Summer Sling Show 2008

Last year saw the first Summer Sling show in London. There is another this year on the 27th July if anyone is interested in going along. There will be different vendors there, opportunity to try out and see different carriers as well as a wealth of information on babywearing.

More information can be found here:

http://www.summerslingshow.co.uk/

Here's a great blog post on the safety of 'bag' style slings, well worth a look at.

http://babyslingsafety.blogspot.com/

New meeting dates and Sling Hire

So some new meetings have been set up, these are on:

Friday 20th June
Friday 18th July
Friday 15th August

These will all be at the ABC Surestart centre in Landport (opposite Asda car park) as usual.

From June there will also be a change to the price of sling hire, the deposit is still £30 but the cost of one months sling hire is rising to £10. This is so we can purchase more slings for the library and be able to provide handouts/materials for people to take away. We now also provide a hire pack when you borrow a sling which has lots of information on safety, benefits of babywearing, purchasing information, as well as instructions.

News

Well I've been busy attending a Babywearing course in London. Yes they even do babywearing courses now! It was run by the only Babywearing school in the world, Trageschule Dresden, which is based in Dresden,Germany.

I learnt a lot about how to teach slings and different carries to parents, and also the theory behing babywearing and why babies are programmed to want to be carried. So I am now a qualified 'Babywearing Consultant' with a certificate and everything, albeit in German.

It was very hard work, but I had lots of fun too! Here's a photo of a carry I've invented for those of us who are a little less photogenic!

Sling Meet Dates April & May

Sorry it's taken ages to sort this out, I've been very busy with a new job and taking a babywearing course in London. Sally is taking over organising the meets in the future, although I'll still be helping out. We've decided to stick with Fridays in the same venue. Dates for new meets are;

Fri April 18th 2008
Fri May 16th 2008

Venue is The Sure Start ABC Centre - Landport, 221 Arundel Street, Portsmouth. PO1 1NF . The Sure Start Centre is diagonally opposite the ASDA Fratton car park in Arundel Street. You can find a map is here http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Portsmouth,+PO1+1NF,+UK&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

The room we are using in Sure Start centre is purpose built for families and has plenty of toys and space for toddlers and a fenced off area outside to play in. Please remember this group was set up by Sally and I to promote babywearing. The Slings we hire out are from our own collection, therefore there are a limited amount so there is no guarantee that you will be able to hire the sling you want, when you want. We are organising a reservation/waitlist system for future and are buying more slings with the money raised so far.

Can I please ask that everyone has read the safety post here;
http://pompeybabywearer.blogspot.com/2007/09/please-remember-safety-is-paramount.html

Please e-mail sally@smashinggirl.co.uk if you require any further details.

Sling meets

Due to our having to change the day and venue for the Sling meets we haven't been able to arrange a meeting for February, but are hoping to get the meetings up and running again in March. We'll post dates, and details of the new venue once arranged.

Southern Baby and Toddler Show February 2008

Wanted to let you know about the Southern Baby and Toddler Show to be held on the 2nd and 3rd February at the Mountbatten Centre. For those who want to buy slings but want to see them first, a recommended sling vendor will have a stall at the show, Natural Connection. Natural Connection is a family-run business selling slings and fabulous baby accessories. They have a big selection of funky slings and other products. My favourites are the Babyhawk mei-tai, Rockin Baby ringslings, Moby wraps, Babylegs, cute Peppa dolls, and the slings for childen.