Slings & Carriers at the Meets
Sling Walks
Hereford Sling Meet Calendar
About the Meets
Safety & Admin
Widemarsh Children's Centre, Hereford HR4 9NA
2nd Thursday of every month 10am-12pm
Next to Widemarsh Common - click here for a map
2nd Thursday of every month 10am-12pm
Next to Widemarsh Common - click here for a map
The room is big with plenty of toys, books and activities to keep children amused and has changing facilities, a kitchen and a secure outside area for when the weather is good. The Centre has its own café so you can grab a drink or a snack after the meet. Parking is limited but you may be able to park by the cricket pavilion or nearby - definitely worth car sharing if you know someone else who is coming.
Slings & Carriers Available
Below is a list of the slings and carriers that are available to try at Sling Meets - not all of these will be at every meet as it is impossible to fit them all in a bag! If there is something in this list that you would particularly like to see/try please let us know beforehand (either by posting/commenting on the Facebook page, through the contact page or by email), don't assume the sling you want to try will be there. Many of the people who regularly come to meets also bring their own slings so there may be slings there that are not on this list.
There are more than one of some these brands and there are different colours or fabrics, particularly in the case of woven wraps. We don't have all possible optioins but if there is a particular colour/pattern you are hoping to see do ask before the meet as you may be lucky. If you don't know what sort of sling would suit you or you want to see lots of different types, it is also worth letting us know before the meet how old your baby is and what you want from a sling so we can make sure the right slings are at the meet.
Pouches
- Coorie Fleece
- GorgeousBaby pouch
- Hotsling (size 2)
- Hotsling AP
- Maya LP
- Oopa
- Sakura Bloom
- Zolo
- Babyhawk Mei Tai
- Babyspace Onbu
- Freehand Mei Tai
- Front Back and Sides MT
- Kozy Carrier
- Nurslings Hemp Tai
- Toddler Taitasi
- Zidee Podaegi
- Angelpack
- Connecta
- Ergo Baby Carrier
- Patapum (baby)
- Pikkolo
- Rose & Rebellion
- Hug-a-Bub
- Moby
- Calin Bleu Fleece
- Didmos (variety of weaves, colours & patterns)
- Ellaroo wrap
- Storchenwiege (Leo & Stripes)
- Calin Bleu Gauze/Cool Cotton
- Scootababy
Sling Walks
Weekend following the Widemarsh Meet
Details of time and place announced the week before
The meets run for 2 hours and are very informal. If you are short on time or have another appointment you can of course use them as a drop-in session to ask a question and/or try out a sling, however to get the most out of a meet we do suggest you come for the whole thing. If everyone arrives at the start this enables us to work out how best to help everyone in the time available without giving the same explanation/demonstration more than once. If arriving part way through a meet is unavoidable please come anyway and do before the meet so we can leave time for you.
Once a month we meet for a walk, usually the weekend after the Hereford Sling Meet but this may change and there may be other walks as well. All walks will be in Herefordshire and will be suitable for sling users and young children. This is all year round so during the winter months you will obviously need warm wet weather gear.
Hereford Sling Meet Calendar
Check the calendar for the dates of the monthly meets as well as walks and other events.
Hereford Sling Meet Calendar
Check the calendar for the dates of the monthly meets as well as walks and other events.
***Contact us for more details about meets, walks or other events***
We'd love you to come regularly and the more people who have experience with slings they can share, the more parents we can help. If you have your own slings, do bring them along so we have lots of different brands for people to try on. If you are planning on coming to try on a specific type/brand of sling or carrier it is very useful if you before the meet - we can then make sure that, if it is possible, that brand will be at the meet and there will be as many examples as possible of the style you want to try.
There is a purple folder with information sheets on where to buy, lists of different brands, safety, benefits of babywearing and much more so feel free to have a browse. Printing is all done on a home printer so if you can read the sheets at the meets rather than taking a copy that would be great. Alternatively, info sheets can be emailed to you and there is a sheet in the folder for you to request copies.
For safety and the smooth running of the meet we would be grateful if you could take note of the following:
- Hereford Sling Meet is a voluntary group and your child's safety is your responsibility
- Please keep an eye on your child and do not allow them into the kitchen area or the toilets unsupervised
- Check when entering/leaving the room that a child does not slip out unnoticed
- There are a wide range of different slings and carriers at each meet which you are welcome to try, just ask
- If you are new to using slings and would like an explanation of the different types or a demo of a particular sling/carrying position, please ask. We know how confusing it is to start with.
- Please do not attempt any unfamiliar carry (especially back carries) or try a new sling without help from someone with experience
- Please always have a 'spotter' while you are doing a back carry
- Please do not attempt to instruct someone how to do a particular carry unless you are an experienced user of that particular sling.
- If you are unsure about positioning in a particular sling or carrier please ask
- Slings and carriers are not toys - please do not let your child play with them
- Please respect the slings and carriers, they cost money. When you have finished using or looking at a sling please put it somewhere where it is not going to get damaged or dirty
- If your baby is sick or has a nappy leak while they are in one of the slings please tell us so that it can be washed, finding a stinky sling a few weeks later is most unpleasant
- Please do not allow your child to eat while you are trying on slings or carriers. Wipe messy fingers and faces before putting them in a sling - having to wash lots of slings after every meet is not fun
- Please keep all hot drinks out of the reach of little fingers
- If you bring food/drinks for your child please pick up any food/rubbish - this reduces the amount of tidying up/cleaning that needs to be done at the end of the meet
- Any help to tidy the room at the end of the meet is much appreciated
- If you have any suggestions or ideas for the structure of meets or things you would have found useful, we'd love to hear them
