Making friends...

It sounds crazy to think that as an adult you need help making friends.  You have already chosen and whittled down your friendship group as the years have gone by so you are happy with the friends that you have, thank you very much!

However, when I found myself pregnant and realised that none of my existing friends were, I thought I'd better fix that pronto!  A large number of women join a group called 'NCT' (The National Childbirth Trust) and the idea being that when you are pregnant you meet people having babies at the same time as you and you attend some classes to figure out what happens when you give birth and beyond...  Although I do not have vast experience with NCT,  the experience I did have gave me the impression that doing everything naturally was best and shame on you for doing anything different. Maybe I'm wrong and this isn't what NCT project at all, but having a planned c-section in the diary, we didn't seem a great fit.  I did a bit of online research and came across Bump & Baby Club (bumpandbabyclub.com), who run London antenatal classes and are the number one alternative to NCT.  I was interested in this class as they claimed to not preach, take a modern approach to teaching and you could go no matter what birth you planned on having.

Daddy H and I booked onto a course with other expectant parents having babies in November and December in our local area. The course consisted of two Saturdays (including first aid training) and an afternoon tea and reunion at a later date.  The course itself offered a great opportunity to ask silly questions, learn about first aid and feel more confident about becoming a parent.  This was all great, but I have nieces and nephews and I didn't learn loads of new stuff, but that was never the point.  My group set up a whatsapp thread and as the days went by and the babies started arriving, it was filled night and day with chatter, questions and arranging plans to meet up!  I still see my Bump and Baby friends a few times a week, we whatsapp daily, the mums meet up for dinner regularly and we are even going for a night away with our babies!  Don't get me wrong, my pre-baby friends are totally awesome and still a massive part of my life, but with them at work all week and probably less that interested in how many nappy changes I've done, or how much milk Little T has drunk, Bump & Baby has been a lifesaver!