A few weeks ago I came across a post written by one of my fave bloggers, the laugh out loud funny Dawn from Rhyming with Wine. She's a poetic genius who I'm sure you're more than familiar with. As always her post - The Snail and the Fail - had me giggling along in agreement but it also got me thinking. What would my life be like without my mama friends?
Sharing my pregnancy news with my friends was exciting but being the first one to take the plunge was scary. Like Christopher Columbus with boobs, I found myself venturing into uncharted waters. Having no idea what to expect or even the faintest idea how to change a nappy it came as a sigh of relief when a work colleague suggested I try an NCT antenatal course.
Not only did the course provide me with a graphic insight into the horror show to come, it also paved the way for invaluable friendships. I didn't know it at the time but these six pregnant strangers would soon become my lifeline.
Mama Friends in the Early Days
Those first few weeks when everything seems impossible. You have no idea if you're doing it right and the thought of your other half returning to work is terrifying. You still don't really understand cluster feeding and you find yourself googling "is it normal for my baby to..." eighty times a day. Having mamma friends who you can relate to is vital. I was lucky. Although our friendships were new and the only thing which we had in common - at that time - were our babies, we were all living lives parallel to each other. I remember having conversations with these ladies at 3am when we were all desperate for sleep and on the brink of losing our shit! We may have only known each other a short amount of time but we were laying the foundations for a friendship like no other.
Growing up
As our boys grow so do our friendships. We no longer discuss our breastfeeding woes or if our boys are on the correct centile. Now we fill our chats with discussions about nursery and constant colds. But there's also talk of us and the lives we lived before we became Rory's Mummy. The interesting thing is that we are all quite different. We're mix of ages and we all took quite different paths into parenthood. It's why I still find it surprising that a group of people, randomly thrown together in a dusty church hall can form such a bond.
Are my Mama Friends Important?
Hell yeah! For starters who can survive maternity leave alone? It might sound like a holiday when you're working thirty odd hours a week but taking care of a tiny human twenty four hours a day is hard and lonely. There have been times over the past year where I've been down, without even knowing my new found friends have been there to pick me up. When you're feeling low just leaving the house to grab a coffee or taking a walk can make such a big difference. Becoming a mummy is exhausting, it's gruelling and testing but having a supportive gang of mamma friends makes surviving a hell of a lot easier!
A Message to THE Mama Friends - Yeh You!
You may well be the only friends which I've ever paid for but you're worth every penny!
Getting to know you all individually has been wonderful. Not just because I'm a busybody but because you're all such interesting people. I spend an awful amount of time worrying that I've said the wrong thing or that I talk too much. Hopefully you all understand my 'say it now think later' attitude and take it with a pinch of salt!
I know I'm not always very present in our group chat, please don't take it personally. I'm crap at replying to everyone. It's a negative trait the I really must work on. Please know that even though we don't speak every day I value your friendships soooooo much!!!
I love the fact that our lives will always be in sync. I hope in fifteen years time we still have the same group chat on WhatsApp and on Photo Friday we still send baby pictures because our boys are now teenagers and gag at the suggestion of us taking their photo!
The past year has been amazing, I'm sure you'll agree and it certainly wouldn't have been the same without you all.
Thanks for supporting me, thanks for putting up with me and here's to a friendship like no other!
As seen originally at mommyandrory
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