Spotlight on a Slingababy Consultant: Emily Taylor
Can you give us a quick introduction as to who you are?
I’m Em! I live in Coventry in the UK with my husband – who is also a Slingababy consultant – and two sons. Everyone in our house is neurodivergent, our children are home educated and I work from home running CalmFamily and It’s A Sling Thing so our life is pretty full and generally chaotic!
Can you tell us more about your journey from carrying to becoming a consultant to now?
When I was pregnant with my oldest child I firmly believed in all the baby books about schedules and teaching your baby to fit them. When my son arrived it became *very* quickly apparent that he hadn’t read any of them. I was presented with a child who screamed if he wasn’t held and wouldn’t sleep unless on me or my husband and then only for about 45 minutes anyway.
Paul had wanted to carry their son anyway so we’d started looking at carriers but once our son was here it became very much needed. I found a local sling consultant and we went along and learned to wrap. 7 months later I was well and truly hooked and setting up a sling library, having found a community of like minded parents locally and online. I’d learned much more about what is really going on with babies and believed passionately in slings as a tool. A friend mentioned Slingababy to me and I resolved to go!
Now I do much less sling specific work, because it has grown into something encompassing more general support for parents with the wonderful team at CalmFamily who welcomed me with open arms. But those early sleep deprived days are what led me here.
What is your favourite part about being a consultant?
My favourite part about being a consultant is seeing a family have that ‘click’ moment where it all makes sense and someone else is listening and supporting them in what they need rather than lots of people telling them what to do.
Seeing parents feel empowered to make choices which are right for them and their families is amazing.
Would you share a special memory that sticks out for you?
A couple of years ago I was in the supermarket when a woman stopped me. I vaguely recognised her, but she told me that she had been one of the first people I had done a sling consult for way back in 2014 with her first baby, who was just a few days old at the time. She now has three children and had carried them all and wanted to thank me for helping her feel that her choice to carry was the right one for them and to support them to do so. It was such a wonderful thing to hear.
What tip would you give yourself if you could get back to the time before you were a parent?
Read the baby not the book! And follow the science…
Why did you choose to train with Slingababy?
Honestly I chose to train with Slingababy because it was local to me and that meant it was easy! But I’d also seen friends and people I admired talking about Lorette’s approach and it felt different to some other training options out there.
Do you want to say a few words about your Slingababy experience?
Training with Lorette was transformative for me. I don’t say that lightly – it literally transformed my life.
Not just in changing the work I did, or my approach to carrying, but in how I approached people and family and life.
Slingababy gave me a way of thinking not just a way of using slings, it gave me a community and it gave me people who I consider family. I am incredibly grateful to Lorette for her presence in my life.
Anything else you would like to say about anything?
If you’re considering training with Slingababy, do! I have done a lot of sling training and a lot of other training and the Slingababy experience is one of the best things I have ever done – I’ve revisited the course on multiple occasions as well to help with my continuing development.
How can people get hold of you?
You can find me on Facebook at CalmFamily and It’s A Sling Thing, our website is CalmFamily.org and you can find the rest of the ways to contact us there!