Support System
New Orleans moms need each other.
Motherhood is amazing, joyous and challenging. One moment you are going about your merry way, and the next you are thrust into a world of colic, baby poop, breast pump accessories, the astronomical cost of formula, sleep deprivation and feelings of isolation. We lose touch with our friends, our partners, even ourselves.
We spend so much time wrapped up in our children’s needs that we often forget our own. Before kids, I could always remember my last shower because it was often that day or the day before. Right after I brought my third child into the world, it was probably an embarrassingly long time between showers. Once children entered the picture, my life revolved around sleep and feeding schedules, which initially left me with little to no time for myself, much less my mom friends. As my children have grown over the years, I realize just how much I value and need relationships with other moms, specifically New Orleans Moms.
In this city, we cannot go through motherhood alone. We need our fellow New Orleans moms more than we realize.
We need each other to give and receive advice. We don’t have the “village” of generations passed. We are much more on our own than our foremothers were. We look to each other. Where did you put your child in daycare? Do you have a great and trusted nanny? How do you decide where to send your child to school? How in the world do you navigate the One App system? How do you get red sno-ball out of a smocked outfit? Where is the most family friendly spot along the parade route? The questions, big and small, about raising children in New Orleans are made less overwhelming thanks to our NOLA mom friends.
We need each other for the hard stuff. We endure miscarriage, hurricanes, divorce, job-loss, disease, death. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, some that rock us to our core. We need each other in troublesome times. We need other moms who can sympathize. We have to be able to tell one another that, while it feels like your world is falling apart, it is not, and you will be okay.
We need each other for the good times. Marriage, births, promotions and other milestones are made even better when celebrated with our mom friends. New Orleans likes to throw a good party and let the good times roll! Even ordinary nights become extraordinary when you put the women raising the children of New Orleans together.
This past August, New Orleans Moms Blog threw its 4th annual Mom’s Night Out at the New Orleans Museum of Art. There is nothing quite like this event in New Orleans. Sure, we go out with friends and there are some fantastic events in this city, but nothing dedicated to moms. We danced the night away with moms of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors, some of us connected only by the bond of motherhood. A large-scale event “for New Orleans moms, by New Orleans moms” is a testament to how much we rely on each other.
As New Orleans moms, we celebrate the good, carry each other through the bad, ask about the unknown and share our wisdom. Today, I’m raising a glass to you, my fellow NOLA moms, as I am thrilled to be raising kids alongside you in the greatest city in the world. In New Orleans, where nearly everyone you know is connected in some way or another, we have a unique opportunity to be there for each other in ways most cities do not.