neighborhood moms

Turns out my neighborhood is a fantastic place to meet other moms. Ryan and I have lived in our apt for 1 1/2 year now and as is typical of nyc, we haven't really met many people in the neighborhood. We are friendly with the people on our same floor, but thats about it. When I was pregnant, I was approached by a woman on the street who told me about a message board for Lower East Side parents which is a great resource for meeting people and for getting information about local amenities for parents/kids. I also met a fellow pregnant woman in the grocery store when I was pregnant. We exchanged numbers and said we would follow up after the babies were born. Through this woman, I have met about 10 other moms who gather togther twice a week to hang out with the babies and just chit chat. On Mondays we get together at a local community center which holds "new parenting" classes. Its really just a place to open up conversation about anything that is troubling you or bring up any questions you have. I would say its just a nice support group. On Wednesdays the same group of women gather at one of their homes for 2-3 hours and sometimes go for lunch. I've been doing these get togethers for 2 weeks now and it is just a great group of women. I feared possibly meeting other moms who were at worst judgemental, or at least women with whom I have nothing in common except for a now shrinking uterus. But NO! These women are all first time moms, struggling with learning how to take care of a new born. They are all planning on going back to work after 4-6 months so our babies are similar ages and we are all at similar stages of new motherhood. And they are all new yorkers who live on the lower east side. Maybe because of this they are like me, I don't know. But they are not judgemental -- just the opposite, everyone really respects differences in opinions. And, again, we are all new to this, so maybe its impossible to be a know it all at this point.

I'm really enjoying getting out of the house. Its hard to do at this point because Fay does not have any regularity to her eating schedule. Sometimes she sleeps for 3 hours, sometimes just one. So its a gamble if I want to go for a walk or run an errand. However, I can easily run across the street to another mom's home and immediately plug a boob in Fay's mouth if need be!

Tonight I am heading out to Long Island to spend the weekend with friends. It is our annual "Friends' Thankgsgiving" where 9 friends and their kids get together to cook a Thanksgiving meal the weekend before the actual holiday. We started this tradition years ago when no one had kids and no one was married! This year we will have 5 kids including Fay. I'm really looking forward to it, though I fear I will be more tired than ever wanting to participate in all the adult activities while still not sleeping at night due to feedings.

There are sure to be lots of photos after this weekend.