Covid, although not too much of a style-cramper when giving birth, certainly has made meeting other new parents a touch more difficult. Alberta Health Services typically has postnatal classes for moms to get together and learn how to rear our spawn; however, because of COVID, many of these types of sessions have gone online or have been cancelled altogether.

I was lucky enough to sign up for some zoom sessions through Lethbridge Family Centre where I met some pretty cool Covid mamas trying to navigate the choppy waters of raising children. Weekly, we would meet online to learn about milestones, nursery rhymes, and baby yoga. Great for moms to chat and meet and discuss all things babe; however, the little ones just don’t get the opportunity to be with their people.

Thankfully, there are many a parent group on social media platforms that I was able to find while aimlessly scrolling during one of my early morning feeds with Felix. What was even more awesome was that it was open to all parents and partners, so Jonathan was able to join us. If you think it’s hard for mamas to unite in a Covid world, dads have an even tougher time.

Not really having much of an opportunity to leave the house since March (it was now near the end of June), I was feeling both anxious and nervous. I hadn’t really spoken to any other adults except for Jonathan and my Mom. I was worried that all I could contribute were stories about how loud my son’s farts are and that one time he pooped in Jonathan’s hands when we gave him his first bath.

Turns out, you don’t forget how to have conversations with other adults no matter how many dirty diapers or barfed-on onesies you change. With a little bit of shade, a blanket to throw down, socially-distanced visiting amongst exhausted new parents is something I can now look forward to on the weekly with my tiny brood.

What I really love about Lethbridge is that it’s a place where raising a family can be done with such an awesome community. Even during the most challenging of times, like a global pandemic, there are moms, dads, and partners everywhere who are going through the same things as us. There’s no shortage of kindness and connectivity in our little city for the little people, nor the tired-ass parents.

So if you find yourself as a new parent looking to connect with other parents, I have a few recommendations for you that don’t require you to head into the downward spiral of social media:

Baby PACT (Parent & Child Together): http://www.famcentre.ca/zkevent/baby-pact/

Mommy Connections Lethbridge: https://mommyconnections.ca/lethbridge/

Alberta Health Services > Baby Steps: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/Service.aspx?id=1079451&serviceAtFacilityID=1123606 (Due to Covid restrictions this programming may not be available quite yet)

Family &  Community Support Services Online/Phone Parent Support Services: https://fcss.ca/program/650

And, of course, if you’re a late-night feeder and you find yourself on a social media platform or two, there are plenty of groups to search for other kindred spirits raising little ones in #YQL