Social outlets for new moms, preferably in person in Minneapolis?
July 11, 2020 9:45 AM Subscribe
My wife, an extrovert, is going stir crazy while home with our four week old son. She is looking for social gatherings with other new mothers, preferably in person in the Twin Cities.
I took the first two weeks off after our son's birth, then my wife's mother stayed with us for two weeks. Now I am back at work (from home, but mostly unavailable between 7:30 and 4), grandma is no longer here and my wife is feeling lonely as she is home alone with the baby during the day. She is trying to understand how to find COVID-safe new mom/baby groups that she can attend in person, ideally, to continue to engage with people and stay sane this summer.
Ideally this would be an in person, outdoor meetup somewhere in the Twin Cities during the work day (we live in downtown Minneapolis) but something online would be better than nothing. Do you know of something like this? Where would we look to find something like this? Thanks!
I took the first two weeks off after our son's birth, then my wife's mother stayed with us for two weeks. Now I am back at work (from home, but mostly unavailable between 7:30 and 4), grandma is no longer here and my wife is feeling lonely as she is home alone with the baby during the day. She is trying to understand how to find COVID-safe new mom/baby groups that she can attend in person, ideally, to continue to engage with people and stay sane this summer.
Ideally this would be an in person, outdoor meetup somewhere in the Twin Cities during the work day (we live in downtown Minneapolis) but something online would be better than nothing. Do you know of something like this? Where would we look to find something like this? Thanks!
7 years ago I was a member of a local chapter of the Mom’s Club in South Minneapolis - perhaps they have a downtown chapter? Blooma Yoga in South Minneapolis had a strong mom community as well - maybe there’s a North Loop equivalent? I’m guessing COVID has put a lot of the meetups on hiatus, so good luck.
Otherwise, if your wife is an extrovert the best bet may be to chat up other moms with strollers by the river or at parks and see what connections they have.
posted by Maarika at 10:06 AM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, if your wife is an extrovert the best bet may be to chat up other moms with strollers by the river or at parks and see what connections they have.
posted by Maarika at 10:06 AM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Just FYI, MOMS Club has recently had a big scandal and many chapters, including the one I'm involved with in MO, have split up or disbanded and re-formed as different clubs. But she may be able to use Facebook to find out if there was a chapter near you guys that is now doing something new.
Facebook is a great place to start, I would look to see if there's any groups for your neighborhood or town and ask there. I used to run my MOMS Club chapter and we got most of our traffic from new moms in this situation just making posts to ask if there were any meetup groups for moms.
If she's religious or doesn't mind religion, she may look at local churches to see if they have MOPS ("Moms of Preschoolers", but it's really any age) chapters. I don't know if/how they would be meeting during COVID, though. Another good one to look up is Hike It Baby, which has their meetups outside anyway. Oh, she might also check and see if there's a babywearing shop nearby; they often run pre-natal parenting classes and then sometimes post-natal "moms and babies" groups. I will also suggest your local library even though the procedures may be different during COVID; that's where I "organically" met a lot of mom friends and acquaintances, attending infant and toddler activities and storytimes.
posted by cpatterson at 11:32 AM on July 11, 2020
Facebook is a great place to start, I would look to see if there's any groups for your neighborhood or town and ask there. I used to run my MOMS Club chapter and we got most of our traffic from new moms in this situation just making posts to ask if there were any meetup groups for moms.
If she's religious or doesn't mind religion, she may look at local churches to see if they have MOPS ("Moms of Preschoolers", but it's really any age) chapters. I don't know if/how they would be meeting during COVID, though. Another good one to look up is Hike It Baby, which has their meetups outside anyway. Oh, she might also check and see if there's a babywearing shop nearby; they often run pre-natal parenting classes and then sometimes post-natal "moms and babies" groups. I will also suggest your local library even though the procedures may be different during COVID; that's where I "organically" met a lot of mom friends and acquaintances, attending infant and toddler activities and storytimes.
posted by cpatterson at 11:32 AM on July 11, 2020
Just popping in to say that Hike It Baby is great but all outings are on hold until further notice.
posted by natabat at 12:15 PM on July 11, 2020
posted by natabat at 12:15 PM on July 11, 2020
This place appears to offer a variety of parenting/newborn classes around the area, although none of the locations look like they’re close to you and it’s not clear if they’re offering anything in person right now.
posted by MadamM at 12:17 PM on July 11, 2020
posted by MadamM at 12:17 PM on July 11, 2020
It looks like the ECFE classes that a lot of my friends have taken in Minneapolis are on hold for now.
There's a Moms on the Run group that is doing virtual meetups for now. I often see large groups of them on a trail by my home.
Here's a comprehensive list of other options.
posted by mcgsa at 8:40 PM on July 11, 2020
There's a Moms on the Run group that is doing virtual meetups for now. I often see large groups of them on a trail by my home.
Here's a comprehensive list of other options.
posted by mcgsa at 8:40 PM on July 11, 2020
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She can also host a class- hire a baby music teacher and organize 5-10 parents / nannies to meet in a large outdoor space for a weekly 45-min class. In Toronto these usually cost 15 to 25 bucks per class, and the parent who organizes it gets it free. You can do music, storytime, drama, art, movement, or maybe some kind of “meet a pet” company.
If your local moms’ group doesn’t have any insight about who to hire for these classes, see if you can hire a summer camp counsellor or a college drama student, or a company that does birthday parties.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:51 AM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]