Finding like minded mommas

As a new mom on maternity leave and then a leave of absence, I struggled to find moms that I could relate to. I wasn't really a working mom. I didn't have multiple children. I didn't have a child who could play, yet. It made it really hard to find a community of women to belong to.

One of the ways I've found "mom friends" is on the internet. Meetup.com was the gateway to joining may other local and not so local mom groups. I found Meetup.com super easy to use. It was customizable to my interests and location however, it seemed that many of the groups on there weren't very active or were active but only for a small group of preexisting friends. For example, I came across a group of stay at home moms who wanted to have play dates with other people at other people's houses. However, the events actually said that you  must be friends with a specific person in order to sign up. Needless to say, I quickly became frustrated with some of those groups and moved on to Facebook.

I've been a part of #CathSorority Facebook Group for awhile. It was wonderful to find a group of women who shared my faith. In that group there were a few moms, after several conversations about poop, birthing, and breast feeding we decided to make a spin off group, #CathSorority Moms, to spare the other women from having to hear about  the aforementioned subjects. Interestingly, these online friends shared my faith and many shared my parenting style. They encouraged me to find other local groups (Long Island Baby Wearing, Long Island Cloth Diapering Moms and Dads, and Modern Tribal Mamas).

In these local groups, I have found women, Catholic and not, who enjoying the outdoors, healthy living, cloth diapering, and baby wearing. I have gotten together with them on several occasions, one I see weekly at a Little Gym class.

When you ask, "How do make friends when you aren't in school or working?" You hit the internet. Yes, some people are creepy. No, you shouldn't get together with every person you come across on the internet. But, when you are part of closed, private, secret groups that generally require some screening to join, you can take proper precautions. I've loved meeting these women both in real life and online.

If you have any interest in becoming part of any of the groups I've mentioned above, leave a comment or drop me an e-mail and I'll be happy to chat with you about joining us!