Neither my husband and I are risk takers. He is fond of his diary, lists and plans. I like the security that routine has created. There is so much going on at the minute with our lives that we are …
Category: sling library
Ohhhh, what do we have here? The Preschool Solar Connecta has arrived.
On Thursday lunchtime the door bell of my house rang and stood on step was Andy, the InterLink Express delivery driver who covers my area. He is quite a regular visitor, as he is the man who brings us our Connecta Baby Carrier orders. Connecta are by far the most hired slings in the North East Sling Library and were the most popular carrier in UK sling libraries in 2014. Here he was, once again bringing another package from Connecta HQ, but this time, it was not for the library but for me and Isaac, and something special for our summer holidays.
Waiting for Isaac to open
The package Andy delivered was a preschool size Connecta Solar carrier. One of the first two in this size anywhere, although you can now buy yours online too for £80. I am a big fan of Connecta Baby Carriers. They are the slings which got me hooked on carrying when I first started. It was delivered while Isaac was at nursery and the wait to try it/open it was never ending. I had told Isaac we were getting a new sling and he was excited to open it.
What’s in here Mummy?
My new big boy sling!
The Preschool range of Connecta Baby Carrier are tested to 24kg. Isaac at 16.5kg is well within the maximum weight limit, as is his 6 year old brother at 20.5kg. They have a 20 inch seat allowing for comfortable knee to knee support for bigger children too.
The preschool carriers were launched in 2014 and I was lucky enough to have one of the testers come and visit here. At present 24kg is the most the carriers can be factory tested to here currently and is roughly the weight of a 7 year old.
Seat width comparisons
Why do I want a preschool carrier? I would think many people want to know why I willingly carry a 3 almost 4 year old and on occasion his 6 year old brother. The answer is simple. Little legs get tired. Isaac is also a pain to get to sleep (for naps or night time) and a sling is often used to get him to sleep. On holiday where sleep routines are even more disturbed I think our new sling will have a very important role. I will also be travelling on one trip without my Husband. Although I have other family with me, the sling will make the airport easier to negotiate. Our toddler size solar was worth its weight in gold last time I did this and the idea of not having a sling didn’t appeal.
Toddler solar for a nap in the sun in 2014.
I spoke to Sarah, the owner of Connecta Baby Carrier in the summer of 2015, explaining how next year I was off to Malta and Majorca and wished they had a preschool size Solar Connecta. The Solar fabric is UVA and UVB protective (blocking between 95-99% of harmful rays), extremely light weight and folds so small it fits in my handbag. Limited travel luggage allowances mean I did not want to talk a bulky carrier. I am so excited that my wish came true. The fact it dries quickly, is breathable and has an integrated sun hood makes it perfect for the hot weather. I really can’t wait to try it properly. A full review will be written in August.
Our initial impressions are woo hoo. A brilliant carrier with a sleek design. Supportive enough for big kids but small enough that I can pack it away when not in use. Isaac will want to walk on holiday but I know he will get tired. This way I know I will be able to carry him when he needs it. Thank you Connecta.
Reconnecting after a day at nursery.
Cuddles with Henry – couldn’t feel he was there.
Wallaby Babywearing Coat Review
Wallaby Babywearing Coat Review by Wombat&Co London
As you can imagine my email inbox has daily offers sent to it. Most of them go in the bin but when I received an email Carmen at Wombat&Co with details of the Wallaby Babywearing Coat something made me want to find out more. The fact it was freezing cold made the faux fur lining stand out even more.
2015 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here's an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 21,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
My Best Nine on Instagram of 2015
I was intrigued by selling various #2015bestnine collages on my Instagram feed over the last few days of 2015. It did the trick, it got me wondering what mine were. I was a little surprised by the results.
I am @neslinglibrary on Instagram if you don’t yet follow me. I share photos of everyday life as well as sling library. I do after all describe myself in my profile bio as:
“Rachel Coy: Mum of two boys with the mission to help the NE carry their babies big and small. I’m a carrying consultant & sling librarian at the NE Sling Library”
So here are mine. 9 photos which between them sum up my life in 2015. I also apparently made 744 posts in 2015 and they had a total of 2300 likes. These 9 images make up just 117 of those. What do these images tell me? Maybe a look at each one is might help.
The first 4 images are the most popular I posted in 2015. From top left they are a local mama showing her hand knitted babywearing coat insert (16 likes), next all received 14 likes are: me playing with a Woven Wings Droplets wrap at Slingababy CPD, a mamas first wrapping attempts and associated sleepy dust and another’s solo attempt at a double hammock after a consultation. These 4 images show the variety of a sling library and consultant. The range you can spend too. There is no one size fits all.
Next comes a photo of life or more correctly World Book Day 2015 and the outfits hubby and the boys wore. Not sling library related but life. Then there is Maria and her gorgeous girl playing with ring slings. The summary of what NESL means was posted when I was feeling raw and worried about the library. It was a silly summary that made me feel better and got 12 likes. I am not sure what it was about these images that made them as popular as they were.
The final two are normal life. A picture of my eldest looking rather grubby, dressed in Victorian dress for a trip to Beamish with school. The last is an image of me off duty and probably looking the happiest I had looked for a long time. Taken at a restaurant in Preston the night before a friends wedding. I joked it was a Mai Tai for the sling librarian. I was happy and relaxed in a moment. Both are something I find extremely hard to achieve. I am constantly on edge, worried about what others think of me, worried about the library. Maybe the fact I was relaxed was the reason this image resonated with people.
My Best Nine of 2015 are an arbitrary choice based on popularity alone. Why not do a top ten and then this image would have been included too. With only 10 likes it didn’t make it onto me photo grid but in this mamas eyes and smile is as much happiness and joy of any of the other images that were chosen.
Popularity doesn’t mean importance. Likes don’t mean a photo is more or less significant. I will continue to share images across social media. The picture below shows my last 12 uploads: they too are a combination of sling library and real life. I will continue to do what I love: being a sling library, consultant and mummy, and hope that you will follow me on this journey.
Slings and More 