Baby Mama Friends

3/19/2013

For the first month or two of my son's life, life as I knew it kind of stopped. Except for running short errands and the 10 days my in-laws came to visit from Japan, we really didn't leave the house! Sleep deprived - check. Scared of him crying in public and me not being able to settle him down - check. Scared of him getting too cold in the blustery weather - check. Terrified to breastfeed in public - check! The last thing on my mind was trying to go out and meet up with old friends, or seek out new friends. I was pretty darn content to hang at home with my little one! When I needed advice or support, I turned to my family via e-mail and Skype, and the Internet's many forums for moms. While pregnant, I had joined my due date month groups at What to Expect and Mothering, and as everyone in those groups is at the same stage as me and Kenzo, it's been a great place to be involved (or just lurk)!

But getting into his third month, I got him on a schedule and things really turned around. We are both getting plenty of sleep, I *usually* know why he's crying and how to calm him, I've breastfed in public and while I don't like it I can't use it as an excuse to stay home anymore. And daytime TV is really getting old... So, Kenzo and I wanted to get out of the house more but didn't know any moms and babies in the neighborhood! I reached out far and low through the above mentioned sites as well as Cafe Mom, and found a few new moms in Bay Ridge. We had a little play date and I decided to make a Facebook group ("Bay Ridge Baby Mamas") and in just a couple of weeks it's grown to 21 members! We've met for our local library's "Babies & Books" and took a stroll to the park and nearby pier. It's nice because the kids are various ages so moms with older ones can give us with younger ones great advice. Kenzo's not really interacting with others just yet, but soon he will be and it'll be nice to have such a fun group of friends to play with! Just yesterday, Kenzo got a free Bumbo chair from one of the moms, yay!

So, I couldn't be more thrilled to have met such a wonderful group of moms in our neighborhood, and as beautiful spring weather approaches I'm really looking forward to getting out and about more, exploring the area with Kenzo while chatting with new friends, and burning off this pesky baby weight! ^_^