In one of our weekly Postnatal LIVE Hangouts, I listened to a story from a new mother who was struggling to make connections and build a new mom community to meet other new mothers during a global pandemic, when most mommy programs were cancelled.
I was inspired by her story and wanted to share her success:
You asked me to share how I made my own mom group. It was hard because most of the programs in my community were closed so I was finding it hard to meet other new mothers. This felt very isolating, so I decided to post something on Facebook and see what would happened. Here are the details:First, I joined a Facebook group called “2021 Vancouver Babies”
On their “introductory post”, I introduced myself by saying that I was expecting my first baby soon and I would love to make mom friends. I said we could go for a walk or have a picnic. I also mentioned the area I live in.
A fellow mom replied to me saying they live close-by and “feel free to reach out!”. So I sent her a direct message. After exchanging a few messages, we met up in person. It’s funny – I guess we were both nervous about meeting strangers online so we both brought our own partners! Now the four of us are friends!
I really enjoyed connecting with her and wanted to see if there were any other moms who live close-by. I tried to find an existing local mommy Facebook group online but couldn’t find any so I decided to start my own group, asking around on other local Facebook groups if new moms wanted to join my group to arrange outdoor hangouts!
This is how I worded it:
“Hello Moms and Moms-to-be!
I’m expecting my first baby in July. I’m very excited but also pretty nervous.
Anyone interested in joining a group for Moms living close to “the park”? I can make a group chat and when the weather is nice, we could go for a walk or a picnic?
I look forward to connecting with you.”
Many moms responded, saying they would love to connect. Some said they didn’t live close by but they would still love to connect and I really appreciated them reaching out! So every time a mom told me they were interested, I added them to my group. The group now has 14 moms!
I also pinned this important message in my group to ensure we were all on the same page
***IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ***
Welcome! Please introduce yourself on this post so that we can all get to know each other:) We do not want any “ghosts” here.
Please respect everyone’s privacy, no DM unless permission is given. No selling. Be kind.
Please follow the current Covid 19 guidelines. We want to keep ourselves and our little ones safe.
So far, I’ve met some people at parks, and outside of coffee shops. It’s been great!! I was very nervous but I’m glad I organized it. It’s so much fun to make community connections with other moms!
