Working Moms - How do you make friends?

[Deleted]

Honestly? I don't have time to keep up with the friends I made on mat leave very well. I try to go for lunch with the other ones that work once a month. Lunch dates are generally the best on my end.

It's hard because (stay-at-home) people don't seem to want to do things on the weekend, and that's really all I've got now.

[ijack]

I usually have play dates after work with the kids or we go out without kids once they're in bed.

[definitelyO]

I didn't strive to make any new friends when I had DS. I kept the ones I already had. I have a few new mom friends from nest gtg that we've kept in touch (at least online). Once DS went to daycare at age 3.5 we made friends with the parents there that DS played with and we've kept those going with playdates on the weekends, etc...

[egishere]

I've met a few people through my moms of multiples group btu haven't hung out with them yet, add to the fact we just moved to a new state and I only have one friend here I knew from home. How old is your child? I figure when my kids are older that is when I will make more mommy friends when they do play dates and stuff.

[blue1980]

Most of my mom friends are the same friends I had pre-baby (they all have kids now too). I have made new friends with a couple of moms from DD's daycare as well.

[dcrunnergirl]

I didn't make any on ML b/c I was just trying to stay alive and sane. The best places I've found to make new mom friends are at swim lessons (or mommy&me classes) and at the play areas at the mall.

[Jem]

Almost all of the friends I made over maternity leave were lost once I went back to work (because oddly I was the only one who really went back to work). It's just tough because when I was home, so were their husbands and they wanted to do family things then. I get it, but it stunk. I was/am a member of a Meet-Up group and the working moms often try to set-up a playdate early on a weekend morning or a Friday evening. I also worked from home Fridays and would try to meet my SAHM friends for lunch or an afternoon walk/playdate.

[crazygame]

The hospital where I delivered set us up with a parenting group. Since I work, we were put in an evening group that ended up being all working moms. It's been great. We do Saturday afternoon playdates with our husbands and kids or nights out with just the moms. I also have become friends with one of our neighbors who also has a young daughter. The rest of my friends I had before she was born.

[pamela]

My only friends are people I work with.

[Deleted]

I've met some new friends through a professional association. Those of us who have kids around the same age have gravitated towards each other and we have begun to hang out socially on the weekends. I also see them at the professional events, so we can socialize without the kids as well.

I didn't keep the friends I made on ML and while on UE- we're FB friends but thats about it. I went back to work and just didn't have time to arrange playdates with SAHM, who tend (in my experience) not to want to get together on the weekends.

My closest mom friends are my friends from college, however.

[froggy76]

I joined a moms group and I meet other working moms (and some SAHMs) at evening and weekend GTGs.

[cookiemdough]

What about your friends pre-baby?

[thedash]

I actually just joined a working mom's meetup group. I only have few friends with kids and one of them is a SAHM. I don't necessarily feel like I need new "best friends" but a group of moms I can relate to and go to occasional playdates or lunch/drinks with would be nice.

[jenjen]

Jul 25, 2012 12:29:07 GMT -5 mrsmayhem said:

These responses are not very encouraging...

If you didn't make friends after baby, do you feel that is something you're lacking, or are you okay with it?

I didn't know that people made new friends while on ML. I'm almost 6 weeks in and haven't met anyone new but I don't live in a metro area where I guess these groups might be formed? My hospital has a BF mom's group one morning per week. We went once becuase I had problems but there was only 1 other mom there (and she was on kid #4 while I'm on #1) so not really a group.

Two of my close friends just had babies so we may hang out with them more as playdates when our kids do more than lay around. I still meet up with my old friends and am fine with that. We have a group of 13 girls (+ spouses) and all but 4 live locally and can meet for dinner, book club, games, etc. and they are fine with or without kids coming.

[jennlin]

what about coworkers with kids? and ditto pp with friends pre-baby. while we definitely lost some not-ready-for-baby friends, our almost-ready-for-baby-friends got a lot closer to us.