Being a new mom changes a lot in your life. Not only are you now in-charge of a very small and fragile human being, but you are a part of the mom club. This is good and bad.

Now you can wear no make-up and a baggie-stained t-shrit, and blame it on being a mom. You can share your birth story with a random lady at the grocery store. You can have a conversation involving words like “Boppy”, “Bumbo”, and “Bjorn” and know they are not names of fictional characters in a cartoon, but very critical pieces of equipment. You can celebrate small successes like working out and showering in the same day, or hearing the word “peese” before a demand. As part of the mom club, you are entitled to help from strangers, and 7 cups of coffee in one morning.

The cons of being in this club are few. While your body no longer belongs to you, you don’t mind sharing it with the best little thing in your life. Your “me” time doesn’t include an evening at a wine bar or a two-hour yoga class followed by a massage. Your “me” time now involves an uninterrupted trip to the bathroom or a chance to blow dry your hair – and you are thankful for that!   These cons are nothing in the grand scheme.

Meeting other new mom’s in the club can sometimes be tricky and involve putting yourself out there. You will want to get over your shyness very quickly so you can get some dates. Play dates that is.

Flashback to last year:

I remember shortly after having Anna I would take her for long walks in our neighborhood, which was a walkable community. We would wander the streets looking for people to chat with or smile at 11am, 2:30pm, and then again when we were waiting for Brady to get home around 6:00pm. People would ask about the baby and I would gladly share. We would talk about their kids and lots of times they would be much older and I could tell the mom I was chatting with was not a “new mom”.

I would often cross paths with a pretty girl pushing her similar aged baby and we would smile, say hi and keep walking opposite directions. One day, we stopped to admire each other’s baby’s and we started a conversation. After a few minutes of chatting, I nervously said ” well, maybe I can call you sometime and we can get together.” She said sure and it happened. We exchanged phone numbers. Totally awkward but so necessary. We said goodbye and kept walking in the opposite direction. On the way home, I called Brady.

A:”Guess what.”

B:”What, how was your day”

A: “Great, I got a girl’s number!!! She has a baby the same age as Anna! And we are going to get together!”

B: “That’s awesome – what’s for dinner”

But really, Brady was happy for me. He made a new dad friend too! 🙂

After that, Tamara and I got together with the girls often. We walked, talked about food (she writes for Edible magazine), went to dinner with the guys, shared babysitters, and make baby food together. It was great! Now we miss her!

Bottom line is that new mom friends are out there and waiting to be found! Here are a few of my favorite places to pick up a new mom friend!

1.Park/Walks – lots of new mom’s hang out here because they know other people with kids will be around!

2. Starbucks – A comfortable favorite place that people go! Tamara and I had our first date here!

3. The grocery store: What else do you have to do then spend a few hours strolling around the store finding the perfect ingredients for your little peanut. If you see a new mom at the store, find out what she is making for dinner!

4. Your neighbors: If you live in a neighborhood or a street, there are likely to be kids near by! Walk the streets until you find them! 🙂 We miss Jasper and Tracie and Pat!

It was so nice to have friends next door everyday!

5. At the library: Check out your local story time and take your baby there! It’s great for them to be near other kids and great for you to be near other moms! Plus the stories and activities are usually seasonal and fun!

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