Today I took Martha to her first ever baby class, Baby Time with Kassy. For those of you who don’t know her, Martha does a lot of the social media shoots for Babi Bw, a baby clothing and gift company with Caldicot, Wales which prides itself on its Welsh inspired designs made from the softest 100% organic cotton. All of Kassy’s classes are held in the Paint on Me Boutique Pottery Painting Studio in Chepstow which is easy to park near and get to. You can’t bring buggies into the class as it is down some steps, so I just walked carrying Martha which was easy to do.
Chepstow is a town and community in Monmouthshire Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, near the River Severn and Severn Bridge and is about 10 minutes drive from Babi Bw’s cottage workshop in Caldicot. It is a lovely town to visit, with boutiques, cafes, restaurants and of course a castle. It is a great location for parents to visit and walk around with a pram or buggy.
When you arrive at the Paint on Me Boutique Studio, you go into a lovely little shop with gifts available to purchase and go downstairs through the pottery studio. Here I made a note to myself to bring my older children as they would love the pottery painting and build a bear I spotted in the corner. You keep walking through to a large room dimly lit with gentle sensory lighting and yoga mats with soft fur blankets for the babies to lie on. It was really lovely to walk into and a nice calming space for the babies to start the class in.
Kassy is so welcoming which I think is really important for parents, especially the first time going somewhere as it can be quite intimidating. There were 5 other mums and Dad’s there with their babies and Kassy talked to everyone and more importantly all of the babies before starting the class. It felt very comfortable to be there despite it being my first time and I soon found myself talking to people. In fact, once the initial part was done and the lights went on, I realised that two of the Mum’s were friends of mine but I hadn’t realised in the relaxed lighting.
I soon discovered that Martha was a little older than the other babies but everything still worked for her and she really enjoyed it. One thing I loved was that Kassy adapted the class to suit all the babies that were there so Martha could toddle around and look at things, sit with Kassy or play on a mat set up with toys without me feeling any pressure to call her back. Kassy explained that it was in some ways beneficial for the babies as they could watch what she did and learn from an older child. As a parent its nice to know you are welcome to be somewhere, so I appreciated this.
The class started with singing and whilst no one was pressured into joining in most people did. Martha loved this bit and danced along to the music. Kassy interacts with each baby individually which I thought was nice. Some were laid down and some sat up, it didn’t matter and parents are free to do what they needed to do with them.
Activities for babies
Every session has an activity and this week it was to make sensory bottles. Each baby was given a bottle, ribbon, some coloured tape and a jam jar with sequins and other sparkly bits in. Then parents could help their baby make the bottles, encouraging them to feel, hear and see the different components. Kassy demonstrated how to make the bottle and then handed over to the parents to make it with their little ones. Martha really enjoyed this and being a bit older, was able to do a bit more herself. She put the objects in the bottle and helped me to thread the ribbons through the hole in the lid. When she had hers at the end of the activity, she was more vocal than the other babies, singing along whilst she shook it. For the others, the parents were able to shake the bottle for their babies and let them feel it too. For babies laid on the soft fur mats, parents could hold the bottle in the air for them to see and let them feel the ribbons. It was a really nice activity that all of the babies got a lot from. It was also a really easy activity to recreate at home which is something Kassy said she does deliberately so that parents can get the most from the classes.
Next came my favourite part, tea and coffee! Kassy asked everyone what they wanted and went off to make it. By this point, everyone knew each other so it felt comfortable to chat to the other parents and the babies. Once the teas and coffees were brought out, the parents relaxed whilst the babies could play with their new creations and also the various toys available to them. Martha, being one with a short attention span, was finished with her bottle by this point so she wandered over to the mat and looked at the toys on there. She then brought me over a book to read with her. It was all very relaxed and good fun. As it was a small group, it was easy to chat with other parents and no one was left out so if someone is less confident, it would be comfortable for them to be part of the discussions. I liked that Kassy talked about her family and things she had been up to. It made me feel like I knew her a bit more and her bubbly personality made me enjoy speaking with her.
The class ended with some more singing and a discussion about what to expect at the next class. Kassy had so many ideas for what the babies would make. As a parent who loves this kind of thing but never quite gets to doing it or having all the bits needed, it was lovely to have a class to go along to and give Martha the opportunity to be creative without the mess!