Fund-raiser launched so Wigan babies can be all wrapped up with their parents

Supportive Sloths is a sling and cloth nappy library run by Rachael Cunliffe, Adele Pye and Jess Morrissey, who hold sessions across Wigan, St Helens and Warrington.

Parents and carers can go along to learn how to use slings and carriers to carry their tots safely, find out more about using reusable nappies, hire them for a small charge if they do not have their own and meet other parents.

Six years ago they received funding from Wigan Council’s The Deal to buy stretch wraps and have since offered four weeks’ free hire for babies aged six weeks and under.

It is a chance for new parents to learn how to carry their babies safely and confidently, and they can choose to buy their own wraps or continue to hire them once the four weeks is over.

Jess said: “It’s a really lovely scheme to make sure that new parents are able to baby wear, despite any financial restraints.

"The funding was used to purchase the wraps at the time. Retail price was about £40 each and we probably got between 30 and 40.

"They are coming to the end of their lives now though. They would normally last a lot longer if they had one owner, but the scheme has been so popular that each one is coming to the library, being washed and going back out again. Normally you would only wash them every now and again, but we are doing it regularly.”

The stretchy wraps now need to be replaced so Supportive Sloths can continue to offer them for free, but the trio have so far been unable to secure grant funding to buy new ones.

So instead they have decided to launch an online fund-raising appeal for the £500 needed to replace them.

Jess said: “We have decided to try a Kofi appeal and are asking people to donate a little bit and hopefully lots of little bits will make the amount we need.”

St Helens-based Joy and Joe Baby Wrap has promised to give them a generous discount when they buy the new equipment.

It is hoped that more new parents and their littles ones will be able to experience baby wearing using the new wraps.

Jess, a mum of three who started visiting Supportive Sloths after the birth of her first child nine years ago, said: “The tiny babies have come into the world and it’s a very scary place, because they have been wrapped up in mum’s tummy for so long.

"There’s the fourth trimester where children are adjusting to being outside and the wraps are close to mum, so they can feel their chest and warmth, but the parent can also get on with their life. You have a happy baby that’s nice and content and in arms, but at the same time you are not just sitting with a baby because you can’t put them down.”

To donate to the appeal, go to ko-fi.com/supportiveslothsnw