First Aid for Babies

First Aid for Babies On a mission to empower parents with vital wellness knowledge and first aid skills.

Passionate about promoting healthy habits and creating healthy homes to reduce accidents, minimise injuries and prevent illness occurring or worsening.

11/07/2024

Sling Safety Talk on 1st July at Teatro Lounge parent group. A video version of the written post (for those that don't like or are to busy to read ☺️) For the attached resources please check out the written post on my page https://www.facebook.com/FirstAidForBabies

Sling Safety Talk at Teatro Lounge on July 1st Summary(A video version of this written post available on another post).H...
11/07/2024

Sling Safety Talk at Teatro Lounge on July 1st Summary
(A video version of this written post available on another post).

Hello peeps! This is for the mums who were at the babywearing session last week or for those that are wondering what they missed! Here's a summary with promised resources.

Benefits of Babywearing
We started off talking about the benefits of babywearing and it turns out all the mums present had already been babywearing or had plans to. We then went on to discuss the 5 main different types of carriers or slings that are used to ‘wear’ our baby. We used these words interchangeably as ultimately all slings do the same job with the differences being to do with the baby's age, stage and carrier’s preferences and abilities. We also mentioned the different brands that are available and the cheap availability of slings bought second hand (such as on Vinted), with a caution that sometimes there can be fake advertisements. Fake items may not be safety tested for buckles or the dyes used.

Guide to carrying
Here is a link to the leaflet that we used during the first part of the session: A Guide to carrying
This website is fab and run by babywearing advocate and educator Dr Rosie (who taught me about babywearing).
https://www.carryingmatters.co.uk/educational-resources/

Safe Babywearing Principles
We then discussed the principles of safe babywearing which is essentially imitating the position of our baby if we were to carry them in arms. There are guidelines that have been made by the UK Sling Consortium called ‘The T.I.C.K.S. rules’ which I will attach here:
https://babyslingsafety.co.uk/

There are also safety guidelines produced by BabyWearing International that are more commonly used in the USA. I personally find both guidelines quite wordy and difficult to remember when using my sling on the go. I have combined both these guidelines into a more intuitive format ‘Babywearing Safety Guidelines Made Simple’. This uses an ABC approach, which still covers every point of importance.

Correct body positioning for baby
We demonstrated and discussed the importance of correct positioning so that the airway and the baby’s body position was optimal and the need to ensure the pelvis and knees were well supported using the letters M and J to remind ourselves of how this looks.

Demonstrations and practice
We went over the pocket wrap cross carry using the stretchy wrap, the front wrap cross carry ideally used with woven wraps and different ways you can make slight adjustments to slings to achieve optimum positioning and comfort for both baby and carrier.

Warmer weather(?)
The session was going to end with tips on how to safely babywear during warmer weather but we simply ran out of time to go into any great detail so do find the information summarised and attached.

It was a real pleasure to come and share what I know and if anyone feels they would like me to come back or to arrange a private session then please let Josh Teatro Lounge know or contact me directly.

About me
And finally a little about me and what I offer for those that were not there last week:

My name is Hana and I work independently as a Perinatal Wellness Practitioner. I set up First Aid for Babies last year as at the time there was no local service offering Baby First Aid classes. I am a registered nurse and midwife by training and have recently been busy becoming an ‘expert mum’ to my own 2 year old son who I loved to carry when he was lighter! I trained as a babywearing peer supporter last year as despite working in family centric specialties I never had any formal training and therefore came into motherhood knowing nothing about babywearing and its benefits or how to do it safely. This led me to buying a sling from amazon 6 weeks postpartum that I later found out is totally unsafe and has sadly led to infant deaths.
I am now very interested to help spread knowledge on how to baby wear safely and how to approach the subject of which sling to buy based on your own families requirements. I found that the whole subject of which sling or carrier is best felt very overwhelming and expensive when trying to research it myself, often with resources coming from companies that make a certain type slings! I am someone that wants to make evidence based decisions not ones based on marketing.

What do I offer?
I offer education, demonstration, fit checks and signposting to reliable resources that you can continue to then learn for yourself. I can also recommend 3 sling consultants that operate sling libraries 'kind of' locally. I will share more details on this in the coming days. I also will be sharing demonstrations over the coming weeks with stretchy wraps, buckle carriers and ring slings. So if this may be helpful then do follow along on my fb page as I will soon be launching my Youtube Channel.

A new facebook group has begun to help pregnant and new parents find out about birthing, baby and postnatal services in ...
09/06/2024

A new facebook group has begun to help pregnant and new parents find out about birthing, baby and postnatal services in and around Weston-super-mare. So if you are a parent or caregiver of a child under 5 or you run a local business providing products, services or activities to this age group then please do join this group.
Please can people like and share in order to reach as many people as possible.
Here's the link to join the group:
https://www.facebook.com/share/yti4BqUtfPdUNkhk/

Despite us trying our best, accidents still CAN and DO happen. We can child proof, limit distractions, be attentive and ...
22/02/2024

Despite us trying our best, accidents still CAN and DO happen. We can child proof, limit distractions, be attentive and yet there are UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES that align to create a situation which is often BEYOND OUR CONTROL.

At First Aid for Babies one of our foundational approaches is based on the Serenity Prayer:

God grant us the COURAGE to change the things we cannot accept, the PATIENCE to accept the things we cannot change and the WISDOM to know the difference.

Within healthcare the SWISS CHEESE MODEL is used as a strategy for preventing accidents. In this concept, there are MULTIPLE LAYERS of accident defense mechanisms with the understanding that there may be occasional holes that align, (imagine swiss cheese here), leading to unexpected outcomes. The idea is to have MANY DIFFERENT PLANS or BEHAVIOURS that we do to minimise the risk of accidents. When we apply this to caring for babies and young children here are a few steps to take:

EDUCATE yourself on potential dangers 

Ensure the ENVIRONMENT is as safe as possible

Equip yourself with FIRST AID skills

Know WHO and WHEN to call for help 

SEEK SUPPORT if an accident or emergency did occur which ended up with long term outcomes for either you or your child

Remember that we can only DO OUR BEST with WHAT WE KNOW at the TIME. And also as parents or caregivers we can only do SO MUCH in any given day. 

Let me know in the comments what area of accident prevention you would like to tackle this week?!

Let's learn skills together to help our families and communities become stronger!Want to learn first aid?Your future sel...
20/02/2024

Let's learn skills together to help our families and communities become stronger!

Want to learn first aid?

Your future self will thank you for it :)

If you haven't yet decided if Mama Medics is for you, just a recap of what is on offer.Only 2 places left!
19/02/2024

If you haven't yet decided if Mama Medics is for you, just a recap of what is on offer.
Only 2 places left!

Would you like to be the next person to join our group?We've got so much planned!We will be learning first aid skills, e...
18/02/2024

Would you like to be the next person to join our group?

We've got so much planned!
We will be learning first aid skills, experimenting with decision making tools, discussing accident prevention ideas, but we will also be learning how to safely use a sling to carry out baby, we will be practicing some breath work to help regulate and relax us and did I mention there is going to be cake.....??

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to think how much we need to know and maybe how little we feel we know when we have a...
16/02/2024

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to think how much we need to know and maybe how little we feel we know when we have a baby.

But I have good news for you! You don't have to know everything….you just need to know what is normal for YOUR baby. Then if there is any deviation from this it may be time to seek help either from your HV, GP, calling 111,  going to the emergency department or calling 999.

But what if you're struggling to know what is normal? The Lullaby Trust has a super easy and useful tool that parents can use when their baby is well and then again when their baby is showing signs of illness. There are 19 questions to complete which helps to identify if your baby is well, mildly ill or seriously ill. It then advises you on what action to take.

I used it many times myself and it is so useful having easily accessible professional guidance literally sitting in your bag or pocket.

Here is the link:

https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/baby-check-app/

💖 Love takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent. 💖Remembering to pack for them but not you - we have all do...
14/02/2024

💖 Love takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent. 💖

Remembering to pack for them but not you - we have all done it, bought changes of clothes, snacks and entertainment for your little person, but then realise you have odd shoes on….

And who can resist the urge to warm up those little cold hands on your bare skin for the most rapid heat exchange (brrr).

If love could be measured by how many nappies we change, then you'd see just how MUCH you love your baby!

And let's not forget needing to wake, rise, feed, or soothe our baby, toddler, or child when they need us at night—exhausting, yes, predictable, no.

A big shoutout to all those parents still needing to comfort their little human for many hours. Remember to get nice snacks in. 🙂

So please remind yourself that on those (early) or difficult days when you do not have that ‘feeling’ of loving your child, that you still, ABSOLUTELY ARE!

Love is doing over and over again all the tiny daily stuff that we often overlook or undervalue.

You are doing great, be kind to yourself, and remember that parenthood is like seasons… sometimes you get all 4 in 1 day. 🌸🌞🍂❄️ 

Enough

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Weston-super-Mare
Weston-Super-Mare

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