{"id":74,"date":"2012-01-07T09:59:16","date_gmt":"2012-01-07T14:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/?p=74"},"modified":"2012-01-21T00:36:55","modified_gmt":"2012-01-21T05:36:55","slug":"the-best-group-i-ever-joined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/the-best-group-i-ever-joined\/","title":{"rendered":"The best group I ever joined"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the best things that I did with Kyle his first year was joining a mom’s group. We came together as each one of us knew one person, who knew another, and so on, until there were 8 of us (some months later, a few other mom’s joined as well). The youngest (my son Kyle) and the oldest baby were only 2 months apart in age. Our weekly get-together’s\u00a0were full of stories, discussions, giving \/ taking advice, listening, laughing, and of course lots of crying, playing, hungry and sleepy babies. In fact, of all the activities I did with Kyle, this was his favourite. He didn’t need my constant attention as he was able to run and play with all his friends* and I was able to socialize without feeling guilty. Ok, maybe it was my favourite too! <\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kyle and his friends<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

We were all first time parents so we had a lot to ask and share. Having the youngest baby there definitely had its advantages. Everyone else’s kid went through major milestone before I did and the other moms were able to provide me with a lot of insight about what to expect and do. I remember that solid food scared me. What do I give him? How early? What size can it be? What’s not allowed and so on… I was so grateful to have these amazing women in my life. I always came home and told my husband “well, so and so said this…” And “so and so is doing this with their baby, so we also should”. My mind was at ease knowing that I’m following a route that other amazing mothers have taken and succeeded in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There were times though, where I felt like the odd one out.\u00a0 By no means at fault of the other ladies, but just a fact.\u00a0 I was a bit different from\u00a0the rest of them.\u00a0 Not necessarily my personality, but my parenting \/ mommy style.\u00a0 For starters, I think I was the only one that owned a “hooter\u00a0hider” (also known as a cover-up for breast-feeding).\u00a0 Just to be clear, I had no issues breast-feeding\u00a0without covering up at the comfort of my home around my female family and friends and my husband.\u00a0 But when our male friends or family were around, I always covered up.\u00a0 At least for the first several months.\u00a0 I think more than\u00a0anything, I felt that it was weird for them more than\u00a0me, and I didn’t want them (mostly the men from my husband’s family) to feel uncomfortable.\u00a0 I remember my first trip to the mall at the Eatons\u00a0centre when Kyle was around a month.\u00a0 I frantically searched for a nursing room to find out that the only one in the whole mall was on the xth floor at Sears.\u00a0 Honestly?\u00a0 At that point, I was just not ready to breast feed on the benches right in the middle of the mall, even with a cover-up.\u00a0 So off I went, out of my way, to the nursing room.<\/p>\n

The other big difference between me and the rest of the mothers was with regards to solid food.\u00a0 I think almost all of them bought organic food for their kids or made food from scratch. I on the other hand would have been wise to invest in Gerber immediately before Kyle was born!\u00a0 I also didn’t believe in spending more money for organic.\u00a0 While everyone only fed their babies organic, one of the girls commented that I only fed “non-organic”.\u00a0 Luckily, Kyle was the youngest so no one really asked me for my advice on this topic.\u00a0 I think I was too embarrassed to admit this to them at the time but I can’t believe how naive I was on this topic!\u00a0 Yes, I still bought pre-made food, but Kyle switched from puree to solid food within 3 months, so I just fed him whatever we were having for dinner.\u00a0 I also started buying organic fruit.\u00a0 I read about it a lot, and realized the benefits.\u00a0 In fact, the fruit markets next to our house sell them only for a marginal increase.\u00a0 And I figured that while I’m at it, I might as well switch to green cleaning products.\u00a0 I thought to myself – if the other mom’s could only see me now!<\/p>\n

There were also instances where I didn’t always contribute to the conversations.\u00a0 While by no means was Kyle a GREAT sleeper (are any babies great sleepers?), he was pretty good.\u00a0 Our first topic of conversation during our weekly get-together’s was always regarding sleep (of course).\u00a0 Unfortunately (or fortunately for my sleep), I didn’t really have much to “complain” about, so I just sat by while people chatted away.\u00a0 I kind of felt guilty that I couldn’t chime in.\u00a0 Luckily, I had plenty to say when our discussions turned to our parents and in-laws!<\/p>\n

There were certainly times when I felt like the odd one out, and I’m sure there were times where the others felt like this too. But we all had one thing we could relate to – the challenges and joys of being a new mom! We were all taking motherhood one day at a time and it was nice knowing that others were feeling the same ups and downs that I was. For this reason, I would highly recommend that all new moms join a mom’s group if they can.\u00a0 There’s nothing like other first-time mom’s to make you feel sane and normal when you’re just trying to stay a float…<\/p>\n

I truly miss the weekly get-together’s and feel so fortunate to have met such an amazing group of mothers.\u00a0 Alas, they all went back to work and left me on my own at home.\u00a0 We are all currently “planning” on having our second child together so we can continue our mom’s group for a second round…If I get invited back. Regardless of what the future holds for us, I will cherish the memories for years to come.<\/p>\n

* Ok – he really mostly just\u00a0lay on the floor (see picture above)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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