I have always been the type of girl who didn’t have many girlfriends. I’m an introvert by nature, so making friends was never the most natural thing for me in the first place. But making friends with girls, in particular, was even harder. I never could relate to what girls seemed to enjoy: gossip, make-up, shameless flirting, cheerleading (no offense), etc. I preferred reading, writing, having actual conversations . . . you know, nerd things. So, while I had a handful of close-ish female friends in high school and college, I never really understood the importance of having girlfriends or a “mom tribe.”
But then I had a baby, and suddenly, I felt the need for female friendships in a way I had never experienced before. I can’t explain it, but there was a deep-seated need to connect and engage with other women in my stage of life (new motherhood). As hard as it was for me to initially reach out and find groups of new mamas to hang out with, I swallowed my fear and started trying to meet other moms.
I can’t tell you how much that decision has changed my life for the better. Yes, it was hard; I felt vulnerable and exhausted for an introvert like me. But it was worth it. It has saved my sanity and my life in so many ways.
Here are 10 Ways My Mom Tribe Saved Me
1. Postpartum Depression
I suffered from postpartum depression pretty severely after the birth of my first child. At first, I refused to believe that I had PPD. But my midwife and doula finally convinced me that what I was feeling was much more than the “baby blues.” My doula suggested I contact a group of women who formed a Facebook Group and regularly met for playdates. I was hesitant, but I did it, and a week later, I took my 3-month-old baby to her first playdate. My kid did nothing but sleep on my chest, but the women I met there changed my life. They helped pull me out of my funk and get me on the right path toward healing. I will forever be grateful to them for being my lifeline when I felt lost and alone.
2. SAHM Isolation
After spending six years as an attorney, becoming a stay-at-home mom was quite a shock. I was unprepared for how isolating staying home with an infant could be. I quickly felt depressed, invisible, and out of touch with the outside world. Having a group of moms I could regularly meet with if only for an hour once a week, was just enough to feel not so alone. Plus, as I got to know my mom friends better, we started chatting via text or in our Facebook group, and when we were lucky, we met for mom’s nights out.
3. Wisdom and Advice
Of course, seeking advice from women you barely know can be risky business. If you’ve been a mom for 5 minutes, you know that mom-shaming and mom competition is real (and it sucks). But when you find a group of moms you feel comfortable with, it’s so helpful to talk about parenting decisions and other things with people who get you. You don’t always have to see eye to eye about the way each of you parents, but it sure is nice to get others’ perspectives and advice when you need it.
4. Girlfriends
Eventually, the mom group I joined shortly after my daughter was born became more than just mom friends. They became girlfriends. It was such a nice feeling to have women in my life who were walking the same path that I was walking and could relate to my everyday challenges and share my joys. Until that point in my life, I hadn’t realized how vital girlfriends are to a woman’s mental and emotional well-being. Yes, my husband was important and he was still my partner and best friend. But having girlfriends to lean on and talk to who could understand exactly what I was experiencing as a new mom was incomparable.
5. Free Babysitting
Sometimes, you need to run to the store without worrying about what to do with your kid, am I right? My mom tribe was so wonderful when it came to keeping each other’s kids when a mom had no other option and needed to run out for an errand. It was such a relief when I could call my mom friend and ask if I could drop my kid off with her for an hour so my husband didn’t have to take off work early or so I could grab some groceries without wrangling a screaming child.
6. Hand-Me-Downs
I never had to buy her new clothes for the first couple of years of my daughter’s life. My mom tribe would regularly bring outgrown clothes to our playdates so that the rest of the tribe could take home whatever their little ones could use. This was also true for toys and baby equipment. I’m pretty sure at least four of my tribe’s daughters wore the same outfit over the years because it kept getting passed between us! Hand-me-downs, like swapping clothes and toys, saved us a ton of money, and it was fun to see our friend’s kids rocking our baby’s cutest outfits!
7. Breastfeeding Woes
Breastfeeding was so hard for me, especially with my first child. I had no idea at the time that it was not something that always “just came naturally.” I thought I was defective, my child wasn’t getting it right, or my body was betraying me. When I voiced my concerns to my tribe, they instantly reassured me that I was perfectly normal, that my kid was not a mutant, and that I wasn’t alone in my struggles. What a relief! My tribe also referred me to lactation consultants, books, helpful websites, and doctors to help me get my breastfeeding relationship on track.
8. Free Meals
After the birth of my second baby, the mom tribe I had already gathered around me was vital in ensuring my family was fed after those first hard newborn weeks. My tribe created a meal train for us, and one of my friends would show up at my door each night with a hot meal. I can’t tell you how wonderful that made me feel and what a weight off my shoulders it was not to worry about cooking for my family while we adjusted to our new normal.
9. Bunco/Wine/Movie Nights
As much as I love my family, sometimes a mom needs to get out of the house and get stupid with her girls. My tribe was instrumental in keeping me somewhat sane by organizing monthly girls’ nights. We would play bunco, watch a movie, or sit and chat over a glass of wine or two. Something magical happens when you can leave the house and hang out with a girlfriend or two for a few hours. You come back home refreshed, a little less insane, and ready to be a mommy again!
10. Carrying Me When the Worst Happened
My worst nightmare became a reality in October when my sweet, amazing husband suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I can’t even begin to describe how my world has turned upside down. But from the moment that my tribe found out what was happening, these women set aside their own busy lives and did everything they could to surround and support me. These ladies brought me food, cleaned my house, took my kids to the park, drove me to appointments, made sure I was eating, helped gather important documents lost in my messy office, set up a fund for me and my kids, took me to find a dress for my husband’s memorial, planned and paid for my kids’ birthday party and bought them Christmas gifts.
I don’t know how I would have survived the first several weeks after my husband’s death without these amazing, generous women. Some of whom barely knew me because we had just moved to a new city. I still have mom friends checking on me and ensuring we have what we need regularly. I can never begin to repay these women for all they have done and continue to do.
If I hadn’t let myself be vulnerable to making friends, if I hadn’t reached out of my comfort zone to engage with other moms, if I hadn’t opened myself up to loving and letting myself be loved by other women . . . my life would be very different right now. The incredible women who have become my closest friends have enriched and enlightened my life. My mom tribe has walked with me through tough new mommy challenges, laughed with me at crazy toddler antics, let me bitch about mundane grievances, and let me cry, held my hand, fed my kids when my life as I knew it shattered before my eyes.
If there were only one advice I could give to a new mom, it would be this: find your tribe. Don’t wait, be afraid, or worry about feeling awkward or vulnerable. I’m sure your husband is wonderful; mine was too. I know you can probably do this alone; many women have. But you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t. There is truth to the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Even more true is that it takes a tribe to support a mom. Find your tribe, mamas.
