Good Reasons To Join A Baby Group

by: Phil Wheatley

At the very beginning, you may have some help at home with the baby from a partner, possibly on paternity leave, but after that, many Mothers find themselves at home for long periods of time. It can be very tiring and it can feel like you never have a minute to yourself. One thing that is very important is that if the baby sleeps during the day, you should try and sleep at that time also. This will give you more energy if the baby is up at night.

Of course, it's different for every person but quite often there are milestones where it seems to get easier, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and so on. Although some of the tasks may get a bit easier and you may get more sleep as time goes on, the one thing that can quite often affects Mothers is the amount of time they spend on their own with the baby.

A lot of people will tell you to join a Mothers baby group as soon as possible, and in our opinion, this is for a very good reason. You might feel shy about joining a group of people you've never met before, but straight away, you all have something important in common…you've all just had a baby! There is something very therapeutic about hearing other people's stories about what their babies do and how they behave. Quite often you may worry about something your baby is doing or a funny rash they might have, so when you hear other Mothers saying "my baby does/has that also", it can be very reassuring.

Another good reason for joining a baby group is you will make new friends, in fact in many cases these friend can become your close friends for life. Also, going to a group is a great reason to get out of the house which will help combat cabin fever! And don't worry about cost, baby groups are normally cheap and in some cases, free!! In no time at all, you will be having your new friends to your house for coffee and cakes and you will be going to theirs. All these things will help pass the time and gives the baby / toddler some interaction.

You will also find that as Birthdays start coming up, you will be invited to baby parties or baby showers and this can be a good way for you (and possibly partner) to meet other like minded people.

If you are going to anti-natal classes, they can quite often inform you of local groups, or they are advertised in newspapers, libraries, and don't forget the internet! Either way, we'd recommend you give it a try.