A Letterkenny mum has come up with a lovely idea to give nursing home residents a little something extra special and fun to add to their day.

 

Thoughtful Caoimhe Ní Fhearraigh has set up a mother and baby meet up group in Hillcrest Nursing Home in Letterkenny. 

 

Caoimhe believes elderly people will really benefit from the initiative, which, she says, will also help connect mums with other mums while they are volunteering their time. 

 

Having taken to popular social media page, ‘Letterkenny Babies’ on Facebook recently to put the feelers out for her novel idea, the mum-of-one said she was overwhelmed by the response. 

 

Caoimhe met with management of Hillcrest Nursing Home this week to discuss the possibility of having a mum and baby group set up.  The first group takes place on Wednesday, October 2,  at 11am. 

 

It’s hoped the group will meet up in the nursing home for an hour a week to begin with. 

Caoimhe said she wants to help light up the lives of elderly people, whom, she believes, will greatly gain from visits from babies and children. 

 

Speaking to the Donegal News, the Mountain Top woman said seeing her own grandparents in nursing homes first got her thinking about the idea. 

 

“When I had my baby daughter, Aoibh, I joined various groups like baby massage and baby yoga and thought it would be nice to involve older people in this. 

 

“A few years ago I had watched a programme based in Holland where a nursing home and crèche were set up in the same place and I just thought how good that idea was. I have heard of loads of places were crèches visit nursing homes in Donegal, but there are none in Letterkenny.”

 

Caoimhe believes the programme will be a good outlet for mothers as well. 

 

“I think it is something which is so beneficial to babies and older people, but also for mothers who will feel they are meeting other mums too because being a first time mum can be daunting.”

 

Caoimhe spoke with Anne Gallagher from Hillcrest Nursing Home this week to finalise a number of things, including health and safety.  

 

“I think the group will run for an hour a week at first and it might grow to more hours per week or two mornings a week in time.  I want to set it up in such a way that it will still go-ahead even on days I can’t make it for some reason,” said Caoimhe. 

 

Now an accountant with Optum, Caoimhe worked previously with Alone in Dublin. The charity supports older people. 

 

“I’d love it if other nursing homes got in contact to set about rolling out the same programme. It would be so amazing if it could be rolled out across Letterkenny. Maybe other facilities could advertise it themselves and start it up,” said Caoimhe. 

 

“The post (on Letterkenny Babies) attracted loads of responses from a lot of people. When I posted it anonymously I had no idea the reaction it would get. It was lovely to see that so many mums were interested in volunteering with their babies and children.” 

 

Letterkenny Babies offers a space for parents to connect with one another to talk about issues, concerns and offer advice on a range of topics. 

 

For more information see Playdates at Hillcrest on Facebook.