Dating for Mommies

Everywhere I go these days, people are emphasizing the importance of having good community - real, authentic community that supports you and goes through the challenges of life with you. I've always known this is important, but it is one thing to know the importance of community and another thing to actually have good community. The last sermon I heard on this topic this was this past Sunday where I promptly thought to myself, He's preaching to the choir on this one - now how do I get it?

We live in a society where caretakers and their children are more isolated than ever. It's more and more common for people to live far away from their extended families, leaving mom (or dad) who is home with baby alone for long periods of the day. I've recently experienced how isolating this is and how I long to meet other women in my area who are going through the struggles of taking care of an infant day in and day out, if only just to talk about which diapers to use or what their baby's sleep schedule is, how their lifestyle has changed, etc. Mostly because it would make me feel a little more sane to know that I'm not the only person in Los Angeles who contemplates spit up and diaper cream all day.

So I've been trying to put myself out there whenever I meet another mom and reach out even in the strangest of circumstances. I was emailing with the chef of a nearby restaurant we love who made food for our housewarming party a few weeks ago, and she introduced me to a moms' support group on LA's east side aptly named the Booby Brigade. I posted a message on our message board looking to meet up with other moms and have gotten a few responses so far. I also emailed a mom twice that I stalked out (well, sort of) at a church we have been visiting because her baby was the same age as Elisa. So far no response. Every time I see a mom walking with her baby or with a stroller, I wonder if I should just introduce myself but I usually feel a little awkward about it. I feel like I'm dating or something. I mean, am I cool enough for all these hipster moms in our area?

Elisa is 4 months and is just a little ball of cuteness. I am getting more rest than I have since she was born (which is still not exactly a normal 7-8 hours of interrupted sleep, but you take what you can get!). I love waking up to her smiling face and watching her interact with the world in new ways all the time. Here she is with her big morning smile. Getting greeted by her when she's in this good a mood definitely overshadows all the tiredness.