General Chat

I was a war baby born 1943, Cannot remember alot about it but my mum used to tell me that i had a special Gas Mask like a Spaceman,s helmet and used to be kept in a big wooden drawer under the kitchen table in case we got bombed.!!!!!!!! Oh i do wished i had asked her more before she passed away. Val ptfg

Re: nappies..... I bought 12 gold label terries nappies in 1968. They were used for three babies. 1969/1971/1974. They ended up as floor cloths. Finally thrown away by my Daughter only 15 or so years ago lol I would buy the new dissposable ones (Tutfty tails) when we went away on holiday. My Husband went mad at the expense!...He's an ex now lol Gerri x nan of 7. ps: I used to irion the label on the nappies (plz dont tell anyone) lol

Val You're as old as the man you feel :))))) Gerri I wonder how much it costs now per child, for it's time in nappies, compared to disposable ones? Bet we'd have a hell of a shock if we knew. I also remember Gold Star Harrington nappies, the Rolls Royce of nappies wern't they. Lynda

Do you remember the dinky feeders that we put rose hip syrup, or gripe water in ?? and that bay orange was so sweet val, but it tasted good lol and bickie pegs for teething they were rock hard sandra

Yep I remember all of them Sandra, shows our age doesn't it? Lynda

My first babies were all 3 born in Scotland. Their things were all sterilised by boiling. my last baby, born in Northants had a steriliser as the water down here is so hard, and left a calcium coating. I used Milton. Deanna Baby number 4 just took us out to lunch with dil and her mother. I had awonderful time.;-0))))

Susie , you are right , the sterilisers were too dear and I too had a tupperware covered dish to use. AND, if i had a baby today, I too would use terry nappies. The throw aways were just, sort of coming in when I had number 4, but I still used the terry. Hubbys brother bought them for us, I remember. Deanna

You can still get Bickie Pegs for teething!!! I use Miltons all round the house, not just for baby things. Also use Napisan as a general stain remover for all washing. Amazing stuff.

No recollection of my own baby days, son was born late seventies, but I was surprised to see my niece recently, using the microwave to sterilise her baby's bottles! How things change! Dilys

My Mother in law worked for the company that made nappisan, milton etc, so I used to get all those things free. I can remember the sterilizer unit, not many of my friends had one of those, but as others have said a lot of them would keep the bottles in a tupperware bowl. I also had the 'right' bucket for the nappies, it had a lid !! Used to hate getting the nappies out of the bucket everyday then washing them, but loved it when you had a line full of lovely white nappies. Lynda

Sandra and Lynda I just loved the Orange juice ,drank more myself than i gave to my babies ,see i knew it it was bad for them .Yes i remember the dinky bottles and rose hip syrup used to get them to sleep did,nt it ? Just had my sister over and had 2 bottles of wine hick, hik . lol Val

A friend at work recently bought a Pyrex glass bottle from e-bay, they also had the banana one! Used to sell those Harringtons nappies, Gold, silver,red and blue seal, and those muslin squares, don't think children wear those Ladybird Aertex vests and pants anymore, happy times in the Babywear dept! :)) (do like these threads, memory jerkers!)

i think the banana shaped bottles were what now would be called anti-colic bottles. I seem to remember my gran telling me they stopped babies having tummy ache.

Rubber pants! Always frilly (She tried my mother, she tried!) Rosehip syrup from the clinic, and bikkie pegs on a ribbon.Farex rusks anyone else remember TANCOLIN cough mixure?

Hi Everyone, I have one of those glass bottles but it doesn't have the teat with it it is not the bannana one but I have seen them on an internet site,don't know where it came from as I was born in 1966 but mum breast fed us untill we were 2yrs old and I breast fed mine for the first 14months,but I have had this bottle since I was a teenager and kept it in case it was ever worth anything.Denise.

I was born in 1950 and as a toddler I can remember the small bottles of orange juice handed out after we were weighed at the clinic. Also remember my friends mum feeding her baby Oster milk, I used to call it oyster milk. And what about that awful malt extract and cod liver oil.

Susie - a girl after my own heart! I too used a Tupperware box to sterilise the bottles in for all 4 of mine! I breast fed them all ranging from 3 months to 15 months and only ever had 3 bottles (bought from Mothercare in 1971 for my first baby). We were told not to rinse the bottles after sterilising and the Milton smell was very strong. Now you are told to rinse the bottles and teats with boiled water before filling with milk. My daughters both used steam sterilisers for their childrens bottles although D-i-L used Milton. I had 2 dozen Mothercare terry nappies (not the best quality, but next down) which did for all 4 of mine, which I kept in a bucket of Napisan and boiled them daily in a big saucepan. There's nothing like a line of snowy white nappies blowing on the line on a sunny day! I also had one-way nappy liners which were sluiced in the toilet before soaking in the bucket. I also used cotton wool and water - no nappy rash for my kids. When my 3rd baby was born in 1980, I had disposable nappy liners - a real treat! LOL When my younger son was born in 1984 I used disposable nappies when we were camping or caravanning, but still used terries at home. I still have 3 original nappies which I have used on my grandson (now aged 6) when he was a baby, much to his Mum's disgust! 'How can anyone WASH nappies?' I remember being really pleased when I found tie up plastic pants in Boots, just like I used for my kids, to use for grandson. How sad is that! Back to Lynda's original post - I remember my brother having glass banana shaped feeding bottles with a teat at each end. He was born in 1951. Also going to the Clinic to get him weighed and getting Welfare Orange and Cod Liver Oil in glass bottles with corks and National Dried milk in tins. Mum always gave us our Cod Liver Oil in the bath so when we spat it out (it tasted DISGUSTING) we wouldn't ruin our clothes! We had a huge pram and I remember sitting on a seat at the handle end when my brother was tiny. As he got older and was sitting up, there was a removable panel in the centre of the base of the pram where we could put our feet when we sat one at each end. I think Mum also put shopping there sometimes. I am surprised no-one has mentioned Woodwards Gripe Water. Oooh I love the taste of that! I remember when I was about 8, swigging it from the bottle at my 2nd cousin's house after she gave some to her baby! My kids all had it - just so I could have some too! LOL Thanks for the memories :o) Sue xx

Another bigThank You to everyone for all your description of bottle shapes & cleaning, nappies and all sorts, been lovely to read all your memories, must of made an impression on us, as you are all so descriptive. Thanks again, all this will go in my little book :))) Lynda

just thought i'd add that my wife uses MILTON sterelising stuff now for our baby Jamie

None of MY babies would ever have a DUMMY!!!! oh no! So I said.... Baby was 8 days old when I walked to the shops to buy as many dummies as the shop had.... I walked back home to the mother in laws, walked up the path to see her lifting the net curtain and shouting...... WHERES THE BABY? Id left her outside the shop!...oops! lol That babys 36 now and been a pain in the perverbial ever since...mayabe I should have left her there lol (not really lol) Gerri x