How to Make New Friends as a Stay at Home Mom

Having a child is life-changing. And having a good support system is important. Your current girlfriends may work or are not be at the same stage in their life—or even in the same state–as you are. Whatever your situation, it may be time to make new friends, mama.

Maybe you became a stay-at-home mom after having your first child, or even later down the road, depending on your circumstances.

Reasons you may find yourself looking to make new friends as a stay-at-home-mom:

Craving some adult interaction
Looking for some playmates for your little one
Wanting to get out of the house more with your kid(s)
Current friends and/or family are unavailable to see during the day or are too far away

While making new friends can be challenging enough when you move, your friends move, or you change jobs, etc., making new friends as a stay-at-home-mom can be even trickier.

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Here’s why making new friends as a stay-at-home-mom can be hard:

You have to work around the schedules/naptimes of crying, nursing, sleeping babies or toddlers.

You’re also contending with household duties, appointments, errands to run, or older siblings’ schedules

With the time it takes to pack up the kids and get in the car, it may seem that it’s just easier to stay home.

I became a new mom, a stay-at-home mom, and a mom who moved far from family with a newborn all within 3 months!

Oh yeah, and my husband was starting a new job in a new city, which was a plane ride away from all of our family and friends.

And they say “Don’t make too many life changes at once?”

Ha! I guess we liked a good challenge.

I loved, and still love, being a stay-at-home-mom! But my husband works long hours, and when we first moved, it was just me and my 3- month-old at home. And all of my awesome girlfriends lived in different states.

It was hard.

The days can be long when you have a new baby at home, especially if you’re by yourself.

Even though it would take time, I knew it was important to make new friends in our new city–important for me and for our baby.

Because many of these tips really helped me make new friends after becoming a stay-at-home-mom, I’m hoping they will help you, too!

How to Make New Friends as a stay at home mom:

Through your Husband or Spouse:

If you’re a stay-at-home-mom, your interaction with other adults can be limited. Therefore, your spouse may have some co-workers, or co-workers’ spouses that you may really hit it off with.

As a result, I’ve made some great friends through my husband’s co-workers. Several ways that I got to know them and become friends:

Attended company outings where families were invited
Attended co-worker get-togethers and holiday parties outside of work
Entertaining: we would invite co-workers & their families over separately for dinner to get to know them better

Church or place of worship:

When my son was around 8 months old, I had him perched on my lap one Sunday at church. My husband and I sat next to a woman who was sitting by herself. My son got her attention during the service, and she and I ended up chatting.

Come to find out, she had 2 kids of her own at home. We exchanged numbers after the service and made plans to get together.

Besides attending church services, other ways you can meet other moms at your place of worship include:

Parish moms’ group (if they offer one)
Volunteer at your church
Attend parish activities, especially those geared toward kids or families

Your local library:

The local library is usually crawling with moms!

From baby/toddler/family storytime to other activities going on, you’re bound to meet and connect with other moms.

Our library has some play areas for younger children so there’s often other kids playing there.

This makes it easy to strike up conversations with the other moms, as your kids play together. And bonus points for the library being a free activity (yay for saving money)!

Moms Group:

Joining a moms’ group either through a local church or community group, is a great way to meet new friends.

Look them up on your city/town website, or read a local community newsletter to start finding some.

The local moms’ group I joined when I first moved (and am still part of) has activities and meetups going on throughout the week.

In addition to the weekly activities, they also have a monthly “Meet the Moms” where new members can meet existing ones, as well as holiday socials.

Moms’ Groups can be a great source of:

Friendship: Moms’ clubs often have fun social outings like moms’ night out and book club nights. These are great ways to get out with other women/moms and get to know them better

Self-Care: Chance for you to recharge and have fun doing something for yourself

Support: Connect with other women you can relate to for guidance and advice

Fitness Studio or Gym:

I never worked out regularly until I became a mom. I started out trying to lose the baby weight and get in shape doing at-home workouts while my child was an infant.

But then a friend introduced me to Pure Barre, and I fell in love with their workouts.

Joining a fitness club or studio is a great way to make new friends, especially if you are in a group fitness or small studio environment because:

Women in same group class times often have similar schedules to yours
Gives you something to talk about as a common ground (fitness class itself or the studio)
Hear other women chatting about their kids and families and allows you to connect with them

Book Clubs:

I am part of two book clubs. Because they’re both laid back, sometimes we discuss the book and sometimes we don’t.

And it’s not required to attend if you haven’t read the book.

One reason I like being part of these groups is because it gets me to read more books; something I’ve been wanting to do. Another reason is that it’s another chance for me to have some girl time and hangout with friends.

The first book club is through the local mom’s group I joined. These moms mostly have babies and toddlers, so I can relate to what is going on in their lives because my kids are around the same age.

The other one I joined through a good friend (that I met through my husband!), which introduced me to a whole new group of moms.

Most of them in this group have older kids. I’ve really enjoyed these women because I get to hear advice and stories from moms who have been there.

And it also gives me a heads up on what to expect as my kids get older!

Children’s Schools: (if applicable)

If your child attends school, you can find ways to meet the other kids’ moms:

Volunteer in the school, or become your child’s classroom helper
Attend special events at the school
Invite the kids your child becomes friends with for a playdate; invite the moms too!

Sign up for Mommy and Me Classes:

My son was less than a year old when I signed us up for “mommy & me” swim classes. I didn’t have any unrealistic ideas of him actually swimming at that age.

Truth be told, these classes were a way for me to interact with him while getting out to meet other moms, too.

Other types of ‘mommy and me classes’ that are popular:

Mommy and me yoga
Baby boot camp
Mommy and me cooking classes

A simple Google search of “mommy and me classes near me” will pull up a variety of activities such as music classes, ballet classes, sign language classes, and even paint with a twist family style!

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Online Apps/Communities/Websites:

Meetup App

This app has been a game changer for me. I’ve been using this app since my son was a baby and we had just moved. You can find a variety of groups to join in this app (not just for moms) and this is where I found my local Mom’s group.

You’re able to see what events are coming up, who’s attending (only visible to members), and you can leave comments on each event, if you’re running late or unable to attend.

Peanut App

This free app for meeting moms is like a dating app, but for moms.

First, you fill out a quick profile and upload a pic. Next you swipe up or down depending on if you want to “wave” to another mom or skip her profile. Finally, if you wave to a mom and she waves back, then a connection is made.

This app allows you to quickly find other moms with similar interests in your community to meet up with, have play dates, or just share advice.

Hello mamas

This site allows you to create a profile and connect with other local moms for playdates, mom get togethers or look for advice & support with other moms.

Circle of Moms

This amazing website from Popsugar, offers a wide range of resources for moms. There are numerous mom communities you can join on there, allowing you to connect with other moms even if you aren’t able to leave your house. Other website topics range from babies and pregnancy to food, fashion, and family & parenting.

Facebook Groups:

In addition to keeping track of family and friends, Facebook allows you to join groups based on similar interests or life situations.

There’s an endless number of Facebook groups you can join to make new mom friends.

In the search bar type something like “moms” or “new moms” and select the category “Groups” in the category bar below.

A long list of potential groups for you to join should appear.

Here’s a few Facebook Mom Groups to get you started:

#momlife
New Moms, Moms-to-Be and Experienced Moms
Pregnant moms due in 2019/2020 and New Moms
Stay At Home Moms: Momming Together
STAY AT HOME MAMAS
Moms and Dads of Toddlers – advice group

Girl squad, mom squad, tribe, gal pals, BFFs, peeps. Whatever you call them, we can all benefit from having some good ones!

Good luck finding yours!

Have you found it easy or hard, making new friends as a mom or stay-at-home mom? Let me know in the comments below— I’d love to hear your story!

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How to Make New Friends as a Stay at Home Mom

Reasons you may find yourself looking to make new friends as a stay-at-home-mom:

Here’s why making new friends as a stay-at-home-mom can be hard: