A Year of Moms and Babes

The baby clinic sister that I take my little monster to recommended moms and babes. At first I was like, ‘huh?’ What even is that?! The concept seemed weird, and honestly, the thought of taking my crying bundle of joy to a sit-down mommy and baby class was overwhelming. And so, naturally I ignored it. My mommy brain also signed up for few bub hub classes and at one such class one of the moms was talking about moms and babes, and suddenly the penny dropped.

I called and was immediately told that the first (trial) class was free, allowing me to make my decision after having experienced it first-hand.

The morning of that first class I was anxious as hell. My son just wasn’t cooperating and I honestly didn’t know what I would be able to offer this group, or what I would even get in return. Would the moms be friendly? Would I like the instructor? Is this a cult? Deep breathe, strap baby in the car-seat and just go!

It’s always a tad awkward when you arrive at a new place and know no-one. But honestly, I think at that point I was just so sleep deprived that I just rolled with it. I sat down on the carpet amoungst the other moms. My son was given his own mat, pillow and wedge to start off with. We went round the group and introduced ourselves and our little ones, we got a bit of each other’s backstory and in between all of this I realised that I was exactly like everyone there: A new mom, grappling with the identity of motherhood without allowing it to swallow me whole.

We may have had different back-stories and struggles, but in the end, we were all trying to figure out this new chapter. And so, after that first trial class I went back. And when the next term rolled around I diligently signed up for it…. And the next…. And the next.

Fast-forward a year later and we just wrapped up our moms and babes graduation. Is it weird that I wanted to cry during that last class? Or that some of my new found friends and I had a brunch a few days after the last class AND invited Angie (our instructor).

The truth is that while I’ve watched my little monster grow into the confident toddler he is now, I also got to watch the other kids. I got to learn their likes and dislikes. I celebrated with the moms around certain milestones. I watched in awe as our little ones learnt to give each other hugs and kisses (with a stern ‘no biting!’ remark thrown in between there for good measure).

So while moms and babes is a program designed to teach you how to stimulate your little one up until a year, it ended up being so much more than that. At the end of the class we’d linger and stay for a cuppa. We attended each other’s first birthday parties. And most importantly when one of our little ones hit a milestone we celebrated and when a sleep regression came we chugged coffee together. And, in the end it looks like we're all sticking together for the toddler class next year (gulp!).

The program in itself is pretty amazing with each stage developed around your little one’s age. It also allowed you (as a parent) to understand what your little one ‘should’ be able to do. It turns out that I always expect way more of him (whoops).

I went to moms and babes Bedfordview and I honestly could not recommend Angie enough. She is kind, caring and empathetic. She completely understands that different parenting styles suit different families, and so there are no hard or fast rules in her class. Baby wants to eat during class? Go for it! Nap time in the middle of peek-a-boo play? No sweat! Meltdowns happening? At least you’re surrounded by other moms who know the drill.

The class allowed me to voice my parenting fears without judgement. It ensured that I got up, got dressed, threw some makeup on and at least for a few hours a week got out the house and connected. The class (and the group I was with) allowed me to figure out this new identity without losing my very essence. And so, if you ask me if moms and babes was worth it I’ll answer: A thousand times yes!