As 2022 draws to a close, I am honestly wondering where the year has gone. This year has definitely gone by in a flash, and I can't quite believe it's already time to start talking about 2023!
But it is, and I have new dates for both Kingston and Old Malden Children's Centres.
It was back in February this year that I first started offering a session at Old Malden, and it has very quickly taken off. Sessions have been filling up regularly since April, and both the October and November sessions were over capacity. So for 2023 the session will be 90 minutes instead of 60 minutes to allow me to accommodate upto 10 families (instead of just 6 or 7). Kingston will continue as 2 seperate 60 minutes sessions each accommodating up to 7 families. Meaning we offer upto 24 families free sling support each month.
The eagle eyed among you will have noticed there isn't a session at Barnes at the moment. This is something I am hoping will come back, but sadly this session was not well attended during the first half of last year. Most sessions had only 2-3 families booked in and frequent no shows meant that more than once I ran a session for no one to attend. As I donate my time to run these sessions, it just simply isn't sustainable to keep offering a session where there is not sufficient demand. Particularly when sessions in other areas are well attended. It is a shame, because this venue was very well attended in the past, but right now there isn't the demand. If this changes and interest in running a session picks up, I will of course restart running sessions here. So if you are interested please let me know!
Likewise, if you'd like Sling Clinic to come to a new area please do get in touch to ask! If you have a local children's centre please do put in a good word for me! I am always open to offering more Clinics in new areas if there is demand to support it.
All of these Sling Clinic sessions are completely FREE to attend (although donations are welcome!) They are small group friendly informal sessions, perfect for those who have a couple of questions, would like a quick fit check or have a fair idea of what they want to try and would like to try it on in person or hire to try before they invest in their own. Booking is essential and you can find the upcoming dates and the booking form here.
For those needing more in depth help, private consultations in my home, clients homes or online are back from the 3rd of Jan. These are the perfect way to explore a number of options and really delve deep into how to use them and become completely confident using whatever you choose.
Once you have found the right option for you the Sheen Slings webshop is here for you! Carrying an increasing range of slings, carriers and accessories – all purchases come with the added bonus of me! I care much less about what you buy and much more about whether you can use it and that it adds value to your life … so all carrier and sling purchases come with a free 20 minute online video fitting appointment that you can book at any time if you are at all unsure. And all my clients are always welcome to send me a photo to double check fit and/or ask any questions, at any time. I want to ensure you love carrying and all the products in the shop are carefully curated based on what I know works for a wide range of parents and babies. They are all things I have seen work time and time again for families of all shapes, sizes and needs. Most are also things I have either used personally myself or wish had been available at the time for me to use personally!
For those who would rather hire, or would like to hire to try before they buy - hiring has got even easier! I have finally started upgrading my hire system... and during 2023 I will be retiring my low tech Google Form linked to spreadsheet and instead offering the ability to hire directly from my website. This will mean you can see photos and descriptions of every carrier in the library, check availability, reserve and pay online. In fact the new system is live right now and you can see it here. Although, at the time of writing, only 15 of 116 hire carriers have been loaded so far. But loading the rest is my number 1 admin priority for 2023!! And in the meantime the other 101 carriers will still be hirable via the Google form (and are all listed here) so please do still get in touch to hire if you don't see what you want to hire on the new system just yet!
Finally, looking further into 2023 I will be continuing to build my learning zone with ever more tutorials, reviews and frequently asked questions. These are a great place to look for free information and help, but if you don't see what you need feel free to get in touch!
Wishing you a very happy 2023 and really looking forward to welcoming many of you in the New Year.
-Madeleine