when DH was little... solids at 4 weeks ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 9:09pm
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Mum had a capsule for my brother who is now 22, it was apparently a brand new invention at the time. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 9:10pm
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Oh and two things that have changed even in the short 6 years since I had Maya - there was no focus on skin to skin after delivery back then, she was wrapped in a towel and given to me, and also if a baby had meconium in the waters they were suctioned at the perineum immediately after delivery, but they don't do that anymore. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: DJ
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 9:31pm
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My Dad used to take my brother and sister in the backpack on the farm motorbike (they were born in the 80's!) Not a helmet in sight ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Neeks
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 10:47pm
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I was born in the early 80's (3 months into them) and smoking around babies wasn't even frowned upon -------------
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 10:49pm
Unfortunately this still happens. I had no skin to skin when Jack was born, first time I saw his boy bits and wee toes was when I changed his nappy a few hours after he was born (m/w took him away, weighed him and dressed him up). Needless to say I wasn't very happy about it. |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 10:51pm
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Yeah the smoking thing I remember buying fake smokes when I was a kid and acting like my grandad! We used to drive everywhere with grandma and grandad smoking in the front of the car, it didn't seem an issue at all whereas now there is no way that would happen in our family.
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Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 05 August 2008 at 11:07pm
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A tsp of Poteen (Irish moonshine) in the bottle to help the baby sleep.
My Dad used to dip our dummys in jam to keep us quiet when Mam was out. No car seats for us. Plus when were were a bit older we'd fit 7 into the car. I used to share the front seat with Mam. |
Posted By: NovemberMum
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 1:28am
it;'s amazing how different other hospitals birthing centres are..i had my daughter in Waikato and had skin to skin contact I think she was on my chest for about an hour....even my antenatal class they talked about skin to skin contact. I'm sorry you didn't get to experience that emz :( ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 6:42am
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I didn't get skin to skin contact straight away either emz, nor did I get to breastfeed Lucas until hours after (talk about feeling totally robbed)- the hospital was run off their feet that night/morn and no one seemed to have the time to show me what to do (I'd never even held a baby before so was a nervous wreck) I had to beg a staff member to help me out and show me the ropes. Would have explained why we had so many latching problems in the beginning, Lucas didn't feed off of me until day 3 and it was a mission getting the colustrum into the syringe argh
Going back to the OT, I recall talking to my Nana about when she had her kids, she was very anti-b/feeding and gave her son cows milk basically from day dot Interestingly enough he is lactose intolerant now (has been all his life and he's nearly 50).
I know they slept bubs different too as many of you have mentioned above ... Gosh I've gone blank, there was quite a few things I was shocked about when my parents/grandparents told me. Will get back to you
Oh and re: being fed solids at 4 weeks, I know an idiot or two who did this with their kids recently, at 4 months the baby was STILL gagging/choking on solids so Lord knows how they managed to get anything down their gullet when they were just on a month old .....crazy stuff! All I can say is Thank God for MOH Guidelines and the majority who follow them. |
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 8:08am
I was chatting to mum about this the other day - and she said when I was born it was standard practice for all women to be given an enema when they first went into labour -- she says she hated that more than actually giving birth!! 
We were lucky with the whole car seat thing - Mum was an active Plunket supporter and actually rallied to change the law on things like car seats and pool fences... ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 9:08am
Ha when I was a baby, Mum and Dad had a van so when they went to someones house for tea say, they would put up the portacot then when it was time to go home they would open the back of the van, whip the portacot in and home we go! 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 9:46am
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We had a ford cortina with no rear seat belts and all 4 of us would sit in the back. Dad would let us ride up front without any booster seats etc when mum wasn't in the car
I remember sitting on my Dads lap whilst he was smoking and he always use to smoke in the car. My mum said that she was given something to go to poo as soon as in Labour and apparently was shaved when she had my brothers as well. (that was in the UK in the early 70s), my Dad wasn't allowed to the birth of my brothers but that had changed when she had me and my sister a few years later. Plus both my brothers were taken away from her and just brought in every 4 hours to be fed, she did not have a clue what to do when she got home even though she had been in hospital for 10 days. But by the time she had me they had changed and babies were in the room with the mums instead and dad came to my birth, he missed my sister cos she flew out so quickly!!! ------------- 
 
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Posted By: Candkids
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 10:12am
we had 1 of those too, man it was comfy!! mum did the whisky on the gums thing too, my boss (a dentist) still tells people to do it as really its just as the alcohol kills the germs. whisky in the bottle, sucking on bones . . must admit i let J chew on big chop bones he loves them (i make sure theres no pointy bits tho) i remember sitting in the boot of mums stationwaggon on long trips pulling faces at the people behind us ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  DD 10.5yrs DS 6yrs DS 11mths 5 little angles watching from above |
Posted By: ohanlon82
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 11:13am
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yeah i was on solids at 6 weeks my mum told me.. funny how things change
Big brown foam car seats LOL those were the days.. Ha ha sitting in the boot pulling faces LOL - Did that too ------------- http://lb2f.lilypie.com/TikiPic.php/RPaODBg.jpg |
Posted By: Neeks
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 11:44am
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LOL we did the whole sit in the boot of mums station wagon and pull faces at the car behind us too..
Also I was brought up on a farm and was driving the 'farm bomb' around when I was tall enough to reach the pedals LOL (about 12 because I'm vertically challenged) and we used to drive around the farm with dad sitting on the hood of the truck or standing on the trailer -------------
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Posted By: Shorty
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 11:59am
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My mum used to laugh about how I used to "bounce" around as a baby in the back of her VW....those beetle cars.
We were given bones as little ones too. My brother was unwell very unwell as a baby, the hospital dipped his dummy in honey as he was not allowed to cry and it was the only way he would take it. Gosh can't think of anything else but I no there is more. ------------- http://www.alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 12:42pm
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In 4 pregnancies( 1974 - 1980, Ireland), my Mum only ever had 1 x-ray. That was to confirm that it was twins.
What I learned recently was that it was believed that whatever happened before birth was Gods doing and no intervention should be done, hence no ultrasounds despite the technology being there. She also had to go through her first labour on her own and didn't have any assistance until the very end. Along with that the nurses gave out to her for sending my sister back to the nursery without burping her. |
Posted By: Candkids
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 1:04pm
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my mum only had 1 x-ray also, they had to travel to hamilton (from rotorua) to get it done.
and at 4mths she developed diabeties so was hospitalised until the end of her pregnancy! in a ward full of pregnant ladies, and i was full breach!! and she had a natural birth no wonder she didnt have any more after me! lol------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> DD 10.5yrs DS 6yrs DS 11mths 5 little angles watching from above |
Posted By: 2bmumof3
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 1:05pm
Ditto, I had a hole in my heart and wasn't allowed to cry....geeze that must have been hard. As for no seatbelts I fell out of our station wagon whilst it was moving as I opened the door....oh no childlocks on doors either apparently ------------- Sara Corban (22/11/04) Connor (18/04/06) Chelsea (21/05/08)
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Posted By: shaz
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 1:07pm
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Way back in the English "summer of 69" when I was born.....
there were no car seats or seat belts for me either. My poor mum was shaved (down there) before having me. Ouch the prickles afterwards!! Dad wasn't allowed in the delivery room either, Poor thing had to wait in the hall amd Dad was a "new age" guy and would have so loved to be in there helping. The C section for mum went all the way across the pelvis and then in a upside down T to her navel OMG it's horrid to look at. Mum would park my pram out in the street (in London) and leave me there to sleep in the freezing cold. But the big one that really makes me laugh is that I used to have milky tea with suger in my bottle, no wonder i'm adicted to caffine. ------------- Mum to Natasha Aroha 9/12/1995, Alexandra Makareta Waimarie 22/4/1998 and....Alyssa Frances Hopaea 18/03/2007 
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Posted By: Candkids
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 1:29pm
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LOL YUP I HAD THE TEA IN THE BOTTLE TOO, ! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> DD 10.5yrs DS 6yrs DS 11mths 5 little angles watching from above |
Posted By: DJ
Date Posted: 06 August 2008 at 2:10pm
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Yep, plunket always used to advocate putting babies outside to sleep (at 10am precisely) too bad if you were born in August!
Nana used to "hold out" all her babies - put them on the potty from newborn - she reckoned they got the hang of it! I wish I had the exact words, because it was written so well, but Mum's plunket book (from the 50's) advises mothers not to give into "foolish indulgence" with babies - saying that this can be just as harmful as neglect! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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