9-12 weeks

Baby #1 was still 'very good' at 9 weeks and I noted in my diary that he was baptised at 9 1/2 weeks and was perfectly behaved. There was a definite pattern to his days:

6- 7am Wakes, fed and changed

7-8am sleeps in pram until next feed at 11 or 12

After lunch we go out for a walk. We lived by a park so pushing the pram around there was easy.

Wakeful time from 4pm-5.30pm when he lies on the rug, smiles, 'talks' and sucks his fingers

5.30pm Bath, feed, sleep till about 10pm. Fed and changed then back to sleep.

I don't mention any night-time feeds which seems a little incredible.

At 11 weeks though I have him weighed and he's only gained 3ozs in 2 weeks. The clinic nurse makes me feel worried and anxious and advises giving him a 2oz. bottle after the evening feed. I notedin my diary that, in retrospect , this was 'fatal' as it undermined my confidence in breast-feeding. I should have persevered. Baby was clearly healthy and contented even though his weight gain was slow. I bought Mothercare's steriliser (a large plastic container to which I added boiled water and a sterilizing tablet and immersed bottles and teats in it.)

At 12 weeks I noted that he suddenly developed a big appetite. Awake hours before the next feed was due, screaming and sucking his fists frantically. The Health Visitor suggested introducing him to 'solids'. I'm sure modern paediatric nurses would be horrified at the thought of such a young baby being fed solid food. I bought Robinson's packet foods that needed to be mixed with water as bottled food (Heinz etc) did not keep well. I tried 'Tomato and Cheese Savoury' and 'Liver and Bacon with vegetables' both of which went down well. I also gave him several spoonfuls of baby Rice before his 10am feed.

Baby #2 at nine weeks suddenly changed her nature completely. When she was awake she seemed to be 'struggling against some hidden force' and never seemed to be contented. None of the usual remedies (nursing, walking the room, dummy, gripe water) seemed to work. (Note on gripe water... I used Woodward's Gripe Water' which I have read used to contain 3.6% alcohol until, due to public pressure, the alcohol content was taken out in 1992).

She did not sleep at regular times and some days she slept very little. Her feeding was also erratic. She 'will suck strongly for a couple of minutes, then thrash about and will not continue sucking'. Then 'she cries, presumably because she's still hungry'. 'Sometimes if she has really screamed for 5-10 minutes then she will feed properly and then fall asleep'. I was getting quite desperate ; I note that I was beginning to feel 'quite worn out and rather depressed.' Remember I also had a toddler demanding my attention so I probably was pretty exhausted.

I noted one day's behaviour, saying it was not typical as every day was different.

2am Cried, Fed her gave her dummy and she went back to sleep

5.am Cried again so fed her. Slept till about 6am

Then she became restless so walked about with her, sat downstairs with her, tried to put her back in her cot and had to stay until she dozed off.

8am We all got up

9am Fed baby #2 not a calm feed

Awake and very fretful till about 11am

Pushed her up & down in pram. She dozed off but was awake again half an hour later.

I attempted to feed her again Would only feed for 2-3 minutes on each side. Back in pram.

Another feed at 1pm then slept for most of afternoon

4.15 pm feed then went out for a walk so she was lulled to sleep in the pram

6pm woke up very miserable Couldn't settle her. No smiles. Fed her again at 7pm. Again she was restless and would hardly suck. She screamed and screamed. I fed her again in sheer desperation at about 8.15 and then she fell asleep. Me, I was totally exhausted. In between all the above, I noted that I washed 15 nappies (more about nappies below) & lots of baby clothes. I am sometimes changing the baby 4-5 times a day. Cooked lunch - I even noted what we ate!! Steak and onions (obviously in my pre-vegetarian days!) followed by steamed pudding and custard. Crazy---- I wouldn't go to that trouble now! Also I note that toddler (Baby#1) had a major tantrum over a banana :))

Note: breastfeeding advice was confusing as everyone I consulted had different advice to give. I was told to allow 10 minutes on each breast which I carefully timed. I used this method for both babies.

Nappies Both children were still in nappies at this stage. They were terry squares which had to have a paper liner inside and then wrapped around the child and secured with large nappy pin, taking care not to pierce baby's tummy. The nappy was kept in place by plastic pants.

The 'dirty' nappies had to be sluiced off down the toilet, then immersed in nappy solution in a 'nappy bucket'. After a few hours of immersion the nappies were rung out and washed in the machine. In those days I only had a twin tub washing machine which had to be dragged out into the middle of the kitchen and filled from the kitchen tap. The water had to be heated before adding clothes. When wash cycle had finished, the sopping nappies had to be lifted from rinsing water with wooden tongs and placed in next tub which was a spin dryer. Once nappies had much of water removed by spin process you could then hang them out to dry! But there was still the washing machine to empty by hooking tube over the kitchen sink and activating 'emptying' mode. I changed both children on a purpose built shelf upstairs so, every nappy change, I would lug two kids (baby and toddler) up open-tread stairs. Talk about hard work :)

Baby rearing . 0-8 weeks

I decided to write this blog after the birth of our first grandchild. When our children were infants I kept a diary and this blog is based on my diary entries. It will be interesting for me to see whether my memory has served me well and also to compare baby-rearing advice from the 1970s with present day.

Our first child was born after about 15 hours labour, weighing 8lbs 14 oz. In the hospital, where I stayed for 10 days following the birth (standard procedure after a first baby in 1978), the staff had taken him off the breast to weigh him before and after feeding, often with no warning, which didn't help my state of mind. I had three doses of Pethidine during labour so both baby and me were doped to the eyeballs for days. When we left for home the baby was feeding regularly about every 3-4 hours. At four weeks he developed a rash of spots all over his face which lasted for about 2 weeks. By 5 weeks he weighed 9lbs 12 ozs but the following week he had lost an ounce. He regained that ounce at 7 weeks but had not put on any more weight. The Health Visitor told me to wake him for his 10pm feed as he was probably not getting enough food (I was breast feeding so always difficult to know how much milk the baby is taking). I noted that he appeared to have grown, and was contented so I assumed he had grown -- in height!

8 weeks 10lbs 2 ozs

After a week of waking baby for a 10pm feed he had gained 6 ozs (about average apparently).

" He was very reluctant to wake however but had a 'dream feed', went back to sleep and woke again between 6-7 a.m. Feeds then, wakeful for a while then usually sleeps in the pram until next feed time. "

Well, that's based on fact but my memory seems to be full of sleepless nights, pacing the floor with a crying baby, with extensive use of gripe water :))

Baby No 2 born after almost 12 hours labour (only 15 mins in 2nd stage!) Weight 8lbs 14 oz (exactly the same as Baby No.1) Only in hospital overnight as I had an 18 month old at home and my mum was at home to help out.

0-5 days Sleeps 4-5 hours between feeds. (Breast feeding again) Baby perfect during the day but takes 2 hours or so to settle in the middle of the night. Seems to like sucking- gets frantic if she can't find her thumb.

5-14 days More settled. Sleeps soundly between feeds. Have given her a dummy (we didn't give in till 8 months with Baby no 1) Still a sleepy feeder. Takes ages to get going and then often doses whilst feeding. Has a very loud yell.

14 days- 4 weeks Has one or two more wakeful periods during the day. Looks around with interest. Looks fixedly at faces, especially when talking.

4 weeks Is coming along well. More sociable, Had her weighed... 9lbs 14 oz so has put on exactly one pound since birth.

6 weeks to Clinic for 6 week check up. Weighed 10lbs 11, length 58cm head 39cm

But she objected strongly to being undressed and, by the time we went into the doctor, she was screaming loudly. So upset that she failed to do any of the tests. This means a return visit in 2 weeks. She has noticeably grown. Dark hair, very profuse but not as much as her brother had! Eyes blue- she now smiles a lot at my face when I am talking and smiling. Appetite spurt- back to feeding every 3 hours. Is good-natured and attached to her dummy. She can now lie awake for long periods and be quite contented. Still waking during the night. Now has a rash on her face. I remember Baby #1 had similar one which just disappeared on its own. She can hold up her head without much wobbling.

8 weeks Return to clinic for repeat of developmental check. Slow start but she did eventually perform. Just not that interested in the ball dangling above her head! Rash has almost gone. Feeding even more often and not at regular intervals- sometimes 2 hours only between feeds. But she can sleep long stretches e.g. 5.30pm through to 1.30am (8 hours!) It's a pity it's not midnight onwards. Generally, a good baby, alert and sociable.

Meanwhile our 'Baby #1) was 18 months +

I noted that he was "an active intelligent little boy" and we were constantly amazed by how much he understood. He had a vocabulary of about six words- favourites being 'car' and 'tractor'.

Has very blonde hair and is still quite chubby. Is still ready for bed about 6.30pm and has a long nap (up to 2 hours) before his lunch.

By the time baby #2 was 2 months old, Baby #1 was becoming more and more self-willed and consequently there were major tantrums. Going to the shops was a fraught business and he would not go on the pram seat (I had a 'proper' coach built pram (borrowed) with a small seat with harness that perched on top). He had reins on so that I could hold on to him in the supermarket. He also snatched the reins out of my hand and wouldn't hold my hand either. The main road (A6) was so busy that I had to hold on somehow. The consequence was that he had several tantrums at intervals along the road. The 'Cheese Shop' owner reckoned he knew when I was coming as I'd have a wailing baby and a screaming toddler in tow. In those days you had to leave the pram, with baby in it, outside shops (hard to believe in these more cautious times). of course, looking back, baby #1 had a lot to cope with, toddler tantrums and a new baby sister who impinged more and more on his life. He used to get in several jabs and pokes during the course of an average day. Look out, she'll fight back soon.