I have been out of circulation for a week as I have been visiting a daughter who has just had her first baby. With babies in mind, I have decided to post about 1950s babies and what they wore, how they were cared for, their prams and pushchairs etc.

Most baby clothes were hand sewn or knitted in the 50s, few people could afford to buy everything in the shops. There were no baby grows, so for warmth they wore knitted leggings as well as cardigans and hats and bootees on their feet. Baby girls’ hats were called bonnets, baby boys’ knitted hats were known as helmets.

The girls wore dresses – most had hand smocking on them – and boys wore rompers or romper suits.

Baby colours were mostly white, pink for girls, blue for boys but lemon and pale green were acceptable for both which was useful when knitting during pregnancy.

Nappies were towelling, fastened with enormous nappy pins and covered with rubber (later plastic) pants.

There were no buggies. Prams were huge and metal-bodied and did not come off the wheels. Pushchairs, too, were large and solid and not very transportable. For mobility, parents used a carry-cot which was smaller, lightweight and had folding wheels. A baby could, therefore, be taken in a car lying in its carry-cot, the wheels folded up in the boot.