A new Missoula Mommy says "hi"

[Matt's Mom in MT]

Hey everyone. I'm not a new mom, nor am I new to Missoula, but I am new to this board! Just wanted to say hi.

Candy
Mommy to Matt, 5/22/02

[meagen]

Hi Candy-
nice to meet you. I'm also in Missoula. :w

[Matt's Mom in MT]

YAY! I'm not alone anymore! :bouncy

[kangamom]

I'm ALSO in Missoula! Holy cow, I didn't know there were all these moms here! :jaw

[Matt's Mom in MT]

Hi Kangamom!!!!! :w

[kangamom]

Hey Candy and Meagan!

Happy Belated Birthday to Matt! :D My baby Iris will be 1 on 6/13. They're pretty close! Do you go to LLL meetings? How long have you lived here?

[Matt's Mom in MT]

I've been in the Missoula area since August of 1996. When I put it in those terms... :jaw Holy cow. I don't go to the LLL meetings because I wasn't able to nurse Matt past 6 weeks :angry I'm very bitter about that.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! We had a great time. :thumb We had a very nice party and got all sorts of fun toys to play with.

So have you been in Missoula long?

[kangamom]

Yes, we moved here when I was about 8 years old. My dh is from AR and we are going to visit his family next week and see his sister get married. I'm sorry you weren't able to nurse, I guess I kinda stuck my foot in with that one. I'm just trying to figure out of I know you, but I guess not. I'm always on the lookout for new moms for playdates and such. I have a hard time finding Mom friends, yk? Don't know why I never thought to look on here before!

[Matt's Mom in MT]

I would love to have a new Mommy playdate friend!

[annakiss]

I live in Missoula too! I know Meagan and Diana, actually, but Candy I don't know, so hello!

I'm a SAHM to Aleksander who is 9 months old. I'm always on the lookout for new mommy friends too. We live in the University married housing.

I'm going to try to start an attachment parenting group here in the fall. Not sure about the details yet - any suggestions are welcome. There's also a new mom's group at Families First that is accepting sign-ups & hopefully that will get going in the fall as well, though they might have it during the summer too. They have another group they're trying to get started that sounded really great too - an After Birth Circle. Just some ideas on how to get out!

We'll be gone June 25th - August 24th, but this fall I'd love to get together with tha mommies! PM me!

[kangamom]

You know, I've heard of that After Birth Circle and I would LOOOOOVE to go. I am such a birth junkie. I just remember seeing it on a Parenting Place Flyer and that Dolly Browder is trying to get it going. I need to call on that! I love Dolly, she's such a sweetie. I went through doula training and everything when I was pg with Iris but I haven't been able to go to any births. Well, I did go to my friend's, but I would have done that anyway, lol. I took her childbirth class for training when I first found out I was pg. It was a lot of fun and really empowering. Last week I dug out both of my birth tapes and I was amnazed at the difference between them. They were both at the same hospital, same room, same midwife, and some of the same nurses. But I had an epidural with Ayla and nothing with Iris. When I saw Ayla being born I got a little weepy, but not really until I heard her cry. But when I saw Iris's I bawled my head off, I started sobbing and I couldn't stop! Ayla got really worried, she couldn't figure out why I was crying so much. It was really surprising to me how different my reactions were.

Anyway :rolleyes: sorry to go on about my war stories :blah :blah :blah

[annakiss]

I just got the new Families First pamphlet & the New Moms Group starts June 9. Cost is $25, but they have a sliding fee scale. It goes through June 30th - so it's only four weeks, but Tina Barrett who does it is pretty great. I might make it to the June 9 one, but Aleksander's surgery is the 10th, so I don't know that we'll be making it to the others.

The After Birth Circle isn't on there, but I'm sure they're still taking sign-ups for it. They have a hard time generating interest for these things. You can call if you're interested - 721-7690. I hope this doesn't violate the advertising rules 'cause Families First is non-profit... :innocent

[kangamom]

I don't know that I'm interested in the new mommy group. I'm not really a new mommy. I'll just end up flapping my gums and spouting off advice nobody wants to hear, LOL!

[meagen]

hey Anna-
I just signed up for the new mommy group again, so I'll see you next week. what time is it at and where?...guess I didn't ask enough questions on the phone. also, she asked me if I needed the daycare, and when I said we bring our babies, she said not in this group, so I'm assuming she's wrong, but will you let me know if I'm wrong

If you don't end up going next week, good luck with the surgery!! AND have a great time home for the summer!

[annakiss]

Meagan - I called Families First back to find out about the childcare issue. The volunteers they have working there don't seem to know much, but I was able to figure it out. The childcare is just for older kids since it's not at the Children's Museum, but at Families First, the older kids need to be kept busy doing something. You can bring your baby, no problem. It's there just as an "in case", I guess.

I'm going to try to make it on Monday, but Aleksander has surgery on Tuesday, so I don't know if we'll get to the subsequent meetings or not. I guess I'll be able to... It depends on how he's feeling. He might not be too thrilled about it when he's still got stitches.

And I believe it starts at 11.

Oh! And I thought you were moving soon!?!

[meagen]

hey Anna-

I too called Families First and got a bit of a different answer. She said it was at the new Children't Museum in the Florence building, so I guess I will call back and try to find out. She did, however confirm the time, so I guess I'll be somewhere at 11.

We are moving, we have closed on our house here and in billings and are leasing back for a month. our actual moving day is July 1st. I thought this group would be a good break from packing and going crazy!

see you monday

[stirringleaf]

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[annakiss]

stirringleaf - meagan and I both went to the New Mommies group and there were indeed babies there. All babies. Well, except for one pregnant mom. There's only 2 more weeks left, but I'll be headed to Ohio on Tuesday, so will only be going to this next one. We'll be back in the fall though!

I'm definitely planning on getting that AP group together because I've had such good interest. Any ideas about that? I went to the API website, but have decided against affiliation for the time being just because it's not what I'm after. Affiliating with API brings a fee and rules. It'd be sort of like LLL and I'd rather be able to talk about whatever we please rather than getting into say, homebirth and having to say "okay! meetings over!" So how often should an AP group meet? I was thinking of having it at the library, so their schedule will probably dictate what day it's on to some extent & the time. I'd like to do it in the mornings or early afternoon just because I'd like these groups to be about getting mommies out of the house and I know that in the evenings we tend to do the family thing as I'm sure others do as well. But I have no idea how often...

[kangamom]

Anna- I was just thinking twice a month because I think LLL meetings are almost too far apart, it gives people a chance to forget. But then I realized that probably a lot of the same people will probaby come. So I think once a month, just a couple of weeks between LLL meetings. That way if somebody forgets one they can come to another. does that make sense? As for the time, it seems to be controversial. I'd have a hard time getting there in the mornings, and evenings would be better for me. but I know a lot of people say the same about mornings.

Well, I'm hearing thunder, I should turn the computer off :eek

[stirringleaf]

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[annakiss]

stirringleaf - the LLL meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 10:30 in the large meeting room at the library (1st floor).

The AP group, in my imagined picture, would be a support group that's about parents instead of babies (unlike a playgroup), much in the fashion of a LLL meeting. I wouldn't impose a set topic, but if I (or someone else) had one in mind, I wouldn't hesitate to initiate discussion in that direction. It'd be a time for mommies (or daddies) to talk about our crazy lives as parents with a focus on Attachment Parenting. So for example, there might be discussion on what we think constitutes AP, or cosleeping or extended breastfeeding, or baby carriers or whatever. And I can imagine that discussions would also occur on not-so-AP topics like homebirth and vaccinations. Also there's our relationships with our spouses and everything that being an attached parent entails. I don't really know what the group will look like, but I thought it would be good to get like-minded parents together to support one another in a forum where it's about us as opposed to all about the babies (even though it really is). And yes, kids would be welcome.