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Bracknell Sling Meet

~ Enabling local parents to choose safe, ergonomic and comfortable baby carriers

Bracknell Sling Meet

Tag Archives: library

EUROPEAN BABYWEARING WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON……

09 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by C in Guest post, Photos, Reviews, Sling Library

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2018, carrier, Carrying Connects, ergonomic carrier, eurpoean babywearing week 2018, hip carry, library, May, May 2018, overlooked, scootababy, sling, sling library, sling meet, slumber-roo, spotlight on, underloved, underloved carriers, wrap

Following on from yesterdays post about the meh dai style carrier, today Library co-owner Clare talks about something a bit more unusual…..Apologies we don’t have any better photos of this carrier, but it is pretty brilliant!

Today our ‘try something different’ spotlight is on the Scootababy hip carrier.

The Scootababy carrier is suitable from around five months or 15lb up to around 37lb (around age three)- 6.8kg- 16.7kg. It’s a slightly unusual looking carrier which may put some people off, however it has lots of interesting features which make it a great alternative to a standard buckle carrier or a ring sling.

The carrier comprises of a waist belt attached to a fabric panel, and one strap which goes over one arm and under the other. The strap adjusts from both sides and it’s designed especially to be adjusted one handed. This is slightly different to other buckled carriers you may see on the market which tend to sit best as front or back carries and have two shoulder straps which either sit rucksack style or crossed over the back and buckled under the arm.

Scootababy instructions from their website

Why choose this carrier?
Many of our customers find that their babies start to get interested in looking at the world around them whilst in a sling, which cannot be satisfied in a standard stretchy, wrap or buckle carrier. This is often when we start to discuss with customers the possibility of a hip carry and the Scootababy is a great option to try.

The first time I tried this carrier I was surprised by how easy it was to put on (as per above instructions) and adjust. It is simple to move from a hip carry to a back carry, you just need to adapt the length of the strap at each end to ensure that the wider, slightly padded soft fleece part sits across the shoulder. It cups the shoulder well, and the strap ends roll up and are secured by elastic to keep them out the way.

Library Scootababy

I have personally found that the Scootababy is a more comfortable carry for me than a woven ring sling which is another popular option for hip carries. The bonus of the scootababy is the structured waistband, which helps distribute the weight so it is not solely sitting on one shoulder and across the back.

We have a black scootababy V3 in our library which despite being a fantastic and versatile carrier does sometimes get overlooked for some of the standard buckle carriers or those in fancy fabrics or pretty patterns. In addition because it fits from around 15lb, and many of our customers have much younger babies, it’s not an appropriate fit for them.

However those who do hire it often come back raving about how comfortable it is, and many go on to buy their own.

Stock image

In the UK, Slumber-Roo are the official retailers of the scootababy carrier and prices start at £69.50, with plain fabric, but they also come in patterns too.

You can buy one from: https://slumber-roo.co.uk/…/scootababy/buckle-amp-hip

Why don’t you pop along on 18th May for our European babywearing week ‘hire one get one free’ offer and try it out alongside any other carrier!

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A day in the life of….. A Sling Librarian

23 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by C in Information, Meet Ups, Sling Library, Uncategorized

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"a day in the life of", 2016, blog, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, library, October, Sling Librarian

I’ve done this kind of post before but it’s quite interesting to document what goes into organising a sling library.

And realistically it’s not just one day or done by one person- there’s social media, sling washing, selling of old slings and buying of new ones, answering queries, and we even managed a volunteers social last week too!

First off there’s 6 bags of slings and a toddler to pack into the car. We arrive at the venue 30 minutes before the Library stats to get the toddler fed and set up the room.

Packed in
Packed in
Empty hall
Empty hall
Lunch for small one
Lunch for small one

 

Next we get out all the slings and display them from stretchy wraps to woven wraps to ring slings, to buckles and toddler size slings plus the demo dolls (not a real baby on the table!). Then we set out the mats and toys for the little ones (modelled here by baby T trying to escape!)

Sling Tables
Sling Tables
Kiddy play area
Kiddy play area

 

The wonderful volunteers arrive to help out, and then our customers start arriving throughout the two hour session.

Looking at the options
Looking at the options
Chatting to Volunteers
Chatting to Volunteers
Things get messy!
Things get messy!

 

We let customers watch demos of suitable options and try whatever carriers they think will suit them. Hopefully lots of happy parents/ caregivers go home with a sling to hire!

Mei Tai and wrap
Mei Tai and wrap
Close Caboo
Close Caboo
Close Caboo
Close Caboo

 

Then it’s time to pack up, tidy up and head home to do the paperwork and make sure the numbers add up!

Packing up
Packing up
Paperwork
Paperwork

 

Review: Easyfeel Toddler Size Soft Structured Carrier

21 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by C in Information, Photos, Reviews

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Tags

2016, August, babywearing, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, buckle, buckles, Easyfeel, hood, library, review, reviews, sling meet, soft structured carrier, ssc, summer, toddler, toddler carrier

We’ve not posted for a while- sorry about that! Turns out summer is a funny old time for sling libraries- flipflopping between wonderfully busy and wonderfully quiet!

In the mean time we’ve acquired a few new things for the library, hosted a few travelling items (wraps and carriers) and moved some stock on, so please check out our library page  to see what we’ve got in.

This week we had some exciting post- which came from the wonderful Sling Sally!

It was a new toddler size buckle carrier for us to try out for a couple of weeks. Whilst I’m really a wrapper at heart I am always searching for soft structured carriers we like,  and in particular comfy toddler size buckles that myself and the husband can both use.

The carrier that arrived this week was a Toddler Size EasyFeel  Soft Structured Carrier in a funky cream and blue/grey pattern. Easyfeel are a company from India who specialise in cloth nappies and are also now producing slings including ringslings  and buckle carriers in both standard and toddler size.

dav

 

The toddler size can be used from 11-22kg (24-48.5lb) and has a  generous panel size that’s 42cm (16.5inches) wide by 44cm (17.3 inches) high. It also has seat darts in the main panel which give more room in the panel, giving it a good seat.

My first impression was that the waistband was super padded- more like a Tula but the padding is also very tall- almost 16cm (6.25inches) at the widest part in the middle, giving good support. there’s a handy littler pocket in the side of the waistband for keys or similar too.

dav
dav
sdr
sdr

 

The padding on the straps is also nice and thick, making it a very comfy carry. The buckles move well on the webbing and the straps are easy to tighten and loosen- particularly due to the shaped release clips, which are ergonomic to get your thumb under.

 

The flat hood with side drawstrings packs away neatly into an invisible pocket at the top of the back panel, but still looks attractive if left hanging out when not in use as it’s in the same fabric as the rest of the carrier and has a double drawstring which is quite decorative.

bty
bty

 

We were testing the carrier with our 14.2kg tall  (98cm) not-quite-3 year-old, so well within the weight limit of the carrier. Both my husband and I tried the carrier on our backs and I also popped the toddler on my front too to try it.

 

For the back carries we used both the hip scoot method to get him onto our backs, the superman method, pulling the carrier up over us , and the Walk Like An Egyptian (Wrap You In Love) method.

We found the straps easy to adjust in front and back carries, we were able to get a high back carry and had no issues with anything digging in. Small person was arms out for daddy and arms in for me! Daddy took small to the park in the carrier and found it very comfortable. Small also said that he really liked it.

bdr
dav
bty

 

The padding is quite long on the shoulder straps and I had the webbing pulled right up as tight as it would go under my arms (luckily the buckles didn’t dig in), but thankfully the carrier also has the perfect fit adjusters where the panel joins the straps at the top, which made it easier to adjust in a front carry. This suggests that it might not be too suitable for very petite wearers as they might not be able to get it tight enough. All the webbing has elastic ‘strap tidies’ and there’s some nice thick legs-out padding to make the ride more comfortable for the child.

 

bty
bty
dav
bty
dav
dav

 

 

The EasyFeel buckle carriers are available from their website  https://easyfeelproducts.com/  and range from a very reasonable 5000 to 5800 INR (£57-£66 approx). They come in a range of wonderful colours and patterns including handwoven fabrics for the slightly more expensive IKAT range.

It’s Chriiiiiiistmas!

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by C in Information, Meet Ups, Sling Library

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Tags

2015, birch hill, Bracknell, Bracknell Sling Library, Bracknell Sling Meet, carrier, Christmas, come along, December, library, meet up, mince pie, NCT, party, photoshop, sling, stalls, wrap, xmas hats

Looking forwards to our Christmas Party on Friday 18th December. Please feel free to join us, but we’d love it if you could request to join our Library Group on Facebook and then join our event so we know who is coming.

flyer1-2

NEW ADDITIONS

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by C in Information, Other, Photos, Sling Library

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Tags

2015, baby wearing, babywearing, conference, ergobaby, European Babywearing Conference 2015, exclusive, full buckle, June, library, library additions, lillebaby, manduca, ringsling, sling rings, slings, storchenweige, wrapamore, wraps

Gemma attended the European Babywearing Conference at the weekend and came back with lots of treasures for the Sling Library (paid for by the sling hire fees). She may have treated herself too!

 

Storchenwiege half buckle

Storchenwiege half buckle

Wrapamore muslin ring sling

Wrapamore muslin ring sling

Another manduca with extra accessories

Another manduca with extra accessories

Lilebaby Airflow buckles

Lilebaby Airflow buckles

So to add to the library we have:

  • A second Manduca buckled carrier with lots of exciting accessories
  • A Lillebaby Airflow buckled carrier – great for summer and with a forward facing out option
  • A Storchenwiege Half Buckle in beautiful turquoise
  • The conference exclusive Ergo with an amazing lining pattern
  • A muslin ringsling by Wrapamore – lovely lightweight for the summer
  • Some sling rings!

All at great exclusive conference prices, so THANK YOU to the Conference team for putting on such a wonderful event!

 

Recent posts

  • VOLUNTEERS!
  • A day in the life of a Sling Librarian…. #2!
  • EUROPEAN BABYWEARING WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON……
  • EUROPEAN BABYWEARING WEEK SPOTLIGHT ON……
  • Charity Party!

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