So, as everyone started to take their leave, I wandered over in her direction ever-so-casually. We started the good-bye, hope-you-get-some-sleep-this-afternoon spiel. I nearly turned to leave. And then, with a huge surge of courage, sounding like a teenage boy whose voice is at the peak of breaking, I did it. “Maybe-we-should-swap-numbers-and-get-a-cup-of-coffee-sometime-only-if-you-want-to-though?” Deeeeeeeep breath.
Baby groups can be terrifying to begin with, but the rewards are immeasurable, of friendships that will sustain you through all the battlefields of learning to be a mother. The walks, the coffees, the playdates, the hour-long conversations about baby poo. Oh, it’s just the best.
The build up to this story was so dramatic that I am almost ashamed of how mundane the ending is. “Yeh sure” said Jess, with a great big smile, and voila, Mummy Friend One, the start of an amazing friendship group that I am still in contact with now and miss so much from half way around the world (you know who you are ladies). Baby groups can be terrifying to begin with, but the rewards are immeasurable, of friendships that will sustain you through all the battlefields of learning to be a mother. The walks, the coffees, the playdates, the hour-long conversations about baby poo. Oh, it’s just the best.
The moral to this story: baby groups can be scary. But really, they are just full of women like you, trying to figure out this mad world of motherhood with as much dignity as they can cling on to through the dribble on their shirt and the puke in their hair. And if you persevere, you will make some of the best friends you will ever have there. It’s still scary second town around, but I know that it’s worth it. So this Thursday morning we will be toddling nervously off to Toddler Group again, and you never know, I might even score a phone number.
Originally published on Life of the Bear’s Wife. Charlotte Colehan is a gardener, crafter, maker. baker. Project starter (and mostly finisher!), ambitious daydreamer, excessive tea drinker. Wife to Joe, mum to Molly and Finley. Keen camper, sun worshipper, beer gulper, terrible driver. A little bit of everything, including parenting, family adventures, and some haphazard thoughts on parenting and the good things in life. You can also find her on Instagram: @lifeofthebearswife
