Everything baby in the Ilkley Moor area
Feel like you’re knee-deep in noisy plastic toys? Can’t get into the spare bedroom because it is piled high with baby paraphernalia? Get all your old baby stuff down to a local nearly new sale! There are a few coming up:
February
March
April
Do you know of any other local sales? Share the wealth – send us the details!
UPDATE – Family Boogies raised £190 on Saturday 21st Jan!!! If you missed this one, make sure you go along on 18 February and 17 March 2012 and have a great family time whilst raising much-needed cash for Save the Children!
Jane & Andy
Guiseley mum-of-2 Jane started running the Family Boogies with her husband Andy after their second child was born 3 years ago. The idea was to organise something the whole family could enjoy together over the winter months.
Jane says: “We’d both spent quite a lot of time in other countries where it was the norm for children to be with their parents at parties, music events, festivals and in cafes, restaurants and bars. The children had great fun, they did not need special ‘kids tunes’ or a padded play environment. Back in the UK over the winter months we felt there were very few affordable ‘whole family’ things to do – outdoor play was time limited due to the cold and most of the local pubs/ bars did not allow children in, indoor play areas! We felt that the concept of a creating an afternoon café/ bar/ disco (playing ‘normal’ tunes ie not kids ones) for the whole family could take off and be a bit of a social hub for local families with young children to get together. We just had to try it!”
They have now been running the boogies once a month over the winter for 3 years. They have proved really popular and they’ve also raised over £2,500 (prior to gift aid) for Save the Children. The families that come are lovely and the whole atmosphere is vibrant, fun and friendly.
The Family Boogies are held at the High Royds Social Club in Menston – it’s spacious, all on one level, serves hot and cold drinks and snacks and has a licensed bar (all very reasonably priced!). In addition there’s free parking, baby change and food preparation facility and of course some great tunes! The large ‘disco’ area is usually full of families – kids and parents up on the dance floor having a boogie/ playing with balloons or sat with their friends around the sides, catching up over a few drinks. Jane and Andy would really like to thank the staff at the social club (Heather is an absolute star!).
The Family Boogies run from 3-5pm and will be on Saturday 21 January, 18 February and 17 March 2012. Suggested donations are £5/ family – ALL money goes direct to Save the Children.
Jane and Andy say: “We’re really grateful to everyone that’s helped us with running the Family Boogies over the last few years. We hope that the Boogies will continue as a community run event long after our kids outgrow them and would encourage families to come along and get involved.”
The award-winning baby signing classes, Sing and Sign, are launching a new class on Thursday afternoons in Skipton. The classes start this month so get in touch with Mel to book your place.
Sing and Sign was launched 10 years ago in January 2001. The popular and innovative classes were soon a success and there are now over 170 Sing and Sign teachers across the UK.
There are some great benefits to signing with your baby. Signing babies can communicate complex things earlier which can reduce the potential for tantrums and your frustration as a parent. Research is ongoing into the effect of baby signing on the development of a baby’s brain, with some experts suggesting that baby signing stimulates brain development and enhances the building of brain circuitry. For more information about baby signing, read our feature.
Melanie Macauley has been successfully running the Leeds franchise for 4 years with classes in Guiseley, Otley, Ilkley and now Skipton. Visit our listing page for details.
We’ve got a new special feature about physiotherapy for babies and toddlers contributed by Cathy Preston from Leeds Children’s Physiotherapy.
If you are concerned or unsure about your baby or child’s developement, find out more in our feature. Here are a few signs that you should look for…though bear in mind these are simply a guide and do not automatically indicate that your child has a developmental problem;
Thank you to Cathy for her contribution. If you have any further questions, please contact Leeds Children’s Physiotherapy on Info@peakphysiotherapy.com or visit their website.
Hope you’ve had a great Christmas and all our best wishes for 2012.
The New Year is a great time to start a new class or try out a new group. Look up our listings to see what you fancy.
Let us know if you have any recommendations so we can pass them on to others.
Are you ready for Christmas?!? Less than 2 weeks to to!!
We’ve got some top tips to help you get in the Christmas spirit!
Struggling for gifts? We’ve asked Esther from Baby and Children gift shop in Otley – Grace of Otley – to give us top tips for this year’s gift ideas.
More Christmas shopping? Our resident shopping expert Heather has told us all her favourite Christmas bargains.
Christmas baking? Fancy something a bit different this year? Why not try our Christmas cake pops or Christmas cupcakes?
Whatever you are up to this Christmas, we hope you and your families have a fabulous time!
The MoorMums team xx
Local super-mum Naomi brings up 3 little girls (Megan 6, Olivia 3, and Molly 1), works part-time and also finds time, every Christmas, to make hundreds of Reindeer bags to raise money for charity.
Naomi’s second daughter, Olivia, was born with an irreparable heart defect, which saw her undergo 18 hours of surgery just weeks after coming into the world. She continues to receive palliative care at ward 10 at the LGI.
The reindeer bags, which are tied with a red festive bow, contain oats and glitter, which when sprinkled outside on Christmas Eve, attract the attention of Santa’s reindeer as they make their yearly deliveries.
Naomi says: “Ward 10 is a very special place and the reindeer food funds go straight to the children on the ward for whatever is required. In the past money has funded sensory equipment and a revamp of high dependency unit to improve medication access on the ward. Olivia is continuing to shine and we cherish each and everyday. She is an amazing little girl thanks to ward 10 and the surgical team.”
The bags are on sale NOW and cost 50p per bag (and all donations are very welcome). You can find them in Shoo bee doo, Ilkley pet shop, Ilkley cutting emporium, Ls29 hair and the doctors on springs lane.
The BBC reported last week that NICE (National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence) has changed its guidance so that all pregnant women who want a caesarean birth should be allowed one – regardless of medical need.
NICE do also state that women should be offered counselling and have the risks of a c-section explained to them before they go under the knife.
New guidlines are about reducing c-sections
The intention of the guidelines is to reduce the number of c-sections through offering more women counselling and empowering them to look forward to their birth positively. This will also be cheaper for the NHS as a c-section is £704 more expensive than a vaginal birth.
Local midwife Lisa Bragg, who teaches Offsprings antenatal classes, says: “I think the NICE guideline will reduce the number of LSCS (Lower Segment Caesarean Sections) not increase it, because it acknowledges that some women need extra support to acheive a normal birth. I come across a significant amount of women who are worried about giving birth and some who request a LSCS for this reason. In the past, some have been granted this request and in these individual circumstances this has been the right decision. A lot of this often boils down to a fear of loss of control and this is where midwifery support and antenatal classes play an important role. The key is to empowering women to believe in their bodies.”
Normal birth should still be preferable
Holly from Airedale mums says: “Broadly speaking, I agree with the choice offered by these new guidelines. However, I think the pertinent point we need to address is why women fear birth so much that they would rather risk major abdominal surgery. We know that normal birth is the safest option for the vast majority of women (by normal I mean free of intervention, not just all vaginal births). The revised guidelines don’t lead us toward support for normal birth.”
Making the right choice
MoorMums has spoken to local mum and author Leigh East about making the decision between a vaginal birth and a c-section, especially if you have previously had a c-section, to bring you a special feature.
Further comment
If you would like to comment on this new story, please contact us.
A new frozen food store has opened in Ilkley. COOK opened its doors in October 2011 in the The Moors Shopping Centre (adjacent Spec Savers, fronting the main car park).
The shop is the second franchise for husband and wife team Jonathan & Helen, the first being in Harrogate which was opened in February 2010.
The shop is a family friendly shop, with easy access for prams and pushchairs.
Jonathan (who is a father of 2) from COOK says: “We know from experience that the twilight zone ahead of meal times can bring out the hungry little monster in even the most angelic offspring. To give you a helping hand, we’ve created our new COOK for Kids range using exactly the same ingredients and techniques you would at home. There is plenty of veg (cunningly disguised for fussy ones), and no added salt (although other ingredients may contain some), so you can rustle up something quick and nutritious that tastes freshly made.”
COOK prepares dishes by hand at its Kitchen in Kent, using the same ingredients and techniques that a good COOK would use at home, so everything looks and tastes homemade.
Tasters and events
They do tasters every day in store so you can sample the food. On Saturday 26th November, they are holding a special ‘Puds and Fizz‘ tasting day.
Special offer
Exclusively for MoorMums, COOK in Ilkley offer a 15% discount on their Kids and baby range. Terms and conditions apply.
Love the great outdoors? This group is a great way to get some fresh air and learn new skills at the same time.
Amy Hield and Ben Oram began Come Play in the woods just over a year ago. After Ben went to visit forest schools in Denmark with his wife and son, he teamed up with Amy, who was delivering outdoor community arts projects with schools. Having learnt something about the value of forest schools Amy and Ben wanted their own children to benefit from the learning experiences the woods have to offer.In September 2010 they began meeting regularly at Griff woods with their own children, while they gained level 3 forest school qualifications, and began inviting other families to join them from November that year.
Since then children and adults have been squelching in the mud, sliding on the ice, moving stones, climbing things, cooking, singing, drinking tea, making bird tables, talking and playing every week (during term time). There are usually between 10 and 30 people at a session and people come from as far and wide as Barnolswick and Addingham, as well as from just around the corner. Ben’s 4 week old Baby now also comes along, to sample the smells and sensations of the weather and the woods.
Amy and Ben have gone on to found a Community Interest Company, attracting a board of early years and special needs teachers, mountaineers and ground works specialists. They are called Aspyrian Outdoor Learning C.I.C and they work to provide high quality outdoor learning experiences for children and young people who may not otherwise get the opportunity to develop through play in a natural environment. Amy says “Aspyrian in an old english word, it means – to track, trace out, seek and discover – and that is exactly what we aim for children to do, to undertake a process of discovery about themselves and the world they live in.” Their website is www.aspyrian.org.uk .
Come and play in Griff woods in Oakworth every Monday afternoon in term-time and enjoy a cup of tea on the campfire whilst the little ones get dirty investigating nature. For more details, visit our listing page.
