October 17th, 2009
Well this week I have been busy getting the new centre ready to open for the next set of baby massage and baby yoga classes. I think we will be using the lobby area to start with! There is about 4000 square foot in total but there is some work that needs doing before it is all ready to use and this will need to be done in phases. Still, the lobby area is bigger than my previous studio in West Bridgford so there’s room for a couch as well as all the soft floor matting so the mums will be really comfortable.
I have had various builders in to give me quotes for the treatment rooms, baby changing area and boxing in of a really badly installed boiler and the utility meters! Just waiting to get those back. Some things are going to have to be put on the medium/long term list but I desperately need a wall built to corden off what was a loading bay area as the shutter blind rattles a huge amount when traffic goes past. It does nothing to keep the outside noise or the cold out so that has to be sorted out first.
I met this week with Nicky Grace who is an independant midwife as she is interested in running antenatal groups from the centre. She currently runs the Nottingham Home Birth Group at the Iona School, Sneinton, Nottingham with Andrea Lee, another independant midwife. We had a good chat about things and she reminded me about the Active Birth Centre in North London. Apparently that has been set up in a similar way to what I am doing so I think it will be well worth a trip down to London to see how they have managed to do things.
Yesterday I had a meeting with Philippa Double from Double Image Photography in Beeston Nottingham. I have know Philippa for a while through a business network group and she has taken some lovely family pictures for us in the past. She recently won a national award for her wedding photography and has also won awards for her portraits of Under 5’s so she is highly recommended! We are looking to have a photography session booked in before Christmas so that you can come and have your little ones phtographed ready for those Christmas cards!
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October 10th, 2009
After setting up the Nottingham Network for Fertility, Birth and Babies, I have done the same in Derby. The idea of the group is for professionals in the same field to get together for support, business/marketing ideas and to have a network of other trusted professionals to refer clients on to.
We meet monthly at the Bridge Centre in Mickleover. Today we talked about the importance of goals - having clarity about where we want to go and starting with the end in mind. From that we made goals to achieve by the next meeting in November, goals to achieve by our January meeting and decided how we’d like our businesses to look in 12 months’ time.
We discussed how difficult it can be to let the right people know about what we do. It is vital that we find effective ways to do this, as collectively we can offer parents and parents-to-be so much support and advice. The NHS is hugely stretched and, listening to reports from parents, can be massively inconsistant with their service. We can help fill in the gaps and offer choices - usually more natural ones which can be just as effective, if not more so.
If you are a therapist or other professional working within the field, or have experience of someone who might benefit from being in the group, please contact me or send them to www.NottinghamNetworkForFertilityAndBirth.com (Derby website coming soon).
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September 26th, 2009
The Big Wheel asked me to provide taster Baby Yoga/Massage sessions at their Big Day Out today held at Nottingham Castle.
It was a really busy day with well over 2000 people turning up to the free festival. There was a fab luminarium which was very popular and had people queing up to an hour and half to get in. It was a giant inflatable series of tunnels linked together with soft music and glowing lights to create a cool sensory trip.
I was based in a room within the castle itself. I had plenty of parents popping in during the day to see what I was up to. It was a great way to get the word out about baby yoga as it is still not that well known to a lot of people. I was able to do some 1-1 and small class taster sessions for a number of parents and little ones and some older babies came along to have a play in the treasure basket and escape the crowd for a little while!
Quite a few parents came along with children around 2 years old to find out if they were classed as babies for the yoga. Unfortunately once the babies start crawling they need to move on to more of a toddler yoga class. I referred quite a few people onto Yoga Nutz who run loads of classes throughout Nottingham for toddlers, children and teens.
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August 19th, 2009
There is a 3-page article in this month’s Good Housekeeping magazine on postnatal depression. It is written by Lynne Walder who I know personally through the Fertility and Birth networking group I created.
I think she is lovely and she’s based in Nottingham so why not have a look at her site and her article if you think you could find them useful.
Polka Dot Coaching
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August 19th, 2009
There is a Nottingham Mummy and Buggy walking group on Facebook which you might find good to join. It is not instructor lead but an opportunity for local parents to meet up at various times to social and get out and about with baby. They have outings for example at the weekend to Sherwood Pines so join the group and you will be sent details of the group outings.
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August 12th, 2009
I am now offering Aquamama antenatal aqua classes for mums-to-be at all stages of pregnancy.
The class is held at 6.15-6.45pm Tuesday evenings at the Lenton Centre, Nottingham. It costs £6 per session payable in 6 session blocks although these don’t have to be used consecutively. Places are limited and must be booked in advance.
The class is a fun and friendly way to meet other mums-to-be and stay healthy throughout your pregnancy.
For more information call Suzie on 07809 419 175 or visit www.Urban-Kneads.com
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August 12th, 2009
New course dates are available on www.Urban-Kneads.com/Prices.html for Baby Yoga and Baby Massage.
Baby Massage start dates: Thursday 20th August (FULLY BOOKED) and Thursday 10th September both 10am.
Baby Yoga start dates: Tuesday 1st Sepember and Thursday 3rd September both 11.15am.
For more information and booking visit the website www.Urban-Kneads.com.
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August 12th, 2009
As well as the popular Waterbabies, Roko health club in West Bridgford and Bramcote Leisure Centre, Bramcote also offer very good baby swim classes.
Bramcote Swimming Pool offer aquababy classes 7 days per week. The next set of 5/6 week courses start 1st week of Sep - £20/£24.
Aquababies: birth-12 months. Advanced aquababies: 12 months to 3 years. Have a look on the timetable (link below) for times:
http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4862#HolidayTP
ROKO: Baby Swimming Classes at Roko heath club in West Bridgford are available to both members and non-members.
Next courses are starting beginning of October on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays. 11am for 3-15months, 11.30-12 for 15months plus. 9 or 10 week courses £22.50/£31.50-£25/£33. Call for info:
http://www.roko.co.uk/nottingham-gym/infomation.html
Posted in Baby Classes in Nottingham | No Comments »
July 20th, 2009
Some of you may be aware that I am going to be moving into new premises in the city centre soon.
It’s been a bit of a drwan-out process so far-found the place in March and have only just signed the pre-lease agreement and we haven’t even completed o that yet!
It is a very exciting new venture and I will be offering far more than I can currently. Ultimatley it will be a comprehensive centre for new parents and parents to be offering services from pre-conception to pre-school. Although it will be developed in stages, the idea is to have a parent and child friendly, classes for babies and toddlers, fitness classes for pregnant and new mums, dad and baby classes and treatments/therapies for pregnant mums and new parents as well as a whole host of workshops and talks.
I will post updates here as they happen so keep an eye out!
Tags: Baby Classes, baby massage, baby yoga, Nottingham, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Massage, Pregnancy yoga
Posted in New Baby Centre Nottingham | No Comments »
May 16th, 2009
I was asked to make Baby Massage presentations throughout the Baby Show at the NEC for the Nurofen ‘Mumschool’ stand. It was great talking to so many new parents educating them on baby massage and showing them how they could go away and start massaging their babies that night.
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