Finding a St. Louis mom group, or one anywhere for that matter, can be a challenge. Having a mom group is supposed to be like just getting together with your friends, but by the time you find a group that meets at a time you can manage and in a location that works for you, it feels a lot more like work than fun!
Whether you are a working mom and not available at 10am on a Tuesday, or nap times conflict or have a wide range of kid’s ages to manage, or you live in an area that doesn’t have a lot of other munchkins running around, it can feel sometimes like YOU don’t fit into one of these groups. I can definitely relate to that feeling. I travel a lot of my day job, I’m working on starting this website, I’m totally scattered brain lately and I don’t always feel like I fit.
Kangaroo Kids Mom Group
Wait, let me back up a second and make sure you’re following me…
What is a mom group?
Maybe I should’ve started here, what exactly is a mom group? It’s just a group of moms that get together on a regular basis to talk, play, vent, commiserate, ask questions, get encouragement, give advice, laugh.
So why do I even need a mom group?
We always need people in our lives that are a stage beyond us, right where we are and a stage behind. It is so nice to see what is coming and to be with people who have gone through a situation and come out on the other side, those beyond us are the advice givers, the encouragers, the hope. Those that are right there in it with us, they can commiserate like nobody else, they just get it and we need to have that connection point. Those that are a stage behind us are the ones we can give back to and they help give us perspective. It is rare in life to have all of these groups built into our group of friends, so we need to seek them out so that we can grow. A mom group usually has all of these elements!
AND let’s be honest, being a mom can be very lonely and isolating if we aren’t careful. If you stay home with your kids, we can lose ourselves in our kids, we need adult conversation and a reason to get out of the house! If you are a working mom, it is hard to find an opportunity to meet up with other moms but we need the interaction just as badly!
But I have Facebook, why would I need an actual group…
Yes, Facebook is chalk full of mom groups, I think I’m in like 10 of them. Heck, I host one even! (join here by the way). And these are AMAZING. Throughout the day to just have that touch point with other people that get it, a place to ask questions and get feedback, it’s fantastic. But reading a message from someone and actually having a face to face conversation is totally different. Plus you learn so much from seeing other parental interactions that can prompt good conversation. We live in such a technology driven world, but when you are unsure, frustrated, concerned, lonely…there is nothing that can take the place of talking it out with a person in front of you.
So if you want to find a St. Louis Mom Group, where would you even look?
We have an events calendar that has the free St. Louis Mom Group meetings, you can find it HERE. There are other great groups that have annual dues, you can find more about them at their websites.
La Leche League
La Lache League is especially great for nursing moms, as they have certified lactation consultants at every meetings. Breastfeeding is definitely not the only topic of conversation, but it does tend to be a focus. I have a special place in my heart for LLL, as they were super helpful for me! Their meetings are free and the usually have a great library if you want any type of parenting books. All Sept St.Louis mom group meetings are on our event calendar HERE, they have times for at-home and working moms. If you want more info about LLL in general, check THIS out.
MOPS
MOPS is also a national organization and is often faith based and hosted at local churches and has a lot of St. Louis mom groups to chose from. There is a membership cost ($31.95) which comes with short, insightful weekly videos and other nice takeaways. You can find a list of meeting locations and contact the hosts HERE. They have a lot of options to make sure you find the support that fits your needs.
MOMS Club
MOMS Club is more specifically for at-home moms, although all are welcome. Since it is focused on at-home moms, most of the activities are planned during the day, and most St. Louis mom group chapters do have a pretty active activity calendar. This is also a membership fee, $23 annually. You can find a chapter near you HERE.
MeetUp
Meet up can also be a great resource to find a mom group or play group. You can get a bit more specific to narrow down what type of group you are looking for. You need to create a MeetUp login, but can see “mom” search results HERE.
Fit4Mom
Fit4Mom is also a national Franchise that has a great presence in St. Louis. They have lots of fitness class options, but also have Our Village, which is more about mom community. The Our Village get togethers are most often right after classes, so if you need to get some movement in and want a community of moms, they are a great place to try. You can find more info HERE and we’ll update our calendar as well as events come up.
Greater St. Louis Baby Wearing
They meet 5 times a month throughout St. Louis is different locations, toting along their Carrier Library. For meetings and carrier fittings, it is free, but for $30 a year, you can join this group and rent a carrier every month (I know right?!). And they have carrier help stations every meeting where you can get help learning how to use or fit a carrier…if you’ve ever been tied up in one of those wraps, you know how helpful this is!
Local Business Groups
Kangaroo Kids has 23 years of Lactation Support in St.Louis. They host multiple mom groups throughout the week to support breastfeeding moms (even a weekend group, which is hard to find for those working mamas!) Those meetings are on our calendar HERE. They also have nursing bra fittings, cloth diapering support and infant massage classes available.
Not in St. Louis? Most of these groups are national and will have local meetings near you, write a comment if you need any help finding one near you!
