We are inviting anyone fancying a bit of a sing along to our Sling and Sing event in Leeds on Saturday 12th December. We’ll meet under the big tree in City Square at around 3pm, sing some lovely carols with our little ones keeping us warm and snug, and then have a walk around the lights and Christmas market. Totally festive! After our little get together, the Leeds festival of lanterns is taking place, so it couldn’t be more magical.

If you would like to join us, head over to our Facebook page and add your interest!

Carriers are available for hire of course prior to the event.

So, here’s a little warm up tune to get you started!

Enjoy!

On the first day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
All the parents happy hands free.

On the second day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Two buckley hugs
All the parents happy hands free.

On the third day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the fourth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the fifth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.
On the third day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library

On the sixth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the seventh day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the eighth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Eight pattern comparing
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the ninth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Nine wraps a stretching
Eight pattern comparing
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the tenth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Ten peers supporting
Nine wraps a stretching
Eight pattern comparing
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Eleven toddlers calming
Ten peers supporting
Nine wraps a stretching
Eight pattern comparing
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
At West Yorkshire Sling Library
Twelve backs a patting
Eleven toddlers calming
Ten peers supporting
Nine wraps a stretching
Eight pattern comparing
Seven buckles clipping
Six mei tais tying
FIVE RING SLINGS
Four skin to skin
Three first smiles
Two buckley hugs
And all the parents happy hands free.

 

So the weather has turned cold and we’re all wanting to keep our little ones nice and warm – especially the ones who haven’t experienced a British winter before! So how is best to keep them snuggly and safe at the same time? There’s an article and video that gets shared around a lot at this time of year, and it’s and important message – it’s called ‘Winter coats and car seats don’t mix‘

The basic premise is that the more padding you add under safety straps, the less well the safety straps can do their job when needed. It’s a hard thing to think about, but very necessary. And in many ways the principle is the same with slings and carriers – the clothing interferes with the fit, makes the safety guidelines harder to follow, and can have issues with overheating.

Here are some reasons why coats and bulky clothing for babies aren’t always ideal and some things you can use instead!

In slings and carriers, babies benefit from your body heat. Imagine walking around on a snowy day strapped to giant hot water bottle! It can be a lovely feeling, but to benefit from that body heat your baby should be as close to your body as they can be – so put your carrier on at the earliest stage of getting dressed that you can, and add layers over the top – being careful that no layers obscure the baby’s face.

Going outdoors and staying outdoors is the exception rather than the rule. Most of the time we’re outdoors for a bit, in a hot shopping centre for a bit, cold street, having a coffee, school run, back home, dog walk, corner shop… layers under the carrier mean to adjust the baby’s temperature you need to remove the baby from the carrier, disturbing them. Adding your own coat or a cover means outdoor layers are easily removable when entering a warmer environment, keeping baby at the ideal temperature – and meaning you’re not stuck in a coat under a sleeping baby either! You don’t need a special coat unless you want one. Most coats can do up around a baby just fine, and some will fasten under the baby’s bottom, making a great windbreak and covering small hands and feet. A small fleece pram blanket or simple woollen scarf tucked under your coat at the shoulders will cover pretty much any gap if required. Again, we keep baby’s face visible, their head kissable – but maybe add a hat!

Bulky clothes can reduce the support a carrier will offer to the spine and hips of the infant, leading them to slump down inside – a non- optimal position we are trying to avoid. Very small babies often disappear inside snow suits and similar items, with the neckline covering the face – an obvious hazard. Instead of bulky clothing, simple fleecey sleepsuits can work very well, with extra attention paid to any uncovered parts – the feet can benefit from an extra pair of socks, and the head from a hat – especially good are the types that cover the neck a little like a cardigan hood.

 

Poncho type outerwear can be great for older babies, as they can be placed over the baby’s head and shoulders without removing them from the carrier. The poncho itself will cover most of the carrier, and they can be acquired in waterproof and warm varieties. They also look super cute at toddler age when they are walking independently!

Remember that when you share space with your baby you automatically keep yourself comfortable and your baby benefits too – you turn out of the wind and rain, shelter both of you, turn from direct lights, preserve your personal space in crowds, all without thinking about it.

So here’s the rule of thumb!

If you wouldn’t let them wear it in the car seat, don’t use it in the carrier either.
Consider the carrier an outdoor layer, and your body heat another one.
Add layers until both of you are comfortable.
Keep your baby visible and kissable.
Check extremities regularly.

I confess I will miss my little hot water bottle under my coat this winter! It can be one of the loveliest, toastiest feelings to be out and about sharing space with your little ones, enjoying a secret warmth only you two can feel.

It always seems like we have to plan these things early in the sling library but ho ho ho! It’s only a little over four weeks until Father Christmas is due, your relatives are descending and we all disappear under a mountain of wrapping paper and sprouts!

We close for two weeks over the festive period and give all our hirers a little Christmas bonus, extending all the hires over the holidays for free.

And that starts this week! All hires between 24th Nov-8th Dec will benefit from a little extra hire for no extra cost. The sooner you hire, the more extra free you get.

So are you taking your little ones away this Christmas? Want to keep them close when all the relatives visit? Need a hands free Christmas dinner? Or are you visiting the Christmas market, braving the shops, going to the theatre, carol singing, church services, Christmas fayres …..or just fancy keeping warm outside with a baby shaped hot water bottle down your jacket? Perhaps we’ll get some snowman building in there too!

Here are the dates for the last sessions before Christmas:

WEDS 25th NOV @ 55 Thornfield Ave 10-3pm
FRI 27th NOV @ Pudsey Wellbeing Centre 12-2.30pm
WEDS 2nd DEC @ 55 Thornfield Ave 10-3pm
WEDS 9th DEC @ 55 Thornfield Ave 10-3pm
FRI 11th DEC @ Pudsey Wellbeing Centre 12-2.30pm
WEDS 16th DEC @ SCRAP creative reuse art project 10.30-2pm

We reopen in the New Year on Tuesday 5th January, with some all new venues, some all new events and some all new stock – an exciting 2016 in the sling library! Watch this space for further news!

So the lovely folks at Liliputi have sent WYSL one of their new and shiny soft structured carriers – after a redesign it is always good to get feedback and we liked the look of the Liliputi SSC as soon as it came out of the box.

First of all, it is definitely pretty, the Folk Tale design on brown straps is bright and fun but not over the top. The carrier comes in a sleek box with a useful cotton storage bag.

What does the Liliputi SSC do?

An ergonomically sound, soft buckle carrier suitable from newborn to toddler with front, hip or back carry options. The newborn adaptation is a soft, integral newborn seat, sold as standard not separately, which raises the little one up inside the carrier and tucks their legs inside. The newborn seat fastens to the side with slightly fiddly poppers, but has the added bonus of being attached with Velcro, and removable when the child no longer requires it.

A removable sleep hood is a great feature, and a sturdy zip holds it in place meaning there is no chance of it popping off accidentally. There is a small amount of padding to the curved headrest and fairly chunky padding to the sides around the backs of the baby’s knees. I like the way the central panel is light allowing parents to rub and pay their baby through the carrier. Overall the carrier is medium weight, not overly heavy but not a lightweight.

The waistband is medium weight shaped foam, the straps offer a good set of configurations including crossing on the back, or using a connecting strap, and perfect fit adjusters at the top of the carrier body. The straps are overall fairly short, with a good minimum fit, making this a good choice for petite adults.

Extra features?

The carrier comes with seat extenders which zip into place, increasing the leg support as the child grows. I was impressed with how well these supported toddler legs. The attention to detail here is impressive, whenever there is a piece of webbing, there is something to tuck it into, the carrier feels sturdy and solid overall.

 

Any downsides?

I really do like the Liliputi and think it will fit a broad range of adults and children. I think it has been cleverly designed by people who clearly know their stuff. There are only two small things I would change – the length of the webbing on end of the shoulder straps is long enough to cross straps but extra length there would make that an option for all. As it is, crossing the straps is only really an option for small to average sized adults due to the shorter length being out of reach for those with a bigger frame. Last up would be the buckles, they do their job well and hold effectively to a high weight but somehow feel a little plasticky compared to some other brands.

The verdict

It’s great, it’s clever, and it looks well made. It will fit a good variety of adults and children, and it will be especially good at fitting those with smaller frames. In my opinion it will be best suited to parents wanting a carrier to suit two or more ages of children or those wanting one carrier from birth to toddler. Internal seats for newborns work but are always a little harder to use at that stage, so I think the optimum range, where it works at its best, will be with children 4 months to 2.5 years approx, although it will perform fine outside of that range. The range of extras in the bag make it a very good value option I am happy to recommend.

The Liliputi SSC is part of a range of new carriers from the Hungarian brand including mei tais, stretchy wraps and ring slings, as well as carrying coats, bags and accessories, so we are definitely going to hear more from Liliputi in the future.

Available to hire from 4/11/15 at WYSL

Liliputi Buckle carrier
From 99 Euro direct
http://www.liliputibabycarriers.com/buckle-carrier
Sling Heaven
£79.99
http://www.slingheaven.com/Liliputi-Soft-Baby-Carrier-_p_638.html

The Technical Stuff

3.5Kg- 20kg
Removable internal infant seat.
Minimum seat width 7 inches on newborn seat.
Carrier proper 13 inches with seat darting.
Carrier extenders extend to a 19 inch shaped seat.
Body height drawstring adjustable, max 16 inches into curved head rest.
Minimum waist measurement 28 inches, maximum 56 inches approx.
Perfect fit adjusters.
Removable sleephood.
Seat extenders as standard.
Dual Adjustability in underarm straps.
Crossed back only for smaller adults.
Back carry 6mo +

 

Thanks to being so fabulously busy with all you carrying parents out there, our drop in sessions are moving to somewhere bigger and better.

SCRAP  is a social enterprise based in Farsley, Leeds which reuses waste materials from businesses and industry as resources for art and play. It is a large mill shop, packed to the rafters with interesting things to make and do – it’s real imagination fuel. Their cafe is an awesome space filled with open ended, heuristic play and an ever changing play space for little people. Along with a very decent cup of coffee, speciality teas and a delicious cake selection, it is a place I already visit regularly.

The lovely people at SCRAP have invited us to come along to their cafe space to run our drop in services on a Wednesday, so you can come and play, come for a coffee, a slab of cake, some help with your sling and to pick up art supplies for the kids! As a big bonus, the mills complex of which SCRAP is a part also boasts Jacakboos play gym just next door, the ever fabulous Fingertips art studio full of messy play and projects for kids, an art gallery and a Mill Kitchen cafe.

We will be there each Wednesday – starting this Wednesday February 11th – from 10.30am to 2pm, on the cafe space, for free drop in carrier help and advice, rentals and returns.

if you have any questions about our new space, I have updated the How to Visit page with directions and accessibility details, but if you need any more information please contact us using the contact page or call 01132100855.

We trialled the Saturday session in December and it was a success, so we are now going to run a Sling Saturday session every month, with drop-in session available in the morning, and one to ones or workshops bookable in the afternoon.

Hopefully these will increase accessibility for anyone struggling to come in during the week – and the first one is this Saturday 17th January 2015.

Each drop-in Sling Saturday will run from 10-11.30am and is free, open to all for sling advice, rentals and returns.

Afternoon one to ones will be bookable by emailing or calling 01132100855, and workshops will be advertised here or on the Facebook page in advance. If you have any requests do get in touch.

The next Sling Saturday dates are:

Sat 15th Jan

Sat 14th Feb

Sat 14th Mar

and they run at 55 Thornfield Avenue Farsley Leeds LS285HJ

See you there!

It’s that time of year again! It rolls around even faster when you have to plan four weeks in advance!

Time to talk festive carrier rental – and my Christmas present to all renters over the next couple of weeks is up to two weeks of extra rental for free!

The sling library will close on Friday 19th December, and thanks to how our open days fall this year, won’t reopen until Monday 5th January – making all carrier rentals over the festive period due back at the Wednesday drop in on the 7th January.

Here’s how it sorts itself out –

Carriers rented for four week periods between 25th November- 9th December inclusive will all be due back Wednesday 7th January – basically the sooner you get here, the longer you get for free! Rentals at any of this weeks sessions will benefit the most from the offer – renewals of carriers already due back in that period will qualify also – just get in touch to renew – payment can be arranged online.

The two week rental option will be suspended from 5th December and become available again in the New Year.

The Sling Social which would take place on the 26th if it were any other month will not run.

The WYSL Christmas party will be on Friday 12th December at the Sling Social!

So just have a think about Christmas parties, visiting the relatives, travelling over Christmas – think about snow and ice, busy shops, Christmas markets and staying snug and warm with your little one – and see if a sling or carrier can help!

If you’d like to come to any of our sessions we are running three open sessions this week – Wednesday 10-3pm in Farsley, Friday 12-2.30pm in Pudsey and our special Weekend open session 10-11.30 this Saturday in Farsley.

Check the how to visit tab above, addresses to the right or call 01132100855 for details.

It’s too early to say it, but Merry Christmas!

We’re encouraging everyone to try something NEW this November with our Newvember sling library sessions – offers include half price rentals, special library drop in sessions and weekend events.

Try something NEW!

We are offering half price rentals on all of our wrap collection – all woven and stretchy wraps – Every single day this Newvember. That’s Didymos, Girasol, Hoppediz, Girasol, Storchenwiege, Oscha, Firespiral, Easycare, Moby, JPMBB, Boba Wrap, Snugiwraps, Joy and Joe, Wrapsody, Sabe Baby, Tula wrap….and more – all half price, all month.

Make a NEW friend!

If you’ve visited the library before, bring a friend this Newvember and we’ll give you BOTH a half price rental on any carrier. So you can both try something new!

I will be making a new friend and inviting someone new along to the library myself on the 12th November when the lovely Rosie Knowles of the Sheffield Sling Surgery will be joining us for the day!

Learn a NEW skill!

To round it all off, at the end of the month I am running a special NEWvember carrying skills day on Saturday 29th November. It will begin with a special weekend library open session between 10-11.30pm – an open to everyone, drop in session for help with all kinds of slings and carriers. In the afternoon we are running Skill Sessions – these will be open to anyone who has visited the sling library before and must be booked in advance.

Each half hour session will focusing on a single wrap skill, designed for you to come by and learn something new.

NEWvemberSling Library Drop In Session
10-11.30am Saturday 29th November
Free to all, no booking required.

Saturday Skill Sessions available:

12 noon Pocket Wrap Cross Carry (stretchy wrap)
12.30pm – Double Hammock Front Carry (stretchy wrap)

1.30pm – Front Wrap Cross Carry (woven wrap)
2pm – Front Cross Carry (woven wrap)

3pm – Poppins Hip Carry (hybrid and woven wraps)
3.30pm Coolest Hip Cross Carry (woven wrap)

Each half hour session will cost £3 per family with a maximum of 3 families per skill.

If you would like to book on to any of the Skill Sessions or have any questions about our NEWvember events please call Nicola on 01132100855, or email wyslinglibrary@outlook.com

Obligatory small print: Half price wrap offer is for new rentals only and not available on renewals. One to one sessions are unaffected. Bring a friend offer is open to anyone who has been to a West Yorkshire Sling Library session before bringing a friend who has not visited The West Yorkshire Sling library before November 2014.

We LOVE Halloween – and this year our Sling Social falls on the day itself – as well as half term for the older ones.

What better way to celebrate than having a Spooky Social?

We’ll bring along the dress up box for everyone to have a go with so even if you just drop in you can get into the spirit! (Pun intended!)

Little trick or treat prizes for anyone small who would like to don their costume before it gets dark and some and give us a scare.

Free Halloween crafts – fancy making a toilet paper ghost or pipe cleaner spider? Crafts will be led by our crack team of bigger kids!

Can you think of a carrier costume or spooky sling dress up? Or will you just come as a Mummy … or Daddy?

All sling advice and carrier rentals are still available of course – so come along and join in the fun!

12-2.30pm At Pudsey Wellbeing Centre Community Hall  – 31st October 2014

We try to keep the library stock up to date and like to try new brands and carriers, and we have a few lovely new things to add to the catalogue.

Here are two of the fabulous MADAME GOOGOO carriers, both great for bigger babies and toddlers. They are a very funky example of the soft structured carrier, combining exciting prints with colourful straps – each one unique. They are available to order in several panel sizes. They work well front and back, and have customisable features – here we have the magical forest with a flat hood and petite straps, and the Russian dolls with a sweatshirt hood and regular straps. MADAME GOOGOO have many carrier options available to buy and retail at around £100. Many thanks to MADAME  GOOGOO – Gorgeous!

Another splash of colour in the soft structured carrier box, this is a Sleepy Nico buckle carrier – soft, lightweight, and great for babies and toddlers 3-4 months and up, for front or back carries. This one is ‘Little Houses’ print – it reminds me of Hebden Bridge with all the houses stacked on top of one another, so it was fitting for it to have a home in West Yorkshire. This carrier is available off the peg or as a custom carrier, and retails at around £70-75. This one has soft purple baby cord straps, a flat sleephood and a three piece soft structured waistband, it is a really lovely carrier – Thankyou Sleepy Nico!

A last addition is fitting for the blustery autumn weather – we decided to try a Bundle Bean carrier cover – these can be used over any type of carrier and on the front or on the back, and also as a buggy cosy toes or car seat cover. A simple Velcro design with hand snug, they are fleecy on the inside and showerproof on the outside!

All of our new additions are available for try on or hire at any of our drop in sessions – next sessions are Weds 29th Oct 10-3pm in Farsley and Friday 31st Oct 12-2.3m in Pudsey!