18 Wednesday Nov 2015
Posted in Information, Sling Library
Tags
2015, 2016, artwork, babies, baby toddler, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, birch hill, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, dates, Erin Stacey Poyner, flyer, natural parenting, November, share, sling, sling library, sling meet, slings, wrap, wraps
Now we have our new logos and dates for 2016, it’s time for a new flyer!
28 Monday Sep 2015
Posted in Reviews, Sling Library
Tags
2015, baby pink, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, blog posts, blogging, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, carry, christinas ruckless, fwcc, Netherlands, photography, pink, Pure Baby Love, review, reviews, September, sling, travelling tester wrap, wrap
Recently the library was lucky enough to receive in the post a pale pink size six Pure Baby Love wrap to play with for a while. Pure Baby Love are a relatively new company based in the Netherlands (Amsterdam) who produce beautifully soft 100% cotton wraps. They currently have pale blue, pink and grey in stock and more recently a purple and a darker blue tone, with “mint” on the way soon.
We were lucky enough to see one of these wraps back in June when Sling Sally brought the tester she’d been sent to our Sling Library, and were excited about having one to try ourselves.
I’ll echo what I’ve said before, for a 100% cotton wrap it’s beautifully soft and floppy but still quite a decent thickness and weight. Despite being a single colour, non-patterned wrap, the weave is really pretty up close, and the colour is just perfect. I’m not a pink person at all, but I was strangely drawn to it’s powdery but not sickly pinkness.
Wrapping wise, its very supportive for a 14kg toddler, who I wrapped in both a fwcc around the house when he was sleepy, and a christinas ruckless on my back when we popped out to visit a friend. He slept easily in the front carry and was very comfortable for us both. It was relatively easy to tighten with enough grip to hold the passes as I was tightening it up.
The back carry was almost weightless, with a nice amount of give to encourage a good seat and to be comfortable on the shoulders.
At €75 it’s a bargainous wrap which would suit both a new baby with it’s softness and bigger toddler alike, and great for those new to wrapping as it’s easy to adjust and quite forgiving (even with my dodgy wrap job).
I look forwards to seeing the new colours and hope that we might buy one for the library one day!
You can buy yourself a Pure Baby Love pastel wrap here on their website and find out more on their Facebook Page
17 Friday Jul 2015
Posted in Meet Ups, Photos, Sling Library
Tags
2015, babies, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, blog posts, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, July, natural parenting, sling, sling library, sling meet, slingmeet, slings, volunteers, what goes into a sling meet, wrap, wraps
What goes into a sling meet? I’ll try to talk you through this week!
Around 11:30am Clare double checked the stock and paperwork. Gemma printed some more hire forms, TICKS guidelines and terms & conditions of hire and she arrived early to set up before heading off to work. Clare and volunteer Jay arrived early to finish setting up the room. Lindsey who runs Newbury sling library also came along to help, bringing two weighed dolls and a selection of her slings and wraps.
Just after 1pm the parents started arriving. There were 7 slings due back (6 of which arrived, one being picked up tonight) so they were checked over and signed back in whilst each hirer was asked how they got on with the sling and were given advice about what might suit them based on their experience and preference. Jay reluctantly returned the hop the which she loved, and Gemma R wanted to try something new having loved the Storchenweige half buckle. Some new people came along too so they were asked if they’d used any slings before, how old their baby was and what kind of use they wanted to get out of the slings before getting more specific assistance.
Gemma R helped her cousins’ friend with a stretchy wrap for her young baby whilst Clare helped Jenny with her Manduca for Jenny’s 22 month old toddler. Lindsey showed a number of mummies how to use ringslings whilst Caroline and Clare demoed and helped a few mummies try wrapping for the first time with a front wrap cross carry and talked size, blend and different carries.
Between 1 and 2:45 (ran over a bit!) There were 6 hires including one longer length hire to cover a holiday plus Caroline borrowed some sling rings to try with her new size two wrap and Melanie hired both a wrap and the smaller baby zip in insert for her Manduca.
It took a while to clear up and get all the tables and chairs away but it was all done and dusted by about 3:15.
After getting home, Clare double checked the finances to ensure that they tallied up with what we were expecting as per the paperwork (phew they did) and then sat down with a cup of tea and a biscuit! Though she’ll be heading it later to pick up the last sling due back.
So if we mix up the names- Gemma usually looks after the stock and finances and we have a mix of different volunteers helping out each week- this is pretty standard. Bracknell sling meet runs once every two weeks and is entirely not-for-profit. It’s a community affair and run entirely by volunteers!
04 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Guest post, Q&A, Sling Library
Tags
2015, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, blog posts, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, guest blog, June, natural parenting, Reading, sling, sling library, sling meet, sling swing, slings, Wokingham, wrap, wraps
Hi I’m Jen, mum to Elodie, now a year old, and I’m a passionate baby wearer!You will see us mooching about town or walking along the river in my ever growing collection of slings.
I recently turned my passion into my living – I run Sling Swing in Reading and Wokingham. Sling swing is a fun, gentle dance class for parents and carers who wear their children in slings or carriers. It’s a great way to get out and meet new friends, to get a bit of exercise and introduce your baby to music and rhythm.
How did you get into babywearing and did you plan to wear your baby when you were pregnant?
I initially bought a mothercare carrier when I was pregnant thinking it looked useful, I didn’t know that was a bit different to a sling at the time. My cousin bought me a stretchy though and talked about the benefits, it all sounded a bit hippie to me back then but I figured it might be useful!
What’s your favourite wrap/carrier you’ve ever owned and why?
Definitely my stretchy, it got me through a really hard time and allowed me to bond with Elodie, I have such happy memories of using it and have lent it to 2 other friends so they can make good memories too.
If money were no object, what wrap or sling would you own?
I’m not actually a huge wrap buyer and am pretty happy just with what’s useful and comfortably but I have seen some beautiful Oschas!!
What do you like about babywearing?
So much, baby wearing came into its own for me when Elodie was only tiny. She was a baby who never wanted to be put down and so I started wearing her for practical reasons but it became so much more!
I found the early months very hard, I worried constantly that I was doing it all wrong (thanks to lots of unhelpful advice!) and was eventually diagnosed with post natal anxiety. I was lucky to get great support but really, baby wearing was the best treatment! When I wore Elodie she was calm, and so was I!I could get out and about, people would ask about my wrap or say how comfy she looked. I started to think maybe I wasn’t so terrible at being a mum (as I’d come to believe!) I would feel proud with my baby strapped to me – like nature intended it and despite all the “rod for my own back” comments I wanted to shout “look what I can do” as I wandered about the shops while stroking her back or seeing her look up and smile at me!
Baby wearing, is now a passion of mine and I recommend it to all my friends! I’ve made some brilliant friends through wearing and that’s really helped me feel more confident and just happier all round! I should add that I still love the ease of wearing, being able to go wherever we like with no stress about whether a buggy will cause us a huge hassle! I go into London a lot and it just makes everything so much more accessible!
What do or did you find hardest about babywearing?
Tough question! I guess just the, admittedly few, negative comments I still get. I am sensitive to them as they fuel the anxieties that really affected my first few months as a mum, but luckily, I’ve got great support from the Reading baby wearing group and others like this one, so I’m able to have a whinge and laugh it off!
Does your partner join in with the babywearing?
Yep, he loves buckles, our connecta is his fave, or “the red one” as he calls it!!
“The red one”
What kind of comments do you receive when you babywear out and about? Mostly just comments on how cute Elodie looks all snug etc, I once got chased down the road by an African lady wanting to know where my wrap (Lenny lamb) was from as it “reminded her of home!”
Thanks to Jen- we are really looking forwards to Sling Swing coming to little old Bracknell with a free taster tomorrow morning!
For more information check out Swing Sling Reading & Wokingham on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/slingswingreadingandwokingham
11 Monday May 2015
Posted in Information, Sling Library, Uncategorized
Tags
2015, analogy, babies, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, choice, choosing, May, natural parenting, shoes, sling, sling library, sling meet, slings, wraps
Gemma has been thinking about babywearing and the kinds of questions we get asked, like “Are expensive slings better than cheap ones?”…..
I have been having a think and I’m going to liken Babywearing to buying and wearing shoes.
Some shoes are cheaper like Primark, and some are more expensive- the Gucci of the carrier and wrap world.
Some pinch, some are too big, some end up never being worn outside of the house but all should be tried on for size.
I’ve never bought shoes I haven’t tried on, even in the shop, but still I have a cupboard full of ones that are not quite right.
Then I have my favourites- The ones I wear day in day out.
It’s exactly the same with wraps or buckles.
I’ve tried quite a few – ok lots but not everyone is right for every situation. I don’t wear Manolos to Tesco, and I don’t drive in flip flops.
I suppose to summarise: not every buckled carrier or wrap will suit every person.
Not everyone can afford the big brands but with trial and error there IS something out there for everyone to enjoy babywearing.
Pretty powerful message and a great analogy that our sling meet enjoyed!
08 Friday May 2015
Posted in Information, Photos, Reviews, Sling Library, Uncategorized
Tags
2015, babies, babywearing, Berkshire, birch hill, blog posts, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, didymos, hires, May, natural parenting, new, papatum, sling, sling meet, slings, toddler, wrap
8!
Yes 8 hires this week!
And lots of help from lovely helpful people. Three new slings in the library due to kind donations
First was a Papatum “toddler” sized soft structured (full buckle) carrier. I’d honestly say it’s a baby or inbetween size rather than a toddler size- the panel is only about 14 inches wide which is pretty standard for a baby sized carrier. My leggy 19 month old just didn’t really fit when I tried it out this week. It says 8kg to 28kg (I believe) or up to 36 months. So it would be “safe” for his weight but we couldn’t get the pannel to fit very well. However a few mummies tried it today with small er babies and it looked great. It was really comfortable for me but I suspect not so comfy for him!
Papatum cuddles
Back carry papatum
The second (from the same kind person) was a Didymos Geckos size 6 wrap in “Mocca-Orange”. I also had the pleasure of trying it out this week and took it to the library and shops in a double hammock (saltwater finish). It’s really soft and grippy, and wraps beautifully. It’s not really my colours but I love the distinctive flip side and how well it wraps.
Batman in geckos
Pretty finish
Geckos was hired out today already!
Third wonderful donation was a well loved Ergo carrier- one of the noticeable gaps in our buckle carrier collection. The fact that it’s well pre-loved meant that it was wonderfully soft and it went straight out on hire today!
Thank you again to all our supporters who have hired, told their friends about sling meet or donated wrap!
IN OTHER NEWS
I brought along my new babywearing bag (by Bebe Sachi) to sling meet today and it was well admired- if you’d like to know more, please look at my review here: https://bumpytimes.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/review-bebe-sachi-hobo-bag/
05 Tuesday May 2015
Posted in Guest post, Photos, Q&A, Sling Library
Tags
2015, babywearing, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, May, Q&A, sling, sling library, sling meet, slings, Thames Valley Sling Library, wraps
I’m Maria, I run Thames Valley Sling Babies and have a husband, two children, aged 11 and 7 and two cats. I home educate one child at the moment, although this often seems subject to change (different child, different schools, it’s complicated!). I also nanny for 3 home educated children part-time.
How did you get into babywearing and did you plan to wear your baby when you were pregnant?
With my first child I got bequeathed the usual set of dodgy carriers (I’m not even sure some of them had names and they were probably from the 70s!), I have back problems and none of them helped, so I carried my son in-arms and in ignorance for a year or so (he enjoyed this immensely and saw no reason to start walking early).
I did however become quite evangelical about cloth nappies and so gradually met parents who carried their children in slings. So when I fell pregnant with my daughter, I started shopping!
One of my first wrap jobs in an Ellaroo
What’s your favourite wrap/carrier you’ve ever owned and why?
My absolute favourite carrier was and is Rosie, Didymos Burgund-Rosa, to give her her proper name. She’s a cream and red Indio wrap in 50/50 cotton/linen and is as strong as an ox! I have a particular obsession with red and a dodgy back and shoulders, and at the time Rosie was becoming something of a legend for softness and strength, so she was just what I needed to carry my daughter past the age of 2.
If money were no object, what wrap or sling would you own?
Hmm, I would love to try a Pamir (another unicorn wrap), I checked recently and prices are terrifying! I would have loved Rosie in a size 6. I would also commission Didymos to weave a Aqua Waves with linen, tho that might be to beastly even for me!
What do you like about babywearing?
The closeness, and the reassurance it gives, both my children struggle with transitions (moving from one place/state/situation to another) and wrapping really helped my daughter manage that.
I’ve also had the privilege of wearing friend’s children, we’ve swapped kids this way on occasion, depending on who was capable of carrying the weight!
Trying out a library ring sling
What do or did you find hardest about babywearing?
The sweat and tears of learning to wrap from photos and Youtube videos! Having to stop wearing now my youngest is too big.
Does your partner join in with the babywearing?
He did, he didn’t get wrapping particularly, but had his own buckle carriers.
What kind of comments do you receive when you babywear out and about?
We live in a very diverse neighbourhood and different styles of babywearing are quite common these days, so I’ve been high fived by a few mamas who would see babywearing as a normal part of their life.
I’ve had wistful comments too “I wish we had those back in my day” (if only they had known!), it’s always been very positive.
Huge thanks to Maria, not only for this guest blog post but also for her help, support and knowledge whilst we’ve been setting up the Bracknell Sling Library. She does a great job of looking after the Thames Valley and the sling meets are very popular!
23 Thursday Apr 2015
Posted in Information, Links
Tags
2015, April, babies, baby wearing, babywearing, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carriers, mythbusting, myths, natural parenting, truth, wrap
Babywearing is pretty much universally a positive experience. I always find that people smile at me when they realise there’s a baby on my back, and when I asked Bracknell Sling Meet members about what myths they’d heard about babywearing, they were keen to point out that on the whole the comments they receive are positive!
However, there’s quite a few misconceptions about babywearing (as there are many parts of alternative or attachment parenting) and I thought it would be useful to have a babywearing mythbusters page that we can add to as things come up.
MYTH: It will hurt your back/ it’s bad for your back
Most people who I’ve met who think babywearing will hurt your back either used non-ergonomic high street carriers and possibly wore their babies facing out and found they were uncomfortable after a while, or never used a sling and found that carrying their baby/toddler around all day in their arms on their hip was uncomfortable and heavy.
Proper ergonomic (we use that word a lot, it just means “designed to minimize physical effort and discomfort, and hence maximize efficiency”) slings, wraps and carriers are designed to spread the weight well in both front, hip and back carries to ensure that babywearing is comfortable and will not cause damage to parent or baby. If a specific sling is hurting your back, then you may need some help adjusting it differently, or maybe need to try another kind of carrier.
It’s easy to see from this image the different amount of strain on the parents back from the two very different carriers.
Especially when your toddler starts walking, you will probably find they want to walk for a bit, then get tired and want “up”. Carrying your toddler in your arms can be very tiring and put strain on your back as you often end up carrying them on one side and having awkward posture to compensate. With a sling, you can carry them more comfortably as the wrap means the baby or toddlers weight is spread across your shoulders, chest and waist.
MYTH: My baby is only happy facing outwards so I need a forward facing carrier
Of course this links to the image above. Reasons not to carry your baby forward facing out include:
Babies do naturally get more interested in the world around them as they grown and will often start to look around and strain away from their parent carrying them. There are lots of other ways of carrying babies that are safe and comfortable that does not involve them facing outwards. For example ring slings and wraps can do hip carries which mean the baby can see all around whilst still comfortably snuggled up to their parent and able to turn away from over-stimulation. When they are sitting well by themselves, you can also do back carries in lots of different kinds of slings.
This is no to say that babies cannot be carrier forward facing out on your front at all, but there are few slings that do this with the legs in a good “m” postition (Lilebaby and Ergo 360 being two of them) and most manufacturers recommend a time limit of around 20 minutes and not to let your child fall asleep in that position.
MYTH: Your baby will get too hot in a sling in the summer
In the UK our seasons fluctuate a lot, and so when it comes to the summer a lot of parents worry about their children overheating in a sling or wrap. Firstly, it’s important to remember that parents sling their babies in much warmer countries than a UK summer! Secondly, our bodies thermoregulate themselves so as long as you stay hydrated and wear the right kind of clothes, you’ll be fine. Yes you might sweat a bit, but that’s part of your body regulating it’s temperature!
Connecta posted this handy photo to remind us of how to keep our babies safe and the right temperature when being carried.
MYTH: If you carry them everywhere,they will always be clingy.
All babies go through stages of being more or less clingy. And as we all know, all babies are different anyway so it’s likely that one baby may be more “clingy” than another. However it’s a popular misconception that by carrying your baby (or for that matter co-sleeping or breastfeeding) that you make them more clingy. Research has however shown the opposite to be true. Babywearing increases the feeling of security between parent and baby, which in turn means they tend to be more content with higher self esteem. (Link to Canadian Study in regards to babywearing and “clinginess” http://www.portareipiccoli.it/trial_hunziker.htm )
It’s also important to mention that “clinginess” is both subjective and relative! A baby relies on it’s parents for it’s every need, and this is natural. A baby doesn’t understand that if you put it down, that you’re coming right back once the kettle is boiled/ you’ve visited the toilet/ answered the door, so whilst if we judge their behaviour against that of an older child or adult, we may see them as being “clingy”, their behaviour is biologically really quite normal!
Naturally close
Studies have shown that babies who are regularly worn are calmer and cry between 43-56% less than non carried babies, if you carry them for 3 hours or more per day (Mansfield, 2007; Dr Sears, 2011; NCT, 2012)
It’s dangerous for the baby
There are a set of guidelines that we will ALWAYS refer to called TICKS:
As long as you follow these guidelines babywearing is NOT dangerous. There have been slings recalled over the years (in particular bag-slings) as they have been linked to deaths- but like anything (baby swing, baby bouncer, buggy), if the instructions and guidelines are not followed accidents can happen. In particular it’s important to note the “K” of TICKS- Keep the chin off the chest. If a baby is left in a curled forwards position with their chin on their chest, it can restrict the airways. It is important that their face is in site at all time especially when they are tiny because they don’t have the muscles in their necks to turn their head away if the fabric ended up blocking their airways.
(Probable) MYTH: My baby hates it
Often at sling meet, parents say that they’ve tried a sling and their baby hated it. In reality most children (though not all) love being carried, but like anything it might take some time for you both to get the hang of it. When my little one was small, he’d cry every time I got him into our slings. In fairness I wasn’t very good at it, and so would faff about, get hot and sweaty and it would take ages. Small person was very impatient and didn’t really enjoy waiting about whilst I tugged bits of fabric. However, it didn’t take long for him to stop crying once he was in the sling, and he eventually stopped crying as I got better and quicker at getting the slings on quickly and properly.
It’s also important to remember that unless the sling meet is held in your front room, you’re likely to be in a new environment trying something new. If you’d LIKE to get the hang of it one day, then make sure you hire or borrow something to take home and try in the comfort of your own home!
MYTH: Wraps are too complicated and I’ll never get the hang of it
This links a little to the above…. like anything in the world it’s not necessarily going to come to you straight away. Woven wraps in particular take some practice, especially with back carries. I was shockingly bad at wrapping when I first tried, but now am at least semi competent and teach other people how to wrap! This is of course not helped if you have a grumpy wriggling baby or toddler “helping” you out, but practice makes perfect.
(Above- from terrible low loose mei tai effort back at the start of 2014, to back carries with a shortie and ring finishes in 2015!)
MYTH: It’s painful to position a babies legs like that.
The International Hip Displaysia Institute say:
The healthiest position for the hips is for the hips to fall or spread (naturally) apart to the side, with the thighs supported and the hips and knees bent. This position has been called the jockey position, straddle position, frog position, spread-squat position or human position. Free movement of the hips without forcing them together promotes natural hip development.
The Babywearing Institute says:
A baby, when being picked up, will pull the legs up in the correct position which will place the hip joint into the socket in a perfect position to ensure correct hardening of the cartilage present the first few month after birth. This position is called squatting straddle position or wrongly called frog leg position.
http://www.babywearingschool.com/research.htm
So I don’t think I need to add much to this one!
(So here’s some pictures of the correct hip position)
MYTH: Your baby will never learn to walk or crawl if you carry them in a sling
This is clearly not true. I know lots of children, some who have been worn in slings or wraps, some who have spent lots of time in car seats or push chairs and children all just develop at their own pace! Annecdotally my little boy learnt to walk before 11 months old but didn’t ever crawl. You could try to pin that on any number of factors but I think he was just determined!If you think about the increased independence of babies that are worn, and that some paediatricians think that babies worn in slings often develop certain skills faster (like holding their head up, even without “tummy time”), it’s probably fair to say that it makes little or no difference!
Standing at 8 months
Babywearing Also:
See more at: http://www.bellybelly.com.au/baby/babywearing-the-benefits/
Thank you to all the useful sources of information, those referenced above but also http://www.bellybelly.com, http://www.hugabub.com, http://www.thestayathomefeminist.com, http://www.wrapsodybaby.com, http://www.naturalparentsnetwork.com,www.babycalmblog.com, http://www.sheffieldslings.wordpress.com 🙂
15 Wednesday Apr 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
2015, April, babies, baby wearing, babywearing, Berkshire, birch hill, blog posts, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, buckles, carriers, community, family, feedback, fun, group, mummies, quotes, thanks, worthwhile
I wanted to share some of the positive comments from the sling meets over the past few weeks. It really shows us that this is a good and important thing that we’re doing. We might not quite be experts yet, but we could see a real gap in availability of slings to try and to meet other parents who used slings locally. I think we are both very proud of what we’ve achieved in a short time!
James hasn’t been back in a pram since first time wrap at the meet. Freedom is taking just a stroller instead of a big double pram. Thanks guys
Rebecca who got some advice on using a stretchy wrap
Thank you so much Clare and Gemma for all your help today. Got Anna all wrapped up very easily at home and OH thought it looked very supportive! And the wrap is so pretty!
Megan who hired two different wraps to see how the blends differ, and perfected her FWCC at the meet!
Wanted to add my thanks to Gemma & Clare for all your help with tiny Mylo in his Moby stretchy wrap yesterday. It made such a difference & I can’t wait to practice the technique you showed me. Wrapping him properly really is like a big cuddle! Xx
Melanie who got advice about getting her stretchy wrap comfortable
Thank you and Clare – both of you are absolutely amazing, helpful, inspiring and so welcoming! I’m so happy I met you both
Liz who is getting the sling bug and trying them all!
James was happy all afternoon didn’t take 2 mins to rewrap him after feeds and he didn’t want to be put down when we got home
Rebecca who got help with her stretchy wrap
16 Monday Mar 2015
Posted in Information, Links, Reviews
Tags
2015, advertising, baby toddler, baby wearing, babywearing, birch hill, blog posts, blogging, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, buckles, carriers, help us grow, March, mumsnet, netmums, reviews, spread the word
We are now listed on both Mumsnet and Net Mums!
If you have attended and enjoyed our last two sessions, please pop over and leave us a review! It will help us build the sling meet and library into a sustainable venture and will in turn help us enable more people!
Have a photo of an attempted Torso Carry as part of the 30 day wrap challenge to help us get out of our wrapping ruts!
