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

2Spots Ceramics - Review

‘They grow so fast’ ... ‘They don’t stay tiny forever’ ... ‘They’ll be off to school before you know it’

Until you have a baby you never realise quite how true these statements are. Nine months of pregnancy to me seemed like an absolute lifetime, but the first 12 months of Boo’s life sped by and from 1 to 2 went at lightning speed... this week we are just a month away from her turning 3... oh my goodness!

So what do we do? As much as we’d like to slow things down, time will continue to move, our babies will continue to grow and whilst we watch with fascination and marvel at them at every stage, let’s face it, we’ll miss those tiny hands and feet!

So, why not think about capturing all that teeny tinyness with Sarah from 2Spots Ceramics? She offers a wonderfully unique service to her customers allowing precious moments to be captured in a creative way.  The painting of those little hands, feet or fingers combined with the creation of beautiful keepsake ceramics. Wonderful. 

Sarah works with little ones and their families to make unique pieces of art. Her style truly reflects and captures a moment in time and her designs are thoughtful and elegant. Mugs, plates, plaques, tiles, baubles, clay imprints one of the hardest decisions in a session with Sarah is what to make! 

Sarah is welcoming and friendly and puts you at ease right away. As with any work involving small children, it can be unpredictable, especially on occasions where you need them to ‘perform’. I had a two week old baby who liked to cry... a lot. I say this, but he was also that baby who when you took him out he behaved like an angelic little what-sit and never showed his true colours. When we visited Sarah to do his clay imprint he was not on his best behaviour, he was at his worst, but my time spent in her kitchen offered a supportive environment not only for her to work with him - the screaming monster - but to reassure me that I was doing a good job, that this time will pass, and importantly she allowed me to drink a hot cup of tea and breathe. 

As a Mum herself, Sarah has great experience working with children of all ages and she is incredibly passionate about her work as well as juggling the parenting journey with being a small business owner. She had a wonderful way of making me feel less like I was doing anything wrong, and reassured me that I was doing everything I could for my little one. 

Fast forward 6 months and we recently visited Sarah again and the 7 month old monster was in much better spirits! A bouncy baby who was happy to comply with a beautiful imprint and offer many smiles and giggles to Sarah while she worked. We also took advantage of Sarah’s sessions at the lovely Leaf & Bean Cafe in Winchester where she offers appointments. It’s a perfect place to have a coffee, cake, and get creative (and there's a childrens area with toys and books too)! Taking both little ones out and about is sometimes a bit overwhelming but we had a great morning in the cafe and we made a lovely Mother’s Day mug with a hand print from the big one and a footprint from the littlest one, surrounded by finger and toe print bumblebees and ladybirds, a stunning piece... just for me!

Sarah has already been and will continue to be a huge part of our little ones journeys, and our parenting adventure! Looking back at our imprints of our babies, just weeks old, I am so pleased we captured the tiny hands and feet. We know it won’t be long until we say to ourselves that we can’t actually believe they were that small! Her work is both beautiful and professional and completely bespoke, no two pieces are the same.

I’ve already got lots of plans for our future creations with 2Spots Ceramics, I know we will return time and time again as our little ones grow. The possibilities and different ways of capturing a moment in time are truly endless. Sarah offers a unique service to her customers and we are so lucky to have her on our doorstep!

For more information and a chance to look at more of her work, or book yourself in, please check out her Facebook and Instagram pages, or pop a message through to her via email. She offers sessions at her home in Colden Common or can visit larger groups at home, as well as her sessions at Leaf & Bean!

FB: https://www.facebook.com/2Spots/
Insta: @2spotsceramics
Website: www.2spots.co.uk

RELAX Kids Little Stars - Review

Every now and again I come across a class which is unique. Something which is a little different which provides a refreshing alternative for you and your little ones. Relax Kids is one of those classes. 

We were invited to take part in one of their Little Stars sessions and we truly enjoyed every moment. It was a thoughtful, well structured class which introduced us to a whole range of emotions. We arrived to find the room set up and ready to go, bright coloured mats, each with their own little packet of raisins... snacks are always a winner!! We picked our mat and waited for everyone to arrive. The snacks were a great way to occupy us before we began.

The Relax Kids classes follow a structure each week which encourages children to become more resilient and teaches them tools they require to manage their physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. In a time where managing our own self care has to be consciously prioritised, it’s great to think our children may learn to consider their own wellbeing from such a young age and perhaps eventually mindfulness will become second nature to everyone. Each week they children follow the 7 steps of relaxation which provides a familiar structure of activities. 

After short introductions, we started with a story called 'The Colour Monster' by Anna Llenas which was a fabulous exploration of feelings through colour by aid of a pop up book. Associating feelings with colours is a wonderful way of exploring ourselves and the children really engaged with it, we ordered our own copy as soon as we got home!

Step 1 of the class structure is MOVE, so Jules got us up on our feet, dancing around and having a good sing song too. Raising our heartbeats and expelling some energy. There were bubbles, ribbons and everyone joined in! It was lovely afterwards to sit and take time to feel our hearts pumping, Boo was very excited as she learnt a lot about heartbeats when I was carrying her brother in my tummy, I don’t think she realised she had one as well!

Step 2 we moved onto PLAY. All children love a balloon (until they realise they pop!!) so we each had a coloured balloon to blow up in a range of colours, we used the feelings associations for the task and we had green, which was calm. We then had to write on the balloon all the things that made us feel calm, like snuggles, stories, milk and mummy! It was a great way to build on their understanding of feelings and engage with them about the activities they do on a daily basis. The balloons were then piled onto a big parachute, mixing up all the feelings and providing a great opportunity for play!

3 was a great step, STRETCHING. Using visual aids children could try a range of different stretch poses and were rewarded with star stickers for their efforts, we loved the starfish stretch!!

4 we explored FEEL by meeting a wonderful rainbow puppet full of his own mix of emotions! We each had a cuddle as we passed him around the group very carefully. We talked about how he felt and how he made  us feel which was calm and happy!

5 was BREATHE. An important technique to help children connect with themselves and feel calm. This weeks task was using the expandable breathing balls, breathing in as they were expanded and out as the children contracted them. There was a considerable amount of concentration from them all during this task which was wonderful to see and definitely one we will be trying at home. 

Step number 6 was BELIEVE and this was one of our favourite steps, the chocolate cake massage! Following some lovely steps, an opportunity for a toddler massage allowing a fun bonding experience. Boo now has a little massage of her own which she has in the evening after her little brother has his which makes her feel very special indeed! 

Finally step 6, RELAX. A cuddle and some lovely music, something we don’t always take the time to do when they get older!! To finish off the session there was an opportunity to read books and make our own colour monster. I have no idea how we managed to fit so much into the session. It was wonderful! It felt very grown up to be exploring feelings with a two year old but she accessed the material in the session with ease and flair and now regularly talks about feelings and different colours. We have incorporated so many of the techniques we learnt into our week and look forward to discovering more in future classes - every week is different!! 

If you are looking for something new and unique to try, we would highly recommend this class. Jules is a great facilitator and the space at Lanterns is perfect to encourage children to be attentive yet explorative. A big thumbs up from us! 

RELAX Kids Classes take place on:

Tuesday's Little Stars 2-5yrs 10.30-11.25 @ Lanterns

Tuesdays 5-9yrs 4pm-5pm @ Winchester Racquets Club

https://www.facebook.com/Relax-Kids-Winchester-with-Jules-1989478841321272/