Finding your tribe
Katie’s story
H arrived by emergency
C-section at 34 weeks, after complications from placenta praevia, foiling
our best-laid pre-baby preparations.
A hectic trip to IKEA and delving
into the supermarket solved the material problems, but what about our
support network?
Like many expectant parents, we’d
signed up for NCT classes, and were
lucky enough to land the group of
funny, friendly, lovely people that
everyone promises you’ll meet. I’d
looked forward to bonding over the
steep learning curve of parenthood
and nappy stories, but our premature exit from the group made me
wonder if anything would stick.
Thankfully, we all kept in touch, and
these friendships were inevitably
supplemented by everyone you meet
along the way — at local groups,
clinic trips, or even while chatting in
queues. Babies are an excellent talking point.
It’s now seven months on, we’ve just
moved over 100 miles away. We’re
faced again with the daunting task
of making local parent friends, but
hindsight means I’m on the case.
Internet forums and social media pages are a great place to start,
whether you’re posting or browsing, because they offer tip-offs about
nearby groups and events. Coffee
mornings or play sessions are particularly good as they’re low or nocost and often don’t require any
commitment (allowing you to try
out different ones or attend several), while baby classes are an easy ice
breaker and mean you’ll get to know
the same people each week. One-off
events like second-hand sales can
instantly help you to feel part of a
community of local parents and are,
along with libraries, often a good bet
for further information. Finally, get
walking with the pushchair or carrier as much as you’re able — it seems
that nothing is as good a conversation-inducing beacon to other parents as a park outing.
Parenthood is a wonderful but sometimes challenging or isolating time,
particularly as you find your feet. A
supportive tribe of mums and dads
can make all the difference. So if you
see me looking lost, Breton stripes
on and baby in tow, don’t hesitate to
say hi!
-Katie
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