Then & Now

CaniacMom · October 2011

I know there are several other moms on this board who have kids far apart in age. It is funny thinking about some of the differences in pregnancy, baby stuff ,etc between my two sons who are almost 14 years apart...

Hospital

Then - Triage was a ward - when I arrived DH had to wait in waiting room until the examined me, decided I was really in labor and put me in a room before he could join me

Now - Triage Rooms were private so we were together the whole time

Then - After 22 hours of labor and an emergency C-Section I was put in a semi-private room with some chick who had not even delivered yet (was in hospital due to GD & Pre-E and boyfriend was bringing her sub sandwiches with Mt. Dew )

Now- All rooms were private

Then - After delivery I was rolled into some recovery room with the nurse - DH was with family and the baby at the nursury

Now - DH & Baby went to recovery to wait for me to get stitched up after C-Section and we were quickly back together

Baby Gear

Then - We had Wal-Mart, Toys R US & Sears to shop at for baby gear

Now- More local stores & the millions of Internet stores

Then - We were young and broke and relied on tons of hand-me-downs and buying whatever we could afford

Now- Much better off financially - better bargain shoppers to get the better stuff at good prices

Advice

Then - The What to Expect Series, mom, friends

Now- The Bump, WebMD, tons of other websites to look up whatever I want to know

What other Then & Nows do you ladies have to add....

stever · October 2011

I have no "thens" to add since DS was my first, but great post!

newbee36 · October 2011

stever:
I have no "thens" to add since DS was my first, but great post!

Yeah, same here, but I am interested to read others' nows and thens. I will see what I have missed..:)

gimmietimmies · October 2011

Ooooo!!! OOOOOO! Pick me pick me! L is 14, so I'm going by what was the norm for his then.

All of yours, and:

Ultrasounds

Then: If you weren't in a high risk group, no ultrasound for you! You got to wait until the big day for the gender reveal.

Now: Aside from the 2+ that seems to be the norm, you can actually go to a non-medical ultrasound, and have a gander at baby and the bits, all in 4-D.

Car Seats:

Then: Car seats had been around for quite a while, but the infant car seat (stupidly nicknamed the bucket, wtf) was just starting to come on the market. Good in theory, not so good in practice. There were a lot of latch plate failures from hard stops over 60kph (35mph?) and car seats ejecting. And handle failures and injuries. So, for years we avoided these and just used a convertible. For a very long time.

Now: North Americans are finally catching up to Europeans (esp. Sweden) in car seat safety. People rear face longer (yay for that, spinal cord injuries suck). They also keep kids in seats longer (well, more people than 14 years ago) . And the car seats themselves are a million times better. DH had L's original seat as an example for what not to use, demoed at the car seat clinics (it was a 3 pt shield style).

Strollers: Way more options. As in, make your head spin. I still despise travel systems.

Um, clothing your kids seems to be a competition between parents now, not so much then. At least in the 0 -5 category, I mean. Apparently now it's all about what label baby is wearing. 'Cause spending $40 on a Zara tshirt for a baby that will outgrow it in a month is smart.

I'll try thinking of more, my brain has been sucked out of my by work!!

gimmietimmies · October 2011

Oh, man, just thought of something.....the shear number of baby products on the market even in the last 5 years. I have this Indifferent reaction on the Gear board when some FTM or younger moms list off what they think is an absolute necessity can't live without item. Bumbo is not a necessity, and neither is a monitor (medical needs excluded), and the same with the infant seat. WTF did they think we did 14 years ago? Oh, but it's hard to go out shopping/dinner/etc without the seat.... Confused Whatever. They're probably also letting them nap in the seat, going for walks (with the car seat on the stroller, I don't get that), and spend hours in some sort of device (swing, bouncy seat, rnp, etc.) and are shocked when they get their plagiocephaly diagnosis.

K, rant over, off my soapbox now. Embarrassed

mwd · October 2011

TV shows: I am just going to do a then from my childhood to now. We just had sesame street, Mr. Rogers, and Capt. Kangaroo as appropriate TV.

Now, Kids can watch HOURS on public TV. I admit, I am a TV addict. But when I see DD and DS get mesmerized by the TV, I get upset, as I don't want them to turn out like me, couch potato. Since it has been such a great summer and super warm fall, I am on the push to get outside and play while the sun is shining.

CaniacMom · October 2011

Thanks for joining in everyone....It does not seem like so much could change in 14 years but it did. I look forward to hearing some more thens & nows.

ntyravgmom · October 2011

My boys are 6 years apart.

Then: burp cloths were a must.

Now: Just use a towel unless someone gives you some as a gift. You don't need so many, either.

Then: parents were allowed in the nursery.

Now: Parents had to call the nurse to deliver the baby to the room. (I think there was an rsv or flu risk when lo was born.)

dkays · October 2011

My first and last are 20 years apart.

Then: Enema and shaved before delivery

Now: Full of it and hairy at delivery

gimmietimmies · October 2011

dkays:

My first and last are 20 years apart.

Then: Enema and shaved before delivery

Now: Full of it and hairy at delivery

ROFLPMP...yeah, I forgot about that one. They were somewhere in between when I had L, and I looked at my dr and told him if he shaved me, cut me (episiotomy), or did anything else like that, I'd kill him. Fortunately, he was not into unnecessary interventions. Which wasn't common 14 years ago.

ScoobyM · October 2011

This is more like from my own birth to me, but my parents have told me that when my mom gave birth to me, she was in so much pain they actually KNOCKED HER OUT. She was unconscious when she gave birth to me! No clue why an epi wasn't an option.

Also, her doctor at the time convinced her that breastfeeding was unnecessary and gave her some sort of shot that dried up her milk. I think it was permanent because she did not BF me or my 2 younger sisters.

Oh - and I distinctly recall sitting in between my parents in the front seat when I was a youngster - definitely too young to be outside a safety seat by today's standards.

This was 1971, FYI.

sokmonkee3517 · October 2011

E is my first but I do know that I came home from the hospital in a disposable, folding bassinet, basically a cardboard box, set on the back seat of the car. With E we had to present our carseat to the nurse for a fitting and approval before they would let her leave. Most certainly a positive move for the Now!