Bump & Boo Newsletter May 2020

Welcome the Spring edition of our Bump & Boo newsletter! Hello everyone from the strange new world we find ourselves in! First of all we hope you are all keeping safe and well. We have all had to cope with so much change in such a short time and we have been thinking of each and every one of you. We know anxieties have been high, everyone is missing their routine and loved ones and in many ways we are all grieving for life as it was just a few weeks ago. Whilst lockdown has brought some unexpected joys there is no doubt that is has been tough for us all. With that firmly in our thoughts, it is with an extremely heavy heart that we have decided to cancel our September Bump & Boo event at the Guildhall in Winchester. Sadly we both feel that life won’t be fully returned to normal in time to make September the event that both we want and you deserve for it to be. Both Catherine and her husband are nurses and have been told to expect at least 6 months of disruption and potentially even longer. Bump & Boo has been our baby, we have grown it and invested so much of ourselves into it whilst growing our own babies, and this decision has had a considerable emotional impact on us both. We wanted to ensure we offered clarity and consistency to everyone involved and therefore we have opted to make the decision to cancel now rather than potentially moving the date multiple times depending on the evolution of the government restrictions.  We have already made the decision that Bump & Boo at the Guildhall will come back with a bang in 2021 and we tell you now, it will be a massive celebration of survival, of love, community and support. Unfortunately our crystal ball is a bit hazy at the moment so we don’t know when exactly that will be, we’re hoping for February 2021 but we will be constantly reviewing and please be assured we will keep you all updated. Sarah has been diligently continuing to share content online and we will continue with our social media accounts as and when we can, so please do keep in touch and let us know if there is anything you would like us to share. There are some amazing things going on in this city right now! We are being conscious about the content we are putting out there at the moment and particularly sensitive to the fact that everyone is experiencing this situation completely differently.  We know some of you may be working hard to continue with your business ventures, some of you may have been forced to take a pause and be finding it difficult to know how you will breathe life back into your business, some of you may have transitioned your business and be navigating a new way of working online, some of you may be taking your business down a new path in the wake of the current situation... Whatever you have decided to do, we know you are all faced with tough decisions, new situations and undoubtedly new work hours. Childcare, for some, has disappeared, nap times may now be time for you to take a breath and have a break or time to focus on homeschooling or entertaining a pre schooler, evenings are no longer times you feel motivated to whip open your laptop and crack on with your to do list, everything has changed and you are grieving your old life and finding a way to survive in this new one. You are not supposed to be able to work it all out right away, you can't, we can't, but somehow we all will. We are hopeful that in the coming months we will find a way for Bump & Boo to evolve and offer alternative support to you and your families and we are sad that it has to take a pause in this way for now. Unfortunately both of us have lost our 'work' hours and we need to be kind to ourselves to ensure we can support and look after our families appropriately until we can find a sustainable way to work on Bump & Boo together. We are very much still here, at the end of a message, the end of an email, and when we can, we will let you know of new and innovative ways that we might be able to support you and your families in the coming months. We are not experts, we have no experience of how to survive this as a small business, or manage this as a parents of small children, or even deal with it as adults some days, but we know we are all in this together and that in time, we will hopefully be able to find a way.  Thankfully for now, we can offer the smallest glimmer of normality with our newsletter and if all else fails you can put your feet up with a cuppa in the sunshine and have a little read for just a few minutes (whenever you can manage to grab them!) This month, as originally planned, we bring you a great review of working with 2Spots Ceramics, a big hello from Laura at HexNex Jewellery and an introduction to the My VIP Card. We will continue to bring you newsletters and share and spread small business joy as and when we can. In the Spotlight Each newsletter we will be bringing you a review of one of our wonderful businesses and introducing you to a local business owner. This will cover our entire range of products, services, charities, groups and classes and will give a great insight into some of the amazing people we work with and the businesses they run! First, Sarah talks through her experiences of working with Sarah Pearson from 2Spots Ceramics who creates incredible family keepsakes. 2Spots Ceramics - Sarah Pearson This time four years we had a newborn. We had a 10 day old baby in the house, we were suddenly parents and we were feeling a little lost and unsure in our new roles. Although when she was born she was little and tiny and a totally gorgeous bundle of squishiness, I was overwhelmed in so many ways and quite unwell, so I was very anxious about wanting to capture every moment so that I didn't miss out and I could make sure I had happy memories. I took thousands of photographs, tried hard to ensure I was remembering everything, but with every day that passed she seemed to change and develop so quickly and as she reached a new milestone, memories of the previous stage quickly faded. It was a new and slightly unnerving world and one I knew nothing about but she was so precious, I wanted to find a way to keep her tiny for as long as I could! I first found out about 2Spots Ceramics through a friends recommendation. I popped on over to Sarah's website and discovered what an incredible talent she truly is! Her beautiful keepsakes capture moments in time in a way that is truly unique. Our first experience working with Sarah was doing a clay imprint of Elsie's hand and foot. I'm not going to lie, I was quite nervous. She was tiny! I was worried about what would happen if she cried, what if I had to feed her, what if she was asleep, I was in such a sleep deprived haze I didn't really know what to expect. We had an appointment at Sarah's house and she couldn't have made the experience a better one. Hot tea, a safe place, absolutely no judgement and a calm environment... what every new mother needs! Sarah has a lot of experience working with babies and children and, as a mother herself, is easy to talk to about to ups and downs of motherhood! I really had no need to worry, and Sarah created the most beautiful hand and foot print keepsake which proudly hangs in the kitchen in our house.  Since then we have visited Sarah a number of times. We took all the children to the BABIES Family Fun Day and created wonderful Christmas gifts for the grandparents, we have made numerous appointments at Leaf & Bean and created a special Mother's Day mug for me, a Star Wars themed Father's Day gift for Daddy, a very precious 90th birthday flower pot for Great Grandpa Bert, Christmas decorations, coasters and of course, Bertie now has his own hand and foot clay imprint. Sarah has captured so many moments as our family continues to grow and each one of the pieces we have from 2Spots Ceramics means so much to me. We will continue to make appointments (when we can!), come up with ideas and find new an innovative ways to remember a moment in time together. Sarah works tirelessly to create the most beautiful items and her designs and ideas are so special. We highly recommend Sarah and her wonderful business, 2Spots Ceramics. If you would like to find out more about Sarah and her work, follow her on Facebook, Instagram and check out her website! Sarah usually takes appointment bookings at her home in Colden Common and can be found on specific dates at Leaf & Bean in Winchester. Everyone should have a 2Spots Ceramics keepsake somewhere in their house... and when this lockdown is finally over and we are no longer social distancing, make sure booking an appointment is on your to do list! FB: https://www.facebook.com/2Spots/ Insta: @2spotsceramics Website: http://2spots.co.uk/ Next, we are delighted to introduce you to Laura who runs HexNex Jewellery! HexNex consists of just Laura, working from her desk at her home here in Winchester, always with her two little monsters somewhere nearby and normally causing trouble! After being made redundant from her role as Visual Merchandising Manager during the infamous collapse of BHS, she went full time into her small business and she has never looked back!  HexNex Jewellery began when Laura gave her young son one of her favourite bangles whilst sitting in a highchair in a pub, thinking it was indestructible and safe for him to play with. Less than 2 minutes later, he had managed to smash it into two pieces by dropping it on the floor, prompting her to begin a search for baby proof jewellery. Everything she came across was too babyish in its design - she felt like it looked like she was simply wearing a baby toy! Jewellery has always been a way in which Laura chooses to define herself and the designs she found were just not something she wanted to wear.  And so as a result, HexNex Jewellery was born! Laura is continuing to run her business during this time, following all of the necessary guidelines to enable you to still access her wonderful products. She is working tirelessly to expand her range, bring you wonderful collaborations and ensure that Happy Post can still make it's way through your letterboxes.  We highly recommend you having a look at Laura's necklaces, bangles, prints, muslins, teethers.... she has created a gloriously unique range of beautiful items and whether you have a new baby in the family who you are sadly unable to meet, a pregnancy announcement from a friend and you want to send them a virtual hug or you just want to treat yourself, HexNex is there for you and Laura is ready and waiting for your order. FB: https://www.facebook.com/hexnexjewellery/ Insta: hexnex_jewellery Website: https://www.hexnex.co.uk/ Have you heard about? My VIP Card! A new feature to our newsletter, introducing you to a business that is new to Bump & Boo and perhaps new to you too. My VIP Card was founded in Southampton in 2017 by fellow mum and small business owner Maddy. As a new mum, Maddy found herself looking for a way to make it easier and cheaper for parents to get out and about in the community with their little ones. As a new mother, she had recognised the importance of encouraging other mums to get out and about. My VIP card quickly became a hit with Hampshire residents, encouraging them to support local businesses, the high street and the community. With a My VIP Card, you can enjoy both local and national discounts and we have loved using our card to save money during lockdown and beyond on a wide range of local services. My VIP Card reflects the Bump & Boo ethos of working together, creating a supportive community and helping each other to grow. Locally, we have saved money at Flip Out Southampton, Sweet, The Toy Cupboard and even with Trainmaster in Winchester and Tumble Tots and Monkey Music too. Lots of lovely Bump & Boo businesses are on the card, and if you aren't and would like to know more then do give them a follow on Facebook or visit their website. It's currently free to advertise your business with My VIP Card and get a listing on their site and a local pin on their app so it is a great opportunity to all our parents who are also small business owners. You can also get free training to grow your business, free networking and exclusive business savings. The My VIP Card is currently just £25 for 2 years and with it, you can access over 4,500 discounts, you can make your money back in just a matter of weeks and save money on so many wonderful activities, supporting local businesses. They have also recently introduced a card specifically for key workers. For more information, pop over and give them a follow or have a look at their website! Maddy is working incredibly hard in these unprecedented times and has been a great supporter of Bump & Boo, so do find out more about the great work she is doing.  FB: https://www.facebook.com/myvipcard/ Insta: myvipcard1 Website: https://myvipcard.co.uk/about-us/ Thank you! We just want to say a massive thank you to all of the business owners and parents in the local community who continue to support Bump & Boo. We do have so many exciting plans which are bubbling away and as the year unfolds and we find out more about what is going to happen next we hope to find time to work on them and share them with you all. We are thrilled that so many of you are enjoying working with us and it is wonderful to see so many great collaborations, offers of support, giveaways, words of kindness and creative ways of keeping in touch! We hope you and your families are safe and well and look forward to a time when we can all be together again. Sarah & Catherine x We hope you have enjoyed reading our newsletter and we are pleased to have been able to update you on all things Bump & Boo.

Bump & Boo February 2020

Local Mums go above and beyond so parents and independent businesses can ‘work, rest and play’ as high street shopping evolves.

Sarah & Catherine spend their babies’ nap times supporting local parenting community. By bringing a range of local services, products, charities and businesses together, they provide an essential opportunity for families and encourage local people to come and enjoy the city centre for an entire day out offering fun for the whole family.

In a time when traditional high streets seem to have lost their appeal, how we shop is changing.

Bump & Boo events created by busy mothers Sarah and Catherine aims to meet a growing desire of wanting to buy unique and hand made items from small businesses owners who largely find they customers through the social media platform Instagram.

“We know ourselves shopping with kids is not much fun. Squeezing large prams around small shops can be a real struggle. I’ve lost count of the times my stomach drops with fear because I’ve caught the edge of a display or made a mannequin wobble!” 

“Parents and shoppers today want more than just a place to shop (sadly we all sit and do that at home on our phones!) they want a place to bring the family, a place to have some fun and try something different”

Bump & Boo events offers so much more than just a shopping opportunity with play areas, activities and demonstrations, and a family friendly feel, it gives families a chance to enjoy being together whilst discovering some fantastic local and independent businesses and services.

The event, now in its third year has attracted support from local politicians, social media bloggers and local entrepreneurs “So many people seem to relate with what we are trying to do, we want to build a community experience that supports parents to get out and about with ease.”

The event which takes place at Guildhall Winchester offers a “come and go” ticket which allows families to enjoy both what’s on offer at Bump & Boo but also to support the local high street. “We don’t want to loose any more shops in Winchester! So we hope our events will help attract people in and give them a good reason to stay!”

The pair invest time in running a rigorous social media campaign across Facebook and Instagram which supports and highlight a wide and eclectic range of local independent businesses on a daily basis. ‘We love our high street, enjoy spending time in our community and as parents we understand the power and importance of social media. Places to eat, businesses who need support, fellow entrepreneurs launching new and exciting ventures, family friendly places for much needed coffee and cake, we share recommendations and encourage the community to come together in more ways than one’

The pair reflect “We watched the recent Panorama about what’s happening on our high street with hope, there were so many businesses coming up with new and sustainable ways of attracting people into our town centres and that spoke volumes to us” 

The program’s expert Professor Cathy Parker spoke about the public wanting a “Mars Bar” approach to our high street, somewhere to “work, rest and play”

Bump & Boo offers all of that and more. “We provide places for businesses to build a strong working relationships with the community, areas for the children to play, interact and take part in activities, fun and informative talks for the parents, an opportunity to ensure they feel supported, and a chance to encourage them to rest in our social areas and enjoy all the city centre has to offer’

To find out more contact Sarah Hannibal-White on 07717021508 or email bumpandbooevents@gmail.com

Facebook: Bump & Boo

Instagram: @bumpandbooevents

Next event:

Sunday 2^nd February

Guildhall, Winchester

10.30am-3.30pm

Winchester Sling Library & The Breastfeeding Social

Baby wearing. Perhaps not something you think a lot about until after you’ve had a baby, but it’s definitely something you should consider once your little one arrives. Baby wearing, carrying a baby in a sling or other form of carrier has taken place around the world for centuries which can be a fabulous form of baby transport for as long as you and your little one mutually desire. 

There are a number of benefits to having your baby close to you and attending the sling library might be a good place to start. Whether you are pregnant, or you have a tiny newborn, Hayley and her team can help! Baby wearing can increase the oxytocin levels through physical contact and the parental rhythms such as walking and the sound of the heartbeat can have a balancing and soothing effect on the infant. Baby wearing can also mean you have two free hands to help with any day to day tasks you might want or need to complete (you know the essentials like making tea and eating cake!)

There are an incredible range of baby carriers and slings to choose from, so how do you know what you’re going to get on with? How much do you want to pay? What material do you like? When are you going to use it? Yet another parenting minefield of conflicting information and personal advice for you to navigate in that new baby haze! So, what should you do? How can you find out more without sinking all your maternity pay into purchasing a range of slings and seeing which one you like? 

Enter Hayley and the wonderful team who run the Winchester Sling Library! They meet once a week at The Vineyard Church in Bar End, a lovely location where you can pop along, enjoy tea and cake, and try on a variety of baby carriers from the expansive library. Hayley and her team can help you fit the carriers and offer a hire service for you to borrow the slings for one month at a time. 

Perfect! So if you want, you can try a different sling each month and then make an informed decision as to which one you like and you may want to invest your money in. In the early years when your little one is growing and changing you may want different slings to grow with them, or one carrier which does is all. You may find a back pack style more comfortable, or a material wrap might be more your thing. You need to feel confident and that your baby is safe and secure. If you’ve ever tried to work out how to use a baby carrier at home by following the instructions or trying to look at a YouTube video, you’ll know how tricky it can be! Having an expert to help you is a huge weight off your mind and can really help. What a great idea! 

Baby wearing and breastfeeding often go hand in hand and if you attend the monthly Sling Library, you can also meet the lovely ladies from the Breastfeeding Social who run their community group at the church and provide fabulous tea, coffee, cake and breast feeding resources and advice. Whether pregnant, in the early stages of feeding or as an established feeder it is a friendly place to meet fellow mums and parents and share your feeding stories, supporting one another. It is in no way exclusively for breastfeeding mamas, it is inclusive of all parents and provides another opportunity to meet, chat, play and offer support to one another. 

The Sling Library and Breastfeeding Social run on the first Friday of every month at Winchester Vineyard Church in Bar End from 10am-12pm for just a £1 donation. There is on site parking, a welcoming atmosphere and a chance to educate yourselves in a variety of aspects of baby wearing and feeding - as well as fabulous tea and homemade cake!

Check out their Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/Winchesterslinglibrary/
https://www.facebook.com/thebreastfeedingsocialwinchester/

With huge thanks to the lovely Kate Chappell of The Breastfeeding Social for the beautiful images. 

Tumble Tots Winchester - Review

I was so excited when I heard Tumble Tots was coming to Winchester last September. 30 years ago, I was enjoying life as a 4 year old and attending my own weekly Tumble Tots sessions! Although hazy, my memories definitely include being excited about jumping on the ginormous spring board, being nervous about walking across the very high beam and being very proud to have my own red and yellow t-shirt. 

We arrived early (very unlike us at the moment!) to the beautiful venue The Hilt, in Chandler’s Ford. Little Boo was so excited she peered through the glass in the door as the room was being set up with pure amazement and utter excitement. The colourful apparatus filled the room and she could see spring boards, slides, ladders and beams, the look on her face was priceless! 

The first class we attended was a class for 2-3 year olds and Big Boo was keen to get stuck in! The session started seated in a semi circle on the floor being led in some great introductory singing and dancing games and rhymes to get us up and moving and joining in. This adheres to the Tumble Tots programme which is structured to develop children's positive personality traits including confidence and self-esteem and was a great way to start.

The children were counted and split into groups, a favourite moment of mine was when Boo was crowned as number ‘9’ and she announced to the room ‘I’m not 9, I’m only 2’ ... cue much laughter from the parents! 

We were split into 4 groups and each assigned to the 4 different sets of brightly coloured equipment layouts. Each station had a Tumble Tots trained staff member to help guide them through the course and tackle the wide variety of challenges that stood before them.

The children explored each station for around 10 minutes, following one another through the stages and steps, developing their confidence and ability each time. Boo quickly found her favourite, the slide, and ran with delight to start the course again each time she reached the end.

A whistle announces the end of the session and children form a line before moving in a ‘train’ onto the next set of apparatus. The children are clearly aware of what is expected of them and have learnt the structure of the class and what is expected from them. Tumble Tots express that child psychologists and educators agree that a structured programme in movement should be a part of every child's education and seeing it in action, you can certainly see why! 

Now you might be thinking, yes, but what happens if my child doesn’t follow instructions or do as they are told?? Well I have one of those... moving on to station number two was not on Boos ‘to do’ list... she was too taken with the slide and at every opportunity she would escape, run off and back to it, queue jump and take an extra turn!  It was quite exhausting constantly bringing her back to join her group, but the staff were wonderful, encouraging and supportive of her individual need for exploration of the new environment. They explained that in the 2-3 year old classes, within a few weeks the consistency and familiarity helps with the understanding of how to follow the structure and children quickly learn to follow the rules (most of the time, they are children after all!). 

We have also been lucky enough to take part in one of the classes for the younger age group and it was great to experience the difference in approach to the session. At 7 months, our youngest is well on his way with rolling and moving around but there is still a lot he can't do. Our Tumble Tots experience was a fantastic insight into ways in which he can be supported physically with his learning. The session started with songs to participate in, followed by 10 minutes exploration of the equipment. There is no structure during the free play which allows for time to explore and repeat activities with support from the trained staff. As the under twos start their Tumble Tots journey, there is no expectation of them to follow a structure and they are able to freely explore the apparatus and take their time to understand their own physical abilities. Baby Boo loved commando crawling through the tunnel and pulling himself up on the cruising bars, there was so much for him to try and it was clear to see how the apparatus embraced the variety of developmental phases for the age group. 

The staff understand and respect  that every child is different and they will work with you to help your child get the most out of the session at whatever age you attend. 

Climbing, balancing, jumping, sliding, walking, running, agility, coordination, precious life skills learned and in these classes are so important to the growth of your child and each week you will see them develop and grow in confidence. 

We loved our Tumble Tots classes and would highly recommend you taking the time to book in your trial. There are a range of classes to choose from and you can find out more here https://www.tumbletots.com/view-classes.php

Photographs courtesy of Tumble Tots UK