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.