A Radcliffe mum who went viral on TikTok says the reaction has been 'bizarre' after her baby sling tying tutorial gained her thousands of followers overnight.

Kirsty Borritt, 35, began using TikTok during the first Covid-19 lockdown as a way to 'pass the time' while up at night with her baby, Elodie, now aged two.

The mum-of-four then started using the social media platform, which allows users to create short videos, to teach people about ‘baby-wearing’ with a woven sling which many parents do to hold their babies hands-free.

The baby wearing consultant runs the Greater Manchester Parenting Collective CIC, which focuses on postnatal and parenting support across the region and uses the videos as tutorials for her customers.

She said: “I do a lot of the videos just to then be able to share with our customers so they can see how to use different [slings] and different things they can do.

“So, I was never doing it to create a TikTok following, it's just somewhere to make videos so I can share them with customers.

In a now viral video with more than 4m views, Kirsty and her five-month-old daughter Illiana demonstrate how to carry a baby using a Robin’s hip carry in a woven wrap.

She added: “It was really bizarre to wake up and find that I’d gone from 200 followers, and overnight I think I jumped up to about 4,000, now, just a week later, I’ve now got 30,000.”

@bozza86 A speedy Robins hip carry in a short woven whilst the kids myther for their 4th breakfast of thr day!!! #babywearing #babywearingmama #babywearingconsultant #keepthemclose #Diddymos #maternityleave #paternityleave #wovenwrap @thegmslinglibrarycic ♬ Unstoppable - Sia

Following the success of her wrap-tying tutorials, Kirsty now wants to record videos to help with other skills like breastfeeding.

She also teaches baby wearing dance classes with Mama and Me Ltd in Radcliffe and says videos like these could help people feel less daunted about attending parenting classes.

@bozza86 I'm a babywearing consultant and now I've become a babywearing dance instructor for @mamaandme13 🙌🏽❤️ I absolutely love teaching these classes and creating a little community. if you're in #Manchester come check us out #babywearingconsultant #babywearing #paternityleave #maternityleave #babywearingdanceclass #babywearingmama #babywearingdance #fourthtrimester ♬ Calabria (feat. Fallen Roses, Lujavo & Lunis) - Dance Fruits Music & DMNDS

“I wanted to share some more videos of that so people can see what it’s all about because people are usually quite nervous about going to a new parent and baby group.”

Kirsty believes social media can be a great way for parenting professionals to connect with new mums and dads, especially those feeling overwhelmed or isolated during the first few months of their baby’s life.

She said: “Nobody knows everything about parenting but when you’re first starting out it can be really daunting and feeling like you know absolutely nothing whatsoever.

“Being able to find people who understand what you’re going through and can offer, good, free support, that’s what the parenting collective is all about.

“It’s a judgement free space that people can come and learn about a topic and get signposting to qualified professionals without any negativity.”