Baby Essentials

When I delivered my daughter I was 19 years old. No one threw a baby shower for me, and back in 1980 we didn't expect it.

When it came time to bring my daughter home I panicked because I didn't have very many baby clothes. A few nice friends and relatives brought gifts of baby clothes to the hospital and I had a cute little outfit to bring her home.

What I discovered was the nightgowns made like little cloth baggies with a drawstring tie. They were cotton blend nightgowns of different colors that's sealed with a tie string affording easy access for diaper changing.

I was given many hand me down baby clothes so I dressed my baby girl in blue, green or yellow nightgowns. I didn't care what color they were as long as she had clean clothes.

She went through those little nightgowns quickly because we also did not have disposable diapers that worked. Manufacturers have come a long way in developing disposable diapers that now fill landfills. I had two or three dozen of the cloth diaper variety, but inevitably my infant would wake up in the middle of the night soaked through, including her bassinet bedding.

My former mother-in-law taught me how to layer her bassinet with several clean sheets separated by cloth coated water proof separators. In the middle of the night the last thing you want to do is turn on the light and strip the bed again. That tip saved a lot of time and maybe a little bit of sleep.

Nowadays pregnant women have every kind of party that you can imagine. Some young mothers even have several baby showers and diaper parties. A relativdly newer fad is Gender Reveal parties. For those of my readers who aren't familiar with this type of party, before the party nobody knows what the baby is. At a gender reveal party the results are sent in an envelope to the parents-to-be to be disclosed to the partygoers and everyone is shocked and surprised. I've seen some of the m streaming on Facebook.

For parents of my generation the gender reveal party occurred in the delivery room and the phone on the wall (some of you have used them) was used to call and tell everyone "It's a boy or it's a girl!"

I lived for that excitement for my entire pregnancies and I had no desire to know in advance whether the baby was a girl or boy I carried safe in my womb. It was enough for us to meet that baby crying and healthy on their birthday with all of their fingers and all of their toes.

It's nice for modern moms because at least they are well prepared with a bunch of clothes and baby items to start out with. The reality of it is you need very little to care for a newborn infant and I remember receiving is sheet of paper with all the essentials to purchase for a new infant: X amount of t-shirts, x amount of diapers, x amount of washcloths and towels, bottles and recieving blankets.

We have been conditioned by media to believe that we need more in this society when life taught me that less is more. Less clutter, let's clothing, less nick-nacks, less everything.

My children have no idea how many clothes they had, how many diapers, how many dress up outfits and how many toys. Anyone who's had a baby has learned by trial and error that fancy toys purchased at the store are shunned by babies in preference for what hides beyond the kitchen cupboard. It is easy to make toys out of pots and pans and sundry innocuous items.

We didn't have a lot, but one thing that my children had an abundance of was my time and my love. No amount of possessions takes the place of love and attention and the ability to explore this world which we are given.

SRC

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