Central London Sling Library

After 10 years of existence, the Central London Sling library is closing down.
It's been a pleasure to meet and help so many families over the years.
Thank you all for the last 10 years, it's been such an adventure!
Much love, Alexandra

Unfortunately, I have to cancel today’s Open Session.
See you all on the 15/12 for the last session of the year!

When you spot babywearing at the newsagent! ❤️

9 years ago already 😩❤️

Simple tips to carry safely in the heat.

🔥 CARRYING IN THE HEAT 🔥

The weather is heating up again, so follow these simple tips and stay safe. Get in touch if you want to hire something cooler, I have some great summer sling options available.

☀️ DRESS LIGHTLY
Dress yourself and baby in light clothing, long length for baby to protect skin.

☀️ STAY SHADED
Try to keep in the shade as much as possible, a brolly is great is there is none. And NEVER drape a buggy.

☀️ COVER THEIR HEAD
Use a hat with a wide brim or peak to protect baby from sun.

☀️ STAY HYDRATED
Stay hydrated and encourage baby to feed regularly. Even short small feeds will allow baby to stay hydrated.

☀️ SLING CHOICE
If possible, choose a sling designed for warmer weather. Like a solar, one with mesh or linen. If not, try to use a single layer carry or a back carry which is cooler.

☀️ REST
Rest as much as you can, break up a walk or day out by resting or swapping who carries. Allow baby a break out the sling too.

Laurna x

♥♥♥

"When a caregiver and a child physically hold each other, their bodily autonomic states harmonise ... Together they move from separate distress to mutual calm." ♥♥♥

Science keeps telling us to our children. It's interesting how many scientists are now focusing on the thinking that happens not in your but in your . You have spread through your innards, and there's increasing attention on the vagus nerve, which emerges from the brain stem and wanders across the heart, lungs, kidney and gut.

The nerve is one of the pathways through which the body and brain talk to each other in an unconscious conversation. Much of this conversation is about how we are relating to others. Human thinking is not primarily about individual calculation, but about social engagement and .

Stephen Porges is well-known for his “Polyvagal Theory,” which focuses on how the concept of is fundamental to our mental state. Porges tells us that those who have experienced have bodies that are highly reactive to perceived threat. They don't like public places with loud noises. They live in fight-or-flight mode, stressed and anxious. Or, if they feel trapped and constrained, they go numb. Their voice and tone go flat.

Physical reactions shape our way of seeing and being. When we're really young we know few emotion concepts. Young children say, “I hate you!” when they mean “I don't like this” because they haven't learned their culture's concepts for hatred vs. badness. But as we get older we learn more emotional granularity. The emotionally wise person can create distinct experiences of disappointment, anger, spite, resentment, grouchiness and aggravation, whereas for a less emotionally wise person those are all synonyms for “I feel bad.” A wise person may know the foreign words that express emotions we can't name in English: tocka (Russian, roughly, for spiritual anguish) or litost (Czech, roughly, for misery combined with the hunger for revenge). People with high emotional granularity respond flexibly to life, have better mental health outcomes and drink less.

Cuddles help develop emotional granularity. If bodily reactions can drive people apart they can also heal. Martha Welch of Columbia University points to the importance of loving physical touch to lay down markers of .

Under the old brain-only paradigm, we told people to self-regulate their emotions through conscious self-talk. But real emotional help comes through co-regulation. When a caregiver and a child physically hold each other, their bodily autonomic states harmonise, connecting on a level. Together they move from separate distress to mutual calm.

When we step back and see the brain and body thinking together, the old distinction between reason and emotion doesn't seem to make sense. Our very perceptions of the world are shaped by the predictions our brains are making about our physical autonomic states. And we can also see how important it is to teach emotional granularity, starting from birth.
https://cstu.io/853e81

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We're back!

Next open sessions will be on the:
# 05/05
# 19/05
# 09/06
# 23/06
# 07/07 *cancelled*
# 21/07

See you then!

Thank you Maltesers UK for highlighting and normalising these new mums’ experiences.
Maternal mental health is too often overlooked.

Hi everyone,

now that the kids are back to school I'm getting through my backlog of messages and emails! Thank you for your patience.

Hopefully, open-sessions should resume by end of April 🤞. Until then, our services are limited and on appointment only, Monday-Friday.

See you soon ♥♥♥