Watching a close relative develop her motherhood skills over the last year has been an privilege and an absolute eye opener. The well trodden ways of yesteryear are of course well out of date and have been turned on their heads. When it was our turn, babies were never to be left on their back to sleep; they were never left in an empty cot with no blankets or duvet; there was always a bumber around the cot to stop Baby from banging their tender head on the cot. Baby was put in his own cot, in his own bedroom as soon as possible to ensure Baby knew his place and to get him just used to life as a member of the family, rather than the only one that matters, above all else. Solid foods are now not introduced until well after the 3 months and cows milk is not encouraged until Baby is a full year old. Teething is not comforted with Woodward’s Grip water, that magical clear liquid that was administered via a useful dropper syringe affair, or on a spoon. Baby has to stay in some sort of restrained seating in the car until he is over 12 months old.
The changes are so dramatic and to listen to some of the other mums who attended Mother & Baby activities one could be forgiven for thinking the Baby and Kindergarten Police were constantly sitting outside their house. Every atom of baby advice is taken on board with the sort of reverence that a government would absolutely love to share. It is very difficult as a bystander to not interfere or even mildy suggest that things were done differently in their day. However, for all the arguments for moving baby on to 3 meals a day from a month old, the new ways of keeping breast or formular for much longer, has been tremendously beneficial with one little relative. He tucks in to his 3 meals a day with precision and nimble fingers to be proud of. His mum has a tremendous aversion to disgusting messes and so for soft foods like spagetti in sauce, with potato and carrot bits, then the careful application of the Tommy Tippee feeding spoon is still the order of the day. But the changes in equipment are well beyond the realms of fantasy. The non spill feeder cups are incredible. They literally can be tipped upside down and somehow the fluid stays in the cup but as soon as Baby picks it up to drink, he can sip through what looks like a solid rubbery top but if he tips it upside down, then nothing comes out of it. Brilliant!