Diapering in Days Gone By

I had a friend tell me the other day about this "new idea" of cloth diapering... I had to giggle as I reminded her that disposables haven't always been around! In light of that, I was all excited to put together a "history" of cloth diapering, but the folks at The Diaper Jungle already accomplished that.... ;-) I do encourage you to head over and check it out - it is REALLY fascinating {or maybe I'm just a nerd...ahem}

However, I still wanted to share some fun, old-school finds with ya'll... and in my search for information, I found this {hilarious} painting by Adriaen Brouwer showing what we mamas do all day - change diapers.

While this painting isn't cloth diaper specific, I think it is very safe to assume, the child being...cleaned, most likely isn't about to have a Huggies put on their bottom!

If you click on and enlarge the picture, the facial expressions are priceless....

I think my husband and I are guilty, many times over, of expressions just like those, especially once solids have been introduced!

I found this ad (on eBay of all places!) from 1904 for Dri-Dide Cloth Diapers.

What I found most interesting was the claim that these cloth diapers "prevent[s] deformity of the limbs..."













I also found these snapping diapers on eBay, but there was no brand name or other information. Anyone have a clue?

Along with this ad and the ability to purchase these unused diapers, there were a slew of ads from Curity Baby Diapers - totally fascinating to read through them all!





From the 1950's, I give you the "Safe Diaper Clip" (retailing for 49 cents, which would be $4.39 these days!) 

The Safe Diaper Clip was invented by Edward Moonan and was used to secure diapers (a safer alternative to pins, and a precursor to Snappis).




One more gem from the 1950's is the Safe-T Di-Dee - a pinless, snapping One-Size diaper invented by mom, R.G. Geeslin! The article states, "...looks like a pair of junior's training pants. It's simplicity personified. Two series of fasteners on either side allow for the baby's vigorous growth...provide leg and groin room birth to 30 pounds."

Later it says, "They [moms] found there was no hunting for the right and wrong side...they could close their eyes and slip them on their babies."

Check out this video from 1979 about Pampers vs. Cloth Diapers.... (I know this is in favor of disposables, but it was still entertaining!)

So what about you? Have you ever discovered diapering from "back in the day" - either in internet searches or while talking with family?