When I became a mom, life really became hard. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't trade the birth of my son for anything. But, man, to be "on" 24-7 watching/feeding/changing/playing with a newborn was the hardest job I've ever taken on. You heard me right: hardest. Part of the difficulty is the lack of interaction with someone that can coherently put a sentence together and conversate. I would relish in any kind of conversation with ANYONE, ANYWHERE. Many of you might of heard of the term, "diarrhea mouth" meaning I just couldn't stop talking all. of. the. time. Along with the talking (not only to my husband, poor guy), I found myself saying "hi" to people at Safeway and Longs for no reason at all. Looking back now, those people were probably thinking, "This woman is weird." It was around the second month when I was like, "I need more mom interaction."
I started to Google: Meetup + Mom + Baby + Hawaii. Scrolling through, I found a Mommy & Me Hui meetup. The meetup was on Fridays at 11:15am and it was a great opportunity for a mom-outlet for me. Even though I should've gone the first time I Googled it, I just couldn't get myself to actually go. Many of you parents of newborns know that it is a monumental task to pack up the car with a baby. I just couldn't muster up the energy to pack the baby, the diaper bag, the stroller, my purse, AND be comfortable meeting up with a bunch of women I didn't know. But, who knows what got into me when one day I decided to Google the same meetup I had been checking out online every Friday for weeks. This time instead of looking at the page, I just decided that day was the day I was going to get myself a healthy dose of mommy interaction. I didn't want to stop the flow so I didn't even tell my husband until halfway through the meetup.
Talk about the best decision I could make for myself. About seven mommies and their babies were there for support, advice, shared experiences, and the real reason, adult conversation. We introduced ourselves and our babies and I've never felt more pride in being a mom amongst moms. There's something in knowing that you're up against the most difficult, yet most rewarding, job in the world. It's also pretty funny when you share the same sentiments like, "Yay, adults!" or "What, you sleep in two hour increments, too?!" It was also nice to find out that many of my husband and my experiences were ordinary and we were on the right track. We shared stories, traded websites for information, and even exchanged names and phone numbers.
All in all, my first Mommy & Me Hui meetup was life changing as a mom. I felt renewed and validated for my new title of: Mom. Through this experience, I have made many new friends who I know will be a permanent part of my life (http://bit.ly/1WJfbrX). We also shared other opportunities as mommies like attending baby classes like at My Gym (a child's fitness center) and other events happening around town that are family friendly.
Before having a baby, I never would have considered myself a person that would attend a meetup and be ok with meeting up with a group of strangers. Although I consider myself an extrovert when I am among friends and family, I know I am a complete scaredy-cat when I need to step outside my box. But, I think I really came to a point where I needed validation and, honestly, craved human interaction. Through this experience I have realized that being a new mom is a daunting task, but you don't have to do it alone. Thank goodness for the Mommy & Me Hui meetup - it's been a mommy-changing experience for me.
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