Question of the day...

[Pink Elephant]

My mother had a clamp arrangement that held onto the diaper while you were soaking it in the toilet. It would even hold it through flushing.

It's one of the few things I remember from when my little sister came. (I was 3)

Now that's a neat idea!

Before I was old enough to change diapers (oldest born of my siblings), my job at change-time was to hold onto the pins for mom and pass them to her when she was ready to fasten the diaper.

 

[Pink Elephant]

Anyone ever have to babysit overnight or for an entire weekend?

Myself, I do remember, and regularly for one family. Usually from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening, sometimes into Monday if I was off on summer holidays. Sure wakes a sitter up to the realities of motherhood!

Waking up as a result of the cries of a baby at 2 am, used to get the heart pounding, and then scrambling for such things as diapers and bottles, or spending a few minutes, sometimes what seemed like eternity settling the baby back down so both of you could go back to sleep.

I remember waking in the morning feeling groggy, because of the up and down in the middle of the night. I'd make coffee first thing, just like real moms do, and there I'd be puffing on my cigarette and sipping my coffee.

There were diapers to wash, bottoms to change, bottles to prepare, and other miscellaneous stuff to do. Meals needed served, dishes washed, and general nonstop tidying to do behind each kid, so said parents didn't arrive back home to a house in complete disarray. I earned my money on those overnight and weekend babysitting stints!

 

[Pink Elephant]

I never babysat. Well, I guess I did ONE time for a toddler for a few hours and I was so freaked out that I called my mom. I was about 17.

My son was the first baby I EVER had to take care of! The nurse at the hospital had to teach me how to change him. I was 31.

Lil. One of my best friends had to learn everything related to baby-care (from scratch) when she had her first, and I was one of those experienced moms that stepped-up to her aid.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you babysit when they were younger?
Yes

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?

Depended upon if it was family or not $1.75 for family and $2.50 before midnight and $3.50


- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?

Mostly evening. I remember being driven home by a lot of drunk people. Some day and weekends also

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered?

And the capacity for a head to get stuck in the rails.


- What kind of diapers did you have to changewhen you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?

Both

- Did you spank?
Never but the parents sure did

- How old were you when you started babysitting?
11

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?
14 got a part time Job at McDonlads.

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?
Absolute crap. Junk food, cloths, Tiger Beat magazines, my first LP Rod Stewart. Movies and a 10 speed bike!

LittleBoyLost. Let me guess, plain old-fashioned white rubber pants when you changed cloth diapers?

My sister in law and I were just talking about this over coffee this morning, and how everyone's clotheslines had a long row of diapers on it with white rubber pants!

 

[Littleboylost]

White were the mode for a long time. I remember when my sisters 3 and 4th eldest had their kids. There were colour an frill options and when 4th eldest had her 3 child that is when pampers came on the scene.

I remember we let the babay in the wading pool with the super absorbent on. It was hysterical. It was like Willie Wonka and the bloated Blueberry. Never did that again.

 

[Nomad]

- Did you babysit when they were younger?
Yes...in retrospect, an interesting story (see below).

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?
50 cents at first. Went up.

- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?
Both

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered?
Yes

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?
At the very very beginning for a very short time, cloth. Then disposable.

- Did you spank?
Never

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?
16

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?
Make up


I babysat starting at age 12 or 13. The people next door had two adult kids and now in retrospect, it is extraordinarily interesting. One was an attorney and a very successful big shot in government....he did not live at home.

One was a waitress and an unwed mother. She was probably considered "wild," for the time period. However, I don't perceive her as being all that bad at all. She worked full time and lived at home for about two years until she could afford her own place. I babysat whenever she had a date and her parents were out of town or there was some other situation like they were unwell. I babysat regularly during these two years. After that, only now and then.

As a side note...I had a relative in personnel at a large company and started working there at that company in the Summers and most Xmas breaks starting at age 15. So, I started to not have time. I did end up buying a car with my saved money.

 

[Pink Elephant]

White were the mode for a long time. I remember when my sisters 3 and 4th eldest had their kids. There were colour an frill options and when 4th eldest had her 3 child that is when pampers came on the scene.

I remember we let the babay in the wading pool with the super absorbent on. It was hysterical. It was like Willie Wonka and the bloated Blueberry. Never did that again.

Yes indeed, white were definitely the mode for the longest time. I recall pastels in the 70's, early 80's, too (for a while), but white reined supreme, at least in the homes where I was changing diapers.

LOL, about the water-logged Pamper! My kids used to look like they were wearing a fish bowl on their butts when playing in the wading pool, because their rubber pants would fill with water and stretch and balloon!

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you babysit when they were younger?
Yes...in retrospect, an interesting story (see below).

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?
50 cents at first. Went up.

- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?
Both

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered?
Yes

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?
At the very very beginning for a very short time, cloth. Then disposable.

- Did you spank?
Never

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?
16

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?
Make up


I babysat starting at age 12 or 13. The people next door had two adult kids and now in retrospect, it is extraordinarily interesting. One was an attorney and a very successful big shot in government....he did not live at home.

One was a waitress and an unwed mother. She was probably considered "wild," for the time period. However, I don't perceive her as being all that bad at all. She worked full time and lived at home for about two years until she could afford her own place. I babysat whenever she had a date and her parents were out of town or there was some other situation like they were unwell. I babysat regularly during these two years. After that, only now and then.

As a side note...I had a relative in personnel at a large company and started working there at that company in the Summers and most Xmas breaks starting at age 15. So, I started to not have time. I did end up buying a car with my saved money.

.50 cents an hours tells me you were babysitting in the 1970's?

I remember the first time I babysat and had to change Pampers. It had always been cloth diapers when I babysat, so those modern, newfangled diapers reminded me of something that had been flown-in and dropped from the sky from another planet! LOL! No pins, no rubber pants. Something I definitely wasn't used to.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you babysit when they were younger?
Yes...in retrospect, an interesting story (see below).

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?
50 cents at first. Went up.

- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?
Both

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered?
Yes

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?
At the very very beginning for a very short time, cloth. Then disposable.

- Did you spank?
Never

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?
16

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?
Make up


I babysat starting at age 12 or 13. The people next door had two adult kids and now in retrospect, it is extraordinarily interesting. One was an attorney and a very successful big shot in government....he did not live at home.

One was a waitress and an unwed mother. She was probably considered "wild," for the time period. However, I don't perceive her as being all that bad at all. She worked full time and lived at home for about two years until she could afford her own place. I babysat whenever she had a date and her parents were out of town or there was some other situation like they were unwell. I babysat regularly during these two years. After that, only now and then.

As a side note...I had a relative in personnel at a large company and started working there at that company in the Summers and most Xmas breaks starting at age 15. So, I started to not have time. I did end up buying a car with my saved money.

Changing those old cloth diapers sure set me straight as far as sex before marriage went, let me tell you! LOL!

I'd spend my week in school, then when Friday night rolled around, I'd be babysitting at someone's house, changing diapers (cloth), with the rubber pants and pins, and I'd think to myself, "if you accidentally get pregnant, this is what you're going to be doing fulltime)!

It was a vivid reminder to me to be good.

 

[ahhjeez]

- Did you babysit when they were younger? I did not. I'm an only child so I had no sibs and never babysat so my kid was the first diaper I ever changed.

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?

- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered? My son's crib railing did lower. I didn't realize I could raise the mattress on the crib until I dismantled the thing to give it away. That certainly would have made things much easier. LOL.

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?

- Did you spank? I didn't spank my son.

- How old were you when you started babysitting?

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?

 

[Pink Elephant]

- Did you babysit when they were younger? I did not. I'm an only child so I had no sibs and never babysat so my kid was the first diaper I ever changed.

- Remember how much you got paid (per hour)?

- Did you babysit during the day or evening (or both)?

- Remember how cribs used to have the railing that lowered? My son's crib railing did lower. I didn't realize I could raise the mattress on the crib until I dismantled the thing to give it away. That certainly would have made things much easier. LOL.

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?

- Did you spank? I didn't spank my son.

- How old were you when you started babysitting?

- How old were you when you quit babysitting?

- What sorts of things did you buy with your babysitting money?

Re: the crib mattress height adjustment, oh poo! Yes, it would have made life so much easier for you!

My cribs had a 4-position adjustment option, so being able to keep little ones up higher was so handy, and of course once I had toddlers, the mattresses were dropped, though it didn't prevent one of my sons from practicing his Houdini moves and escaping his cell! LOL!

He was the diaper bandit!

 

[Nomad]

I never babysat overnight. I think one time it was into the wee hours of the morning. I thought that was very cool!

 

[Pink Elephant]

I never babysat overnight. I think one time it was into the wee hours of the morning. I thought that was very cool!

I absolutely agree, Nomad! Made us feel so grown up and mature.

My mom was always just a hop, skip, and a jump away wherever I was babysitting, so had anything gone sideways, she would have been there to help in a flash.

 

[ahhjeez]

LOL. Diaper bandit.

 

[Pink Elephant]

- What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?
At the very very beginning for a very short time, cloth. Then disposable.

Nomad. Are you talkin' old-fashioned cloth diapers with rubber pants and safety pins? As in the ones that needed folding and went into a diaper pail after changing?

 

[Pink Elephant]

Just thought of a little something I thought I'd add to this conversation... folding diapers.

I folded, both when dealing with my baby siblings, and when babysitting. When I used to babysit for my aunt, I used to ask her to leave the diapers unfolded so I had something to do while I was there, and on Friday nights when I babysat my sibs, I'd prepare a nighttime diaper (from scratch) for baby brother when changing him for the last time before putting him to bed. Nighttime diapers always made for a seriously big padded bottom with accompanying bow-legs! LOL!

Most homes I babysat at, the mothers had diapers folded and ready (same in our home with siblings, mom always had folded diapers on-hand), but I do remember there being a few homes that didn't, and a few that never had diapers prepared.

With my own children I always had a supply of diapers folded and stacked and out in plain view on top of said kids dresser. No opening drawers at change-time, no fussing around looking for a diaper here or there... (running downstairs to the laundry room), etc.

Double diapers were the standard back in the day, both in our home, and the homes I babysat at, and at my aunts.

 

[Pink Elephant]

What kind of diapers did you have to change when you babysat? Cloth or disposable (or both)?
Mostly cloth with-rubber pants. The very first disposables were awful.

Do you remember double diapering, GoingNorth? Where you folded two diapers together for added absorbency? Usually at nighttime?