totally unsolicited advice on making Mom friends....

[Rosebud1]

Okay this is totally unsolicited, but I am a mother of a two year old that has had a bit of trouble as of late connecting with other moms. Mom friends are essential, especially since I am a SAHM to my DD and I find myself craving adult company! Upon further reflection, I found the best mom friends I ever made were in the early months of my baby's life. Desperate to get out and have adult conversation, I went to many a baby playgroup, library storytime for babies, etc. I think people connected best at these events because they were really open, felt a bit sequestered with their babies and were really hoping to connect with other moms. After their child is a bit older, many people already have their own little tribe and may be a bit more insular. Friendships formed during these early stages grow in intensity because it is such an intense time in our lives, particularly if it is our first child. Unfortunately, I moved for economic reasons quite far from where I made these friends and find myself starting anew....

I also received the advice that another good way to meet people is through prenatal yoga classes. The "we're all in this together" mentality that's fostered there is great for creating friendships.

So my advice for pregnant moms -- get out there now, and soon after baby is born, and actively foster these connections! They will prove essential to you down the road!

[lach]

This is very good advice.

I'd also like to add that while finding like-minded friends is great and all, don't ignore moms that you don't think are compatible. I mean, if you have true dealbreakers, that's fine... but now is not the time to insist upon finding your soulmate. My very best mom friend and I have very little in common if you look at us objectively, but we hang out almost every day. We can walk to eachother's houses, our kids are the same age, we get along very well. It's priceless to have a mom friend who lives that close and who I can call upon in an emergency, or even a "not quite emergency but I'm going to go crazy if I don't get out of the house right now."

[jsh7809]

Thanks for the advice, this is great! I work at home and will be trying to figure out that working/ baby balance, and spending much of my time alone with the babe, so this is helpful to think about. I'm lucky in that I have a lot of new mom friends recently, but I can already see that even my close friends whose babies are already 5 months old have their hands so full that they will be in a very different space when I have the newborn. So I'll be sure to seek out more baby community, thanks!