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25 YEARS AGO ON AMBERGRIS CAYE BY ANGEL NUÑEZ
Cloth Diapers vs. Pampers |
I sit outside my home on the deck near the swimming pool as some good friends have a swim with their lovely little girl. I watch all the wonderful treatment they give the little girl, and I cannot help remark to myself in my mind: Babies did not get all that fine treatment 25 years ago.
After the fine swim during a warm Sunday afternoon, the baby gets a warm shower. Back then, babies used to get a swim in salty water and then a pail of well water over their heads.
Then the baby was covered and massaged with some fine expensive lotion. Another lotion was passed through her hair to disentangle the hair before the comb was passed. And then another sweet smelling potion or perfume was applied to the baby’s upper body. NOTHING of that twenty five years ago!
Then we continued talking about the diapers and the changes to some special training pants to encourage easy cleaning and potty training. And there are two different types of baby wipes, one to clean the baby and another one used to prevent chaffing.
I remember babies were cleaned with a piece of clean cloth cut off from some unused clothing. Only baby oil was used. The only undergarment used was cloth diapers which had to be shaken in water, soaked twice, washed and rinsed and put to dry in the sun to be used once again the following day.
Two dozen diapers looked so pretty when they were all whitened and lined out on the clothes line. These set of diapers were usually passed on to your second child or third and then perhaps to some family member.
Then my good friends started talking about special foods and diets. Oh there are so many formulas for different ages, and all the fruits and baby foods and healthy vegetables.
Here I remember babies being fed with come condensed milk shaken in a bottle of rain water and as soon as possible solid feeding would begin with rice, some beans and fish.
It was nothing strange for a two-month old baby to be eating fish. And here I think was the marked difference of health babies twenty five years ago. They ate a lot of fish from an early age.
Oh I really love babies, especially little girls, and I love to see the wonderful treatment that parents give them today. They are raised like princesses. I do remember my hair being washed with sunlight soap, the same soap used to do the laundry.
I think I had my treat of shampoo until I was about ten or so. It was so different 25 years ago, and I think I like it as it is today. There is a lot of fun shopping around.
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