How To Make (And Keep!) Mom Friends

Enter my Nectar mattress giveaway!

on me
Dress: LOFT Flowerbed Flare Dress (XXSP / size down) – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Shoes: Sigerson Morrison ‘Arien’ Espadrilles (5.5 / TTS) – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Belt: similar – only $20!, similar
Bag: Chloe ‘Nile’ dupe (more colors)
Earrings: Minkoff Beaded Disc Chandelier (similar – only $34!)
Watch: Garmin ‘Vivomove’ HR

on Trish
Dress: LOFT Embroidered Stripe Midi Dress – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Shoes: similar black lace-up espadrilles, similar
Belt: similar
Earrings: similar, similar
Bag: Tory Burch ‘Fleming’

on me
Dress: LOFT Flowerbed Flare Dress (XXSP / size down) – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Shoes: Sigerson Morrison ‘Arien’ Espadrilles (5.5 / TTS) – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Belt: similar – only $20!, similar
Bag: Chloe ‘Nile’ dupe (more colors)
Earrings: Minkoff Beaded Disc Chandelier (similar – only $34!)
Watch: Garmin ‘Vivomove’ HR

on Trish
Dress: LOFT Embroidered Stripe Midi Dress – 40% off w/ FRIENDS
Shoes: similar black lace-up espadrilles, similar
Belt: similar
Earrings: similar, similar
Bag: Tory Burch ‘Fleming’

Good friends are hard to come by and it’s doubly important when you’re a mom to have a great support network in place.  I was one of the first in my circle of friends to have a baby and for me, it seemed like my social circles changed almost overnight – spontaneous invites for shopping or mani / pedis wasn’t possible anymore and I certainly wasn’t hitting the late-night bar / club scene.  I know the first few months of motherhood were a blur for me but there were definitely times I felt isolated and lonely.  I knew I needed to find a new group of mom friends who knew the struggles of breastfeeding, sleep regression, and colic-like crying that I was so caught up in.

It hasn’t been easy (especially being an introvert) but over the years I’ve developed a great group of mom friends (both online and in person!), and I can’t tell you how big of a difference it makes!  Trish and I were out a few weeks ago when these photos were taken (you may remember her from my body positivity post!) and ended up chatting about just how hard it is to make friends once you’re out of college, let alone a new set of friends once you become a mom.  I’m sharing a few of our tips with you in case you’re in the same situation (plus some of my favorite LOFT picks too at the end since they are running an amazing Friends & Family 40% off promo!).

Where to Meet out Mom Friends

The hardest part for me when I first had my baby was just getting out of the house and finding low-key, casual places where I could meet other fellow new moms.  I would of course see other moms out and about, running errands and such, but it can be tricky striking up conversations with people when they’re in the zone of trying to knock down their todo list.  Here are some ways and places to meet new moms that I found to actually work for me!

Meetup Groups

Meetup is where I turned first when I first had Dylan and didn’t know what to do.  The site is amazing for letting you filter on the kind of meetup group you’re looking for (I searched based on the age of my little ones) and found fun playdate opportunities at places like my local Gymboree or public library story time (if you’re in Dallas, the Northpark Bookmarks library has a great Baby Basics class!).  The reason I love meetup groups is that the people who come are usually also in your same situation and looking to make new friends.  There’s also instantly a tie that binds as you’re all in a similar stage of motherhood trying to figure it all out!

Park

The park is one of my kids’ favorite places to go and it’s also usually a spot where you’ll find other parents who live in your neighborhood.  I’ve found parks to be an easier place to strike up conversations with other moms as you’re usually both just kinda hanging out for a few minutes anyways while the kids play.

Find A Mom Workout Group

I’m a really fitness-minded person but fitting in gym time is especially tough when you have little ones to take care of.  I was lucky enough to find a couple workout options that were specifically tailored to moms and it was so great as the workouts were also geared to help moms ease back into fitness while also accommodating situations where your baby might be fussy and need attention.  I would definitely suggest googling your area for “stroller workout” or “fit mom” groups — I did Stroller Strides when I first had Mei and still go do yoga at We Yogis which offers childcare!

School / birthday parties

Once my kids got a little older and started going to school, the birthday invites started coming in on a regular basis and I found these events to be such a great casual way to meet other parents!  In most cases, we were all there just hanging out for a couple hours as the kids played and so it was easy to strike up conversations / get to know people.  Plus, over the course of a school year it was likely that you’d be seeing these same people in other situations so it’s an easier build that relationship over time.

Extracurriculars

I met one of my closest mom friends as we both had kids in the same after-school swim class.  Our weekly classes were a great no-pressure way to slowly get to know each other.

Mom Friends – Growing the Friendship

While having these opportunities to meet other like-minded moms was great for forming that initial relationship, I would also say that to really become friends it took initiative on someone’s part to take it one step farther.  Usually it involved getting each other’s phone numbers, texting invites for a playdate at each others’ house, or even inviting them over for dinner.  Making friends as an adult is definitely a different ball game than making friends like in school, but being a mom gives you a great opportunity to expand your circle and meet new people!

And because I can’t let you guys miss out on a great deal, LOFT is having a Friends & Family 40% off sale (code FRIENDS)!  This flowerbed print dress was one of the first pieces that I noticed when I was shopping a few weeks ago and I love that it’s versatile enough to wear on or off shoulder!

And a few pieces I’ve styled recently:

flowerbed flared sleeve tee (XSP) – (puff sleeve option) | flowerbed cami (XSP) (shirt option)
flowerbed swing dress (Trish wearing flutter sleeve top + kaleidoscope skirt) | flowerbed flare dress (Trish wearing embroidered midi dress)

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Now for this week’s On Trend Tuesdays linkup!  Sandy and I are excited to feature Katie from Hello Katie Girl this week.  I love her colorful outfit and what a beautiful pairing for those flower fields!

Now it’s your turn to share a recent outfit with the rest of our community for a chance to be featured!  Just link up a recent outfit (it’s mommy + me this week so feel free to share a pic with your little ones if you have one but it’s not a requirement!) and remember to include either the button below or link to both me and Sandy in your post.  We’d love if you could comment on 5 other bloggers too as this is a community where we can all get to know and support each other!  Tag us on social media too to join the conversation with #OnTrendTuesdaysLinkUp!

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