Playgroups in your area - To go or to not?

[Soontobe]

I realise I live in Australia and all but do you ladies have playgroups over there? Im looking into going to one and have a few lined up but am unsure as to what i should be looking out for? Good things and bad things?

Does anyone currently go to a playgroup?
what do you do there?
and how young was your bub when you went?

My mum seems to think i need to 'get out of the house' more often and get a life.. lol thats exactly how she said it too

 

[Freya]

Your mum was very unsubtle!!!! You get out the house when you're ready!!

Ikeep in touch with the girls i did antenatal classes with and we try to meet up once a week, which started from birth! We go for walks, music time group, and swimming (from 8 weeks). Also we go to some local groups here, as I'm new to area and need to meet new people! My clinic has arranged baby massage so we went when Gracie was 14 wks old. we started going to baby and toddler group from 10 weeks. BUT i wont go if i'm not up to it, there isn't any pressure on us that way.

Some groups will suit you better than others, so dont be put off if you go to a session and find it doesn't 'click'...... just try another.

It's definitely good to get out and about!

xxx

 

[Hevz]

Around here....lots of the playgroups are more toddler based, which is great later on but if you only have a "baby" then toddler groups can sometimes appear a bit too rough IYKWIM?

I run a mum and baby group and once babies get to about 1 year old they progress to one of the local toddler groups but the baby group that I run is great for young babies coz the babies just lie/sit and play quietly, Mummies can feed their little ones in relative peace and quiet etc but it's normally quite loud and boistrous at toddler groups so be prepared as it may be a shock

Getting out really does you and baby a lot of good, even if it's a walk to the park to feed the ducks. They take in soooooo much more than you ever imagine and are mesmorised by everything. Meeting other Mum's is great too as you usually have lots in common and a bit of adult chat can be a welcome change

 

[caggimedicine]

I went to a class at my local Health Centre this week for the first time... here's the story!

My local Health Centre holds weekly meetings for new mums to come along to. There's a talk/class one week, followed by a "coffee morning" for the mums the next week... then another class the week after etc etc. The classes are on things like "baby massage" and "sleep routines" - things like that, and are free. I went on Monday for the first time.. a class on sleep routines was planned which I was really looking forward to. I took Harry in the pram - he's only 6 weeks old and i'm breastfeeding, so I stuffed him full of milk and set off. He always sleeps for AGES after a walk in the pram so I thought it'd be great whilst i'm listening to the class.

So after battling through the gale force winds, I finally arrived at the Health Centre with Harry," who I was relieved to see was fast asleep. "Great", I thought - "he'll sleep whilst I listen to the class". I asked the receptionist which room the class was in - she said "first door on your left, but you have to leave your pram here and carry your baby in". Great. So I took Harry out of the pram and he woke up instantly - eyes like giant navy blue buttons.

Went in the room - this was about 9.45 am. The class was due to start at 10. I was there with one other mum of a 4.5 month old baby. Anyway, as time went on, more and more mums turned up - they all knew each other, and all had babies of about 4-6 months old, so Harry and I felt a little left out. A couple of them said hi to me and asked how old my little girl was! Harry also has a bad rash on his face at the moment, so a lot of them were obviously wondering what i'd done to my poor baby! Anyway, it got to 10.20 am and a Health Visitor came in and told us that the class was cancelled. By this point Harry was becoming quite annoyed and restless, and was rooting around, so I just put him back in the pram and left. Had a long walk home in the gale forced winds, which by that time were also accompanied by sleet as well! My face felt like it had been scrubbed with 40 grit sand paper by the time I got home.

So not a good experience really - but I'm not going to let it put me off. Will just plan things a little better next time!

I do try to take Harry out every day - even if it's just to the shops, or for a walk around the block. He loves looking around when he's in the pram, and does sleep really well afterwards.