If you are in a moms' group...

brachysira · November 2013

1. Have you been successful at making actual friends? Tips?

2. What kind of activities have you done with the group for babies? My group used to take walks outdoors, but they have moved to the mall and spend most of the time at the bookstore, where I would not allow my baby to roam unless I wanted a large bill. They go to the bounce house similar, but these don't work for little ones. Ideas? Would it work to do to lunch, with babies?

Allycat11 · November 2013

I joined a local mom's club about 4 months ago when DD was 6 months old. I haven't made any actual friends but now I do have more acquaintances and a few more activity options each week. Some activities we have gone to include craft day at someone's house (DD is too young to craft but I like the socialization and she watches the bigger kids), play dates at a house, park play dates, swimming at a local pool, story time, open play time at local church nurseries, and blueberry and apple picking There are plenty more, those are just the ones that come to mind first.

Lunch with babies is definitely possible but it is up to you on what you are expecting the experience to be like. Obviously good conversation with little ones around is tough, that is why my group has moms night out once a month. DH and I take DD to restaurants on a regular basis so that part of it is obviously doable.

Arnegard · November 2013

I joined MOMS Club when DD1 was about 9 mo. It was easy because I also had a 3 yo. A few of the Moms I had in that initial playgroup are still friends today, 5 years later.

Eskimokisses13 · November 2013

I joined a group about 8 months ago. I have met some nice women, but haven't made any real friends yet. The only tip I have is to actively participate and put yourself out there. Part of the reason I don't really feel like I have any close friends in the club is because I just don't go very often. Our group seems to be going through a major transition right now. The moms with school aged kids are leaving and new moms are joining. We do a lot of different things - play dates at local parks and indoor play places, beach days, movie outings, play dates at houses, MNO, community service projects, hikes, carpool to larger cities for play dates......

brachysira · November 2013

Thanks for all the comments. I WANT to have a playdate at my house, but the problem seems to be that most of the moms, and especially the ones I like, have older kids. I can't have 3 year-olds running around because we are not baby-proofed for that age and I don't have the space for too many little ones who can run. Plus, we don't have any toys for older kids.

I went to a playdate at someone else's house and it was chaos, and not of the good kind. It was very crowded, and many moms brought 2 kids, and they couldn't watch them both. A two year-old would scream "mine" at my baby whenever she touched any toys and no one was watching him. There was food, but no place for the babies to eat, and it was difficult to eat at the table yourself when it was too chaotic to leave your baby alone in the carpeted, no-food-allowed area for a while. I'm not sure my house will ever be up to such a test, since we have things like a fireplace guard that could be pulled down by an older child, but don't intend to buy anything else unless our DD seems like she doesn't understand that she shouldn't play in the fireplace when she's old enough to remove it.

Perhaps I will just need to brainstorm some child-friendly venues...or find another moms' group with babies closer to my baby's age...

brachysira · November 2013

Diapers&Wipes said:

Do you have any indoor playgrounds? They usually have a section for the younger kids. Ours has a 3 and under section.

We do, but it's like a gym--you have to join for $30/month. There is reportedly an indoor playground at the mall (that you pay for), but since I don't usually go to the mall, I don't know. Maybe will just have to suck it up and check it out

Socialworkgirl · November 2013

Do any churches around you have indoor playgrounds? Alot of our events are at a church that has an indoor playground and there are also tables where we can eat lunch/do crafts. We also have regular outings to our aquarium. That is one that could work for babies and you could do lunch after.

catycate · November 2013

I love love love my moms group. I agree about the similar age thing- all of my group had kids within a few months of each other. Our group met at the newborn support group when our firsts were born. The only big things we do are holiday parties, otherwise everyone has kind of found their own "clique", so I have 3 women I am particularly close too, although I love seeing everyone.

bumpuser924057 · November 2013

My MOMS club is my lifeline. I love those women so much. I joined when DS was 5 months old and I honestly don't know how I would have made it through this whole SAHM thing without it.

That first year, most of the baby playdates were either at someone's house, at one of the nearby indoor playgrounds (we have one that's really great for the 0-4 year olds), or at a park. Every small city near us has their own Farmer's Market one day a week in a park, so we'd meet there, walk through the market, buy lunch, and then sit on a blanket and let the babies have some tummy time in the fresh air while we chatted. I didn't go to a lot of the all-ages playdates for a while.

Our group is set up so that we have kids in playgroups based on the year they were born, and those groups meet every other week. On the weeks in between, there's an all-ages playdate, and once a month there's a general meeting and a Mom's Night Out. It works out pretty well.

Spin313 · November 2013

I love my moms group! Our local hospital has a patenting program that assembles the groups for interested moms (daytime) or couples (nighttime), so all the kids were born within a few months of each other. The groups are 12-15 moms or 7-10 couples, so they don't get too big and out of control.

We meet bi-weekly at each others house from Sept through May and then at parks from June to August, and we do a moms night out once a month.

mgarza1231 · December 2013

I joined a Mom's group once my 2nd child was born. I love it and have met quite a few wonderful ladies. You really just have to get out there and see which group works for you. I tried a different group before mine and it wasn't a good fit. GL!

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