A NEW centre that offers baby development classes, featuring massages, yoga, sign language and sensory play, has opened in Andover.
LullaBaby, which provides early years foundation stage curriculum for newborns, has opened at the Chantry Centre.
Tammy Burley, who has been running LullaBaby sessions at St Michael’s Church Hall, decided to open a permanent unit in the shopping centre to make it more convenient for the mums who attend her classes.
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“The unit at the Chantry Centre would also help mums to socialise after classes,” said Tammy, 30, who has been living in Andover for the past 10 years.
“Quite often we invite the mums for a coffee after the session, and we get in our car and drive to the café. By the time we are done, it will be over an hour later or a baby has fallen asleep. So it makes it a lot more convenient for the mums to take that relationship we build in class.
“It is also more accessible for people who can’t drive. I can also have sessions more days and fewer hours, which means I can spend more time with my children at home before and after their school.”
Tammy said she decided to take on the LullaBaby franchise based on her own experience of going to baby classes.
“When I had my first, I went to baby classes and I quite enjoyed it. But I felt like there was some personal element missing in some of them. Not the fault of the baby classes because we are all trying to run our businesses, but I wanted to open up a space where there is a little bit of class and where I could also explore with my baby on my own, and make friends.
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“Most of the baby classes offer music and dance, but there is much time to be able to talk to other mums.
“I just really love babies and I’m not having any of my own, so it’s nice to able to support mums going through parenting. Being a mum, or a dad, or a caregiver can be really difficult, so I needed to create a safe hub to be themselves.”
Tammy's step one programme of five-week classes for babies from birth to five months costs £65.
The step two and step three programmes for babies (0-13 months) and toddlers (1-3 years), respectively, cost £7 per session.
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