New parents, where are you?

Submitted by SToTheTL t3_11hy4cj in providence

Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve lived in RI my whole life, and Providence for a decade. I’m in my mid 30s with an infant. I love my neighborhood, west end near armory park. I have almost zero other friends with little babies. I’ve seen 100 billion posts here asking about the best bars/food/music etc but not much collected about neighborhood resources for families.

So….new parents - how do you meet other parents? What day cares are good? Which libraries have your favorite programming for infants? What are your plans for school? Are there meetups intended for babies (not just baby friendly, you know what I mean?) Please tell me there is a community of young families to join, i don’t think I can hack it in the suburbs.

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stand-up-tragedy t1_jawu00t wrote

It’s hard now because of the weather but going to the Dexter Park playground when it’s nicer out will definitely be a way.

How old is the kid? Edit: I ask because we have a two month old now, in addition to the other one. Just curious if they are the same age.

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0aemi wrote

Thank you! My daughter is 8 months old. This might be a dumb question but how does one actually make friends at the playground? I’m shy, and new to this.

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stand-up-tragedy t1_jb0jx23 wrote

By seeing the same people again and again and chatting. I mean, we’ll probably chat at some point hahaha.

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masshole_mom t1_jay7nhh wrote

I would definitely start by going to storytime at your local library! When I lived in Mass I made my first mom friend that way. In Providence I took my kid to storytime at Providence Public Library downtown (they have different ones per age group, and one for all kids), but I know a lot of parents hop around and go to different libraries. I didn't really start making parent friends until my kid started dance class when she got a little older though. I hope that helps!

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stand-up-tragedy t1_jb042f9 wrote

What dance class did your kid do?

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masshole_mom t1_jb05k05 wrote

We did a parent and child ballet class at Festival Ballet. It was really fun, and after class we'd go across the street to get the kids cookies at Seven Stars and chat it up.

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0agif wrote

What are the best libraries? The closest in proximity to me is Olneyville. Do they all have similar programming/vibe?

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cowperthwaite t1_jb3o4rf wrote

As a fellow West Ender, the Knight Memorial library is just a tiny bit further away than Olneyville, (.7 vs .9 miles for me) as is the one downtown (.7 vs 1.3 miles).

The Cranston Street library in Cranston is also close-ish (by the Aldi) (1.4 miles).

https://www.cranstonlibrary.org/locations/

https://www.communitylibrariespvd.org/locations/knight-memorial

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SToTheTL OP t1_jblslbf wrote

Idk why you got downvoted, this is good advice. I have been to the Cranston one and of course the downtown one but haven’t made it over to the knight one…thank you :)

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cowperthwaite t1_jblvdex wrote

Didn't realize I'd been downvoted.

The West End is in a sort of weird no-man's land as far as distance to the libraries, and I find with walking, the bridges (Olneyville, downtown) are an added psychological barrier.

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masshole_mom t1_jb0daqy wrote

I only consistently went to PPL but I'm sure all the libraries have similar programming for babies. The Community Libraries of Providence has a calendar that shows all the libraries and when they do storytime if you wanted to check a few out!

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Lifeis-butadream t1_jayg619 wrote

My daughter is currently in labor with her second child, but she was in a pregnant moms group and they will probably get together with their babies. I’ll ask her - but Not tonight.😊

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BingBong022 t1_jaxim1x wrote

I just take my baby to the bar, he's best friends with all the patrons

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0aurn wrote

HA! Actually, same. Lucky Enough, Sin (not really a bar tho) and Moniker have been fun places to go with the baby where everyone is so nice! Maybe it’s me that is shy because I haven’t met someone out and made actual friends with them, just small talk.

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Dinosquid t1_jaxhyij wrote

When my wife was pregnant she joined a Reddit group called r/BabyBumps and 9 years later a lot of those women are still in the same group, and talk regularly on fb and stuff.

It’s really been an invaluable source of information/communication, and she really values the connections she’s had through the years.

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0aqxn wrote

Thx for the advice, i never considered trying to make friends on Reddit, I’ll check it out.

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Corktastic t1_jay442h wrote

Not sure how old your baby is but Rhode Island New Mom Connect was a mom group I did 7 years ago and still hang with some of the moms. Good luck!

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0aih4 wrote

That sounds good. I’ll see if it still exists!

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lightningbolt1987 t1_jazb5qu wrote

West End is actually a great place to be a new parent—so many young families. Dexter Field is hit or miss depending on time of day and weather. Different people come regularly on mornings, evenings, and mid-mornings on weekends. Keep at it and try different times.

Also join the “west side parents” list serv which I believe is on google groups. Aside from being a great resource you could send an email about meeting up.

Finally, starting in the spring, the farmers market on Thursday nights at Dexter field usually has some parents. As does moniker brewery.

I wish providence hibernated less in the winter. It’s makes an already difficult season worse!

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0aold wrote

So…how do I find/join a list service? (I’ll google this of course but do you have a handy link?) Thank you so much! Yes the baby blues are feeling real right now without any mom friends to share this grey weather with. :)

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lightningbolt1987 t1_jb0azy5 wrote

I don’t have a link but I think the group within google groups is called west side parents (not west end parents).

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SaluteHatred666 t1_jayhdzq wrote

I moved out of providence to have my kid

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SToTheTL OP t1_jb0axy7 wrote

That’s cool for you? This city is my home, and will be my daughter’s home as well.

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SaluteHatred666 t1_jb0jiz4 wrote

it's my home too I was born n lived on broad st for 33 years....I'd rather be in the south anyday ...better for the kids too

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