I am a new mom of a 6 week old boy, and I am dealing with post-partum depression. I have a psychiatrist, therapist, support group and medication. What I need now are to meet some other new moms in my area and have the opportunity to get out of the house. I know a little bit about Stroller Fit and Gymboree in my area, but would love to hear what people's experience with those activities have been. Also, any other suggestions for groups or activities for my son and I would be appreciated.
Look online and search for MOMs Club. When my kids where younger I joined this group and it was WONDERFUL. I met so many wonderful friends I know I will have for the rest of my life, plus it was a wonderful support group.
Good luck
I am a part of Moms In Motion, a group located in Copperfield/Cypress Area, but we have members who live near you too. It is a wonderful little group and we have a calendar of events with something to do everyday. And best part is that most of the activities are FREE. There are recurring events like, Kids in the Kitchen, Themed Storytime and craft, and KidCraft montly, but also monthly activities for Wee Wons (12 months and under), First Friends (12-24 months), and Forever Friends (2-5). Our group is made specifically for families with children under school age and everyone is SO nice. I am blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group.
On a different note, we can speak privately about post-partum depression. I have been there, twice, and survived. I don't mind speaking about it b/c I love to educate and this is one area as a L&D nurse that I educate about.
Jaime Nguyen, RN, BSN
www.HormoneHealthAmerica.com
www.HeartHealthAmerica.com
I would definitely try Gymboree. My son is almost six now, but I adopted him when he was six months old. We started Gymboree, Kindermusic, a play group, and anything else we could find. I have never tried Stroller Fit, but some of my friends really liked it. I was an older mom, and really needed some social and emotional support. We lived in The Woodlands then, but I'm sure you can find the same kinds of things over here. Try the Kids Directory or Houston Family magazines you can find free at stores or online. There's also a website called gocitykids.com. Good luck!
You definitely need a Mom's support group. It's amazing how a little time with other Mom's who are going through some of the same issues as you are can help. I would also suggest the St. Anne's society at St. John Vianney church. They are a wonderful group of Mom's and you don't have to be Catholic to join. A lot of neighborhoods have Mom's and Women's clubs as well. Check with your neighborhood newsletter or website.
Byron's gym is on Dairy Ashford and also a great place for little one's to start developing motor skills. I'm not sure what age they start, but you should give them a call, since they are right in your area. We loved their Mommy and Me classes.
The Dairy Ashford Roller Rink is right on Dairy Ashford and they have 6 and under play on Friday's at 10:00 AM. Your son might be a little young now, but you can bring little riding toys and they have balls and other toys for when he's a little older.
The Edith L. Moore Nature Center has the Tit Mouse club on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings at 10:30. Again, your son is a little young, but they have a great time learning about nature and doing a craft and then taking a hike.
At your next opportunity please go to Randall's or Kroger and pick up a free copy of Houston Family Magazine. They are usually in the store entrance with the other free periodicals. Each month there is a calendar of fun events. Some other months there is a long list of local mom's groups. Or go to www.houstonfamilymagazine.com. If this month's issue doesn't have the community services listings, call me at ###-###-#### after 9 this morning, and I'll give you the West Houston MOM's Club contact info & the New Moms' Support Group offered to the community through West Houston Medical Center.
L., I am sorry that you are going through this depression when you have such a wonderful life ahead of you with your family. Do you have a church home? I don't know what faith you are but I would contact one of the area churches and see if they have a MOPS group or a young moms group. There are several very active churches in your area. AShford United Methodist, St. John VIanny catholic to name a few. I would try that. Good Luck.
Stroller fit is great to get out of the house and get back into shape. Also their is a group called MOPS. Just google it and you can look up the nearest group for you. Good Luck and God Bless it was hard for me too when I first got here. I was blue for a bit, but feel great now!
definitely exercise, girl. those endorphins released by the exercise will help u feel better.
plus, a bit of chocolate! dark, if you can, as it has antioxidants.
if u belong to the Y, some of them have activities for mom and babies.
good luck!
It's great that you have a support system in place. I went throught an awful postpartum experience with my first child. There is light at the end of the tunnel! It won't be like this forever...things will start to feel better. I didn't realize what was happening to me, so I didn't know that I should've been on medication. I didn't understand why I was crying so much and why I felt like having a baby was the most difficult challenge in my life. It was suppose to be such a joyful experience and going through the emotional roller coaster of postpartum stole that away from me.
Currently, I now have two children and I can truly say that I've experienced the joy of having a baby with my 2nd. I had a fear of it happening again- I'm sooo grateful it didn't. The most helpful thing for me was starting with exercise and keeping in touch with friends. It was extremely difficult to reach out to anyone on my own, but b/c of the support system around me- family and friends were checking in and helping.
StrollerFit has been a great support system for me. I've been going since July and love being in the fresh air and sun. I've made lots of friends- especially by going to the Mom's Night Out events and playgroups. The social side of Strollerfit also encourages me to attend the exercise which is so great to get those endorfins going and shoo away the depression! I'm very close to my before baby weight and am constantly encouraged when I get together with other moms to workout. We're all on the same team striving to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of our little ones! Please email me if you want to keep in touch. I really hope you know you're not alone and you will come out of this stronger than before!
Sylvie Gutierrez
One of the things I did when my son was really little was go to the public library. I don't know what the library in your area offers, but in the Bear Creek area they have a baby sing along time once a week. It is really nice because it is free, and there are lots of moms and babies there. It is only an hour or so which is nice when you have a really little one. So you might want to check into the library near you and see what they have to offer. There is also a website, I believe it is meetup.com. I signed up with them and they are constantly sending me information for different mom's groups near me. I just went on google search engine and put in something like "looking for mom's groups in northwest Houston". I also wanted to tell you that it was hard for me to transition from working for about 15 years to being at home with a baby. I didn't have him until I was 31, so I was in the workforce for a while. But after about 7 or 8 weeks, things got much better! I am not sure if you were working before your little one came, but in any case just know that you are making great strides to being out of the roughest time. For me, once I could get around 4 hours of sleep at a time it was amazing how much better I felt!! Good job on making it a priority to take care of yourself, that will only make you an even better mommy!
Hi L.,
We may have just recently correspondent about your interest in StrollerFit. Just a couple more things to share with you aside from our fitness class we have our social side Strollerfriends that includes Moms Night Out, Guest speakers, family events, playdates and craft activities. We have these activities going on everymonth. We've got a wonderful group of moms that have similar interests and experiences that you have been going thru.
Hopefully you can try out a StrollerFit soon. Another group I should mention is the West Houston Moms Support Group at the West Houston Medical Center. Great group of moms and wonderful facilitator. They meet weekly on Wednesdays. I attended this with my first son.
Hope this helps. Any other questions you may have please don't hesitate to call or email.
A. Kim
____@____.com
###-###-####
I am a working mom so I do these activities on the weekends or on my vacation time. However, I am very fond of The Little Gym. We go on Saturday mornings. My daughter has been enrolled since she was 9 months old and is now 2 1/2. As well, not sure of your faith choice, however there is a group at St. John Vianney Catholic Church (Memorial @ Nottingham Oaks across from Carmelo's) called St. Anne's Society, it is a group of women, majority are Stay At Home Mom's and they have activities through the month and get togethers. I'm not to sure of the schedule at the libraries in houston, however, in Katy, there are several of them with different reading times for infants (Maud Marks, Cinco Ranch).
