Women have been having babies for millennia and many aspects have stayed the same.

But some things have changed significantly in just one generation. When I look at today’s gadgets and gizmos and “stuff”, I’m amazed that we coped and that our kids survived, back in the last century!

~ There’s an app for that
There is an app for new parents to enter the details of the early days, times of feeds, how long, how much. How many wet nappies, how many dirty nappies. No more scribbled notes on scraps of paper. No more pins on a bra, to indicate the side of the last feed.

~ Nappies
I’ve learned that the pictures and patterns on today’s disposable nappies (diapers) are not just for visual effect, they have a practical use. The lines change colour when the nappy is wet.

~ Baby monitors
So much choice, so expensive. Today’s monitors sound like full on video surveillance with sound and movement sensors, that MI5 would be proud of!

~ Gro bags
To me, a Grow Bag is a container of soil where I’d plant seedlings or tomato plants. Today, they are baby sleep bags, some tight swaddle bags, others with a bit more room for movement.

I showed our daughter her baby book. She slept on her stomach, at the top end of a cot with fabric bumpers around the inside of the cot bars. All of those things are discouraged now. The “back to sleep” campaign, placing babies at the bottom of the crib/bassinet/cot so they don’t snuggle down under the covers and the removal of bumpers continue to reduce the incidences of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). We did use disposable nappies but they were much bigger, bulkier items. We didn’t have a monitor, we left our babies in another room and listened out for when they stirred or cried.

I wonder what changes the next few decades will bring?