Our Weekly Baby Classes

Back in January, Romeca from Beauty, Bump, And Me blogged about her Son’s Baby Class Menu. It was an enjoyable read as I love knowing what others get up to with their Children, and sometimes it gives me inspiration for activities to do with Florence. 

Inspired by Romeca’s blog post I have decided to write about Florence’s weekly Baby Classes. As soon as Florence was born I was eager to enrol us in some Baby Classes so that both of us could spend some special time together, as well as socialising with other Mother’s and their babies. 

Chris and I took Florence to a Baby Group at our local Children’s Centre when she was a couple of weeks old. We then started our first Baby Sensory class when Chris went back to work, Florence was 4 weeks old. 

I’m a very reserved and shy person so the thought of walking into a room of strangers was very daunting. However, I’ve met some lovely ladies through our Baby Classes and we also arrange play dates outside of our Classes. It’s great to be able to talk to Mothers with Children of the same age, especially for advice!

Here is what we get up to!

Monday

We started our Swimming Lessons today! Chris and I have taken Florence swimming a couple of times but I was keen to start lessons alongside fun swims. Florence has an Umbilical Hernia, and since using her Baby Neck Float in the bath and going swimming regularly it has really helped as she is using both her stomach and leg muscles. Swimming Lessons provide some fun time to splash around in the pool, as well as introducing Florence to basic swimming skills. During the lesson we play games, sing songs, and learn how to safety submerge Florence underwater, something that I am not confident doing without the support of a skilled Swimming Instructor.  Once Florence is competent enough swimming underwater there is an opportunity to take part in an underwater photo shoot which I am so excited about! 

 

Tuesday 

 On Tuesdays we go to a HartBeeps Baby Bells class. It’s a lovely, gentle class that combines Baby Yoga, Baby Massage, Baby Sensory, and Nursery Rhymes. Repetition is one of HartBeep’s main philosophies; each session starts and ends the same, and the middle part of the session is the same for every two consecutive weeks, allowing the babies to become familiar with the class. It’s a beautiful class that really allows you to develop a special bond with your baby. There is a lot of touch, cuddles, and kisses involved, we also hum songs that replicate the sound of our heartbeat while our baby was growing within the womb. 

Wednesday

  

We have just started a new class called Discovery Tots for babies from 8 weeks old to crawling. Each session starts with a Welcome Song, and another song where we say hello to all of the babies. Discovery Tots includes elements of Baby Yoga, Baby Massage, Baby Sign Language, and Sensory Play. Just like HartBeeps Baby Bells, parts of Discovery Tots are repeated each week so that the babies start to recognise and respond to the Class. 

 

 Thursday

On Thursdays we attend Jo Jingles with Florence’s little friend, Gabriella and her Mother Leah. Jo Jingles is our only solely Music based class. Each week the babies are introduced to a different theme such as colours, shapes, and numbers through Jo Jingle’s twist on well known Nursery Rhymes. The babies are able to play with musical instruments such as bells, tambourines, and drums. When Florence started Jo Jingles she wasn’t able to grab or hold any of the instruments, but I am now starting to see her change and she’ll often hold the little bells! Again, each session follows a similar format. We start the class by singing the “Hello Song,” and end the class with the “Goodbye Song.” The classes are very small, meaning the lady that runs each session knows each baby by their name which I just love! 

Friday

On Fridays we attend Baby Sensory which is our favourite class. This is the first class that I took Florence to when she was just four weeks old, and we are now on our second half term! It is such a wonderful class and Florence really enjoys it each week. We start the session by singing “Say Hello To The Sun.” The song is just lovely, and it uses sign language which we are able to use at home. We then spend 30 minutes doing carefully planned and structured sensory activities that change on a weekly basis. Once the 30 minutes is up we have a 15 minute “play” session where the babies can play with the mats, inflatables, and baby toys. We then end the session with another 15 minutes of sensory play, ending with our “Goodbye” song. I’ve met many wonderful Mothers and Babies at Baby Sensory, all of which I hope to stay in contact with away from the class. 

Although Florence and I attend Baby Classes on a daily basis they are only 45 minutes to an hour long, meaning that we still spend time going for walks, playing at home, and having friends over for play dates. All of our classes run on a half term schedule meaning that we can trial each class and decide whether we’d like to continue. We are very lucky because there are so many Baby Classes in our area so we always have something to do!

What Classes and Groups do you attend with your baby?