When you’re a parent and you work full time, every minute of the weekend is precious family time. We plan our weekends to try and pack as much fun stuff in for the toddler, combined with seeing friends and family. Child-free friends now know that meeting us for lunch means dragging themselves out of bed for a midday start, and we meet friends-with-kids somewhere glamorous like a cafe with play area or a soft play centre.
But there are times that I miss being able to pop off for a manicure or a haircut (heck, even popping off for a wee!). A bit of pampering is good for everyone, and it’s tricky as a working mum to justify an hour or two away at the weekend to indulge. So praise be to an amazing place that I discovered through Twitter – the Mummy and Baby Spa in Balham.
Before you have visions of tots having facials, with cucumber on the eyes and hair wrapped in a towel, the treatments are just for the mums. Independent mindbodysoul is a specially designed salon on Ritherdon Road, where mums can have express treatments while their baby or toddler plays alongside them. ‘This. Is. The. Dream,’ I thought when I looked into it. But my next reaction was, ‘Ha! As if MY child would play next to me, happily, while I have a treatment!’ I could just see her clambering all over me saying “What doing, Mummy?”
But, get this. She didn’t! It was amazing. The room we were in had two treatment chairs and a small play area in the middle, with toys and books. After a shy first few minutes, she sat there playing (and munching on the breadsticks I’d brought to bribe her with.) The staff were so lovely and encouraged her to draw on the giant chalkboard wall. One therapist even sat reading an Everything’s Rosie story to her. All while I had my gel manicure applied and chatted away.
To top off a perfect morning, two doors away from the Mummy and Baby Spa is an amazing bakery – Deelite Bakery. We popped in there to have chocolate croissants, baked onsite, and to have a play in their kids’ play area. Oh and take photos of my new gel mani!
A few weeks later, I tried out the sister salon on Balham High Road. I took an afternoon off work and went there to have my (awful) roots seen to. The salon use Aveda products and my barnet looked amazing afterwards – I’m still getting compliments on the natural looking blonde colour. In contrast to the Mummy & Baby Spa, the Hair Salon & Spa has a child-free relaxation room downstairs which you can chill out in, while your colour is developing. Dim lighting, beds to lounge on and complimentary magazines and drinks. This place was heavenly in a very different way.
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Independent mindbodysoul invited me along to try their gel mani at the Mummy & Baby Spa, and their hair services at the Hair Salon & Spa for the purpose of this post.
Oh wow, what a fabulous idea! Love the idea of a Mummy and Baby spa day, and the coffee shop sounds divine. Def my kind of day!
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It’s definitely worth checking out. I’m keen to find more places like this!
This sounds so blissfully amazing, glad you enjoyed it! We used to live in Balham for a couple of year (behind Sainsbury’s) and it would have been so handy now if we were still there…oh London x
Gill Crawshaw recently posted…How to be a brilliant mummy blogger
PS I meant couple of years – I can’t type today! x
Gill Crawshaw recently posted…How to be a brilliant mummy blogger
I wish I lived closer – I’d be there every weekend!
This is a fabulous thing. Xx
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It sure is. Anything that combines childcare/fun with pampering gets a thumbs up from me.