I still can't really believe this but my darling little man is 1 today! How can a whole year have passed since he made his spectacular appearance arriving before the paramedics and midwives at approximately 1.38am with just hubby here (and a sleeping Henry upstairs).I blogged his birth story here. Please excuse the lack of sleep typos and a year on I struggle to find the time to edit it.
Happy 1st Birthday Isaac
0 Comments
I cannot believe a week ago I was going to bed panicking about the next day. How time flies. The show was amazing. We were busy from the minute the doors opened at 10am. The show was very well run and I was even interviewed by metro radio! You can here it here.
Here is the summary of my day I wrote for Natural Mamas.
Alarm goes off, it is 6am! The alarm is never set on a weekend but it is today. I have 30 minutes to eat breakfast and get me and Isaac dressed. We need to leave at 6.30 to drive to show venue and set up. My mum has come to stay to look after Henry as hubby has to work. She helped me load car last night. Slightly weird to hear myself on the radio in the 7am headlines as I drive to venue (apparently it was repeated every hour till 12 but hey I was too busy to listen by then). Arrive at the venue at 7.15 and spend next 25 minutes unloading and taking boxes, bags, hanging rail and mannequin up to show room. I have the prime spot next too buggy park, stand 1, as organisers want to limit the number of buggies and encourage the use of the on the sling hire option. Takes me an hour or so to set up. Isaac spends time sitting having his breakfast. Proud of how good it looks when finished. I know it won't look as neat in a few hours. 10am event opens. Let the madness begin. So glad to see Carrie of Slings North of Tyne Library arrive, I'm struggling to cope already. See so many slings and carriers, only ever seen more in one place at the Natural Mamas Big Camp. Stall is busy all day but at 12 I have to abandon Carrie, I need to grab a sandwich, feed Isaac and I am due on stage at 12.20 to demo. Glad my day job is teaching, you can't hold a microphone and demo. Teacher voice it is, project, project, project. Demo completed I run down to stand and let Carrie go get her lunch. Hires continue and so do sales! Amazing feeling spreading the sling love to so many. 4.30pm finally can stop, show closed and time to pack up the stand. Chuffed to bits with how the day has gone bt even more excited by the prospect of a nice glass of white wine and putting my feet up. I will need to sort slings and tot up sales etc but that can wait. I need to relax now. 8pm and to bed I go. I have never sold slings. The library has always been impartial but by selling slings is a way I can develop the library. I hope to have a good range of instock and custom orders available soon. This way I can sell them rather than always having to direct you to vendors. The show proved their is a market to borrow and hire. I hope they can happily coexist.
I have no idea if the show will go ahead in 2014 but if it does I think we will definitely be there. Possibly without the poorly baby. Who despite having a chest infection and generally being grotty was a perfect little demo doll all day.
I know not everyone can make it to the library but that doesn't mean that they should miss out on carrying their baby (big or small). So The North East Sling Library offers sling hire across the UK and NE region.
So, how does it work? 1) Look on website and see which sling you would like to hire. 2) Email me [email protected] to say you would like to do a postal hire and tell me which slings you are interested in. 3) I then check to see if they are available. If they are I send you a hire form by email. If not I can give suggestions of others that are similar or tell you when that sling will be back. You then have two choices. You can either print form off and return with 2 cheques (hire fee/ postage and deposit) or you can send 2 PayPal payments. 4) Once I have form and payment I post sling to you. You get 2 weeks from they day you receive (or postman attempted to deliver - not when collected from sorting office). 5) At end of hire post back to me by the method I sent to you. For slings over £50 in value this is special delivery, under £50 recorded delivery. 6) Sling received and inspected. As long as no damage etc deposit returned (paypal or the cheque ripped up). What does it cost? It costs no more to hire a sling by post than it does at the library in terms of hire fee and deposits. All I ask is that you cover the cost if postage. For most slings (£50+ in value) it costs £8.25 for special delivery. Some slings which weigh under 500g are £6.95. If you want box posting this can push to next price catagory (over £11). If sling is valued at less than £50 I post recorded delivery. Prices for this are £3.70 for 2nd class small parcels under 1kg, £6.30 for medium parcels. 1st class is £4.10 (2nd class) and £6.75. Full details here http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/RoyalMail_OurPrices_April2013.pdf I know Royal Mail prices are getting stupidly high but as the library makes no profit with all funds raised going into the library I cannot afford to absorb the increased costs. Therefore I can also offer courier which is cheaper, trackable but does take a few days longer to arrive. Your 2 weeks would start from 1st attempted delivery.
For example it is £5.22 for a medium size parcel weighing 1kg with signature on delivery and insured to £100. http://www.myhermes1.co.uk/our-prices%20-dropoff.htm Even with postage costs added a postal hire is still much cheaper than making a costly sling purchase. On Satuday we ran our second ever master class, this time focusing on ring slings. I like ring slings. I never used to but after doing Trageschule foundation course they just clicked. Ring slings look easy but they take a lot of time to get right. But once you have found the sweet spot they are brilliant from teeny tiny babies up to big kids.
Elegant and stylish they are an excellent king which I love. W e had range of ages (including bumps) and a variety of different styles of ring slings ( and lots of cake) The photo above is almost a year old. It was taken on 9th Janaury 2012. I know the exact date as it was Henry's 2nd birthday and I was 24 weeks pregnant.
But why does it stick in my mind. Well approximately 3 hours later I felt an unbelievable, stabbing like pain in my lower back. I literally thought someone had stabbed me, in fact I had prolapsed a disc (slipped disc) in my lower back and over the hours that followed I lost all the feeling in my left leg. I thought my carrying days were over. What I didn't know was that carrying Henry could actually help cure my back. I couldn't lift him for several weeks and I spent the next 5 weeks dosed up on different combinations of painkillers, including codeine and morphine. My midwife was wonderful and managed to get me an emergency physiotherapy appointment and this was where I learnt my carrying days were not over, I simply needed to readjust and adapt how I carried Henry. My physio gave me several exercises designed to increase the arch in my lower spine and help the disc migrate back into place naturally (my growing bump also helped) . I had said to her that I was upset that I could no longer carry Henry but she said 'why ever not?'. Carrying a 2.5 stone 2 year old high on your back I have now discovered is excellent at getting your back to curve the right way. Front carrying was out as it would have changed the way my back curved but high back carries were in. Yes it hurt to start with. Yes I couldn't put him on my back myself to start with and needed my husband to lift him up there. I started off small, 2minutes at a time and slowly over about 5 weeks built it back up. The day I managed a 20 minute dog walk was a massive achievement. And my physio could see the benefit of my work each week and I was able to carry Henry right up to the day before I gave birth. 11 months later I have just been discharged by the physio. I am regularly carry Isaac and on odd occasions still carrying Henry. I have even tandem carried on a couple of occasions.Having a bad back DOES NOT MEAN YOU CANNOT BABYWEARER. It simply means you need to readjust. But please speak to your GP, physio or chiropractor. I am not medically trained and have aimy given you what I did. I adapted by avoiding buckle carriers which sit low on my waist and put pressure on my lower spine and opted for high back carries with mei tais and also wrapped a lot as the passes are nice and wide and supportive. Once I knew where the exact problem was I knew where to avoid and worked to find solutions which means I can carry and comfort my children without endangering my back again. I will be back to add some more but wanted to get this uploaded.
I have recently run, in conjunction with another consultant (Helen, pictured with the blue jpmbb), a stretchy wrap and newborn wrapping master class. I find the library can be a scary environment for bumps so wanted something that focused entirely on newborns and bumps. When I mentioned I was running a stretchy master class to the ladies at the Newcastle SlingMeet one mum asked me if it really was necessary to spend 90 minutes learning to use one. The answer was definitely yes, we even over ran.
Stretchy wraps are often a mums first experience of a sling so it is important to get it right. I have written a lot about stretchy wraps. My article stretchy wraps are not all created equal can be read by following this link http://www.naturalmamas.co.uk/articles/not-all-stretchy-wraps-are-created-equal/.
Stretchy wraps are fundamentally the same in the fact they are a long piece of fabric with some stretch. But they are also all so different. Photo instructions, written instructions, videos can help but they don't solve the niggles that can only be spotted and worked in with someone who knows what they are doing. Instructions don't give you explanations of the differences in elasticity, stretch, or how right to tie it. At our master class we had 3 bumps, 3 squishes and a daddy learning how to wrap. Some liked the woven wraps, some the stretchy but it allowed them to learn the basics in a calm and focused on them environment. Plus we had cake! (Can you spot a theme to NESL events?) We hired out 3 wraps, including the Calin bleu fleece ready to go in a hospital bag. After the session me and my boys went for lunch in Durham and even spotted the library JPMBB still being used and the pram being used for shopping.
So if looking at buying or trying a stretchy do not assume they are all the same. Ask for help if it isn't working for you. Also don't forget that the basic Pocket Wrap Cross Carry is included in all manufacturers instructions. They just call it different names. Top tips. *Tie the wrap bandage right. With most you don't need to leave space for baby. It is stretchy for a reason. *Always follow the TICKS guidelines. *All wraps not the same. If one doesn't work for you try another. I loved running this session and loved the comments I have received from the people who attended.
I am now planning a class focused on ring slings on 23rd March as they can be equally as challenging as stretchy wraps. Some feedback from people who came to the stretchy class:
Rachel C said after coming to the class "I'm so confident I've ditched the pushchair". Kirsty R sent me this fantastic feedback and lovely photo of her little girl, Sophie. " Me and Sophie (now 17 weeks and 15lbs 2oz) have struggled to wrap wovens comfortably in the past and so found the class an excellent step back to basics. Without the masterclass I would never have tried a stretchy, fearful that Sophie would be too heavy but it is much more forgiving than a woven. Despite my doubts before the class we hired the Boba stretchy afterwards and absolutely love it. So much that we're thinking of getting a stretchy before a woven. Its also more comfortable than my connecta, making it a lifesaver for our recent train and tube adventure in central London! Being able to stretch and try the different wraps also allowed us to find the stretchy most suitable for us which was the last one I would have expected" And finally Michelle F sent this photo with the caption "sleeping baby = happy mummy".
If you came and you want to add your feedback too, just comment below.
The North East Sling Library is very excited to announce we will be running a fundraising prize draw in the run up to, and at, The North East Baby and Toddler Roadshow. We are very grateful to Sarah at Connecta Baby Carrier donating us a silk Connecta as a prize. As you are aware the sling library is a not for profit group so the more money we can raise the better.
The Connecta is our most popular sling (to the point where my personal one is always on loan), suitable from 7.5lb they are fab for newborn cuddles and beyond. They are a buckle carrier but not a soft structured carrier as there is no firm waist. It is effectively a mai tai with buckles. Simple to use, folds up small and the perfect starter sling. Worth £75 we will be selling raffle tickets for £1 at the sling library sessions on Saturday 9th, Wednesday 16th and during the day on Saturday 16th. We will then draw the raffle on Saturday afternoon. Contact me if you would like to buy but can't make those dates. Right this may end up a rant and I apologise in advance. There is not a lot that riles me but people spouting 'stories' as fact is one of them.
I am lucky enough to be an adopted member of Sheffield Slings. Not a sling library and 2 hours from Durham. This fab group has had lots of success as they try to being slings to the masses. In 2012 they won the International Babywearing Week Award for Best Outreach Programme. Since their inception in 2012 they have grown from strength to stength. This included featuring in their local newspaper The Star on Tuesday 12th February. The article was fantastic. It can be read online here http://www.thestar.co.uk/community/we-let-the-slings-take-the-strain-1-5401688 In the print version it included this photograph So, what is with my blog title then? Well it is this letter to the editor. Entitled 'Don't risk baby for a pretty sling', as it appears at least one resident of Sheffield has taken exception to the photo and the fact slings can be pretty.
Yes slings can be pretty but it is not the prettiness that means we choose to use them. They are practical. The look is an added benefit. But that is not my main gripe with this concerned letter writer. My concern comes from the fact that in my opinion they are talking a load of old twaddle. In the letter they describe how 'they knew one lady who used these slings, fell over while carrying shopping and banged babies head'.
1) You fall over, whether carrying shopping or not instinct means you put you arms out to protect yourself. Most likey hurting yourself to protect baby. 2). Using a buggy does not guarantee baby is safe. I have personal experience of this. I had the foot plate (which wheel attached to) snap off our 3 wheel pushchair. This left my eldest (then only 4 months old) left hanging by the straps! Also if you fall over when pushing buggy how do you stop it rolling away? Possibly into road etc. 3) If the mothers in this photo had carried babies in arms and slipped they would have undoubtedly dropped baby. There are very few activities you shouldn't do when carrying your baby in a sling; Ride bike, ride horse etc. Taking a stroll is not one! When I talk to parents on Babywearing safety it is on the importance of positioning not a list of prohibited activities which we talk about. I refer parents to the TICKS guidelines. This is what I stress and is the reason I will not advocate or teach the cradle position for example. The person who has written this letter clearly has no idea about slings or carriers and it saddens me that the have taken it upon themselves to dismiss and criticise something they clearly know nothing about, instead prefer to refer to hearsay.
As for slings with headboards, I can only assume they mean a mass produced front pack and hey they have their own issues relegated to hip support and comfort to the wearer. All I can say is if you are interested in carrying your child don't let naysayers stop you. Speak to experienced sling users, Babywearing consultants and sling librarians. Research infant development and you will soon discover babies are biologically designed to need carrying. If our ancestors had not carried their young, we would not have existed as a species, as for as long as we have needed to move, there had been a need to carry our babies. (Taylor, 2010 'The Artificial Ape'). And hey if we want to do this in a pretty sling go for it. We choose our othes to look good so why not our sling. Finally if you wish to find out more about Sheffield Slings you can visit their website or Facebook page.
www.sheffieldslings.com www.facebook.com/sheffieldslings I know not everyone can get to the sling library, although the introduction of Saturday sling sessions has allowed more to come. I already do sling hire UK wide via Royal Mail special delivery.
So I have been thinking of other ways to help. And I have been thinking about utilising the modern technology we have available. Therefore if you have an iPhone, iPad or Apple Mac with FaceTime on it I am excited to be able to offer iConsultations. How will they work? Ok it isn't possible for a full consultation where I demo, we mirror and you do it yourself but it does mean I can give more support than just by email or phone. So if you hire by post, addition to receiving your sling, if you have the technology I am happy to offer a short online demo if you would like one. If you already own a sling and want to tweak I will try and help. This will be easiest if library has a similar or identical sling or you want a sling demo as you don't know where to start. I hope to also be able to offer these by Skype too in the near future. I am just trying to get to grips with it. I know they aren't as good as the real thing but hope they will help bridge the gap. I won't charge for these but donations to the sling library would be appreciated. Best wishes Rachel 16th March 2013 - Newcastle Falcons, Kingston ParkPhoto credit - www.northeastbabyandtoddlershow.co.uk We will be exhibiting at The North East Baby and Toddler show on Saturday 16th March. And we have been lucky enough to be given a pair of tickets to give away. You can find out more about them on twitter @NEbabytoddlers1 For your chance to come please leave a comment below and we will use a random number selector to pick the winner. Competiton open until 9pm on Saturday 2nd March. |
AuthorI'm Rachel, an experienced babywearer and consultant. In July 2011 I decided to establish the NESL to help the NE to carry their babies big and small. I'm mama to Henry (5yrs) and Isaac (2yr). Archives
February 2015
Categories
All
|