FINDING YOUR MUM TRIBE

I remember the feeling well when I looked down at my pee stick, which said, in big blue letters ‘PREGNANT’ it was an initial feeling of over whelming joy, but at the same time the wave of fear hit me. What does this mean for my life now? How are things going to change? Who am I going to hang out with when I am on maternity leave? Its pretty daunting, amazing and joyful, but pretty scary! 

At the time I was the only one in my group of friends who had decided to start a family so I was quite isolating, I almost felt a little out of things. A fellow buyer at work luckily had also just found out she was pregnant, so we went to baby yoga together after work in Reading, which was great. It’s so important to find someone you can share the experience with, which lead me onto thinking about any potential groups I could attend nearer to our new home in Hampshire. 

My midwife handed me a flyer at my next appointment for a midwife led baby class called ‘Baby Days, by Jane Day’ so I signed us up.  I did not fancy NCT, so this seemed like the best alternative. The class was small only 5 sets of parents and was held in Jane’s living room; a kind lady who is straight talking, but softened the blow of her story of childbirth with cake… bonus! It was such a nice group of people who, luckily, were all friendly. We had a shared fear/interest of having babies, so that helped. Cut to almost 4 years later we are all still friends and try and catch up as often as we can. Along the way, we have met a great group of Mum and Dad friends which, without them, the journey of parenthood would be much harder. It can be a lonely time, but having a Mum tribe to keep you going and have your back is crucial. 

My advice is find your Mum tribe and keep them close… It’s finding friends with which you have a common interest, as well as being a Mum, that is the key. There is only so much “Mum chat” that can keep you going. It’s the friends that can keep you positive when times are hard and make you laugh when you have poo all over your hands… literally! They will always have your back! 

That’s the key to a friendship that will last forever! Being a Mum makes you gain super powers and actually makes you realise you’re made of strong stuff… but when you have the support of your Mum tribe, that’s when things really start to get interesting! 

Much love
Dominique x